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THE 


FARMERS'   ALLIANCE   HISTORY 


I  I 


AGRICULTURAL  DIGEST. 

1  ■ 

WRITTEN  BY  A   BOARD    OF  EDITORS. 
EDITOR-IN-CHIEF, 

N.    A.    DUNNING, 

Author  of  *'  The  Philosophy  of  Price,"  and  "  The  History  of  the  United  States 

Dollar";   and  Associate  Editor  of  "The  National  Economist," 

THE  National  Organ  of  the  Farmers'  Alliance. 


"  In  the  great  household  of  Nature,  the  farmer  stands  at  the  door  of  the  bread-roonn,  and 
weighs  to  each  his  loaf." — Emerson. 


ILLUSTRATED. 


WASHWerOK,    D.C.  : 

THE   ALLIANCE   PUBLISHING   COMPANY. 

i8qi. 


%^- 


Copyright,  1891, 
By  lee  C.   HASCALL. 


All  Rights  Reserved; 


Sold  only  by  Subscription. 


Typography  by  J.  S.  Gushing  &  Co.,  Boston,  U.S.A. 
Presswork  by  Berwick  &  Smith,  Boston,  U.S.A. 


THE    FIRST    ALLIANCE     BANNER. 


PREFACE. 


The  organization  known  as  the  Farmers'  Alliance  has  as- 
sumed such  vast  proportions,  and  attracted  such  widespread 
attention,  that  a  detailed,  authentic  history  of  its  origin,  growth, 
aims,  and  purposes,  has  become  a  necessity.  At  the  urgent 
solicitation  of  many  of  the  brethren,  and  moved  by  a  desire  to 
serve  the  best  interests  of  the  order,  I  have  undertaken  the 
task  of  placing  before  the  public,  and  within  reach  of  all,  a 
^ork  of  this  character. 

In  doing  so,  I  have  enjoyed  exceptional  facilities  for  obtaining 
correct  information  and  original  documents  and  records,  and 
have  also  had  the  hearty  co-operation  and  aid  of  many  of  the 
best  members  of  the  order.  The  number  and  value  of  the 
contributions  from  this  source,  found  in  this  book,  will  bear 
testimony ato  these  statements.  I  have  thus  been  enabled  to 
drink  at  the  fountain-head  of  all  Alliance  information,  regarding 
its  conception,  advancement,  and  its  present  status.  All  this 
I  have  tried  to  present  faithfully  and  truthfully,  for  the  con- 
sideration of  my  readers. 

The  history  which  I  have  given  proves  the  saying  that 
"Truth  is  stranger  than  fiction,"  and  that  the  hand  of  Provi- 
dence can  be  seen  in  the  shaping  of  the  conditions  of  men. 

This  book  is  written  to  make  men  and  women  better;  to 
teach  them  their  duties  as  citizens  ;  to  inculcate  brotherly  love 
and  neighborly  kindness  ;  to  propagate  truth  and  discard  wrong  ; 
to  increase  the  power  of  education,  and  thereby  decrease  the 
disasters  of  ignorance ;  to  clearly  show  that  the  doctrine  and 


iv  PREFACE. 

teachings  of  the  Alliance  are  in  perfect  harmony  with  such 
sentiments.  I  have  had  no  foes  to  punish,  or  friends  to  unduly 
reward,  but  have  given  every  one  a  fair  hearing,  and  endeavored 
to  be  just  to  all. 

Believing  that  my  position  enabled  me  to  perform  the  task  as 
well  if  not  better  than  many  others,  I  have  conscientiously  tried 
to  discharge  my  full  duty,  firmly  believing  that  my  brethren 
in  the  order,  and  my  friends  outside  the  order,  would  in  the 
end  appreciate  my  efforts.  'Realizing  the  difficulties  which  wait 
upon  authorship,  yet  having  an  abiding  faith  in  the  ultimate 
triumph  of  truth,  I  consign  this  book  to  the  care  and  consider- 
ation of  my  brethren  and  friends. 

Articles  not  written  by  me  bear  the  names  of  their  authors. 

N.  A.  DUNNING. 
Washington,  D.C, 
May  I,  1891. 


CONTENTS. 


DIVISION   I. 
AGRICULTURAL   ORGANIZATIONS. 

CHAPTER  PAGE 

I.    Introductory  History i 

Agriculture  before  Christ,  during  the  Dark  Ages,  and  in  Modern  Times ; 
The  Burdens  of  the  Farmer  at  the  Present  Time ;  Unjust  Laws. 

II.    Unrecorded  History  of  the  Alliance lo 

Claims  of  the  State  of  Kansas ;  The  Movement  in  New  York ;  The 
Alliance  in  Texas ;  The  Question  of  Land  Titles. 

III.  History  of  the  Alliance  in  Texas 20 

Original  Records;  First  Meeting  and  First  Officers;  First  Bond  of 
a  Treasurer ;  The  Meetings  at  Jasper  Creek,  Goshen,  and  Friendship ; 
Second  Meeting  at  Peaster's  Springs ;  The  First  Charter ;  The  Secret 
Work;  The  Meetings  at  Decatur  and  Waco;  Demands  by  the 
Alliance. 

IV.  History  of  the  National  Alliance 56 

Union  with  the  State  Farmers'  Alliance  of  Texas ;  Acts  of  Incorpora- 
tion; The  Meeting  at  Shreveport,  Louisiana;  Demands  upon  Con- 
gress; The  Meeting  in  Meridian,  Mississippi. 

V.    History  of  the  National  Alliance  —  continued 93 

The  National  Economist;  Union  with  the  National  Agricultural  Wheel ; 
The  Meeting  at  St.  Louis ;  The  Sub-Treasury  Plan. 

VI.    History  of  the  National  Alliance  —  concluded 133 

Offices  opened  in  Washington,  District  of  Columbia ;  The  Campaign 
in  the  West;  The  Ocala  Meeting;  Constitution  and  Declaration  of 
Purposes ;  Decrease  of  Circulation ;  Increase  of  the  National  Debt. 


DIVISION   II. 
HISTORICAL   AND    POLITICAL. 

I.    Kindred  Organizations 197 

The  Agricultural  Wheel ;  Its  Original  Constitution ;  The  Meeting  at 
McKenzie,  Tennessee,  and  its  Demands ;  Amended  Constitution. 

II.    Kindred  Organizations  —  continued 216 

The  Brothers  of  Freedom ;  Declaration  of  Principles  and  Constitution ; 
The  Farmers'  Union ;  Constitution  and  By-Laws. 

III.     Kindred  Organizations  —  continued 225 

The  Northwestern  Alliance  ;  Declaration  of  Principles ;  The  Farmers' 
Mutual  Benefit  Association;  Origin  of  First  Clubs;  The  Farmers' 
Political  League. 

V 


VI 


CONTENTS. 


CHAPTER  PAGE 

IV.    Kindred  Organizations  —  concluded 230 

The  Alliance  in  New  York ;  Mr.  Root's  Statement ;  The  Grange,  or 
Order  of  the  Patrons  of  Husbandry;  Its  Secret  Work;  The  First 
Meeting ;  The  Georgetown  Meeting. 

V.     History  of  State  Alliances 237 

Official  Directory  of  the  National  Farmers'  Alliance  and  Industrial 
Union ;  First  Officers  in  Various  States  and  Territories. 

VI.    Sectionalism  and  the  Alliance 249 

By  Colonel  L.  L.  Polk,  President  National  Farmers'  Alliance  and 
Industrial  Union,  and  Editor  of  Progressive  Farmer,  Raleigh,  North 
Carolina. 

Sectionalism 253 

By  Hon.  B.  H.  Clover,  Vice-President  National  Farmers'  Alliance  and 
Industrial  Union,  and  Member  of  Congress  from  the  Third  District 
of  Kansas. 

VII.    The  Purposes  of  the  Farmers'  Alliance 257 

By  Dr.  C.  W.  Macune,  Ex-President  National  Farmers'  Alliance  and 
Co-operative  Union,  and  Editor  of  National  Economist. 

VIII.    Government  Control  of  Money 262 

By  Judge  W.  A.  Peffer,  United  States  Senator,  and  Editor  of  Kansas 
Farmer,  Topeka,  Kansas. 

IX.    The  Race  Problem 272 

By  J.  H.  Turner,  National  Secretary-Treasurer  of  the  National 
Farmers'  Alliance  and  Industrial  Union. 

X.    The  Political  Rebellion  in  Kansas 280 

By  Hon.  Jerry  Simpson,  Member  of  Congress  for  the  Seventh 
District  of  Kansas. 

XI.    The  Needs  of  the  South 284 

By  Hon.  L.  F.  Livingston,  Member  of  Congress  from  Georgia,  and 
President  of  the  Georgia  State  Alliance. 

XII.    History  of  the   Colored    Farmers'   National  Alliance   and 

Co-operative  Union 288 

By  General  R.  M.  Humphrey,  Superintendent  of  the  Colored 
Farmers'  National  Alliance  and  Co-operative  Union. 

XIII.  The  Growth  of  the  Alliance 293 

By  Ben  Terrell,  Past  National  Lecturer,  National  Farmers'  Alliance 
and  Industrial  Union. 

XIV.  The  Farmers'  Congress 298 

By  Colonel  Robert  Beverley,  The  Plains,  Virginia. 

XV.    The  Situation  in  the  Northwest 303 

By  Alonzo  Wardall,  Member  of  the  National  Executive  Committee. 

XVI.    The  Influence  of  Women  in  the  Alliance 308 

By  Mrs.  Bettie  Gay,  Columbus,  Texas. 

XVII.    Religion  in  the  Alliance 313 

By  Rev.  Isom  P.  Langley,  Ex-Lecturer  of  the  Agricultural  Wheel. 

XVIII.    The  Labor  Movement 318 

By  Ralph  Beaumont,  Lecturer  Knights  of  Labor,  and  Editor  of 
National  Citizens'  Alliance. 


CONTENTS,  vii 

CHAPTER  PAGE 

XIX.    Duty  of  the  Membership 327 

By  Colonel  R.  J.  Sledge,  Kyle,  Texas. 

XX.    The  Duty  of  a  Reformer 331 

By  John  M.  Potter,  Secretary  Michigan  State  Alliance,  and  Editor 
of  Alliance  Sentinel,  Lansing,  Michigan. 

XXI.    The  Sub-Treasury  Plan 336 

By  Hon.  Harry  Tracy,  Lecturer  National   Farmers'  Alliance  and 
Industrial  Union,  Editor  of  Southern  Mercury,  Dallas,  Texas. 

XXII.    Business  Efforts  of  the  Alliance 355 

Trade  Committees  in  Texas ;  The  Farmers'  Alliance  Exchange ;  Plan 
and  Mortgage  Obligation ;  Alliance  and  Rochdale  Systems  compared. 


DIVISION  III. 
AGRICULTURE. 

I.    History  of  Agriculture 371 

Agriculture  antedates  All  Other  Industries  ;  Agriculture  in  Egypt,  among 
the  Jews,  Greeks,  and  Romans;  Writings  of  Pliny,  Cato,  Columella, 
Palladius,  and  Varro ;  Agricultural  Implements. 

II.    History  of  Agriculture  —  continued 399 

Agricultural  Operations ;  Watering  and  Drainage ;  Trees,  Fruits  and 
Plants ;  Roman  Agriculture  and  Science  and  Art ;  Decline  among 
Romans. 

III.  Agriculture  during  the  Middle  Ages 417 

In  Italy,  France,  Germany  and  Other  Northern  States,  Britain ;  Intro- 
duction of  Potatoes  into  Europe ;  Cromwell's  Army  in  Scotland ; 
Works  on  Agriculture. 

IV.  History  of  Agriculture  in  the  United  States 444 

Agriculture  of  the  Indians;  Spanish  Colonial  Agriculture;  Puritan 
English  Colonists ;  Cavalier  English  Colonists ;  French  Colonists ; 
Revolutionary  Period ;  Various  Tables. 

V.    The  Farm  and  Farm  Buildings 477 

How  to  choose  a  Farm ;  Fences ;  Farm  Buildings ;  Farm  Roads ; 
Underdraining. 

VI.    Live-Stock 498 

Number  of  Cattle  per  One  Thousand  of  Population ;  Value  of  Cattle, 
Beef  Products,  Hogs,  and  Sheep ;  Our  Export  Trade. 

VII.    Fruits 511 

Planting;  Cultivation;  Apples  in  the  Nursery  Row;  The  Apple 
Orchard;  Small  Fruits. 

VIII.     Fertilizers 526 

By  M.  G.  Ellzey,  M.D.  Scientific  Fertilization;  Fallow  Crops; 
Organic  Matter  in  the  Soil ;  Preservation  of  Manure ;  Valueless  Tests 
of  Fertilizers;  Commercial  Manures. 

IX.     History  of  Grasses,  Grains,  and  Plants 550 

Grasses  Three  Thousand  Feet  above  Sea- Level;  Grasses  for  General 
Culture;  History  of  Grass  Culture;  Selection  of  Grasses;  Time  and 
Manner  of  Seeding ;  Various  Grasses. 


Vlii  CONTENTS. 


X.     How  Plants  grow 590 

The  Air,  Water,  Soil ;  Where  Plants  get  Food ;  How  Plants  get  Food 
from  the  Air  and  the  Soil ;  What  is  Manure  ?  Fertilizers  and  where 
found. 

XI.    The  Department  of  Agriculture 605 

Office  of  Commissioner  of  Patents  created;  Agricultural  Matters 
committed  to  him  ;  Department  of  Agriculture  organized  ;  Commis- 
sioner made  a  Cabinet  Officer. 


DIVISION    IV. 
HOME   AND    HOUSEHOLD. 

By  Mrs.  Jennie  E.  Dunning,  Washington,  District  of  Columbia. 

I.    The  Home  and  Flower  Garden ,  617 

The  Flower  G^den ;   Hot-Beds ;    House   Plants ;   Annuals,  Climbers, 
Bulbs ;  Preserving  Flowers ;  The  Parlor ;  The  Living-Room  ;  Bedrooms. 

II.    The  Home  —  concluded 647 

The  Sick-Room  ;  The  Culinary  Department ;  Kitchen  and  its  Furnish- 
ings. 

III.  Recipes  for  the  Kitchen •  656 

Drinks;  Soups;    Meats;    Pies;    Miscellaneous  Dishes;    Bread;  Pud- 
dings. 

IV.  Recipes  for  Horses,  Cattle,  Sheep,  etc 676 

Horses;  Cattle;  Sheep;  Swine;  Poultry;  Miscellaneous  Recipes. 


DIVISION   V. 

MISCELLANEOUS    INFORMATION. 

I.    Commercial  Forms  and  Useful  Tables 691 

Law  Points  for  Farmers;  Articles  of  Agreement  and  Bills  of  Sale; 
Wills  and  Notes;  Leases  and  Mortgages;  Measurements  of  Grain, 
Hay,  Corn,  etc. ;  Tables  of  Weights,  Measures,  etc. 

II.    Postal,  Internal  Revenue,  and  Naturalization  Laws 719 

United  States  Postal  Regulations;  Copyright  Laws;  Naturalization 
Laws. 

III.  Declaration  of  Independence,  Presidents,  and  Senators 725 

The  Declaration  and  its  Signers ;  Names  of  All  Presidents,  and  Votes 
by  which  elected;  Demands  of  the  Alliance  as  to  United  States 
Senators. 

IV.  History  of  the  Sub-Treasury  Plan 734 

Appendix 736 

Ten  Useful  Rules  of  Parliamentary  Usage. 


LIST   OF   ILLUSTRATIONS. 


The  First  Alliance  Banner Frontispiece. 

FACING  PAGE 

N.  A.  Dunning,  Editor-in-Chief i 

The  Capitol,  Washington,  District  of  Columbia 56 

Members  of  the  Ocala  Meeting , 93 

Arlington,  the  Home  of  General  R.  E.  Lee 133 

Entrance  of  Golden  Gate,  San  Francisco,  California 197 

Grand  Canon  of  Colorado  River,  Arizona. 225 

Bunker  Hill  Monument 237 

Colonel  L.  L.  Polk 249 

Hon.  B.  H.  Clover 253 

Dr.  C.  W.  Macune 257 

Hon.  W.  a.  Peffer 262 

J.  H.  Turner 272 

Hon.  Jerry  Simpson 280 

Hon.  L.  F.  Livingston 284 

General  R.  M.  Humphrey 288 

Colonel  Ben  Terrell 293 

Colonel  Robert  Beverley 298 

Alonzo  Wardall 303 

Mrs.  Bettie  Gay-. 308 

Rev.  Isom  P.  Langley 313 

Ralph  Beaumont 318 

Colonel  R.  J.  Sledge 327 

John  M.  Potter 331 

Colonel  Harry  Tracy 336 

Washington  Monument,  Washington,  Districi'  of  Columbia 355 

Ancient  Agricultural  Implements 37 1 

Bridal  Veil  Falls,  Yosemite,  California 399 

One  of  California's  "  Big  Trees  " 417 

The  White  House,  Washington,  District  of  Columbia 444 

Harbor  View,  Galveston,  Texas 477 

Niagara  Falls ; 511 

Department  of  Agriculture,  Washington,  District  of  Columbia  . .  605 

A  Scene  in  Yellowstone  Park 617 

Mt.  Vernon,  the  Home  of  Washington 647 

United  States  Cruiser  Baltimore 691 


OF  THE  ,. 

UNIVERSITY    i 

OF 

DIVISION    1. 


AGRICULTURAL    ORGANIZATIONS, 


CHAPTER   1. 

INTRODUCTORY   HISTORY. 

Recent  investigations  among  the  tombs  and  monuments  of 
antiquity  disclose  the  fact  that,  as  far  back  as  700  B.C.,  trades- 
unions  existed  in  great  numbers.  History  also  reveals  the  fact 
that  these  trades-unions  have  continued  to  exist  until  the  present 
time.  Their  methods,  purposes,  and  results  have  differed,  and 
their  seasons  of  prosperity  and  adversity  have  alternated ;  yet, 
in  some  manner  and  in  some  form,  the  idea^  of  trades-unionism 
have  been  preserved.  Not  so  with  organizations  relating  to 
agriculture.  C.  Osborne  Ward,^  in  his  researches  touching  this 
subject,  has  found  indisputable  evidence  that  agricultural  organ- 
izations existed  in  great  numbers  at  this  time,  and  actually  con- 
federated with  the  trades-unions  in  matters  of  mutual  benefit. 
The  number  of  inscriptions  found  on  the  old  tombs  and  tablets 
confirms  the  idea  that  these  organizations  among  farmers  were 
not  only  numerous  but  important.  Of  course  nothing  of  detail 
can  be  found,  but  the  fact  of  their  existence  at  this  early 
period,  and  their  subsequent  extinction,  is  an  indication  that 
the  ancients  were,  after  all,  far  in  advance  of  the  recent  past  in 
some  respects.  It  is  a  fact  worthy  of  notice  that,  from  the 
beginning  of  the  Christian  era  to  th-e  present  century,  no  trace 
of  agricultural  organizations  can  be  found. 

After  the  fall  of  Rome,  and  during  the  Dark  Ages,  nothing 
is  known  of  special  interest  concerning  agriculture,  save  what 
has  been  handed  down  through  the  records  of  the  Church,  and 

1  "  The  Ancient  Lowly,"  C.  Osborne  Ward. 


■2:  V  .:  ;:  ,  ^yAGRJ cultural    organizations, 

these  contain  no  mention  of  such  organizations.  The  feudal  sys- 
tem seemed  to  mean  a  social  organization  based  upon  the  owner- 
ship of  land.  It  was  in  reality  a  condition  in  which  public  rela- 
tions were  dependent  upon  private  relations,  and  political  rights 
upon  landed  rights,  and  the  land  was  concentrated  in  the  hands 
of  a  few  persons.  While  this  situation  admitted  of  little  or  no 
chance  of  organization  among  those  who  tilled  the  soil,  it  is 
quite  clear  from  the  old  records  that  at  certain  times,  and  in 
many  countries,  their  protests  have  been  heeded  and  their 
demands  granted.  These  movements,  however,  were  in  no 
sense  political.  So  far  as  agriculture  is  concerned,  the  condi- 
tions have  always  been  unfavorable  to  combinations  or  organiza- 
tions, for  any  purpose  whatever,  among  farmers  in  Europe.  The 
system  of  government,  social  relations,  and  tenure  of  land,  have 
conspired  to  keep  the  farmer  out  of  politics,  and  relegated  him 
to  the  task  of  feeding  and  clothing  those  who  did  make  the 
laws,  and,  as  a  rule,  compelled  him  to  bear  the  burden  of  taxa- 
tion as  well. 

Just  in  proportion  as  the  people  have  been  granted  political 
rights  and  privileges,  the  agricultural  portion  of  the  community 
has  made  its  influence  felt  in  public  affairs.  It  is  a  conspicuous 
fact,  acknowledged  by  all,  that  agriculturists  have  uniformly 
manifested  good  judgment  and  a  spirit  of  conservatism,  in  all 
their  political  efforts.  In  nearly  every  European  country  reforms 
have  been  demanded,  at  various  times,  by  the  rural  population. 
Such  demands  have  often  been  followed  by  bitter  contentions, 
because  they  were  usually  of  a  special  or  class  character,  requir- 
ing the  redress  of  special  grievances,  or  the  granting  of  special 
privileges.  For  centuries  before  the  discovery  of  America,  an 
undercurrent  of  unrest  is  traceable  among  the  rural  population, 
and,  as  the  enlightenment  which  waited  upon  the  progress  of 
civilization  became  more  and  more  diffused,  this  discontent 
increased.  There  is  no  doubt  that  the  hard  times  which  had 
fallen  to  the  agriculturists  of  Europe  hastened  the  settlement  of 
the  New  World.  Political  and  religious  freedom  seemed  to  be 
the  object  of  nearly  all  immigration  to  this  continent.  Agri- 
culture being  the  basis  upon  which  this  structure  of  human 
liberty  was  to  be  built,  the  founders  of  the  nation,  as  well  as 
the  Pilgrim  Fathers  before  them,  granted  to  the  farmers  equal 


INTRODUCTORY  HISTORY.  3 

rights  with  all  other  citizens.  These  rights  have  been  recog- 
nized since  the  first  settlement  in  America,  and  were  plainly 
and  solemnly  consented  to  by  the  compact  entered  into  on 
board  the  Mayflower.  These  rights  should  be  maintained  invio- 
lable, because,  when  once  invaded,  that  portion  of  American 
citizenship  is  made  to  serve  and  not  to  share. 

It  is  nevertheless  true,  as  has  been  charged,  that  a  certain 
amount  of  aristocratic  ideas  found  their  way  to  the  shores  of 
the  New  World,  and  became  a  factor  in  its  first  settlement.  This 
element  has  been  permitted  to  thrive  to  a  greater  or  less  extent, 
and  remains  with  us  at  the  present  time.  As  a  rule,  however, 
it  has  been  confined  to  the  Atlantic  seaboard,  where  it  first 
located,  and  has  not  as  yet  extended  very  far  into  the  interior. 
It  is  rarely  seen,  in  its  full  un-American  sense,  except  in  large 
cities,  where  business  relations  are  in  constant  touch  with  the 
East.  One  of  the  relics  of  aristocracy  that  has  been  handed 
down  to  us  is  the  United  States  Senate,  a  branch  of  our  gov- 
ernment whose  uselessness  is  only  equalled  by  its  aristocratic 
notions.  In  connection  with  this  old-time,  blue-blooded  aris- 
tocracy, and  supplemental  to  it,  has  sprung  into  existence,  in 
almost  every  part  of  our  country,  another  species  of  aristocracy, 
which  follows  the  acquirement  of  large  fortunes.  It  has  come 
to  be  an  accepted  idea,  that  the  accumulation  of  money  will,  in 
some  manner,  divorce  its  possessors  from  the  taint  of  plebeian 
birth,  obscure  beginnings,  or  former  social  relations,  and  at  once 
change  the  inner  as  well  as  the  outer  individual. 

Aristocratic  ideas,  backed  up  by  intelligence  and  refinement, 
may  serve  a  good  purpose  in  toning  down  the  untamed  spirit, 
and  broadening  the  nature  of  a  native  American  ;  but  when  this 
station  in  society  is  reached  through  the  medium  of  a  bank 
account,  human  nature  revolts,  and  the  average  person  becomes 
disgusted.  This  spirit  of  avarice,  or  desire  to  make  money,  has 
become  the  bane  of  our  social  relations,  and  threatens  the  per- 
petuity of  the  government  itself.  The  desire  for  wealth  is 
increased  as  the  power  and  privileges  which  it  brings  become 
more  clearly  understood.  When  the  brains  of  a  Webster  or  a 
Calhoun  must  wait  unnoticed  in  the  anteroom,  while  the  ple- 
thoric pocket-book  of  some  conscienceless  speculator,  monopo- 
list, or  trickster,  brings  to  its  owner  the  privileges  of  the  parlor, 


4  AGRICULTURAL    ORGANIZATIONS. 

and  the  softest  seat  at  the  feast,  intelligence  and  moral  recti- 
tude will  always  be  at  a  discount,  while  fraud  and  corruption 
will  bring  a  premium.  In  order  that  such  conditions  may  exist, 
some  portions  of  the  people  must  suffer.  This  becomes  a  self- 
evident  truth  to  all  who  will  give  the  matter  even  the  least  con- 
sideration. The  possession  of  wealth  may  be  assumed,  as  a 
rule,  to  bring  about  the  differences  that  are  seen  in  society, 
and,  because  of  this,  becomes  the  essential  object  for  which  a 
large  portion  of  our  people  are  contending. 

It  is  evident  that  all  cannot  be  rich,  and  it  is  also  true  that 
none  should  be  poor  because  of  economic  conditions.  All 
economists  agree  that  labor  is  the  sole  producer  of  wealth.  If 
this  proposition  be  true,  it  might  be  proper  to  ask :  Why  does 
not  the  producer  of  this  wealth  possess  it,  after  production  ? 
•What  intervening  cause  steps  in  between  the  producer  and  this 
wealth,  and  prevents  his  owning  and  enjoying  what  his  brain 
and  brawn  have  created }  No  one  seems  to  question  the  right 
or  justice  of  each  individual  enjoying  the  fruits  of  his  own  labor. 
But  the  recognition  of  this  right  does  not  prevent  the  separation 
of  production  and  possession,  nor  does  it  indicate  a  remedy  for 
the  evil.  The  idea  of  labor  in  production,  at  the  present  time, 
is  associated  with  only  a  portion  of  our  people.  It  represents, 
under  the  prevailing  ideas  of  society,  an  undesirable  condition, 
from  which  all,  or  nearly  all,  seek  to  be  freed.  The  man  or 
woman  does  not  live  who  desires  to  labor  every  day  in  every 
year  of  their  whole  sojourn  upon  earth.  Such  a  desire  would 
be  unnatural,  a  sin  against  the  future,  and  a  libel  upon  the  past. 
Nine-tenths  of  the  labor  performed  at  the  present  time  is  done 
with  the  belief  that  this  hard  labor  will  bring  about  future  ease 
and  comfort.  But  when  these  efforts  are  honestly  and  earnestly 
continued  for  a  series  of  years,  and  the  anticipated  reward  does 
not  come,  and  the  plain  fact  is  demonstrated  that  labor  brings 
no  reward,  some  give  up  in  despair,  while  others  determine  to 
ascertain  the  cause,  if  possible. 

It  was  to  satisfy  the  American  farmer  that  his  calling  had 
either  become  obsolete,  or  his  environment  unnatural,  that 
agricultural  organizations,  for  political  or  economic  purposes, 
were  brought  into  existence.  Up  to  i860  the  economic  privi- 
leges of  the  farmer  ;were  somewhat  near  a  parity  with  other 


INTRODUCTORY  HISTORY.  5 

branches  of  productive  industry.  The  systematic  spoliation  of 
the  present  was,  to  a  large  extent,  practically  unknown.  Special 
laws  and  privileges,  which  operated  directly  against  the  national 
interests  of  agriculture,  existed  only  in  a  mild  degree.  At  that 
period  immense  fortunes  were  almost  unknown,  and  aristocracy 
was  confined  to  the  better  educated  and  more  refined.  Neither 
poverty  nor  crime  existed  in  the  same  proportion  as  now,  and 
the  general  trend  of  events  was  toward  conservatism  in  all 
economic  conditions.  Moderate  fortunes,  moderate  sized  farms, 
and  moderate  business  enterprises,  were  not  only  the  rule  of 
the  times,  but  were  maintained  under  the  protecting  care  of 
society's  consent.  Of  course  there  were  exceptions,  but  not 
in  the  offensive  and  disturbing  sense  in  which  they  now  exist. 
All  must  admit  that  the  parasitic  age  had  not  begun  at  this 
date,  and  that  labor  in  production  paid  less  tribute  than  at  the 
present  time.  Emerson  says  :  "  The  glory  of  the  farmer  is  that, 
in  the  division  of  labors,  it  is  his  part  to  create.  All  trade 
rests  at  last  on  his  primitive  activity.  He  stands  close  to 
Nature ;  he  obtains  from  the  earth  the  bread  and  the  meat. 
The  food  which  was  not  he  causes  to  be."  It  is  because  of 
the  truth  contained  in  this  statement  that  the  farmer  complains. 
It  is  because  he  simply  creates  for  others,  with  but  a  feeble 
voice,  if  any,  in  determining  the  measure  of  his  remuneration, 
that  he  has  at  last  been  compelled  to  enter  an  earnest  protest. 
Willing  as  he  is  to  create,  and  anxious  to  serve  all  other  classes 
with  the  fruits  of  his  industry  and  skill,  yet  the  farmer  has 
learned,  by  sad  experience,  that  his  toil  has  gone  unrequited, 
and  his  anxiety  has  been  construed  into  servility.  The  Ameri- 
can farmer,  in  his  present  condition,  is  a  living  example  of  the 
folly  and  disaster  which  inevitably  follow,  where  one  class  of 
citizens  permits  another  class  to  formulate  and  administer  all 
economic  legislation.  In  other  words,  he  is  the  victim  of  mis- 
placed confidence,  and  has  at  last  undertaken  to  regain  his  lost 
advantages  and  rights.  The  late  Civil  War  gave  an  impetus  to 
all  productive  labor.  All  efforts  in  that  direction  were  profitable 
for  a  time,  and  the  business  of  agriculture  was  looked  upon  with 
much  favor.  Vast  sums  of  money  were  expended  in  the  pur- 
chase and  improvement  of  farming  lands,  and  the  success  of 
that  branch  of  industry  seemed  assured.     The  war  ended  in  the 


6  AGRICULTURAL    ORGANIZATIONS. 

spring  of  1865,  and  that  year  closed  amid  universal  prosperity 
in  the  North,  East,  and  West.  The  people  were  out  of  debt, 
all  labor  was  employed,  and  all  the  conditions  which  wait  upon 
a  prosperous  and  industrious  people  were  seen  on  every  hand. 

The  people  of  the  South  had  begun  the  task  of  repairing  the 
ravages  of  war  and  rebuilding  their  shattered  fortunes  with  a 
determination  which  admitted  of  no  failure,  and  the  whole  coun- 
try echoed  with  the  busy  hum  of  industry.  During  the  year 
which  followed,  these  conditions  continued,  but  in  the  latter 
part  of  1867  a  change  was  observed.  It  had  been  brought  about 
quietly.  No  one  seemed  to  know  how,  but  the  effects  were 
none  the  less  positive.  Agriculture  was  the  first  to  feel  this 
changed  condition,  and  undertook  to  counteract  it  by  a  closer 
economy  and  increased  production.  The  first  compelled  the 
manufacturer  to  curtail  his  production  or  lessen  its  value. 
Either  course  reduced  the  remuneration  of  the  laborer,  and 
compelled  him  to  purchase  less  or  buy  cheaper.  This  reacted 
upon  the  farmer.  The  second  overstocked  the  market,  and 
reduced  the  price  of  the  whole  product,  and  enabled  those  who 
could  to  dictate  their  own  terms.  This  condition  has  obtained 
among  the  farmers  to  the  present  time.  In  the  vain  endeavor 
to  extricate  themselves  from  their  surroundings,  having  faith  in 
the  prospect  of  better  times,  the  farmers  borrowed  money  on 
note  or  mortgage  to  tide  them  over,  only  to  find  that  the  future 
brought  no  relief.  This  dark  cloud  of  debt  and  disappointment 
hung  lower  and  lower  each  succeeding  year,  until  the  storm  of 
1873  swept  over  the  country,  leaving  in  its  course  the  wrecks 
of  many  thousand  financial  disasters. 

In  1867  the  first  agricultural  organization  of  promise  appeared 
in  the  Grange,  or  Patrons  of  Husbandry.  This  organization 
sought  to  better  the  condition  of  the  farmer  by  eliminating  the 
so-called  middleman,  —  the  merchant  or  dealer.  It  assumed 
that  the  profit,  which  lodged  somewhere  between  the  producer 
and  consumer,  was  the  cause  of  nearly  all  the  disaster  that 
waited  upon  agricultural  effort.  This  idea  took  hold  of  the  peo- 
ple, and  the  result  was  an  immense  organization,  with  every 
promise  of  success.  The  experiment,  aside  from  its  educational 
results,  was  almost  an  entire  failure. 

Since  this  time  the  causes  which  have  depressed  agriculture 


INTRODUCTORY  HISTORY.  7 

have  been  discovered,  throughout  the  length  and  breadth  of  the 
land,  by  those  who  were  interested,  those  who  sympathized,  to 
be  the  politician  and  the  demagogue ;  but  the  discovery  pro- 
duced little  or  no  effect.  It  remained  for  the  farmer  himself, 
after  several  ineffectual  attempts,  to  solve  the  problem,  and  in 
so  doing  challenge  the  respect  and  admiration  of  the  thinking 
world.  The  solution  of  this  question,  and  the  demand  for  its 
enactment  into  law,  have  no  parallel  in  all  history.  It  is  an 
uprising  of  the  conservative  element  of  the  people,  the  brain 
and  brawn  of  the  nation.  It  is  a  protest  against  present  condi- 
tions ;  a  protest  against  the  unequal  distribution  of  the  profits 
arising  from  labor  in  production ;  a  protest  against  those  eco- 
nomic methods  which  give  to  labor  a  bare  living,  and  make 
capital  the  beneficiary  of  all  life's  pleasures  and  comforts.  It  is 
a  protest  against  continual  toil  on  the  one  hand,  and  continual 
ease  and  comfort  on  the  other.  It  is  a  protest  against  forced 
economy,  debt,  and  privation  to  the  producer,  and  peace,  plenty, 
happiness,  and  prosperity  to  the  non-producer. 

The  farmers  have  learned  the  secret,  that  organization,  unity 
of  action,  and  continuity  of  purpose,  on  their  part,  will  in  the 
end  unite  all  sections,  enrich  all  communities,  and  make  every 
citizen  equal  before  just  laws.  Intelligence  to  organize,  fellow- 
feeling  enough  to  unite,  and  manhood  sufficient  to  stand  firm, 
are  the  necessary  requirements  to  bring  this  about.  Organiza- 
tion is  now  the  order  of  the  day.  It  is  the  motive  power  that 
rules  and  guides  the  world.  Without  it  the  best  of  causes  will 
not  succeed,  while  with  it  the  worse  cause  may  prosper  for  a 
time.  In  the  great  struggle  of  life,  as  society  is  now  constituted, 
organized  evil  must  be  met  with  organized  good ;  organized 
greed  with  organized  equity.  In  the  combination  of  kindred 
forces  lie  the  astonishing  results  of  modern  undertakings. 

Individual  enterprises  are  at  a  discount  in  the  commercial 
world  for  many  reasons.  The  individual  may  die  and  the 
whole  business  pass  necessarily  into  the  hands  of  those  less 
competent  to  direct ;  or  the  individual  may  make  a  false  move 
and  thereby  jeopardize  the  entire  venture  through  an  error  in 
his  single  judgment ;  or,  again,  he  may  fall  under  the  influence 
of  bad  habits  and  wreck  the  business  through  neglect  or  fast 
living.     All  these  contingencies  are  impossible  with  an  organi- 


8  AGRICULTURAL    ORGANIZATIONS. 

zation  properly  constituted.  Members  of  the  organization  may- 
die,  but  the  organization  continues.  The  aggregate  business 
intelHgence  of  the  whole  membership  is  used,  and  not  the  single 
ideas  of  one.  Organizations  go  on,  live  on ;  gathering  expe- 
rience which  is  stored  up ;  gathering  special  information  which 
is  safely  put  away ;  increasing  in  wealth  of  which  the  outside 
world  has  no  knowledge  ;  using  their  power  when  least  expected, 
and  for  objects  that  require  years  of  patient  waiting  and  calcu- 
lation to  perfect  and  mature.  These  considerations  not  only 
recommend  a  system  of  organization  to  all  progressive  minds, 
but  make  them  absolutely  necessary  for  success  in  modern  busi- 
ness. One  thing  is  certain,  —  organization  as  a  factor  of  our 
modern  civilization  has  come  to  stay.  It  cannot  be  eliminated, 
but  may  be,  to  a  greater  or  less  extent,  confined  in  its  operation 
within  legitimate  bounds.  Its  benefits  will  be  sought  under  all 
conditions  and  by  all  classes  of  people,  and  those  who  ignore  its 
power  or  underestimate  its  strength  are  sure  to  have  cause  for 
regret  in  the  end. 

The  difficulty  of  organization  among  farmers  is  not  wholly 
confined  to  a  want  of  information,  but  shows  itself  in  neighbor- 
hood factions  of  numerous  kinds,  individual  or  local  jealousies, 
family  or  political  differences,  and  a  multitude  of  other  insig- 
nificant but  annoying  obstructions  that  have  to  be  avoided, 
smoothed  over,  or  settled.  These  are  never  met  with  among 
men  who  organize  from  a  business  standpoint.  The  farmers,  as 
a  class,  have  been  betrayed  in  almost  everything,  with  a  regu- 
larity truly  astonishing.  They  have  struggled  against  all  odds, 
and  have  submitted  to  the  result  with  a  fortitude  absolutely 
wonderful,  but  the  time  has  come  when  something  must  be 
done.  Some  united  action  is  demanded  in  defence  of  their  own 
rights,  and  the  maintenance  of  agriculture.  This  fact  is  too 
plain  and  too  imperative  to  be  longer  ignored.  It  is  a  question 
now  between  liberty  and  serfdom,  and  must  be  decided  without 
delay.  Some  will  ask :  What  shall  we  organize  for }  For  the 
same  reasons  that  our  enemies  do ;  for  individual  benefits 
through  combined  effort.  Organize  to  watch  them,  to  consider 
their  motives,  and,  if  possible,  checkmate  their  designs,  when 
aimed  at  you  or  your  business.  This  is  a  selfish  world,  and 
they  who  fail  to  realize  this  fact  are  quite  sure  to  find  it  out 


INTRODUCTORY  HISTORY.  9 

when  too  late.  Organize  for  better  laws ;  for  through  legisla- 
tion comes  prosperity  or  adversity. 

During  the  past  quarter  of  a  century,  the  farmers  of  this 
country  have  labored,  and  others  have  made  the  laws.  What 
has  been  the  result  .'*  The  non-producer  has  thrived  while  the 
producer  has  grown  poor.  Not  only  have  the  non-producers 
organized  against  the  farmers,  but  almost  all  other  producers. 
There  is  hardly  a  manufactured  product,  or  even  a  raw  material, 
that  is  not  subject  to  the  guidance  of  an  organization  or  com- 
bination of  the  whole,  excepting  the  products  of  the  farm.  This 
means  the  spoliation  of  all  who  cannot  meet  this  force  with 
similar  power.  That  being  true,  the  farmer  becomes  the  easy 
prey  of  all,  and  receives  the  treatment  his  own  neglect  brings 
upon  him.  All  non-producers  are  the  avowed  enemies  of  pro- 
ducers, and  should  be  so  considered  in  all  propositions  of  eco- 
nomics. When  they  organize,  it  is  for  the  purpose  of  increasing 
their  strength,  which  in  turn  makes  them  a  correspondingly 
more  dangerous  enemy,  and  increases  the  necessity  of  stronger 
defence.  In  the  vast  amount  of  national  legislation  of  the  past 
twenty-five  years,  there  is  not  one  single  act  which  was  passed 
in  the  interest  of  the  farmer.  Search  through  the  whole  mass, 
and  not  one  will  be  found  that  was  introduced,  passed,  and  put 
upon  the  statute  books,  for  the  sole  benefit  of  agriculture. 
Until  this  is  changed,  and  labor  in  production  is  made  to  bring 
a  reward,  industry  is  useless  and  economy  is  folly. 

Because  of  these  facts  and  conditions,  some  action  on  the 
part  of  the  farmers  toward  legislative  reform  became  necessary. 
The  National  Farmers'  Congress,  which  was  organized  in  1875, 
seems  to  have  been  the  first  to  formulate  ideas  in  conformity 
with  such  a  proposition.  At  each  annual  session,  the  necessity 
for  some  change  in  agricultural  legislation  became  more  and 
more  apparent.  This  congress,  which  may  be  considered  the 
pioneer,  gave  way  to  the  Farmers'  Alliance,  of  which  we  shall 
now  undertake  to  give  a  history. 


CHAPTER   II. 

UNRECORDED    HISTORY    OF    THE    ALLIANCE. 

The  origin  of  the  Farmers'  Alliance  is  not  so  clearly  defined 
as  to  leave  no  room  for  conjecture.  Nearly  every  other  reform 
movement  can  date  back  to  some  particular  time  when  the  first 
efforts  were  made  that  resulted  in  forming  the  organization. 
The  Knights  of  Labor,  the  Grange,  the  Farmers'  Mutual  Benefit 
Association,  the  Wheel,  the  Farmers'  Union,  all  have  the  satis- 
faction of  giving  the  details  of  their  initial  meeting.  Not  so 
with  the  Alliance.  Until  recently,  it  has  been  an  accepted  theory 
that  it  started  in  the  States  of  New  York  and  Texas  at  about  the 
same  time,  in  1874  or  1875.  It  was  believed  that  the  Alliance, 
originating  in  New  York,  found  its  way  to  the  west,  and  that  it  is 
now  represented  by  what  is  designated  as  the  Northwestern  Alli- 
ance ;  while  the  one  which  originated  in  Texas  was  taken  east  and 
north,  and  is  now  known  as  the  National  Farmers'  Alliance  and 
Industrial  Union. 

This  coincidence  of  origin  has  always  appeared  unnatural, 
and  considerable  speculation  has  been  indulged  in  the  attempt 
to  clear  up  the  seeming  mystery.  But  nothing  tangible  has 
been  reached  until  recently.  Whether  this  is  a  true  solution  or 
not  remains  to  be  more  clearly  proven.  It  seems  quite  plausible 
at  least,  and  the  reader  can  take  it  for  what  it  is  worth.  Mr.  G. 
Campbell,  of  Kansas,  claims  that  the  AUiance  originated  in  that 
State,  and  makes  the  following  statement  to  substantiate  its 
correctness :  — 

**  It  will  be  remembered  that,  early  in  the  sixties,  Congress  granted  the 
M.,  K.  &  T.  and  the  L.,  L.  &  G.  railway  companies  a  tract  of  land  in  and 
through  the  State  of  Kansas,  to  aid  in  the  construction  of  their  roads.  At  the 
time  this  grant  was  made,  there  was  a  tract  of  land  lying  in  the  southeastern 
part  of  the  State,  known  as  the  Osage  ceded  lands,  which  was  reserved  from 
the  operation  of  the  grant,  inasmuch  as  it  was  not  a  part  of  the  public  lands 
of  the  State.  When  the  roads  were  built,  however,  these  lands  had  been 
treated  for  and  were  a  part  of  the  public  domain,  and  were  patented  to  the 
respective  railway  companies. 
10 


UNRECORDED  HISTORY.  II 

"  The  settlers  in  the  meantime  settled  upon  these  lands  in  '64,  '68,  '69,  and 
'70,  in  good  faith,  thinking  that  they  were  government  lands,  and  were  so 
informed  by  the  Interior  Department  at  Washington,  D.C.  Many  of  the 
settlers  made  valuable  improvements  on  what  proved  to  be  lands  covered  by 
the  patents  from  the  government  to  the  railway  companies,  either  as  lands 
included  in  the  original  grant,  or  indemnity  lands,  and  the  railway  companies 
required  the  settlers  to  pay  the  value  of  their  own  improvements,  besides  a 
high  price  for  the  lands.  This  the  settlers  refused  to  do,  and  prepared  to 
resist  the  railway  companies  in  the  courts,  and  with  physical  force  if  need  be. 
The  legal  point  involved,  briefly  stated,  was  this:  The  railway  companies 
claimed  that  their  grants  took  effect  when  their  roads  were  built  '  in  and 
through  the  State  of  Kansas,'  and  that  when  these  roads  were  constructed, 
the  Osage  ceded  lands  were  a  part  of  the  public  lands  of  the  State,  and 
subject  to  their  grants.  The  settlers,  on  the  other  hand,  claimed  that  these 
lands  were  open  to  pre-emption  settlement,  by  the  proclamation  of  the 
President  of  the  United  States ;  that  in  pursuance  of  such  proclamation 
they  had  entered  upon  these  lands  as  innocent  parties  in  good  faith,  and  had 
erected  lasting  and  valuable  improvements  thereon,  and  that  the  grants  of 
land  to  the  railway  companies  did  not  extend  beyond  the  limits  of  what  was 
the  public  lands  of  the  State  of  Kansas  at  the  time  the  grants  were  made  by 
act  of  Congress.  This  is  the  case  briefly  stated:  The  settlers  organized 
openly  at  first  to  resist  the  encroachments  of  the  railway  companies  upon  their 
rights ;  but  the  companies  were  posted  as  to  all  the  settlers'  movements  and 
defeated  them.  The  closed  organization  was  then  adopted,  early  in  '72, 
which  was  called  *The  Settlers'  Protective  Association,'  but  which  was 
generally  known  as  the  Settlers'  League,  or  Alliance.  They  took  upon 
themselves  political  action ;  they  instructed  and  pledged  their  congressmen, 
and  through  the  members  of  the  Legislature  their  senators.  The  result  was 
that  an  act  was  passed  by  Congress,  early  in  the  seventies,  known  as  the 
'  Enabling  Act,'  which  authorized  the  settlers  to  bring  an  action  in  the  name 
of  the  United  States  to  set  aside  the  patents  issued  by  the  government  to 
these  railway  corporations,  so  far  as  they  related  to  the  Osage  ceded  lands, 
and  the  United  States  District  Attorney  was  instructed,  in  company  with 
the  settlers'  attorneys,  to  prepare  the  case  for  the  United  States  court. 

"About  this  time,  George  R.  Peck,  who  was  a  railway  lawyer,  was  ap- 
pointed United  States  District  Attorney,  which  greatly  incensed  the  settlers, 
and  under  the  pretence  of  consulting  the  Hon.  George  R.  Peck,  the  '  Grand 
Council'  got  him  to  come  to  Parsons,  and  the  settlers  *  pledged  him.'  I  shall 
not  say  how  it  was  done ;  he  can  tell  if  he  desires ;  but  I  will  say  that  he  was 
true  to  his  pledges,  and  to  the  interests  of  the  settlers,  and  is  entitled  to  a 
greater  reward  than  that  he  has  received  at  their  hands.  I  sent  our  plan  of 
organization  to  New  York,  my  native  State,  where  they  attempted  to  organize, 
but  with  little  success,  as  they  were  soon  swallowed  up  by  the  Grange ;  but 
they  preserved  their  identity,  and  after  the  Grange  movement  had  subsided 
it  began  a  growth  as  a  trade  organization.  The  agent  who  transacted  the 
Alliance  business  in  New  York  State,  I  believe,  bore  the  name  of  Johnson, 


12  AGRICULTURAL    ORGANIZATIONS. 

and  resided  in  New  York  City.  Several  families  who  were  members  of  this 
league,  or  alliance,  went  from  this  section  during  our  controversy,  and  set- 
tled in  Texas,  and  a  man  by  the  name  of  Tanner,  who  lived  west  of  this  city, 
is  said  to  have  organized  the  first  Alliance  in  Texas,  as  a  trade  organization, 
which  was  one  of  the  features  of  this  movement ;  and  hence  we  hear  it  said 
that  the  Alliance  originated  in  Texas  and  New  York  at  the  same  time,  while 
the  facts  remain  that  it  originated  in  Kansas. 

"  This  Alliance  never  did  take  up  the  questions  of  mongy,  transportation^ 
and  land,  and  confined  itself  to  purchasing  its  supplies  at  wholesale,  and  was 
an  open  organization,  both  north  and  south,  consisting  of  discontented  local 
alliances  which  sprang  into  existence  in  different  parts  of  the  country,  east, 
west,  north,  and  south  ;  but  there  was  no  central  organization ;  in  other 
words,  it  was  without  a  head,  and  that  is  the  case  yet  in  some  localities. 

"  In  the  spring  of  1875  we  got  our  decision  from  the  Supreme  Court  of  the 
United  States,  setting  aside  the  patents  granted  to  the  railway  companies  to 
the  Osage  ceded  lands,  and  opening  them  to  pre-emption  settlement.  Many 
of  us  were  very  poor  at  this  time,  having  spent  what  little  we  brouglit  with  us 
in  the  fight  for  these  lands,  and  the  price  of  all  property  was  greatly  depressed 
in  consequence  of  the  panic  of  "''j},,  brought  on  by  the  contraction  of  the 
currency.  As  a  sample  of  the  prices  prevailing  for  property  at  that  time,  I 
remember  of  husking  my  corn  and  hauling  it  sixteen  miles  to  Parsons  with 
my  team  of  oxen,  and  then  could  not  sell  it  for  ten  cents  per  bushel  in  cash, 
and  had  to  get  it  stored  until  such  time  as  it  would  sell,  or  haul  it  back.  I 
preferred  the  former.  In  this  dilemma  we  began  to  say  that  the  government 
ought  to  give  us  this  land,  or  make  some  arrangements  by  which  it  would 
loan  us  money  to  pre-empt  with.  Finally  the  government  came  to  our  aid, 
and  allowed  us  to  pay  $50  on  the  quarter  section,  and  gave  us  one,  two,  and 
three  years  on  the  deferred  payments,  by  paying  $50  a  year  and  5  per  cent 
interest.  This  was  virtually  a  loan  of  $150  on  each  quarter  section  at  5  per 
cent  interest,  and  this  was  the  first  5  per  cent  money  the  people  of  Kansas 
ever  borrowed,  and  this  is  the  first  instance  that  I  now  call  to  mind  where 
the  government  has  ever  loaned  its  money  to  the  people.  But  it  demon- 
strated the  practicability  of  such  a  system,  and  in  1876  I  issued  a  circular, 
and  set  forth  the  system  that  New  York  had  adopted  in  loaning  its  school 
fund  to  the  farmers,  upon  real  estate  security,  and  demonstrated  the  practica- 
bility of  such  a  system  for  the  United  States. 

"  I  selected  one  post-office  in  each  county  of  the  United  States,  and  sent  a 
few  of  these  circulars,  to  be  handed  out  by  the  postmaster,  and  I  had  the 
satisfaction  of  seeing  farmers'  clubs  springing  up  in  all  parts  of  the  country. 
This  circular  is  the  first,  so  far  as  I  am  informed,  ever  written  and  circulated 
since  the  Constitution  of  the  United  States  was  adopted,  advocating  govern- 
ment loans  to  the  people,  upon  real  estate  security." 

This  statement  bears  the  marks  of  candor  and  directness,  that 
will  no  doubt  convince  many  of  its  truthfulness.  Be  that  as 
it  may,  it  discloses  an  attempt  to  correct  economic  evils  in  that 


I 


UNRECORDED  HISTORY.  13 

State,  at  an  early  date.  The  movement  thus  inaugurated  con- 
tinued to  increase  in  strength,  and  finally  culminated  in  the 
campaign  of  1890.  There  is  not  a  single  one  of  the  many 
great  States  organized  into  this  grand  agricultural  demand  for 
"  Equal  rights  to  all  and  special  privileges  to  none,"  that  would 
take  from  Kansas  an  iota  of  the  credit  she  may  justly  claim.  If 
this  Alliance  Movement  originated  in  Kansas,  well  and  good ; 
she  has  proved  herself  worthy  of  that  honor. 

The  history  of  the  movement  in  New  York  has  been  given  in 
another  chapter,  and  will  doubtless  be  read  with  interest  in  con- 
nection with  the  above.  It  is  to  the  Alliance  in  Texas  that  the 
attention  of  the  reader  is  invited.  To  the  brethren  in  Texas 
belongs  the  credit  and  everlasting  honor  of  placing  the  Far- 
mers' Alliance  before  the  country  and  the  world.  To  them  the 
toilers  of  the  earth  can  bow  in  gratitude,  for  originating,  through 
distress,  organizing  under  great  difficulties,  and  perfecting  with 
consummate  wisdom,  the  most  powerful  reform  organization  that 
has  ever  been  known  in  the  history  of  the  race.  All  hail  to  the 
grand  State  of  Texas,  the  mother  and  protector  of  the  Alliance ! 

The  wave  of  civilization  and  development  swept  the  world, 
from  east  to  west ;  and  when  it  reached  the  western  border,  it 
was  reflected  back  as  a  great  reform  movement.  It  is  the  reflex 
wave  of  a  higher  civilization  which  promises  to  improve  all  exist- 
ing countries,  as  the  present  civilization  improved  upon  barbar- 
ism ;  the  difference  being  that  the  march  of  civilization  apprised 
the  world  of  the  use  of  power,  and  this  great  reform  movement 
is  to  teach  the  world  the  power  of  justice. 

The  credit  due  to  those  who  participated  in  the  first  struggles 
of  the  Farmers'  Alliance  is  not  as  great  as  the  present  size  and 
^  importance  of  the  order  would  indicate.  It  was  started  as  a 
local  organization,  for  local  purposes,  and  has  developed  by  the 
work  it  has  been  called  upon  to  perform.  The  earliest  concep- 
tion of  its  object  seems  to  have  been  to  organize  landowners  to 
resist  the  efforts  of  land-sharks,  who  set  up  fraudulent  titles  to 
their  lands,  and  brought  suit  to  either  dispossess  the  owner  or 
secure  from  him  a  payment  for  a  compromise.  A  great  amount 
of  land  litigation  of  this  kind  was  rife  in  Texas,  on  account  of 
grants  claimed  to  have  been  issued  by  the  Mexican  government, 
prior  to  the  independence  of  Texas. 


14  AGRICULTURAL    ORGANIZATIONS. 

The  next  purpose  of  this  order  seems  to  have  been  to  organize 
cattle  and  horse  rescuers,  so  as  to  enable  them  to  detect  and  catch 
thieves,  and  to  find  estrays.  At  that  time  one  of  the  declara- 
tions of  purposes  was,  "To  assist  the  civil  officers  in  maintain- 
ing law  and  order."  This  was  very  important  to  the  whole 
people  of  Texas.  At  that  time  gangs  of  horse-thieves  were 
stealing  horses  and  running  them  through  the  country.  It  was 
necessary  that  the  sheriff  should  know  whom  to  trust.  The 
Alliance  had  in  its  secret  work  a  formula  for  catching  a  horse- 
thief.  It  is  not  now  in  use.  Sheriffs  knew  that  Alliance  men 
could  be  depended  upon  to  help  them.  If  a  horse-thief  stopped 
for  the  night  with  an  Alliance  man,  he  always  entertained  him, 
and  if  the  sheriff  was  on  his  track,  he  did  not  have  to  confer 
with  the  Alliance  man  to  secure  his  co-operation.  They  had 
signals  and  hailing  signs  for  that  purpose. 

For  the  purpose  of  finding  estrayed  cattle,  the  State  Alliance 
of  Texas  adopted  a  brand  which  all  members  placed  on  the 
necks  of  their  cattle,  in  addition  to  their  regular  brand.  If  a 
stray  came  into  a  neighborhood,  with  the  Alliance  brand  upon 
it,  it  would  be  reported  at  the  next  meeting  of  the  Alliance,  and 
the  secretary  would  sen4  a  list  of  such  strays  to  the  State  Secre- 
tary, who,  by  referring  to  his  record  of  brands,  was  enabled  to 
notify  the  owners  where  to  go  to  get  their  cattle. 

As  the  Alliance  spread  into  districts  more  devoted  to  farm- 
ing, its  members  were  not  so  much  exercised  about  their 
lands  or  their  stock,  but  felt  most  oppressed  by  the  excessive 
prices"  which  they  were  compelled  to  pay  for  the  commodities 
they  bought,  and  the  low  prices  they  received  for  the  produce 
they  had  for  sale.  The  great  discrepancy  between  the  mar- 
kets of  the  world  and  their  home  markets  led  them  to 
believe  that  organization  and  co-operation  on  their  part  would 
enable  them  to  buy  cheaper  and  sell  dearer.  The  universal 
establishment  of  the  credit  system  had  abolished  all  compe- 
tition in  merchandizing,  and  had  given  the  merchant  who 
possessed  the  necessary  means,  or  the  credit,  a  practical  mo- 
nopoly in  both  buying  and  selling.  Like  all  other  monopolists, 
such  merchants  found  themselves  constantly  deciding,  on  the 
one  hand,  between  their  greed  and  avarice,  and,  on  the  other, 
how  much  oppression  the  people  would  bear.     This  naturally 


UNRECORDED  HISTORY.  1 5 

but  surely  developed  conditions  destructive  to  the  perpetuation 
of  such  a  system. 

The  conditions  under  which  the  people  were  living  were  so 
unequal  and  distressing  that  the  idea  of  relief  from  some  source 
became  the  general  theme  of  conversation.  It  was  discovered 
at  all  times  and  under  nearly  all  circumstances,  and  resulted  in 
an  effort  to  bring  about  the  reforms  that  were  unmistaka- 
bly needed.  The  Alliance  of  Texas  originated  in  Lampasas 
County,  about  fifteen  miles  north  of  the  present  village  of  Lam- 
pasas. The  date  of  the  first  organization  is  given  as  some  time 
in  1874  or  1875.  There  is  considerable  vagueness  about  the 
date  of  its  formation,  which  doubtless  is  unknown  at  the  present 
time.  It  was  probably  the  result,  as  an  old  member  states,  of 
an  attempt  to  formulate  a  plan  for  purchasing  supplies,  that  was 
made  directly  after  the  panic  of  1873.  This  attempt  led  to  a 
partial  organization  of  a  sort  of  farmers'  club,  which  enabled 
those  early  settlers  to  consult  together  in  matters  of  mutual 
interest. 

The  financial  disasters  of  that  period  drove  many  northern 
people  to  the  West  and  South,  and  quite  a  number  settled  in 
this  portion  of  Texas.  The  feeling  engendered  by  the  war  had 
not  fully  died  out,  and  there  was  a  certain  restraint  between  the 
newcomers  from  the  North  and  the  old  settlers,  which  was 
quite  plainly  seen  at  certain  times.  Soon,  however,  a  common 
danger  threatened  all  alike.  What  is  known  as  the  land-shark 
made  his  appearance,  and  with  him  came  litigation  over  land- 
titles.  Expensive  law-suits  followed,  which  the  impoverished 
settler  could  not  stand.  Settlements  were  made  with  one  set 
of  these  people,  only  to  be  repeated  by  others  of  similar  charac- 
ter, until  forbearance  ceased  to  be  a  virtue,  and  a  determination 
to  unite  upon  some  plan  of  defence  began  to  obtain  among 
them.  Nothing  was  more  natural  than  recourse  to  those  trade 
clubs,  which  had  fallen  into  disuse  to  a  large  extent.  After  dis- 
cussing the  situation  thoroughly,  it  was  decided  to  use  peaceful 
means,  if  possible,  but  to  defend  their  homes  at  all  hazards. 
Here  were  men  from  the  North  and  South  banding  together  for 
mutual  protection,  under  the  name  Land  League,  which  soon 
took  the  more  proper  designation  of  Farmers'  Alliance.  The 
old  members  of  these  organizations  point  with  pride  to  the  fact 


1 6  AGRICULTURAL    ORGANIZATIONS. 

that  this  was  the  first  formal  burial  of  the  '*  bloody  shirt,"  and 
the  first  acknowledged  alhance  between  the  sections.  The 
land-sharks  were  told  in  plain  terms  that  further  difficulties 
would  be  settled  with  Winchesters  and  revolvers.  These  or- 
ganizations soon  made  use  of  the  safeguard  of  secrecy,  and 
formulated  certain  signs,  grips,  and  passwords.  These  were 
improved  upon  as  time  passed,  until  a  ritual  with  three  degrees 
was  adopted,  together  with  a  declaration  of  principles,  constitu- 
tions, and  by-laws. 

The  question  of  land-titles  was  not  the  only  one  that  con- 
fronted these  pioneers.  Cattle  and  horse  thieves  infested  the 
country  and  committed  depredations  continually,  to  the  great 
loss  and  annoyance  of  the  people.  A  united  action  against  these 
outlaws  was  instituted  through  these  organizations,  and  pushed 
with  vigor.  One  of  the  degrees  of  the  Alliance,  at  that  time, 
consisted  of  a  minute  description  of  the  methods  of  capturing 
a  horse-thief.  It  described  the  duties  of  the  officer  in  pursuit, 
and  the  farmer  at  whose  house  the  thief  might  be  stopping ;  just 
what  the  wife  must  do,  how  she  must  hold  the  candle  so  as  to 
guide  the  officer  to  the  room  of  the  thief,  and  at  the  same  time 
shield  him  from  view ;  the  signals  that  could  be  given  at  certain 
times,  and  the  firing  of  a  gun  or  revolver,  or  blowing  a  horn  at 
others,  in  order  to  caution  and  give  information.  Many  a  horse 
and  cattle  thief  has  known  to  his  sorrow  how  completely  and 
successfully  the  lesson  of  this  degree  has  been  acted  upon. 

Of  course  it  required  some  time  to  perfect  the  organization, 
crude  as  it  was.  The  first  three  clubs,  as  they  were  called, 
were  organized  in  Lampasas  County ;  the  fourth  club  was  organ- 
ized in  Hamilton  County,  joining  Lampasas  on  the  north,  at 
some  point  on  Partridge  Creek.  This  club  took  the  name  of 
Partridge  Creek  Alliance,  and  is  believed  by  many  to  have  been 
the  first  to  adopt  that  name.  It  must  be  remembered  that  it 
was  purely  an  organization  of  farmers,  and  they  being  few  in 
numbers,  and  much  scattered,  its  growth  was  necessarily  slow. 
Its  effects  were  felt  at  once  by  the  lawless,  adventurous  portion 
of  the  community,  being  the  first  moral  and  material  support 
that  the  officers  of  the  law  could  depend  ujDon  in  that  border 
county. 

Captain  L.  S.  Chavose  seems  to  have  been  a  prominent  organ- 


I 


UNRECORDED  HISTORY.  1 7 

izer  in  this  movement.  He  did  much  in  bringing  about  the 
development  of  the  order  in  Lampasas,  Hamilton,  and  Coryell 
counties.  Having  originated  in  Lampasas  County,  its  great- 
est increase  was  in  that  county.  In  fact,  this  first  attempt  at 
organization  never  extended  beyond  the  three  counties  named 
above.  The  first  meeting  of  the  Grand  County  Alliance  was 
held  at  Pleasant  Valley,  Lampasas  County,  February  22,  1878. 
Captain  L.  S.  Chavose,  President ;  W.  C.  Gober,  A.  A.  Carter, 
D.  T.  W.  Nance,  W.  B.  Weir,  John  R.  Allen,  W.  T.  Baggett,  and 
William  Thompson  were  also  members  of  this  County  Alliance. 
These  gentlemen  were  officers  in  the  County  Alliance ;  also  a 
committee  to  form  a  Grand  State  Alliance.  Their  respective 
offices  I  am  unable  to  give.  One  old  member  puts  the  number 
of  alliances  in  this  county  at  nineteen,  and  another  at  thirteen. 
Doubtless  neither  is  absolutely -correct.  Captain  L.  S.  Chavose 
turned  over  the  work  in  Hamilton  County  to  J.  H.  Myers, 
who  succeeded  in  perfecting  an  organization  on  Little  Cow- 
house Creek,  and  another  on  Neel's  Creek.  After  these  were 
organized,  the  first  County  Alliance  was  held  with  the  Par- 
tridge Creek  Alliance.  This  was  in  the  spring  of  1878.  The 
officers  were,  Yancey  Pierce,  President ;  H.  Carter,  Vice-Presi- 
dent ;  T.  E.  Glover,  Secretary ;  J.  H.  Myers,  Lecturer  and  Or- 
ganizer. 

Some  time  after  this  a  co-operative  meeting  was  held  with  the 
Lampasas  County  Alliance,  on  School  Creek,  at  which  meeting 
considerable'  business  of  importance  was  transacted,  and  an 
organizer  sent  into  Coryell  County,  who  succeeded  in  organizing 
a  few  alliances  there.  I  have  been  unable  to  find  the  names 
of  the  County  Alliance  officers,  and  it  is  said  that  there  never 
was  a  county  organization  perfected  in  that  county.  Evan 
Brooks,  D.  White,  W.  White,  W.  T.  Baggett,  and  H.  Lankford 
were  members  of  the  order  in  that  county.  As  said  before,  the 
order  was  confined  to  these  three  counties. 

The  Grand  State  Alliance  was  organized  at  Pleasant  Valley, 
Lampasas  County,  May  4,  1878,  with  the  following  officers: 
L.  S.  Chavose,  President ;  J.  W.  Reeves,  Secretary ;  W.  W.  Say- 
lor.  Treasurer ;  W.  T.  Baggett,  Doorkeeper ;  W.  Rodgers  and 
H.  Dobbins,  Delegates.  The  constitution  called  for  two  other 
officers  called  ''Grand  Smokeys."     These  were  kept  secret  from 


1 8  AGRICULTURAL    ORGANIZATIONS. 

all  save  the  president.     Their  peculiar  functions  have  been  for- 
gotten. 

This  Grand  State  Alliance  held  another  meeting,  in  1879, 
which  proved  to  be  the  last.  This  body  adopted  a  declaration 
of  principles,  which  forms  the  basis  of  those  upon  which  the 
Alliance  stands  to-day.  It  adopted  a  constitution  which  con- 
formed to  the  times,  and  the  three  degrees  of  the  order.  Had 
it  not  been  for  an  unwillingness  on  the  part  of  the  members  to 
wait  the  results  of  education,  it  might  have  prospered  instead  of 
being  a  failure.  Politics  was  permitted  to  creep  in,  and  the  usual 
disaster  followed.  The  Greenback  campaign  of  1876  started  a 
movement  in  Texas  which  culminated  in  1878.  Our  pioneer 
brethren  mistook  the  dangers  of  agitation  for  the  real  fruits  of 
education,  and  some  of  them  cast  their  lot  with  that  reform 
movement.  This  made  bitter  dissensions  in  the  order,  and  led 
to  its  immediate  destruction.  These  brethren  were  actuated 
by  right  motives,  but  their  methods  were  unfortunate.  As  soon 
as  their  determination  to  enter  politics  was  known,  the  domi- 
nant party  took  effective  measures  to  crush  the  life  out  of  the 
movement.  This  disaster  has  served  a  good  purpose,  as  a  warn- 
ing to  the  present  organization. 

There  are  many  incidents  that  might  be  given,  in  relation  to 
this  initial  movement,  that  would  no  doubt  be  interesting,  but^ 
space  will  not  permit  their  relation.  Suffice  it  to  say,  that  these 
pioneer  brethren  were  honest,  earnest,  and  brave  ;  that  they  laid 
the  foundation  upon  which  the  present  grand  superstructure  has 
been  built.  This  first  effort  was  necessary,  and  no  doubt  its 
failure  was  a  blessing  in  disguise.  When  the  final  triumph  of 
ultimate  truth  shall  be  proclaimed  throughout  the  land,  no  one 
will  refuse  to  render  to  these  brethren  the  full  meed  of  praise  to 
which  they  are  so  justly  entitled. 

In  the  spring  of  1879,  W.  T.  Baggett,  a  member  of  one  of  the 
first  alliances  in  Coryell  County,  moved  into  Parker  County, 
taking  with  him  some  of  the  printed  matter  connected  with 
these  organizations.  He  began  teaching  school  at  Poolville,  and 
also  to  discuss  matters  relating  to  the  Alliance  in  the  section 
from  which  he  came.  The  failure  in  Lampasas  County,  and 
the  political  tendency  of  the  order,  made  it  very  difficult  to  do 
anything  in  the  way  of  organization.     Finally,  in  connection 


UNRECORDJED  HISTORY.  1 9 

with  J.  N.  Montgomery,  J.  W.  Sullivan,  J.  T.  Reeves,  Jefferson 
Womack,  George  W.  McKibbens,  and  a  few  others,  the  prelim- 
inary meeting  was  held  at  Poolville,  Parker  County,  July  29, 
1879.  The  old  Lampasas  declaration  of  principles  was  amended 
so  as  to  eUminate  the  political  features,  and  the  Alliance  started 
out  as  a  non-partisan  organization. 

Parker  and  adjoining  counties  were  largely  settled  by  enter- 
prising farmers  from  the  North  and  East.  These  men  watched 
earnestly  the  progress  of  the  organization,  until  they  were  con- 
vinced that  it  must  do  good,  and  intended  good  to  their  fellow- 
man,  and  that  it  had  already  accomplished  much  good,  and  could 
accomplish  more  if  they  would  join  in  the  well-begun  work, 
which  they  did,  and  thus  was  the  Alliance  formed,  and  from 
that  day  to  the  present  it  has  retained  the  name  Farmers'  Alli- 
ance. A  second  Alliance  was  soon  formed  at  Central,  Parker 
County,  and  a  third  in  Jack  County.  From  this  the  order  grew 
in  numbers,  until  it  was  thought  best  to  perfect  a  State  organi- 
zation. 

It  will  be  noticed  that  there  were  no  county  organizations. 
It  was  at  that  time  thought  best  to  conduct  it  with  a  machinery 
similar  to  that  of  the  Knights  of  Labor.  This  idea  was  aban- 
doned, probably  on  account  of  the  establishment  of  county  trade 
agencies.  There  were  a  number  of  meetings  held  during  the 
summer  of  1879,  previous  to  the  State  meeting,  but  they  are 
hardly  worth  the  space  for  details,  as  the  meetings  of  the  State 
Alliance,  which  convened  monthly,  disclose  all  their  methods 
and  purposes.  The  men  who  founded  the  last  Alliance  profited 
by  the  disasters  which  overtook  the  first,  and  thereby  rendered 
a  service  to  the  present  organization,  for  which  they  deserve  the 
thanks  of  all  those  who  labor,  wherever  found. 


CHAPTER    III. 

HISTORY    OF    THE   ALLIANCE    IN    TEXAS. 

Happily  for  those  who  may  desire  an  authentic  history  of 
the  early  days  of  the  Alliance,  I  have  been  so  fortunate  as  to 
obtain  possession  of  the  original  record  books  of  the  State  Sec- 
retary, dating  from  December  27,  1879,  ^^  February  5,  1884, 
containing  full  and  complete  data  concerning  those  early  times. 
It  is  a  matter  of  pleasure  as  well  as  of  curiosity  to  note  the 
incipient  efforts  made,  seemingly  with  but  little  forethought, 
that  have  finally  culminated  in  the  grand  movement  for  agri- 
cultural reform,  that  is  to-day  the  wonder  of  the  age,  and  the 
admiration  of  all  who  labor  in  production. 

Shakespeare  says :  -:— 

*•  There's  a  divinity  that  shapes  our  ends, 
Rough-hew  them  how  we  will." 

In  contemplating  the  inception,  the  first  failure,  the  second 
attempt,  the  trials,  repulses,  dismal  prospects,  and  final  triumphs 
of  the  Alliance,  all  must  admit  that  the  hand  of  Omnipotence 
can  be  clearly  discerned.  No  cause  unaided  by  God  could  have 
withstood  the  mistakes,  bad  management,  vicious  foes,  and  trai- 
torous friends,  and  come  out  purified,  stronger,  and  better  for  the 
ordeal,  as  has  the  Alliance.  Whatever  its  future  may  be,  what- 
ever may  be  the  results  of  its  teachings,  those  of  the  present,  as 
well  as  those  who  are  to  come  after  us,  are  and  will  be  inter- 
ested in  its  early  history  and  methods. 

The  record  that  lies  before  me  states  that  ''  The  Grand  State 
Alliance  met  at  Central,  December  27,  1879.  President  J.  N. 
Montgomery  called  the  house  to  order,  and  declared  the  body 
ready  for  business."  No  further  minutes  of  this  meeting  are 
recorded.  Immediately  follows  the  statement  that  the  Grand 
State  AHiance  met  at  Poolville,  January  10,  1880;  at  New  Hope 
Church,  January  24;  at  Central,  February  21 ;  at  Shiloah,  March 
13;^  at  Shiloah,  April  10.  The  next  meeting  was  at  Jasper 
20 


THE  ALLIANCE  IN  TEXAS.  21 

Creek,  of  which  there  is  a  complete  record.  It  should  be 
remembered  that  only  twelve  Sub-Alliances  had  been  organized 
during  the  entire  year,  or,  from  the  date  of  the  first  meeting, 
July  29,  1879,  to  June  12,  1880.  To  be  sure,  the  meetings  had 
been  frequent,  but  the  results  had  not  been  satisfactory,  in 
regard  to  the  increase  in  numbers.  An  old  member  writes  that 
party  prejudice,  and  the  failure  in  Lampasas  County,  made 
organizing  almost  impossible  ;  that  the  meetings  were  poorly 
attended,  and  a  sort  of  general  distrust  prevailed  against  the 
order. 

Under  these  conditions,  the  growth  of  the  order  was  of  neces- 
sity slow.  Brother  S.  O.  Daws,  a  member  of  Alliance  No.  13, 
in  his  excellent  "History  of  the  Origin  of  the  Alliance,"  says 
that  the  first  State  meeting  of  the  Alliance  was  held  at  Central, 
Parker  County,  late  in  1879.  That  meeting  is  doubtless  the 
one  referred  to  as  being  held  December  27,  of  that  year.  The 
minutes  of  these  meetings  are  said  to  be  in  existence,  although 
the  fact  is  disputed  upon  good  authority,  and  the  charge  made 
that  all  such  data  have  been  manufactured  since  the  order  has 
assumed  considerable  proportions.  Be  this  as  it  may,  it  is  a 
matter  of  but  little  importance.  The  first  officers  of  the  Grand 
State  Alliance,  from  January  i,  1880,  to  July  of  the  same  year, 
were  as  follows :  W.  T.  Baggett,  President ;  J.  N.  Montgomery, 
Vice-President ;  J.  H.  Dover,  Secretary  ;  George  McKibben,  As- 
sistant Secretary;  G.  B.  Patton,  Lecturer;  John  W.  Sullivan, 
Treasurer ;  William  Shadle,  Doorkeeper ;  A.  E.  Robertson,  As- 
sistant Doorkeeper ;  J.  F.  Hood,  Chaplain ;  C.  C.  Pope,  Assist- 
ant Chaplain.  Below  is  the  full  text  of  the  first  bond  given  by 
an  officer  of  the  Alliance,  and  it  will  doubtless  be  read  with 
interest.  Its  amount  —  $250  —  seems  rather  small  when  com- 
pared with  the  last  bond  given  by  the  National  Treasurer.  Its 
date  places  it  within  the  first  seven  months  of  the  existence  of 
the  order.  It  is  doubtless  the  oldest  authentic  document  relat- 
ing to  the  business  of  the  Farmers'  Alliance. 

"  State  of  Texas 
"Parker  County 

*'  Know  all  men  by  these  presents  That  I  John  W  Sullivan  as  Principal  and 
A  E  Robertson  and  J  S  Reeves  his  assurities  are  held  and  firmly  bound  unto 
the  Grand  State  Alliance  in  the  sum  of  $250  Dollars  to  the  payment  of  which 


22  AGRICULTURAL    ORGANIZATIONS. 

well  and  truly  to  be  made  we  bind  ourselves  our  heirs  and  legal  Representa- 
tives Jointly  and  severaly  &  firmly  by  these  presents  In  Witness  where  of  we 
have  hereunto  subscribed  our  Names  and  affixed  scrolls  for  seals  this  the  21st 
day  of  February  A  D  1880 

•'  The  conditions  of  the  above  obligation  are  as  follows  to  Wit  where  as  the 
above  bounden  principal  John  W  Sullivan  shall  and  truly  well  pay  over  all 
money  belonging  to  the  grand  State  Alliance  and  make  Reports  of  all  money 
that  may  be  paid  into  his  hands  to  the  Secretary  of  the  Grand  State  Alliance 
this  bond  shall  be  null  &  void  otherwise  to  Remain  in  full  force  &  effect 

"J.  W.  Sullivan 
"John  S.  Reeves 
'♦A.  E.  Robertson 

"The  above  bond  examined  and  approved  this  February  the  21st  A  D  1880 

•*W.  T.  Baggett,  Pres. 
♦*  J.  H.  Dover,  Secretary:' 

It  must  be  remembered  that  the  Grand  State  Alliance  con- 
sisted more  in  its  title  than  in  its  membership  or  importance, 
since  it  sometimes  held  its  meetings  at  a  country  school-house, 
with  perhaps  five  or  ten  delegates  from  adjacent  Alliances. 
Business  was  completed  usually  in  one  day,  and  the  outside 
world  took  but  little  interest  in  its  affairs.  It  gradually  grew  in 
members  and  developed  a  plan  of  campaign,  as  well  as  a  code  of 
principles  that  began  to  attract  the  attention  of  the  best  class  of 
farmers  in  that  part  of  the  State.  Organization  among  the 
agricultural  portion  of  the  people  was  such  a  prime  necessity 
that  no  effort  in  that  direction,  of  very  long  continuance,  could 
remain  unsuccessful.  Our  early  brethren  acted  upon  this  belief, 
and  seemed  to  be  more  anxious  to  start  right,  with  proper  rules, 
regulations,  and  sound  doctrine,  than  to  gain  members.  They 
fully  realized,  no  doubt,  that  correct  methods  and  just  principles 
would  bring  a  sufficient  membership,  and  ultimately  lead  to  suc- 
cess ;  while  a  large  following,  guided  by  an  ill-advised  system 
and  a  false  doctrine,  must  sooner  or  later  end  in  disaster.  That 
these  brethren  acted  wisely,  the  present  status  of  the  order  is 
ample  proof. 

It  must  also  be  remembered  that  these  brethren  were  farmers, 
compelled  to  do  their  thinking  amid  the  daily  efforts  of  hard 
labor ;  that  they  were  not  trained  in  the  school  of  political 
economy,  and  were,  therefore,  unacquainted  with  the  fine-spun 


/  OF  THF.  \ 

I  uisiivERsn 

TBE  ALLIANCE  IN  TEXAS.         "'  23 

theories  which  emanate  from  such  a  source.  They  were  taught 
in  that  greater  school  of  experience,  nurtured  and  broadened  by 
grim  necessity ;  and  they  formulated  certain  methods  to  better 
their  condition,  through  such  means  and  by  such  guides  as  a 
kind  Providence  has  given  to  deserving  men.  Their  business 
was  conducted  with  a  directness  that  admitted  of  no  mistake, 
and  their  resolutions  and  demands  were  drawn  with  that  candor 
which  admitted  of  only  one  construction.  They  practised  direct 
methods,  and,  as  a  natural  result,  met  with  deserved  success. 
The  minutes  of  the  first  recorded  meeting  are  given  below  :  — 

"  Proceedings  of  the  Grand  State  Alliance   of  Texas,   held  at 
Jasper  Creek,  June  12,  1880. 

•*  President  W.  T.  Baggett  called  the  house  to  order.  The  Assistant  Door- 
keeper being  absent,  J.  S.  V/elch  was  appointed  in  his  place,  and  ordered 
to  take  up  the  word,  finding  all  persons  correct.  The  Alliance  was  opened 
in  due  form.  W.  T.  Baggett,  President,  J.  N.  Montgomery,  Vice-President, 
J.  H.  Dover,  Secretary,  G.  B.  Patton,  Lecturer,  A.  E.  Robertson,  Door- 
keeper, answered  to  roll  call.  J.  W.  Sullivan,  Treasurer,  absent.  Excuse 
rendered  by  W.  T.  Baggett.  William  Shadle,  Assistant  Doorkeeper,  no 
excuse :  fined  50  cents.  George  McKibbins,  absent ;  excuse  rendered  by 
W.  T.  Baggett.  President  appointed  committee  to  examine  credentials, 
consisting  of  J.  N.  Montgomery  and  G.  B.  Patton,  who  reported  for  No.  i, 
nothing;  No.  2,  B.  F.  Hemphill,  G.  M.  Plumlee,  and  W.  P.  Stone.  James 
W.  Sullivan,  excuse  rendered  and  received;  No.  3,  S.  M.  Welch  and  W.  H. 
Chancelor;  No.  4,  blank;  No.  5,  defunct;  No.  6,  J.  S.  Reeves;  No.  7, 
blank;  No.  8,  F.  Fridley,  present,  Y.  M.  Pullen,  absent:  fined  50  cents;  No. 
9,  J.  A.  Culwell ;  No.  10,  blank;  No.  11,  C.  F.  Kinconon ;  No.  12,  blank. 

•'  On  motion  of  G.  B.  Patton  and  G.  M.  Plumlee,  J.  S.  Cox  was  permitted 
to  represent  Boon's  Creek,  No.  4.  On  motion  of  Fred  Fridley  and  J.  S. 
Reeves,  lecturing  was  postponed  until  business  was  over.  On  motion  of  F. 
Fridley  and  A.  E.  Robertson,  each  Sub-Alliance  was  appointed  a  committee 
to  revise  the  constitution,  and  report  the  same  at  the  next  meeting  at  Goshen. 
On  motion  of  J.  S.  Reeves  and  G.  M.  Plumlee,  all  Sub-Alliances  failing  to 
send  up  marks  and  brands  of  their  members,  and  estray  lists,  would  not  be 
allowed  representation  in  the  next  meeting  of  the  Grand  State  Alliance. 
Adjourned  for  dinner. 

' '  After  dinner  financial  reports  showed :  — 

Jasper  Creek,  No.  3,.  paid $.50 

Garrett's  Creek,  No.  4,  paid 2.00 

Mt.  Pleasant,  No.  9,  paid 2.75 

Peaster's  Springs,  No.  6,  paid 20 

Wright's  School  House,  No.  12,  paid 1-75 


24  AGRICULTURAL    ORGANIZATIONS, 

Goshen,  No.  8,  paid $3.35 

Shiloah,  No.  7,  paid 60 

Central,  No.  2,  paid 2.00 

Total  amount  paid $13-15 

"  On  motion  of  G.  M.  Plumlee  and  J.  S.  Reeves,  the  Secretary  was  ordered 
to  buy  books,  stationery,  etc.,  useful  to  his  office,  with  the  money  on  hand. 
On  motion  of  G.  B.  Patton  and  A.  E.  Robertson,  the  Secretary  was  allowed 
one  dollar  per  month,  from  January,  1880.  On  motion  of  J.  A.  Culwell  and 
John  Stratton,  each  member  was  allowed  to  retain  one  dollar  for  each  Alliance 
organized  by  him.  On  motion  of  J.  N.  Montgomery  and  J.  A.  Culwell, 
voted  that  each  member  that  had  organized  Alliances  be  paid.  W.  T.  Baggett 
had  organized  about  9,  but  only  claimed  $2.25  which  he  had  spent,  which  was 
ordered  paid.  On  motion  of  J.  A.  Culwell  and  J.  H.  Dover,  L.  G.  Oxford 
was  empowered  to  organize  Alliances  until  July  16.  On  motion  of  C.  F. 
Kinconon  and  J.  S.  Cox,  Fred  Fridley  was  empowered  to  organize  until 
July  16.  On  motion  of  G.  M.  Plumlee  and  John  Stratton,  J.  S.  Welch  was 
empowered  to  organize  until  July  16.  There  being  no  other  business,  the 
Alliance  adjourned  to  hear  a  public  lecturer,  to  meet  at  Goshen,  July  15  and 
16,  1880. 

(Signed)  "W.  T.  Baggett,  President, 

♦•J.  H.  Dover,  Secretary!'^ 

The  above  is  a  literal  transcript  of  the  minutes  of  the  Grand 
State  Alliance  of  Texas,  as  recorded  in  the  Secretary's  book. 
It  discloses  but  twelve  Sub-Alliances,  with  four  of  them  unrep- 
resented. The  methods  of  doing  business,  while  somewhat 
peculiar,  were  straightforward,  and  appear  to  have  been  quite 
satisfactory.  The  names  and  location  of  these  twelve  Sub- 
Alliances  were :  — 

Poolville,  Parker  County No.    i 

Central,  Parker  County "       2 

•Jasper  Creek,  Jack  County "      3 

Boon  Creek,  Jack  County "      4 

College  Hill,  Parker  County «      5 

Peaster's  Springs,  Parker  County .  "      6 

Shiloah,  Parker  County "      7 

Goshen,  Parker  County "      8 

Mt.  Pleasant,  Wise  County "      9 

Springtown,  Parker  County "10 

Garrett  Creek,  Wise  County "11 

Wright's  School  House,  Parker  County "12 

From  this  it  is  seen  that  the  order  had  made  but  little  prog- 
ress outside  of  Parker  County.     The  next  meeting  was  held  at 


I 


THE  ALLIANCE  IN  TEXAS.  25 

Goshen,  on  the  i6th  of  July,  1880.  Four  new  Alliances  had 
been  organized  since  the  last  meeting,  three  in  Wise  County, 
and  one  in  Parker.  Considerable  business  of  importance  was 
transacted  at  this  meeting.  A  test  oath  was  formulated,  and 
a  large  number  of  amendments  to  the  constitution  were  offered, 
and  laid  over,  under  the  rules,  until  the  next  meeting.  The  fol- 
lowing are  the  minutes  as  taken  from  the  record :  — 

"The  Grand  State  Alliance  met  at  Goshen,  Parker  County,  July  i6th, 
1880.  W.  T.  Baggett,  President,  called  the  house  to  order  and  ordered  the 
word  taken  up.  Finding  all  correct,  opened  the  Alliance  in  the  third  degree. 
Roll  call;  W.  T.  Baggett,  President,  J.  N.  Montgomery,  Vice-President, 
J.  H.  Dover,  Secretary,  J.  W.  Sullivan,  Treasurer,  answered  to  roll  call. 
G.  B.  Patton,  Lecturer,  absent;  excuse  rendered  by  G.  C.  Span,  and  the 
same  received  by  the  Alliance.  George  McKibbins  absent ;  fined  50  cents. 
A.  E.. Robertson  absent;  fined  50  cents.  William  Shadle  absent;  fined  50 
cents.  The  Secretary  ordered  to  notify  William  Shadle  he  was  due  50  cents 
for  non-attendance  at  Jasper  Creek,  June  12th.  Appointed  a  committee  to 
examine  credentials,  consisting  of  J.  N.  Montgomery  and  J.  W.  Sullivan, 
who  reported,  for  No.  i,  nothing ;  for  No.  2,  W.  J.  Sullivan,  B.  F.  Hemphill, 
F.  M.  Brown,  and  J.  W.  Potts ;  No.  3,  J.  S.  Welch  and  R.  Lyons ;  No.  4,  — ; 
No.  5,  —  ;  No.  6,  Sam  Guerry;  No.  7,  A.  S.  Brown;  No.  8,  J.  C.  Gilliland 
and  J.  M.  Parker;  No.  9,  L.  G.  Oxford  and  J.  A.  Culwell;  No.  10,  nothing; 
No.  II,  T.  M.  Culwell;  No.  12,  G.  C.  Span;  No.  13,  O.  G.  Peterson;  No. 
14,  W.  P.  Gilliland;  No.  15,  — ;  No.  16, — .  Lecturing  by  W.  T.  Baggett. 
Adjourned  for  dinner,  to  meet  at  2  o'clock  p.m.  Met  at  2  p.m.  A  committee 
consisting  of  Fred  Fridley,  John  Boss,  H.  Rechburgh,  to  examine  and  com- 
pare estray  list.  Then  a  letter  from  George  McCormick,  Attorney  General, 
was  read. 

"New  business,  amendment  to  Art.  i,  Sec.  i,  by  L.  G.  Oxford,  on  mo- 
tion of  O.  G.  Peterson  and  J.  A.  Culwell,  tabled;  by  O.  G,  Peterson  to 
Art.  3,  Sec.  2,  3,  and  4,  tabled ;  by  L.  G.  Oxford  to  Art.  4,  Sec.  2,  tabled ; 
by  O.  G.  Peterson,  resolution,  tabled;  L.  G.  Oxford  to  Art.  4,  Sec.  5,  tabled; 
by  Dr.  O.  G.  Peterson,  supplement,  tabled ;  next,  by  O.  G.  Peterson,  supple- 
ment, tabled;  next,  amendment  of  J.  N.  Montgomery,  tabled;  (April  the  loth 
brought  up  and  became  a  law).     Adjourned  to  meet  at  7  p.m. 

"After  supper  roll  call  dispensed  with.  Estray  list  read  by  Fred  Fridley. 
On  motion  of  G.  C.  Span  and  J.  H.  Dover,  non-members  of  the  Farmers' 
Alliance  pay  50  cents  per  head  for  finding  stock  through  Farmers'  Alliance ; 
next  by  Dr.  O.  G.  Peterson,  supplements,  tabled  ;  by  Dr.  Peterson,  resolutions, 
tabled.  A  motion  to  adjourn  to  meet  to-morrow  at  9  a.m.  Met  at  9  a.m. 
Saturday.  Roll  call ;  four  officers  absent ;  six  delegates  absent.  On  motion 
of  J.  S.  Welch  and  Dr.  Peterson,  to  rescind  an  act  passed  yesterday,  charging 
non-members  50  cents  a  head  for  finding  stock.  Resolution  by  J.  S.  Welch, 
tabled.     On  motion  of  J.  H.  Dover  and  Dr.  Peterson,  the  President  be  em- 


26  AGRICULTURAL    ORGANIZATIONS. 

powered  to  appoint  a  committee  to  organize  Farmers'  Alliances  until  Decem- 
ber, i88o-  On  motion  of  Dr.  Peterson  and  J.  H.  Dover,  the  President  ap- 
pointed a  committee  to  frame  a  test  oath.  Test  oath  received  and  committee 
discharged.  By  J.  N.  Montgomery,  a  supplement,  tabled.  The  President 
appointed  a  committee  to  criticise  the  constitution  and  correct  it,  —  L.  G. 
Oxford,  J.  N.  Montgomery,  G.  B.  Patton,  and  Dr.  O.  G.  Peterson.  W.  T. 
Baggett  added.  Election  of  officers.  W.  T.  Baggett  was  nominated  and 
elected  by  acclamation.  For  Vice-President,  J.  N.  Montgomery,  3  votes; 
L.  G.  Oxford,  3  votes;  O.  G.  Peterson,  3  votes.  For  Secretary,  J.  H.  Dover, 
15  ;  G.  W.  Bond,  4;  Assistant  Secretary,  G.  W.  Bond,  13  ;  J.  C.  Gilliland,  6. 
Lecturer,  L.  C.  W.  Patton,  2 ;  J.  A.  Culwell  8,  and  Dr.  O.  G.  Peterson,  2 ; 
J.  C.  Gilliland,  2.  Assistant  Lecturer,  J.  C.  Gilliland  was  nominated  and 
elected  by  acclamation.  Treasurer,  J.  W.  Sullivan,  12;  and  J.  N.  Mont- 
gomery, 6.  For  Doorkeeper,  J.  S.Welch,  9;  and  G.  C.  Span,  9.  The 
President  gave  the  casting  vote  to  J.  S.  Welch.  For  Assistant  Doorkeeper, 
J.  N.  Montgomery,  10;  B.  F.  Hemphill,  2,  G.  C.  Span,  4;  John  W.  PoJ;ts,  2. 
Names  of  members  appointed  by  the  President  to  organize  Alliances :  Dr.  O. 
G.  Peterson,  G.  M.  Plumlee,  Fred  Fridley,  S.  M.  Guerry,  to  organize  till 
August  6th,  1880.  No  other  business  appearing,  the  Alliance  was  closed 
in  due  form  to  meet  again 'at  Friendship  Church,  in  Wise  County,  Texas, 
August  5th,  6th,  and  7th,  1880. 

(Signed)  ♦'  W.  T.  Baggett,  President, 

**  J.  H.  Dover,  Secretary. ^^ 

The  next  meeting  was  held  August  5,  1880.  This  meeting 
proved  to  be  the  most  important  of  all  that  had  been  held,  as  it 
marked  out  a  course  that  the  Alliance  has  since  pursued.  Offi- 
cers were  elected  for  the  term  of  one  year.  A  constitution  was 
revised  and  ordered  printed.  The  number  of  Alliances  had  in- 
creased, and  the  work  of  organization  had  been  carried  into  an 
adjoining  county.  The  minutes  of  the  meeting,  as  taken  from 
the  record,  are  as  follows  :  — 

"  The  Grand  State  Alliance  met  at  Friendship,  Wise  County,  Texas,  August 
5,  1880.  W.  T.  Baggett,  President.  House  called  to  order  by  the  President 
and  opened  in  the  third  degree.  Delegates  present:  No.  9,  J.  B.  Roberts 
and  H.  C.  Richburg;  No.  12,  A.  M.  Green  and  G.  C.  Span  absent.  No.  14, 
W.  P.  Gilliland;  No.  8,  J.  M.  Stacks,  J.  W.  Brisco  absent.  No.  6,  C.  H. 
Dodson;  No.  13,6.  F.  Heasley;  No.  17,  J.  W.  Patterson;  No.  7,  H.  M. 
Jones;  No.  3,  W.  C.  Thompson  and  J.  E.  Harris;  No.  18,  A.  L.  Kiter; 
No.  19,  J.  H.  Gains  ;  No.  1 1,  J.  W.  Culwell.  Sundry  Laws,  which  were  tabled 
at  last  Grand  State  Alliance,  were  adopted  and  marked  such.  Adjourned  till 
Friday  morning  at  eight  o'clock. 

"The  Grand  State  Alliance  met  Friday  at  8  a.m.,  August  6th.  President 
called  the  house  to  order  and  renewed  business  in  the  third  degree.    Roll  call ; 


I 


THE  ALLIANCE  IN  TEXAS.  27 

W.  T.  Baggett,  President ;  G.  W.  Bond,  Assistant  Secretary ;  L.  G.  Oxford, 
Vice-President;  J.  A.  Culwell,  Lecturer;  J.  C.  Gilliland,  Assistant  Lecturer; 
J.  W.  Sullivan,  Treasurer.  J.  H.  Dover  was  absent  and  fined  50  cents.  Minutes 
of  previous  meeting  read  and  adopted.  On  motion  such  business  as  is  neces- 
sary to  go  in  the  constitution  is  to  be  made  a  law  from  date.  Resolution 
offered  by  Dr.  O.  G.  Peterson  passed  and  became  a  law  from  date,  to  elect 
officers  for  one  year,  etc. ;  resolution  by  Dr.  O.  G.  Peterson,  that  officers  be 
elected  Tuesday  after  the  first  Sunday  in  August  of  each  year,  or  as  soon  after 
as  possible  ;  resolution  offered  by  H.  C.  Richburg  made  a  law  from  date  ;  reso- 
lution offered  by  L.  G.  Oxford  that  each  subordinate  Farmers'  Alliance  be  re- 
quired to  purchase  one  copy  of  '  Cushing's  Manual  of  Parliamentary  Usages,' 
made  a  law  from  date.  On  motion,  a  committee  was  appointed  to  get  up  new 
work  on  the  secrets  of  the  Alliance,  consisting  of  A.  Dunlap,  L.  G.  Oxford, 
O.  G.  Peterson,  J.  N.  Montgomery,  J.  S.  Welch,  and  W.  T.  Baggett;  on 
motion,  agreed  to  fine  a  member  of  the  committee  on  secret  work  two  dol- 
lars, should  he  fail  to  meet  the  committee  at  Peaster's  Springs,  September  10, 
1880;  on  motion,  adjourned  till  2  p.m.  Grand  State  Alliance  met  at  2  p.m. 
House  called  to  order  by  President.  Alliance  Nos.  i,  2,  4,  5,  15,  and  16, 
the  above  numbers  absent,  their  delegates  fined  50  cents  each  for  non-attend- 
ance. On  motion,  the  corrections  made  in  the  constitution  by  the  committee 
appointed  for  that  purpose,  were  received  by  Grand  State  Alliance  com- 
mittee, L.  G.  Oxford,  G.  W.  Bond,  O.  G.  Peterson,  J.  N.  Montgomery,  and 
W.  T.  Baggett.  A  committee  was  appointed  to  scrutinize  the  constitution 
and  prepare  it  for  the  press :  G.  W.  Bond,  J.  A.  Culwell ;  and  on  motion  J.  M. 
Stacks  and  J.  N.  Montgomery  were  appointed  to  contract  for  the  print- 
ing of  1000  copies  of  the  constitution.  On  motion,  J.  M.  Stacks  and  J.  N. 
Montgomery  were  ordered  to  borrow  the  money  to  pay  for  the  printing  of  the 
constitution,  in  case  they  could  not  get  it  done  on  time,  and  we,  as  a  Grand 
State  Alliance,  stand  good  to  them  for  the  money  they  may  borrow  for  that 
purpose.  On  motion  of  O.  G.  Peterson,  went  into  the  election  of  officers, 
which  resulted  in  the  election  of  J.  N.  Montgomery,  President;  W.  T.  Bag- 
gett, Vice-President ;  J.  H.  Dover,  Secretary ;  J.  C.  Gilliland,  Assistant  Secre- 
tary ;  L.  G.  Oxford,  Lecturer ;  Andy  Dunlap,  Assistant  Lecturer ;  John  W. 
Sullivan,  Treasurer;  J.  S.  Welch,  Doorkeeper;  W.  G.  Thompson,  Assistant 
Doorkeeper.  The  next  meeting  of  Grand  State  Alliance  to  be  at  Peaster's 
Springs,  September  11,  1880. 

"  No  other  business  ;  the  Alliance  was  closed. 

(Signed)  "W.  T.  Baggett,  President, 

"J.  H.  Dover,  Secretary.  G.  W.  Bo'ST),  Acting  Secretary ." 

The  officers  elected  at  the  previous  meeting  in  July  were 
chosen  for  the  usual  term  of  six  months,  but  under  the  resolu- 
tion passed  at  this  meeting  a  new  set  of  officers  was  elected  at 
this  August  meeting,  to  serve  for  the  term  of  one  year ;  hence 
the  seeming  conflict  of  electing  officers  in  July  and  August.     It 


28  AGRICULTURAL    ORGANIZATIONS. 

will  be  noticed  that  the  Alliance  met  each  month,  but  it  should 
be  understood  that  the  Grand  State  Alliance  was  confined  almost 
entirely  to  one  county.  The  next  meeting  was  at  Peaster's 
Springs,  Parker  County. 

The  following  is  a  copy  of  the  declaration  of  purposes  ordered 
printed  by  the  Grand  State  Alliance,  at  its  meeting  held  in 
Friendship,  Wise  County,  August  5,  1880.  It  should  be  read 
by  all  who  are  interested  in  the  history  of  the  Alliance,  as'  it 
shows  plainly  the  germ  that  has  sprouted  and  grown  into  the 
present  grand  organization. 

♦'DECLARATION   OF   PURPOSES. 

"Profoundly  impressed  that  we  as  the  Farmers'  Alliance,  united  by  the 
strong  and  faithful  ties  of  financial  and  home  interest,  should  set  forth  our 
declaration  of  intentions,  we  therefore  Resolve: 

"I.  To  labor  for  the  Alliance  and  its  purposes,  assured  that  a  faithful 
observance  of  the  following  principles  will  insure  our  mental,  moral,  and 
financial  improvement. 

"2.  To  endorse  the  motto,  'In  things  essential,  Unity,  and  in  all  things 
Charity.' 

*'  3.   To  develop  a  better  state,  mentally,  morally,  socially,  and  financially. 

"4.  To  create  a  better  understanding  for  sustaining  our  civil  officers  in 
maintaining  law  and  order. 

"5.  To  constandy  strive  to  secure  entire  harmony  and  good  will  among 
all  mankind  and  brotherly  love  among  ourselves. 

"6.  To  suppress  personal,  local,  sectional,  and  national  prejudices,  all 
unhealthy  rivalry  and  all  selfish  ambition. 

*'The  Meeting  at  Peaster's  Springs. 

"  The  Grand  State  Alliance  assembled  at  Peaster's  Springs,  Parker  County, 
Texas,  September  11,  1880,  at  ten  o'clock  a.m.  House  called  to  order  by 
President  J.  N.  Montgomery.  The  doorkeeper  being  absent,  the  president 
appointed  F.  M.  Brown  doorkeeper  pro  tern.,  and  ordered  the  word  taken  up. 
Finding  all  correct,  the  Alliance  was  opened  in  the  third  degree.  Roll  call: 
J.  N.  Montgomery,  President ;  J.  H.  Dover,  Secretary ;  L.  G.  Oxford,  Lecturer ; 
J.  W.  Sullivan,  Treasurer ;  W.  C.  Thompson,  Assistant  Doorkeeper,  answered 
to  roll  call.  W.  T.  Baggett,  Vice-President;  J.  C.  Gilliland,  Assistant  Sec- 
retary; Andy  Dunlap,  Assistant  Secretary;  J.  S.  Welch,  Doorkeeper,  were 
absent.  J.  S.  Welch's  excuse  rendered  and  received  by  the  Grand  State 
Alliance.  Baggett,  Dunlap,  Gilliland,  were  fined  50  cents  each.  Delegates 
from  Wise  County  Alliance:  W.  L.  Garvin  and  J.  A.  Culvvell.  Culwell  was 
absent,  and  fined  60  cents.  For  Parker  and  Jack  Counties:  Alliance  No.  i, 
H.  H.  Nookes;  Central,  No.  2,  J.  W.  Potts  and  J.  M.  Brown,  present;  W. 


I 


THE  ALLIANCE  IN  TEXAS.  29 

B.  Shults  and  G.  M.  Plumlee,  absent.  Plumlee's  excuse  rendered  and 
received.  Shults  fined  50  cents.  Jasper  Creek,  No.  3,  R.  Lyons  and  M.  F. 
Gray.  Gray  absent;  excuse  rendered  and  received.  Boon's  Creek,  No.  4, 
suspended;  Shiloh,  No.  7,  blank;  Goshen,  No.  8,  R.  E.  Tackett  and  J.  R. 
Montgomery.  Montgomery  absent,  and  fined  50  cents.  Wright's  School 
House,  No.  12,  R.  A.  Wright  and  J.  S.  Erwin;  East  Grindstone,  No.  19, 
blank;  fined  50  cents;  Springtown,  No.  10,  suspended. 

"Minutes  of  last  meeting  read,  amended,  and  adopted.  On  motion  of  J.  W. 
Potts  and  F.  M.  Brown,  G.  W.  Bond  was  fined  50  cents  for  negligence  of 
duty  in  leaving  J.  N.  Montgomery's  excuse  out,  and  leaving  out  the  name  of 
J.  S.  Welch,  and  not  charging  him  with  a  fine,  etc.  Next  the  president 
appointed  a  finance  committee  to  examine  the  books  of  secretary  and  treas- 
urer of  Grand  State  Alliance,  consisting  of  L.  G.  Oxford,  R.  E.  Tackett,  and 
W.  L.  Garvin.  On  motion  of  L.  G.  Oxford  and  R.  Lyons,  that  the  Grand 
State  Alliance  adopt  some  form  of  burying  the  dead  ;  carried.  The  president 
appointed  R.  Lyons,  Andy  Dunlap,  and  Dr.  O.  G.  Peterson  to  get  up  the 
work  and  report  at  the  next  meeting  of  the  Grand  State  Alliance,  November 
13,  1880.  The  committee  appointed  at  Friendship,  on  secret  work,  made 
their  report,  which  was  received,  and  the  committee  discharged.  With  the 
twining  around  stricken  out;  first,  Peace;  second.  Social;  third,  Love.  The 
Finance  Committee  reported  that  they  found  the  secretary's  and  treasurer's 
books  in  good  condition.  On  motion  of  R.  E.  Tackett  and  L.  G.  Oxford, 
each  Subordinate  Alliance  was  taxed  $1.25  to  pay  for  the  printing  of  the  con- 
stitution, etc. ;  the  same  to  be  paid  by  the  first  of  October,  1880.  W.  L. 
Garvin,  A.  J.  Caston,  and  W.  J.  Womack  were  authorized  to  organize 
Farmers'  Alliances  till  February,  1881.  There  being  no  other  business,  the 
Alliance  was  closed  with  usual  ceremonies,  to  have  a  called  meeting  at  Garrett's 
Creek,  Wise  County,  Saturday,  November  13,  a.d,  1880,  at  ten  o'clock  a.m. 
Said  meeting  was  called  for  the  purpose  of  receiving  the  report  of  the  com- 
mittee appointed  to  get  up  the  work  on  burying  the  dead,  and  any  other 
business  that  may  come  before  the  Grand  State  Alliance. 

(Signed)  **  By  J.  M.  Montgomery,  President ^ 

♦•J.  H.  Dover,  Secretary?^ 

Brothers  Dawes  and  Garvin,  in  their  history  further  say :  — 

*'  It  will  be  seen  that  the  Farmers'  Alliance,  when  first  organized,  was  not 
a  chartered  institution;  but  it  was  soon  learned,  meeting  with  so  many 
obstacles  arising  from  deep  prejudices  which  existed  in  the  minds  of  so  many 
people  against  a  farmers'  organization,  that  they  could  not  perpetuate  and 
carry  out  successfully  the  great  and  grand  objects  of  the  order  with  open 
doors  to  politicians  and  demagogues ;  hence  an  application  was  filed  with  the 
Secretary  of  State,  asking  for  a  new  charter,  that  the  Farmers'  Alliance  might 
become  a  chartered  institution,  and  receive  that  protection  and  enjoy  the 
benefits  accorded  to  all  other  chartered  institutions.  A  charter  was  granted, 
and  the  Farmers'  Alliance  took  its  place  in  the  world's  history  as  the  first 


30  AGRICULTURAL    ORGANIZATIONS. 

organization  that  active,  operative  farmers  ever  formed  for  their  own  protec- 
tion, benefit,  and  enjoyment,  acting  under, the  following  original  charter:  — 

"  '  State  of  Texas.     Charter.     J.  N.  Mo?itgomery  et  al. 

"♦State  of  Texas,  County  of  Parker. 

•* '  Know  all  Men  by  These  Presents  :  That  we,  L.  S.  Tackitt,  J.  H.  Dover, 
and  G.  M.  Plumlee,  citizens  of  the  State  and  county  aforesaid,  and  such  others 
as  they  may  hereafter  associate  with  them,  have  heretofore,  to-wit :  On  the 
I2th  day  of  August,  1880,  formed  themselves,  with  J.  N.  Montgomery,  J.  C. 
Gilliland,  J.  W.  Sullivan,  L.  G.  Oxford,  Andrew  Dunlap,  J.  S.  Welch,  William 
Thompson  and  others,  into  an  association  and  organization  under  the  name 
of  "Farmers'  Alliance,"  said  association  being  formed  for  the  purpose  of 
encouraging  agriculture,  horticulture,  and  to  suppress  personal,  local,  sec- 
tional, and  national  prejudices,  and  all  unhealthy  rivalry  and  selfish  ambition. 
The  business  of  said  corporation  is  to  be  transacted  in  the  city  of  Weather- 
ford,  county  and  State  aforesaid.  The  term  of  existence  of  this  association  is 
fixed  at  twenty-five  years,  from  August  12,  1880. 

*"The  Trustees,  to-wit:  J.  H.  Dover,  W.  T.  Baggett,  and  L.  S.  Tackitt, 
residents  of  Parker  County,  were  duly  elected  for  the  first  year  ending  August 
12,  1881. 

"  '  Said  society  has  no  capital  stoqk,  and  the  estimated  value  of  the  goods, 
chattels,  lands,  rights,  and  credit  owned  by  said  association  is  fifty  dollars. 

'"The  following  persons  were  elected  officers  for  twelve  months  from 
August  12,  1880:  — 

•'  ♦  President  —  J.  N.  Montgomery. 

♦'  'Vice-President  — W.  T.  Baggett. 

*' '  Secretary  —  J.  H.  Dover. 

"  'Assistant  Secretary  —  J.  C.  Gilliland. 

"  '  Lecturer  —  L.  G.  Oxford. 

"  'Assistant  Lecturer  —  A.  Dunlap. 

"  «  Treasurer  —  J.  W.  Sullivan. 

"  '  Doorkeeper  —  J.  S.  Welch. 

"  'Assistant  Doorkeeper  —  William  Thompson. 

"  '  In  witness  whereof,  we,  as  citizens  of  the  State  of  Texas,  have  on  this 
the  6th  day  of  October,  1880,  subscribed  our  names. 

(Signed)  "  '  L.  S.  Tackitt, 

"*J.  H.  Dover, 
*' '  G.  M.  Plumlee.' 
"  *  The  State  of  Texas,  County  of  Parker. 

" '  Before  me,  J.  M.  Richards,  Judge  of  the  County  Court  of  Parker  County, 
State  of  Texas,  this  day  personally  appeared  L.  S.  Tackitt,  J.  H.  Dover,  and 
G.  M.  Plumlee,  citizens  of  Texas,  to  me  personally  known,  and  acknowledged 
that  they  signed  the  above  and  foregoing  instrument  of  writing  after  the  con- 
tents of  the  same  had  been  fully  made  known  to  them,  and  that  they  volun- 
tarily signed  the  same  for  the  purposes  and  association  therein  expressed. 


THE  ALLIANCE  IN  TEXAS.  3 1 

" '  In  witness  whereof  I  have  thereto  signed  my  name  and  set  my  seal  of 
office,  this  6th  day  of  October,  1880. 

(Signed)  "'J.  M.  Richards, 

[seal.]  " '  County  Judge^  Parker  County ^  Texas. 

"  *  Endorsed. 
**  •  Charter  of  the  '*  Farmers'  Alliance  "  of  Parker  County. 
"  *  Filed  in  the  Department  of  State,  October  8,  1880. 
(Signed)  "  *  T.  H.  Bowman, 

"  '  Acting  Secretary  of  State.'' 

•"The  State  of  Texas,  Department  of  State. 

*'  *  I  hereby  certify  that  the  foregoing  is  a  true  copy  of  the  original  charter 
of  the  "  Farmers'  Alliance  "  of  Parker  County,  with  the  indorsement  thereon 
now  on  file  in  this  Department. 

"  '  Witness  my  official  signature  and  the  Seal  of  State,  at  the  city  of  Austin, 
the  9th  day  of  October,  a.d.  1880. 

" '  T.  H.  Bowman, 
[seal  of  state.]  ''' Acting  Secretary  of  state: 

'♦Our  readers  should  bear  in  mind  that,  up  to  this  time,  the  Farmers' 
Alliance  was  local  in  its  character,  imperfectly  organized,  with  no  literature 
or  means  of  educating  its  members,  and  nothing  wherewith  to  push  its  organ- 
ization, save  patriotic  hearts  and  willing  hands.  Hence,  it  devoted  itself  to 
the  social  conditions  and  local  questions  affecting  its  members,  pointing  out 
the  evils  from  which  the  farming  classes  were  suffering  and  which  all  acknowl- 
edged, but  there  was  no  remedy  to  be  found  for  them  outside  of  a  thorough 
organization  of  the  farmers.  The  Grang^had  been  disorganized,  the  farmers 
were  scattered,  divided  in  opinion,  almost  indifferent  to  their  condition,  the 
means  employed  in  valuing  their  products,  and  without  any  means  of  express- 
ing or  enforcing  their  views  as  a  class.  And  thus  the  Alliance  employed  what 
feeble  means  it  had  to  effect  an  organization  of  the  farmers. 

"  Called  meeting  of  Grand  State  Alliance,  at  Garrett's  Creek,  November 
13,  1880.     All  officers  being  absent  but  the  secretary,  on  motion  and  second, 

F.  M.  Culwell  was  elected  president  pro  tern.  House  called  to  order  by 
President  Culwell,  and  J.  W.  Culwell  was  appointed  doorkeeper,  and  ordered 
to  take  up  the  word.  Finding  all  correct,  the  Alliance  was  opened  in  due 
form.  Roll  call :  J.  N.  Montgomery,  W.  T.  Baggett,  J.  C.  Gilliland,  Andy 
Dunlap,  J.  S.  Welch,  and  W.  C.  Thompson  were  fined  $1.00  each.      L. 

G.  Oxford  and  J.  W.  Sullivan  were  absent,  but  excuse  rendered  and 
received  by  the  Alliance.  President  appointed  J.  A.  Culwell  and  J.  H.  Dover 
to  examine  credentials.  Report  for  Wise  County  Alliance,  J.  A.  Culwell  and 
H.  C.  Richburg;  for  Jack  County,  Lost  Creek,  No.  21,  J.  E.  Overhuls ;  for 
County  Line,  No.  14,  J.  M.  Rowe  and  S.  F.  Gilliland;  Poolville,  No.  i,  W.  H. 
Thompson.  Next,  call  for  the  report  of  the  committee  appointed  at  Peaster 
Springs,  September  11,  consisting  of  Andy  Dunlap,  R.  Lyons,  and  O.  G. 
Peterson,  all  absent,  and,  on  motion  and  second,  fined  50  cents  each.     On 


32  AGRICULTURAL    ORGANIZATIONS, 

motion  of  C.  H.  Richburg  and  J.  A.  Culwell,  the  signs  and  words  of  the 
three  degrees  were  changed. 

'''  Resolved,  That  any  person  on  entering  an  Alliance,  the  doorkeeper  of 
said  Alliance  shall  give  to  such  person  the  number  of  the  degree  in  which  the 
Alliance  is  at  work,  after  which  such  person  shall  give  to  the  doorkeeper  the 
word  of  that  degree,'  etc.  On  motion  and  second,  the  same  adopted.  On 
motion  and  second,  trade  sign  changed.  On  motion  and  second,  the  presi- 
dent pro  te??i.  was  empowered  to  appoint  or  authorize  members  to  organize 
Alliances  till  the  next  meeting  of  Grand  State  Alliance.  The  president 
appointed,  for  Jack  County,  J.  E.  Overhuls  and  Dr.  H.  C.  Burns;  for  Wise 
County,  J.  A.  Culwell;  for  Parker  County,  R.  E.  Tackett.  No  other  busi- 
ness appearing,  the  Alliance  adjourned,  to  meet  at  Poolville,  Parker  County, 
Texas,  Tuesday,  February,  1880,  at  ten  o'clock  a.m. 

(Signed)  "  F.  M.  Culwell,  President  pro  tern., 

♦♦J.  H.  Dover,  Secretary. 

♦'  State  meeting  of  Texas,  Grand  State  Farmers'  Alliance,  held  at  Pool- 
ville, Parker  County,  Texas,  Februai^  8,  1881.  House  called  to  order  at 
ten  o'clock  a.m.,  Vice-President  W.  T.  Baggett  in  the  chair.  The  Alliance 
was  opened  in  due  form,  and  declared  ready  for  business.  Roll  call  of  officers  : 
all  officers  present  except  three,  —  J.  C.  Gilliland,  Assistant  Secretary;  L.  G. 
Oxford,  Lecturer ;  Andy  Dunlap,  Assistant  Lecturer.  Oxford's  excuse  rendered 
and  received.  GilUland  and  Dunlap  fined  50  cents  each.  All  subordinate 
Alliances  were  represented  except  Nos.  2,  4,  5,  6,  7,  10,  12,  15,  16,  18,  19,  20, 
22.  Committee  on  Credentials  was  appointed,  consisting  of  J.  M.  Mont- 
gomery, W.  C.  Thompson,  and  J.  R.  Oxford,  who  reported  all  credentials 
correct.  Minutes  of  last  State  Alliance  were  read  and  approved.  The  secre- 
tary was  ordered  to  have  charters  prepared  for  all  subordinate  Alliances,  and 
was  also  duly  authorized  to  affix  the  signature  of  president  to  the  same. 
Alliances  that  were  not  represented,  and  those  due  reports,  were  allowed  an 
extension  of  three  months'  time,  in  which  to  make  out  reports  as  required  by 
Art.  6  of  constitution  of  Farmers'  Alliance,  and  forward  the  same  to  secretary 
of  Grand  State  Farmers'  Alliance. 

"  The  question  of  the  advisability  of  selecting  a  newspaper  that  would  give 
free  pubUcation  to  matters  of  interest  to  the  order,  in  consideration  of  the 
united  patronage  of  the  members  throughout  the  State,  being  under  discussion, 
it  was  resolved  that  the  Weatherford  Herald,  a  live  and  influential  newspaper, 
published  every  Friday  at  Weatherford,  Parker  County,  Texas,  by  Messrs. 
Curl  and  Wood,  be  adopted ;  and  to  facilitate  the  rapid  increase  of  its  circu- 
lation among  the  members  of  the  order,  all  secretaries  of  subordinate  Alli- 
ances were  instructed  to  act  as  agents  for  the  Herald,  in  securing  subscriptions 
from  members  of  their  respective  Alliances.  The  resignation  of  Grand 
Lecturer  L.  G.  Oxford  was  received  and  accepted.  The  following  amend- 
ment was  proposed  by  A.  G.  Culwell,  to  Art.  6  of  the  constitution  of  the 
Farmers'  Alliance,  that  it  shall  be  changed  to  read  '  Each  and  every  subordi- 
nate Alliance  on  record  shall  make  out  its  returns,  and  send  them  to  Secre- 


I 


THE  ALLIANCE  IN  TEXAS.  33 

tary  of  Grand  State  Alliance,  against  the  stated  meetings  of  the  Grand  State 
Alliance,'  etc.  No  other  business  appearing,  except  fines  of  officers  for  non- 
attendance,  J.  N.  Montgomery  paid  $1.00;  J.  A.  Colwell,  25  cents;  J.  H. 
Dover,  25  cents ;  and  Vice-President  Baggett  pocketed  the  money,  etc. 
Moved  and  seconded  to  meet  at  Goshen,  Parker  County,  Texas,  August  9, 
1881.  at  ten  o'clock  a.m. 

(Signed)  "J.  H.  Dover,  Grand  Secretary :' 


A  copy  of  the  record  of  each  meeting  up  to  date  has  been 
given,  in  order  to  show  the  methods  and  earnestness  of  our 
earlier  brethren,  and  to  form  a  basis  for  comparison  with  the 
present  system,  and  rapid  growth  of  the  order.  These  records 
disclose  an  honesty  of  purpose  well  worthy  the  emulation  of  all. 
They  prove  that  these  brethren  were  guided  by  the  principles 
of  right  and  justice  that  only  come  through  a  desire  to  better 
others  besides  themselves.  It  is  upon  the  solid  foundation  of 
truth  and  love,  laid  deep  and  strong  by  these  pioneers  of  the 
Alliance,  that  the  present  magnificent  structure  of  agricultural 
organization  has  been  built.  All  honor  to  those  noble  men,  who 
lived  and  acted  fully  up  to  the  light  that  a  Divine  Ruler  had 
been  pleased  to  show  them  !  Their  sphere  of  action  was  cir- 
cumscribed, and  their  efforts  at  the  time  counted  for  but  little ; 
yet  the  effects  on  future  conditions  no  man  will  ever  be  able  to 
completely  comprehend. 

The  next  meeting  was  a  called  session  held  at  Central  School 
House,  April  2,  1881,  for  the  purpose  of  perfecting  arrangements 
for  charters,  and  putting  a  deputy  grand  lecturer  in  the  field. 
The  meeting  was  not  largely  attended,  but  the  business  was 
satisfactorily  completed.  The  general  situation  was  discussed, 
and  all  seemed  impressed  with  the  idea  that  better  times  were 
near  at  hand. 

The  next  meeting  of  the  Grand  State  Alliance  was  held  at 
Goshen,  Parker  County,  August  9,  1881.  More  delegates  than 
usual  were  present,  including  those  from  the  County  Alliances 
of  Wise  and  Jack.  It  was  evident  that  the  Alliance  had  come 
to  stay,  and  that  a  rapid  growth  was  assured.  Much  interest 
was  therefore  taken  in  the  proceedings,  and  a  general  desire  to 
avoid  mistakes  and  correct  any  possible  errors  seemed  to 
prevail. 

The  burial  service,  as  reported  by  Brother  O.  G.  Peterson  was 


34  AGRICULTURAL    ORGANIZATIONS. 

adopted.  The  form  of  a  regalia  to  be  worn  by  officers  and 
members  was  also  considered  and  adopted.  The  following 
officers  were  chosen  for  the  ensuing  year:  Andy  Dunlap, 
President ;  W.  L.  Garvin,  Vice-President ;  C.  M.  Wilcox,  Secre- 
tary; B.  G.  Gilliland,  Treasurer;  D.  B.  Gilliland,  Lecturer; 
M.  A.  Denton,  Assistant  Lecturer;  W.  H.  Pearce,  Doorkeeper; 
W.  P.  Dent,  Assistant  Doorkeeper. 

Arrangements  were  made  to  revive  dormant  Alliances,  and  to 
push  the  work  more  vigorously.  Brother  J.  H.  Dover,  Grand 
Secretary,  was  allowed  ^i8  for  his  services  during  the  past 
twelve  months.  This  was  not  a  very  large  salary  for  one  of  the 
principal  officers.  Alliance  No.  i,  at  Poolville,  had  died  out, 
and  a  resolution  was  passed  instructing  the  deputy  lecturer  of 
Parker  County  to  visit  that  Alliance,  and  either  revive  it  or  take 
charge  of  its  books  and  papers.  This  seems  to  indicate  that 
the  so-called  "Father  of  the  Alliance"  had  lost  interest  in  his 
offspring.  A  committee  was  appointed  to  investigate  certain 
charges  against  Senator  Maxey ;  which  seemed  to  indicate  a 
determination  to  scrutinize  the  acts  of  public  servants.  A 
motion  prevailed,  striking  the  word  "  Grand  "  from  the  charters 
of  County  Alliances.  A  report  showed  that  the  different  Alli- 
ances were  in  arrears  to  the  Grand  State  Alliance  to  the  amount 
of  $2^.6<^.  The  whole  amount  received  at  that  meeting  was 
$6\.6o.  From  these  figures  it  will  be  seen  that  economy  was 
one  of  the  virtues  practised  by  the  Grand  State  Alliance. 

The  next  meeting  was  held  at  Weatherford,  Parker  County, 
February  7,  1882.  All  the  grand  officers  present,  except  Vice- 
President  W.  L.  Garvin.  The  membership  had  increased  satis- 
factorily, and  the  work  of  organizing  was  being  conducted  quite 
successfully.  A  large  increase  in  the  attendance  over  previous 
meetings  cheered  the  hearts  of  those  who  had  stood  "  the  heat 
and  burden  of  the  day."  The  following  important  resolution 
was  adopted :  — 

"  That  the  Committee  on  Secret  Work  condense  the  three  obligations  into 
one,  and  report  the  same  to  the  president  of  the  Grand  State  Alliance,  in  time 
for  printing  with  the  amended  constitution." 

This  action  greatly  simplified  the  work  and  eliminated  much 
useless  ceremony.     A  resolution  was  also  adopted,  giving 


I 


THE  ALLIANCE  IN  TEXAS,  35 

"  contributing  members  of  any  Alliance  the  right  to  vote  in  electing  members 
in  any  Alliance,  but  no  other  vote  as  visiting  members." 

This  proved  a  wise  measure.  Brother  A.  B.  Woodward  was 
appointed  general  lecturer  at  large  for  Northern  Texas,  for  the 
purpose  of  extending  the  work  in  that  direction. 

One  of  the  early  members,  writing  of  this  meeting,  says  :  — 

*'  From  its  inception,  women  were  admitted  as  members  of  the  Alliance. 
As  it  grew  in  numbers,  the  social  feature  became  a  strong  bond  of  union.  In 
order  to  preserve  this,  without  even  a  pretext  of  disapproval,  the  Alliance  at 
this  meeting  inserted  an  amendment  in  its  constitution,  restricting  its  mem- 
bership to  white  persons  only.  The  wisdom  of  this  measure  is  now  admitted 
by  all,  both  white  and  colored." 

Heretofore  the  secret  work  of  the  Alliance  had  consisted  of 
three  degrees  and  three  obligations.  It  was  deemed  by  this 
body  impracticable  with  a  farmers'  organization  to  make  any 
distinction  between  members  ;  that  the  work  should  be  so  sim- 
plified that  the  humblest  members  of  any  and  all  Sub-Alliances 
could  enter  the  meetings  of  any  County  or  State  Alliance,  and 
participate  in  the  enjoyments  and  benefits  to  be  derived  from 
these  meetings ;  therefore  a  committee  was  appointed  to  com- 
bine the  three  degrees  and  three  obligations  into  07ie,  placing 
all  members  upon  an  equal  basis ;  which  was  reported  and 
adopted  by  this  meeting,  and  the  work  thus  simplified  remains 
to  this  day,  admitting  any  member  to  the  meetings  of  the  State 
or  National  Alliances.  Thus  the  Farmers'  Alliance  became  the 
first  secret  order  having  no  privileged  classes,  controlled  by 
different  degrees  of  advancement ;  but  any  of  its  members  can 
enter  even  its  national  meetings,  and  have  a  voice  in  their 
deliberations. 

The  Rural  Citizen  of  Jacksboro  was  adopted  as  the  official 
organ.  That  was  probably  the  first  official  organ  of  the  order. 
Also,  on  motion,  Brothers  Dunlap  and  Wilcox  were  appointed  a 
committee  to  confer  with  the  State  Grange  in  regard  to  the  sale 
of  cotton.  Here  was  doubtless  the  germ  of  the  system  of  the 
State  business  agents,  so  prevalent  at  the  present  time.  By 
resolution,  the  presiding  officer  of  each  Alliance  was  to  be 
addressed  as  "President,"  and  the  word  ''Alliance"  substituted 
for  "Lodge."      Arrangements  were  made  for  a  more  perfect 


36  AGRICULTURAL    ORGANIZATIONS. 

understanding  regarding  the  brands  to  be  used  on  cattle,  and 
the  manner  of  treating  estrays.  The  25-cent  dues  were  ordered 
to  be  distributed  as  follows  :  10  cents  to  Sub- Alliance  ;  5  cents 
to  County  Alliance;  and  10  cents  to  State  Alliance.  The  meet- 
ing was  a  grand  success,  and  the  order  generally  was  greatly 
encouraged  and  benefited. 

The  next  meeting  was  held  at  Mineral  Wells,  Palo  Pinto 
County,  August  8,  1882,  President  Dunlap  presiding.  In  his 
report,  the  secretary  gave  the  number  of  Alliances  in  each 
county  as  follows:  Parker,  34;  Wise,  27;  Hood,  21;  Jack, 
14;  Somervell,  7;  Palo  Pinto,  7;  Tarrant,  3;  Bosque,  i; 
Denton,  i;  Houston,  i;  Cook,  i;  Red  River,  3 ;  total,  120. 
Persons  rejected,  37 ;  persons  expelled,  7. 

The  following  officers  were  chosen  for  the  ensuing  year: 
Andy  Dunlap,  President ;  A.  M.  Chandler,  Vice-President ; 
C.  M.  Wilcox,  Secretary ;   B.    G.    Gilliland,  Treasurer ;   S.  O. 

Daws,    Lecturer ;    Hodges,    Assistant   Lecturer ;    T.    B. 

Smith,  Chaplain;  C.  S.  Maddox,  Doorkeeper;  H.  F.  Austin, 
Assistant  Doorkeeper. 

The  following  important  resolution  was  adopted :  — 

**That  it  is  contrary  to  the  spirit  of  the  constitution  and  by-laws  of  our 
order  to  take  part  in  politics ;  and  further,  that  we  will  not  nominate  or  sup- 
port any  man  or  set  of  men  for  office  as  a  distinct  political  party." 

This  measure  had  a  good  effect,  as  it  was  the  year  for  State 
elections.  The  topic  of  discussion  was,  the  attitude  of  the 
Alliance  to  politics.  A  reward  was  offered  for  horse  and  cattle 
thieves.  The  salary  of  the  secretary  was  fixed  at  ^100  per 
year.  President  Dunlap  was  allowed  ;^2.5o  for  postage  and 
stationery  during  the  past  year.  A  new  form  of  regalia  was 
adopted.  Adjourned,  to  meet  at  Granbury,  Hood  County,  in 
February,  1883.  The  proposed  semi-annual  meeting  at  Gran- 
bury was  a  failure,  on  account  of  a  violent  storm  and  intensely 
cold  weather.  The  next  meeting  was  held  at  Weatherford, 
Parker  County,  August  7,  1883.  Brother  Daws  writes  of  this 
meeting  as  follows  :  — 


"  But  before  taking  up  the  proceedings  of  that  meeting  we  will  notice  briefly 
the  growth  of  the  order  up  to  this  time.  At  the  meeting  at  Mineral  Wells 
the  report  of  the  secretary  showed  that  there  were  one  hundred  and  twenty 


i 


THE  ALLIANCE  IN  TEXAS.  37 

Alliances.  True,  they  were  not  all  represented,  and  some  were  not  taking  the 
interest  they  should,  yet  it  showed  how  rapidly  the  Alliance  was  coming  into 
favor  with  the  laboring  class  of  people.  Already  it  has  spread  over  the  coun- 
ties of  Parker,  Wise,  Jack,  Palo  Pinto,  and  Hood,  and  it  was  not  altogether 
unknown  in  the  counties*  of  Somervell,  Tarrant,  Bosque,  and  Denton.  It  had 
spread  south  as  far  as  Houston  County,  and  east  into  Cooke,  and  even  farther, 
into  Red  River  County.  There  were  fifty-six  delegates  in  attendance,  exclu- 
sive of  the  officers,  that  composed  the  Grand  State  Alliance,  which  shows 
very  conclusively  that  the  interest  was  rapidly  increasing.  There  had  been 
thirty-seven  persons  rejected  as  unfit  for  membership,  which  proves  that  the 
Alliance  was  not  seeking  to  swell  its  ranks  with  any  and  every  kind  of  men, 
but  wanted  good,  moral  men  to  enlist  in  her  cause. 

"At  this  Weatherford  meeting  of  the  State  Alliance,  all  the  State  officers 
were  absent,  except  S.  O.  Daws,  Lecturer,  and  C.  M.  Wilcox,  Secretary. 
Only  thirty  Sub-Alliances  were  represented.  This  was  the  least  number  of 
delegates  in  attendance  upon  any  of  the  State  meetings  since  1880,  Many 
were  the  causes  of  the  decline  of  the  order  in  the  last  year.  The  want  of 
Alliance  literature,  the  means  to  employ  active  lecturers  to  visit,  instruct,  and 
encourage  the  Sub-Alliances  and  institute  new  ones.  In  their  efforts  to 
co-operate  in  buying  and  selling,  in  the  past,  they  had  almost  been  treated 
with  contempt  by  tradesmen  and  others,  and  so  far  had  failed  to  achieve 
practical  benefits  from  their  effiDrts.  Again,  it  had  been  a  very  sickly  year 
throughout  the  counties  where  Alliances  had  been  formed,  and  the  year  previ- 
ous being  a  political  year,  a  great  many  persons  rushed  into  the  order  for  the 
sole  purpose  of  their  own  personal,  political  aggrandizement ;  therefore,  after 
the  passage  of  the  non-political  resolution  at  Mineral  Wells,  they  and  their 
personal  friends  lost  their  primary  interest  in  the  Alliance,  which  caused  the 
disorganization  of  several  Sub-Alliances  during  that  year.  While  this  tempo- 
rarily checked  the  growth  of  the  order,  it  fixed  for  all  time  to  come  the  true 
status  of  the  Farmers'  Alliance  on  party  questions." 

A  resolution  favoring  the  establishment  of  Alliance  libraries 
was  passed. 

The  officers  elected  for  the  ensuing  year  were  :  W.  L.  Garvin, 
President ;  J.  A.  Culwell,  Vice-President ;  C.  M.  Wilcox,  Sec- 
retary; P.  M.  Hodges,  Treasurer;  W.  C.  West,  Chaplain;  Dr. 
Riley,  Lecturer ;  Creekmore,  Assistant  Lecturer.  Secre- 
tary C.  M.  Wilcox  was  allowed  1^24.75  for  postage,  stationery, 
and  express  during  the  past  year.  This  was  rather  small  com- 
pared with  the  present  secretary's  expenses.  Assistant  lectur- 
ers were  allowed  $5.25  for  organizing  Sub-Alliances.  Motion 
adopted  :  — 

"  That  when  any  stolen,  lost,  or  strayed  stock  is  reported  to  the  secretary 
of  the  State  Alliance,  it  shall  be  his  duty  to  report  the  same  to  the  secretary 


38  AGRICULTURAL    ORGANIZATIONS. 

of  each  County  Alliance,  and  he  shall  report  the  same  to  the  secretary  of  each 
Sub-Alliance  in  his  county." 

Bonds  of  treasurer  fixed  at  $500.  Rules  were  adopted  to 
ascertain  the  efficiency  of  each  lecturer,  and  regulating  their 
commissions.  This  meeting,  though  small,  did  some  good  work, 
and  made  arrangements  to  recover  lost  ground. 

The  next  meeting  was  held  at  Chico,  Wise  County,  February 
5,  1884,  President  W.  L.  Garvin  presiding.  Previous  to  this 
meeting  the  condition  of  the  Alliance  became  alarming  to  the 
friends  of  the  order,  and  vigorous  means  were  used  to  bring 
about  a  reaction.  Brother  S.  O.  Daws  was  sent  into  the  field 
as  a  traveUing  lecturer.  His  work  proved  a  success,  so  that 
delegates  from  more  than  fifty  Sub-Alliances  took  part  in  the 
meeting.  As  the  "  Trade  Store  "  system  was  proving  a  failure, 
and  for  the  purpose  of  encouraging  co-operation  in  trade,  the 
following  resolution  was  passed  :  — 

**  That  we  encourage  the  formation  of  joint  stock  companies  in  Sub  and 
County  Alliances  for  the  purpose  of  trade  and  for  the  personal  benefit  of  jnem- 
bers  financially." 

The  president  and  secretary  were  allowed  $10.50  for  postage, 
etc.  Brother  Daws  was  continued  as  travelling  lecturer,  at  $50 
per  month.  The  secretary  was  required  to  give  a  bond  for  $200. 
Meeting  adjourned  to  meet  at  Weatherford,  August  5,  1884. 
This  meeting  was  rather  a  disappointment  to  the  brethren,  and  a 
strong  desire  was  manifested  to  push  the  work  more  thoroughly, 
which  was  done. 

The  next  meeting  of  the  Grand  State  Alliance  was  held  at 
Weatherford,  Parker  County,  August  5,  1884,  President  W.  L. 
Garvin  presiding.  The  good  work  of  the  previous  six  months 
was  plainly  seen,  and  the  brethren  were  much  encouraged.  Over 
one  hundred  and  eighty  delegates  were  present,  and  the  best  of 
feeling  prevailed.  It  was  evident  to  all  present  that  the  Alli- 
ance was  once  more  on  the  up  grade.  It  looked  as  though  the 
farmers  of  Texas  had  at  last  decided  to  give  the  Alliance  a  trial. 
Many  new  faces  were  seen  at  the  meeting,  and  more  than  ordi- 
nary interest  was  manifested.  Several  amendments  to  the  con- 
stitution were  made,  and  the  secret  work  was  amended  in  a  few 
minor  particulars.    The  system  of  Alliance  trade  stores,  or  agen- 


THE  ALLIANCE  IN  TEXAS,  39 

cies,  was  discussed  at  length,  and  its  benefits  and  weak  points 
exposed.  A  consensus  of  opinion  prevailed  that  nothing  could 
be  done,  except  through  vigorous  efforts.  In  their  efforts  to  per- 
fect a  trade  system  for  their  mutual  good,  through  correspond- 
ence with  manufacturers,  they  were  always  referred  by  them  to 
their  agents.  In  their  communications  to  wholesale  men,  for 
trade,  they  were  continually  referred  by  them  to  the  retail  mer- 
chant. In  the  disposition  of  their  cotton,  in  trying  to  reach  the 
manufacturer,  they  were  met  by  the  "bulls"  and  "bears"  in 
the  cotton  market.  Hence  the  Alliaince  at  this  meeting,  recom- 
mended to  the  County  and  Sub-Alliances  the  importance  of 
establishing  cotton  yards  of  their  own,  for  the  purpose  of  bulk- 
ing their  cotton  and  selling,  if  possible,  directly  to  the  factories. 
This  was  done  to  some  extent,  but  was  violently  opposed  by  the 
cotton  buyers  and  speculators.  In  some  towns,  it  is  said  that 
farmers  could  not  purchase  land  to  be  used  for  such  purposes,  so 
strong  was  the  prejudice  of  the  merchants  against  the  Alliance. 

The  officers  elected  at  this  meeting  were  as  follows :  J.  A. 
Culwell,  President ;  J.  C.  McConnel,  Vice-President ;  Andy 
Dunlap,  Secretary ;    Jacob  Brown,  Treasurer ;    W.  R.   Lamb, 

Lecturer ;   Reeves,  Assistant    Lecturer ;    J.   R.   Masters, 

Chaplain  ;  S.  O.  Daws,  Lecturer-at-Large. 

The  next  meeting  was  held  at  Decatur,  Wise  County,  August 
4,  1885,  President  J.  A.  Culwell  presiding.  Brother  Daws 
writes :  — 

"  This  meeting  was  a  great  surprise,  even  to  the  members  of  the  order  who 
had  been  keeping  up  with  its  progress.  More  than  six  hundred  delegates  were 
in  attendance,  which  was  the  greatest  body  of  true  agriculturists  that  had,  up 
to  that  time,  ever  assembled  in  the  State.  The  same  discussions,  as  in  the 
previous  meetings,  relative  to  the  cotton  market  and  mercantile  trade,  were 
continued,  as  shown  by  the  following  recommendations  and  resolutions  :  — 

''Resolved,  That  the  Grand  State  Alliance  recommend  to  the  County 
Alliances  that  the  members  of  all  Sub-Alliances  act  as  a  unit  in  the  sale  of 
their  produce,  and  to  this  end  the  County  Alliance  set  apart  a  day  or  days 
in  which  to  put  their  produce  on  the  market  for  sale.  We  further  recommend 
that  a  committee  of  correspondence  be  appointed  by  the  County  Alliance, 
who  shall,  if  possible,  make  arrangements  for  the  combined  sale  of  the 
produce  of  members  of  the  Alliance.  We  further  recommend  that  hone  but 
members  of  the  Alliance  be  allowed  in  this  combination.  The  secretary  of 
the  Grand  State  Alliance  to  notify  each  County  Alliance. 

"Adopted. 


40  AGRICULTURAL    ORGANIZATIONS, 

**  Reselved,  That  County  Alliances  appoint  a  committee  of  three  discreet 
members  from  each  County  Alliance,  whose  duty  it  shall  be  to  examine  cost 
bills  of  freight  bills  of  merchants  with  whom  the  Alliance  has  made  contracts 
for  sale  of  goods  at  specified  rates  per  cent.  A  refusal  to  show  such  bills  by 
said  merchants  shall  terminate  and  make  null  and  void  such  contracts  with 
said  merchants. 

"  Believing  that  the  business  of  the  Alliance  could  be  better  transacted  by 
a  less  number  of  delegates,  and  to  provide  against  a  much  larger  delegation 
next  year,  the  number  of  delegates  was  limited  to  three  to  each  county." 


The  effect  of  this  meeting  was  to  place  the  Alliance  in  a  good 
position  before  the  public,  and  to  attract  to  its  aims  and  pur- 
poses some  of  the  best  men  in  the  State.  Many  of  the  old 
hangers-on  were  relegated  to  the  rear,  and  fresh  blood  was 
infused  into  the  organization.  Long  will  the  brethren  of  Texas, 
especially  the  older  ones,  look  back  with  feelings  of  pride  and 
fondness  to  the  "  Decatur  Meeting."  A  large  amount  of  detail 
work  was  accomplished,  some  few  changes  were  made  in  the 
organic  laws,  and  a  sort  of  general  clearing  up  was  indulged  in. 

The  following  officers  were  elected  for  the  ensuing  year  :  A. 
Dunlap,  President ;  J.  S.  Morris,  Vice-President ;  C.  M.  Wilcox, 
Secretary ;  J.  A.  Landers,  Treasurer ;  J.  H.  Jackson,  Chaplain ; 
G.  W.  Belcher,  Lecturer ;  Z.  S.  Lee,  Assistant  Lecturer. 

The  next  annual  meeting  was  held  at  Cleburne,  August  3, 
1886,  and  marked  an  era  in  the  history  of  the  Alliance.  It  was 
by  far  the  largest  gathering  ever  held  by  the  order,  and  great 
interest  was  manifested  in  the  result.  Extensive  preparations 
had  been  made  for  the  meeting,  and  a  general  rally  of  the 
brethren  was  anticipated.  Eighty-four  counties  were  repre- 
sented at  the  meeting,  by  delegates,  many  being  present  for  the 
first  time.  The  Alliance  had  assumed  such  large  proportions, 
and  was  enjoying  such  a  rapid  growth,  that  the  politicians  of 
the  State  began  to  look  upon  it  with  some  little  anxiety.  Their 
fear  was  then  the  same  as  now,  that  it  might  "go  into  politics," 
and  that,  if  it  did,  some  one  might  get  injured.  The  pcess  of 
the  State  began  to  warn  the  brethren  against  any  such  action, 
and  at  the  same  time  predicted  that  it  certainly  would  be  done. 
This  put  many  of  the  brethren,  especially  those  who  were  polit- 
ically inclined,  in  an  attitude  of  suspicion,  which  became  inten- 
sified as  the  business  of  the  meeting  progressed. 


THE  ALLIANCE  IN  TEXAS.  4 1 

The  meeting  was  called  to  order  by  President  Dunlap,  and, 
after  an  address  of  welcome  by  Mr.  Grain  of  Cleburne,  and  a 
response  by  President  Dunlap  and  Brother  McWhorter,  the 
usual  routine  of  business  was  taken  up. 

The  meeting  took  hold  of  the  business  before  it  in  earnest. 
Among  the  many  resolutions  was  the  following  :  — 

•*  It  is  the  sense  of  this  body  that  we  put  forth  our  best  efforts  as  individ- 
uals, and  also  as  an  organization,  to  have  the  Commissioner  of  Agriculture 
elevated  to  the  position  of  a  cabinet  officer  in  the  government,  and  that  we 
ask  our  representatives  in  Congress  to  urge  the  same." 

Unanimously  adopted. 

The  following  officers  were  elected  for  the  ensuing  year : 
A.  Dunlap,  President ;  D.  J.  Eddlcman,  Vice-President ;  H.  G. 
Moore,  Secretary ;  J.  A.  Landers,  Treasurer ;  J.  M.  Brooks, 
Ghaplain ;  G.  W.  Belcher,  Lecturer. 

The  following  resolutions  were  adopted,  to  be  added  to  the 
Declaration  of  Purposes  :  — 

"  i!  That  as  an  organization  we  do  not  antagonize  other  organizations, 
which  have  for  their  object  the  amelioration  of  the  condition  of  any  class  of 
our  citizens.     But  we  will  not  form  a  coalition  with  any  other  organization. 

"  2.  That  as  citizens  we  have  a  right  to  belong  to  any  organization,  politi- 
cal party,  or  church,  we  may  see  proper,  but  as  a  Farmers'  Alliance  we  will 
not  consider  such  subjects  within  our  body." 

[The  constitution  was  subsequendy  adopted  without  these  resolutions, 
thereby  making  them  statutory  law.  —  Coinmittee  of  Revision. '\ 

The  Committee  on  Good  of  the  Order  and  Demands  made 
the  following  report :  — 

"We,  the  delegates  to  the  Grand  State  Farmers'  Alliance  of  Texas,  in 
convention  assembled  at  Cleburne,  Johnson  County,  Texas,  a.d.  1886,  do 
hereby  recommend  and  demand  of  our  State  and  national  governments, 
according  as  the  same  shall  come  under  the  jurisdiction  of  the  one  or  the 
other,  such  legislation  as  shall  secure  to  our  people  freedom  from  the  onerous 
and  shameful  abuses  that  the  industrial  classes  are  now  suffering  at  the  hands 
of  arrogant  capitalists  and  powerful  corporations. 

"We  demand, 

"I.  The  recognition  by  incorporation  of  trade-unions,  co-operative  stores, 
and  such  other  associations  as  may  be  organized  by  the  industrial  classes  to 
improve  their  financial  condidon,  or  to  promote  their  general  welfare. 


42  AGRICULTURAL    ORGANIZATIONS, 

'*  2.  We  demand  that  all  public  school  land  be  held  in  small  bodies,  not 
exceeding  320  acres  to  each  purchaser,  for  actual  settlement,  on  easy  terms  of 
payment. 

"3.  That  large  bodies  of  land  held  by  private  individuals  or  corporations, 
for  speculative  purposes,  shall  be  rendered  for  taxation  at  such  rates  as  they 
are  offered  to  purchasers  on  credit  of  one,  two,  or  three  years,  in  bodies  of 
160  acres  or  less. 

"  4.  That  measures  be  taken  to  prevent  aliens  from  acquiring  title  to  land 
in  the  United  States  of  America,  and  to  force  titles  already  acquired  by  aliens, 
to  be  relinquished  by  sale  to  actual  settlers  and  citizens  of  the  United  States. 

*'  5.  That  the  law-making  powers  take  early  action  upon  such  measures  as 
shall  effectually  prevent  the  dealing  in  futures  of  all  agricultural  products, 
prescribing  such  procedure  in  trial  as  shall  secure  prompt  conviction,  and 
imposing  such  penalties  as  shall  secure  the  most  perfect  compliance  with  the 
law. 

**  6.  That  all  lands  forfeited  by  railroads  or  other  corporations,  immedi- 
ately revert  to  the  government  and  be  declared  open  for  purchase  by  actual 
settlers,  on  the  same  terms  as  other  public  or  school  lands. 

'♦7.  We  demand  that  fences  be  removed,  by  force  if  necessary,  from 
public  or  school  lands  unlawfully  fenced  by  cattle  companies,  syndicates,  or 
any  other  form  or  name  of  corporation. 

"8.  We  demand  that  the  statutes  of  the  State  of  Texas  be  rigidly  enforced 
by  the  Attorney-General,  to  compel  corporations  to  pay  the  taxes  due  the 
State  and  counties. 

"9.  That  railroad  property  shall  be  assessed  at  the  full  nominal  value  of 
the  stock  on  which  the  railroad  seeks  to  declare  a  dividend. 

"10.  We  demand  the  rapid  extinguishment  of  the  public  debt  of  the  United 
States,  by  operating  the  mints  to  their  fullest  capacity  in  coining  silver  and 
gold,  and  the  tendering  of  the  same  without  discrimination  to  the  public  cred- 
itors of  the  nation,  according  to  contract. 

**n.  We  demand  the  substitution  of  legal  tender  treasury  notes  for  the 
issue  of  the  national  banks ;  that  the  Congress  of  the  United  States  regulate 
the  amount  of  such  issue,  by  giving  to  the  country  a  per  capita  circulation 
that  shall  increase  as  the  population  and  business  interests  of  the  country 
expand. 

"12.  We  demand  the  establishment  of  a  national  bureau  of  labor  statis- 
tics,*that  we  may  arrive  at  a  correct  knowledge  of  the  educational,  moral,  and 
financial  condition  of  the  laboring  masses  of  our  citizens.  And  further,  that 
the  commissioner  of  the  bureau  be  a  cabinet  officer  of  the  United  States. 

"13.  We  demand  the  enactment  of  laws  to  compel  corporations  to  pay 
their  employees  according  to  contract,  in  lawful  money,  for  their  services,  and 
the  giving  to  mechanics  and  laborers  a  first  lien  upon  the  product  of  their 
labor  to  the  full  extent  of  their  wages. 

"  14.  We  demand  the  passage  of  an  interstate  commerce  law,  that  shall 
secure  the  same  rates  of  freight  to  all  persons  for  the  same  kind  of  commodi- 
ties, according  to  distance  of  haul,  without  regard  to  amount  of  shipment. 


THE  ALLIANCE  IN  TEXAS.  43 

To  prevent  the  granting  of  rebates ;  to  prevent  pooling  freights  to  shut  off 
competition ;  and  to  secure  to  the  people  the  benefit  of  railroad  transportation 
at  reasonable  cost. 

"15.  We  demand  that  all  convicts  shall  be  confined  within  the  prison 
walls,  and  the  contract  system  be  abolished. 

**  16.  We  recommend  a  call  for  a  national  labor  conference,  to  which  all 
labor  organizations  shall  be  invited  to  send  representative  men,  to  discuss 
such  measures  as  may  be  of  interest  to  the  laboring  classes. 

♦'  17. .  That  the  president  of  the  State  Alliance  be,  and  he  is  hereby,  directed 
to  appoint  a  committee  of  three  to  press  these  demands  upon  the  attention  of 
the  legislators  of  the  State  and  nation,  and  report  progress  at  the  next  meet- 
ing of  the  State  Alliance.  And  further,  that  newspapers  be  furnished  copies 
of  these  demands  for  publication  ;  and  be  it  further 

'*  Resolved,  That  the  president  of  the  State  Alliance  have  fifty  thousand 
copies  of  these  resolutions  and  demands  printed  and  distributed  to  the  Sub- 
Alliances,  through  the  respective  county  secretaries. 

''Resolved,  That  each  delegate  to  the  State  Alliance  present  a  copy  of 
these  resolutions  to  each  candidate  for  a  legislative  office,  State  or  national, 
and  endeavor  to  secure  his  indorsement  and  assistance  in  carrying  them  to  a 
successful  issue. 

(Signed)  "W.  M.  Mathes,        E.  B.  Warren, 

♦♦H.  T.  Clark,  J.  H.  Morrow, 

**J.  M.  Perdue,  Geo.  H.  Stovall." 

**B.  F.  Rogers, 

The  Committee  on  Sale  and  Shipment  of  Cotton  reported  as 

follows :  — 

"I.  Recognizing  that  cotton  is  the  most  important  crop  —  financially  con- 
sidered —  that  concerns  the  farmers  of  this  greiit  State ;  that  its  value  for  last 
year  having  been  $80,000,000,  as  paid  by  the  spinners,  and  $64,000,000  paid 
to  the  producers,  leaving  a  margin  of  $16,000,000,  over  half  of  which  immense 
sum  was  marginal  profits ;  that  this  year  the  crop  will  not  vary  much  from 
that  of  last  year ;  hence,  if  concerted  action  is  not  taken  by  the  producers  of 
Texas,  eight  or  nine  million  dollars  will  again  be  swallowed  up  as  marginal 
profits,  over  and  above  all  fair  charges,  to  liquidate  expenses  of  transportation, 
sampling,  weighing,  inspecting,  classifying,  handling,  etc.  Eight  or  nine 
millions  of  dollars  are  lost  each  year  to  the  producers  of  Texas,  principally 
through  false  weights,  defective  sampling,  cliques  and  corners,  and  enormous 
charges  for  transportation.  Therefore  your  committee  recommends,  after 
careful  consideration,  that  the  cotton  yard  system  be  adopted  by  the  County 
Alliances,  as  the  surest  and  most  immediate  relief  to  the  producers  of  the 
State. 

"2.  It  is  recommended  by  your  committee  that  the  County  Alliances  (either 
singly  or  where  a  number  of  counties  lie  contiguous  to  an  oil  mill)  make  the 
best  terms  possible  for  the  sale  of  cotton  seed,  and  that  each  County  Alliance 


44  AGRICULTURAL    ORGANIZATIONS. 

making  such  arrangement  shall  report  terms  of  such  to  the  secretary  of  the 
State  Alliance  for  transmission  to  all  the  County  Alliances  of  the  State,  if  that 
officer  deem  said  report  of  sufficient  importance. 

•'  3.  Your  committee  recommend  that  each  County  Alliance  in  the  cotton 
district  hold  a  called  meeting  for  discussion  and  action  on  the  cotton  problem, 
as  soon  after  receiving  notice  of  this  recommendation  as  possible. 

"4.  Your  committee  suggests  that  the  State  secretary,  or  corresponding 
State  secretary,  if  such  an  officer  should  be  elected,  shall  write  to  the  general 
agent  of  the  pooled  railroad  lines  in  Texas  as  to  the  best  rates  that  said 
pooled  lines  will  give  on  cotton  shipments,  and  report  such  answer  to  each 
county  secretary.  Also,  to  get  statements  concerning  best  rates  on  cotton 
from  railroad  lines  not  in  the  pool,  for  transmission  to  the  County  Alliances. 

♦'E.    D.   M  ACRE  AD  Y, 

"B.  F.  Ellis, 

"  R.  M.  Champion." 

Adopted. 

The  following  resolutions  were  read  and  adopted  :  — 

^'Resolved,  i.  That  E.  D.  Macready  is  hereby  appointed  corresponding 
secretary  of  the  Farmers'  Alliance. 

"2.  That  said  E.  D.  Macready  be  allowed  thirty  dollars  per  month  for  the 
period  of  six  months. 

"3.  That  the  salary  of  the  Secretary  of  the  State  Alliance  shall  be  one 
hundred  dollars  per  month." 

Committee  on  Constitution  and  By-Laws  reported,  offering  a 
substitute  for  the  present  constitution,  and  recommending  the 
creation  of  the  office  of  corresponding  secretary  for  the  pur- 
pose—  in  addition  to  the  cotton  correspondence  —  of  keeping 
the  order  posted  as  to  the  best  markets  for  the  sale  of  all  kinds 
of  produce  and  the  purchase  of  all  kinds  of  commodities  ;  and 
that  suitable  steps  be  taken  by  this  body  for  the  extension  of 
the  work  into  other  States,  with  the  view  of  organizing  a  Na- 
tional Alliance ;  and  that  suitable  steps  be  taken  to  procure  an 
amended  charter,  as  the  present  one  seems  to  be  inadequate. 

On  motion,  the  report  of  the  cornmittee  was  received.  The 
constitution  was  then  unanimously  adopted. 

The  following  resolutions  were  then  adopted  :  — 

**  Resolved,  That  no  person  who  is  an  officer  or  owns  stock  in  any  banking 
corporation  is  eligible  to  membership  in  the  Farmers'  Alliance,  and  any  such 
persons  who  belong  to  the  organization  are  hereby  requested  to  withdraw ; 
otherwise  such  persons  shall  be  dropped  from  the  roll. 


THE  ALLIANCE  IN  TEXAS,  45 

«*  Resolved,  That  we  recognize  the  right  of  the  laboring  classes  to  organize, 
and  condemn  any  effort  on  the  part  of  any  man,  or  set  of  men,  who  seek  to 
proscribe  the  right  of  any  man  exercising  his  freedom  by  joining  any  labor 
organization  having  for  its  object  the  bettering  of  the  laboring  man's  condi- 
tion. 

''Resolved,  That  we  establish  an  Alliance  brand;  that  we  first  establish 
the  statutory  county  brand  as  our  county  brand,  and  in  addition  we  establish 
an  Alliance  brand  to  be  placed  on  the  jaw  of  animals. 

''Resolved,  That  we  now  proceed  to  the  election  of  the  executive  com- 
mittee provided  for  in  the  constitution  just  adopted." 

Brothers  C.  W.  Macune  of  Milam  County,  Evan  Jones  of  Erath 
County,  John  H.  Harrison  of  Falls  County,  were  duly  elected. 
Brothers  J.  R.  Johnson  of  Dallas  County,  E.  D.  Macready  of 
Grayson  County,  and  C.  W.  Macune  of  Milam  County,  were 
appointed  by  the  president  as  the  committee  to  revise,  correct, 
and  have  printed  the  constitution  and  by-laws. 

The  Alliance  adjourned  at  5  p.m.,  August  8,  1886,  to  meet  in 
Waco,  August  I,  1887. 

A.  DUNLAP, 
President  State  Fanners''  Alliance. 

H.  G.  Moore, 
Secretary  State  Farmers''  Alliafice. 

During  the  entire  meeting  there  was  a  kind  of  restlessness 
and  suspicion  that  could  not  be  kept  down.  When  the  Com- 
mittee on  Demands  reported,  the  storm  broke,  and  a  general 
heated  discussion  was  the  result.  After  the  demands  had  been 
adopted,  some  were  led  to  believes  that  the  Alliance  was  about 
to  launch  into  politics.  Acting  upon  this,  a  secret  meeting  was 
held,  and  another  set  of  State  officers  was  elected,  consisting  of 
John  H.  Harrison,  President ;  D.  J.  Eddleman,  Vice-President ; 
C.  C.  Camp,  Secretary ;  and  J.  A.  Landers,  Treasurer.  This 
action  was  kept  so  quiet  that  but  few  knew  of  it  until  an  appli- 
cation was  made  for  a  charter  by  this  new  organization.  They 
had  chosen  the  same  name  as  the  regular  Alliance,  and  had 
chosen  the  same  vice-president  and  treasurer.  Taken  as  a 
whole,  it  looked  very  much  like  a  bad  piece  of  business.  Presi- 
dent Dunlap  at  once  called  a  meeting  of  the  executive  com- 
mittee, and  the  matter  was  fully  discussed.  It  was  evident  that 
only  thorough  work  and  good  judgment  could  save  the  Alliance 


46  AGRICULTURAL    ORGANIZATIONS. 

from  a  long,  bitter  feud,  and  perhaps  total  destruction.  President 
Dunlap,  either  from  a  want  of  nerve,  or  distrust  of  his  ability  to 
deal  with  the  difficulty,  resigned  as  president  of  the  Alliance, 
which  was  quickly  followed  by  the  resignation  of  D.  J.  Eddie- 
man,  vice-president.  This  placed  the  entire  responsibility  upon 
the  chairman  of  the  executive  committee,  Dr.  C.  W.  Macune. 
It  was  in  this  manner  and  under  these  conditions  that  Brother 
Macune  began  his  career  of  service  to  the  Alliance.  A  man 
with  less  courage  would  have  given  it  up  as  a  hopeless  task. 
Not  so  with  Brother  Macune.  Believing  in  the  ultimate  tri- 
umph of  truth,  relying  on  the  just  principles  of  the  Alliance, 
and  strengthened  by  that  faith  which  comes  through  an  honest 
purpose,  he  began  at  once  to  act  vigorously  in  his  attempt  to 
save  the  Alliance.  He  held  a  conference  with  the  dissenting 
brethren,  and  succeeded  in  persuading  them  to  hold  in  abeyance 
the  organization  they  had  begun,  until  after  a  State  meeting, 
which  should  be  called  in  the  near  future.  This  was  accom- 
plished after  much  persuasion,  and  a  candid  discussion  of  the 
whole  situation. 

After  further  consultation,  it  was  agreed  to  call  a  meeting  of 
the  State  Alliance  on  January  i8,  1887,  at  Waco.  In  accord- 
ance with  this  agreement,  Acting  President  Macune  issued  his 
proclamation  for  the  called  session.  In  the  meantime  the  poli- 
ticians had  not  been  idle.  They  had  sown  the  seed  of  discord 
and  distrust  wherever  possible,  and  the  whole  order  was  in  a 
state  of  ferment.  As  the  time  for  the  called  session  drew  near, 
the  feeling  became  more  intense,  and  the  danger  of  serious 
divisions  seemed  imminent.  In  the  midst  of  all  this  difficulty, 
K  Brother  Macune  was  doing  a  noble  work  in  allaying  the  fears  of 
I  some,  strengthening  the  faith  of  others,  and  trying  by  every 
'  means  in  his  power  to  bring  the  brotherhood  to  a  proper  sense 
of  the  duties  and  responsibilities  which  devolved  upon  them  as 
members  of  the  Alliance.  He  succeeded  in  this  effort  so  far 
that,  to  a  considerable  extent,  the  best  men  in  the  Alliance 
rallied  to  his  support,  and  gave  him  their  aid  and  advice. 

Nor  did  his  labors  stop  with  Texac.  Hearing  of  the  Farmers' 
Union  in  Louisiana,  he  wrote  letters  to  find  out  exactly  what 
it  was,  and  sent  Brother  Evan  Jones  to  that  State  with  a  prop- 
osition of   consolidation,  which  in  the  end  proved  successful. 


THE  ALLIANCE  IN  TEXAS.  47 

Plans  were  also  formulated  to  perfect  a  national  organization 
and  carry  the  order  into  other  States.  It  was  under  these  con- 
ditions, and  for  the  purpose  of  arranging  the  difficulties  growing 
out  of  the  split  in  the  organization,  that  the  called  session  at 
Waco  was  convened.  It  was  a  remarkable  meeting.  A  promi- 
nent member  of  that  session  says  :  — 

"The  meeting  began  with  nearly  every  one  ready,  and  expecting  serious 
difficulty.  It  continued  for  nearly  two  days  in  a  turmoil  of  excitement  and 
bad  feeling,  and  finished  its  labors  on  the  fourth  day  amidst  a  regular  love- 
feast,  and  with  the  brightest  prospects." 

The  declaration  of  purposes,  up  to  the  Cleburne  meeting,  in 
1886,  consisted  of  six  divisions.  At  this  meeting,  division  num- 
ber one  was  changed  and  number  seven  added.  As  will  be  seen 
in  the  old  constitution,  division  one  read  as  follows  :  — 

'•  To  labor  for  the  Alliance  and  its  purposes,  assured  that  a  faithful  observ- 
ance of  the  following  principles  will  insure  our  mental,  moral,  and  financial 
improvement." 

The  one  great  danger  which  threatened  the  Alliance  was  the 
introduction  of  partisan  politics.  Brother  Macune,  realizing 
the  true  condition,  and  believing  that  future  success  demanded 
a  proper  beginning,  introduced  the  following  as  a  substitute  for 
this  section  :  — 

"To  labor  for  the  education  of  the  agricultural  classes  in  the  science  of 
economical  government,  in  a  strictly  non-partisan  spirit." 

This  gave  rise  to  a  lengthy  debate,  but  was  finally  adopted,  and 
has  proved  what  Brother  Macune  declared  it  would,  the  founda- 
tion rock  on  which  the  superstructure  of  the  Alliance  has  been 
built.  The  wisdom  of  this  declaration  is  being  demonstrated 
daily,  and  its  necessity  is  recognized  by  all. 

Section  number  seven  was  added  without  much  debate,  and 
was  considered  at  the  time  of  no  great  importance.  It  was 
written  and  presented  to  the  committee  for  consideration,  by 
Brother  W.  H.  H.  Shook,  a  school  teacher  from  Grayson  County, 
Texas.  It  has  grown  in  favor  with  the  Alliance,  until  now  no 
member  can  read  it,  or  hear  it  read  during  service,  without  a 
feeling  of  honest  pride  in  being  able  to  belong  to  an  order  that 
promulgates  such  noble  sentiments.     In  accepting  this  section. 


48  AGRICULTURAL    ORGANIZATIONS. 

the  Alliance  did  as  in  many  other  matters,  —  it  built  for  the 
future. 

As  the  proceedings  of  the  Farmers'  State  Alliance  of  Texas, 
held  at  Waco,  in  January,  1887,  must  be  of  interest  to  every 
member  of  the  order,  we  feel  justified  in  giving  them  in  detail. 

"Pursuant  to  call  issued  by  C.  W.  Macune,  chairman  of  Executive  Com- 
mittee and  acting  president,  the  Farmers'  State  Alliance  met  in  the  Court- 
House,  Waco,  Texas,  ten  o'clock  a.m.,  Tuesday,  January  18,  1887. 

*'  Brother  Macune  occupied  the  chair,  and  opened  the  Alliance  in  due  form. 

'•  Brother  B.  J.  Kendrick,  of  McLennan  County,  was  appointed  vice-presi- 
dent pro  tempore. 

"The  acting  president  stated  that  he  would  order  the  call  of  the  roll,  and 
that  if  he  found  a  quorum  present,  he  would  explain  the  object  of  the  meeting. 
He  then  explained  his  decisions  and  rulings  in  regard  to  apparently  conflict- 
ing meanings  of  certain  clauses  in  the  constitution,  in  reference  to  the  manner 
in  which  the  Farmers'  State  Alliance  may  be  reconvened. 

♦'  The  roll  was  then  called  by  the  secretary,  and  it  was  found  that  seventy- 
one  counties  were  represented. 

"The  chair  ruled  that  all  officers  and  members  of  standing  and  special 
committees  are  entitled  to  seats  during  the  session. 

"  Brother  O'Byrne  of  Gregg  raised  the  question  whether  those  officers 
who  resigned  their  positions  in  the  Farmers'  State  Alliance  are  still  members 
of  this  body.  The  chair  decided  in  the  affirmative.  An  appeal  from  this 
decision  was  taken  by  Brother  O'Byrne,  which,  after  some  discussion,  was 
withdrawn. 

"  The  acting  president  then  explained  the  embarrassment  of  his  situation, 
and  asked  that  the  Alliance  relieve  him  by  electing  a  temporary  chairman  or 
president,  to  preside  until  President  Dunlap's  successor  shall  be  elected.  But 
it  being  clearly  the  wish  of  the  Alliance  that  Brother  Macune  should  occupy 
the  chair  for  the  period  mentioned,  no  action  was  taken  in  the  premises. 

"  On  motion,  the  chair  was  authorized  to  appoint  a  committee  of  twelve  on 
Credentials.     The  following  were  appointed  :  — 

"W.  M.  Reed,  chairman,  McLennan  County;  J.  M.  Smith,  Bell;  Nat 
Draughan,  Red  River;  J.  B.  Larry,  Bosque;  S.  W.  Hilliard,  Burleson;  A.  S. 
Simmes,  Leon;  J.  A.  Ramsdale,  Burnet;  C.  H.  Alden,  Travis;  A.  P.  Cagle, 
Montague;  J.  A.  Buford,  Coleman;  John  O'Byrne,  Gregg;  T.  M.  Collie, 
Stevens. 

"  On  motion,  a  committee  consisting  of  Brothers  Jones  of  Erath,  and 
Pickett  and  Dunkp  of  Wise,  was  appointed  to  receive  and  introduce  the 
visiting  brothers  from  the  Louisiana  Farmers'  Union. 

"At  12.22  o'clock,  the  Alliance  adjourned  until  half-past  one. 

"  The  Alliance  met  at  1.45  o'clock. 

"  A  communication  from  Rev  B.  H.  Carroll,  pastor  of  the  First  Baptist 
Church  of  Waco,  inviting  the  members  of  the  Farmers'  State  Alliance  to  hear 


THE  ALLIANCE  IN  TEXAS.  49 

his  lecture  on  '  Personal  Liberty,'  to  be  given  at  the  church  at  7.30  p.m.,  was 
read,  and  on  motion  the  invitation  was  accepted. 

*'  Brother  Jones  of  Erath  County  was  called  upon  to  tell  something  about 
the  Louisiana  Farmers'  Union.  He  stated  that  he  visited  the  Union  in  session 
at  Ruston,  Louisiana,  in  pursuance  of  an  order  from  the  acting  president  of 
the  Farmers'  State  Alliance,  where  he  received  a  most  cordial  reception, 
and  found  that  the  aims  and  purposes  of  the  Union  were  similar  to  those  of 
the  Alliance. 

*'  Some  interesting  communications  from  the  president,  vice-president,  and 
lecturer  of  the  '  National  Alliance,'  which  recently  met  in  Chicago,  were  read 
by  the  chair.  On  motion,  a  vote  of  thanks  was  tendered  Brother  Macune,  for 
the  interest  he  manifested  in  obtaining  the  information  above  referred  to. 

'*  A  communication  from  Mr.  J.  A.  Tetts,  the  corresponding  secretary  of 
the  Louisiana  Farmers'  Union,  was  read ;  also  a  communication  from  the 
Union,  which  had  been  sent  by  the  hand  of  Brother  Evan  Jones. 

"  After  spending  the  remainder  of  the  day  and  much  of  the  following  fore- 
noon in  useless  discussion,  considerable  ill-feeling  was  shown,  and  a  desire  to 
obstruct  proceedings  was  manifested  to  an  extent  not  to  be  mistaken.  Finally, 
the  acting  president  declared  that  he  would  entertain  no  further  business 
until  he  had  stated  the  object  of  the  meeting,  and  called  upon  the  body  to 
elect  a  temporary  president.  He  then  read  a  message,  stating  the  object  of 
the  meeting,  and  making  some  recommendations. 

*♦  Message  of  the  Acting  President. 

'•  All  the  different  classes  and  occupations  of  society  are  engaging  in  organi- 
zation for  mutual  advancement  and  protection  to  a  greater  extent  than  ever 
before  in  the  history  of  the  world.  In  fact,  we  may  say  that  every  calling  is 
organized.  This  thorough  organization  has  created  a  new  order  of  things. 
Problems  in  regard  to  a  calling  or  an  occupation  are  constantly  being  pre- 
sented, as  that  occupation  becomes  more  thoroughly  organized,  and  others 
are  being  presented  as  other  occupations  with  which  they  have  dealings 
become  organized.  The  peculiar  relations  of  large  organizations  to  their  own 
members,  to  the  government,  and  to  other  organizations,  is  a  subject  worthy 
of  the  most  profound  study  by  all  who  exercise  the  right  of  citizenship. 

"  However,  the  general  relations  and  objects  of  organization  we  all  under- 
stand, and  are  pledged  to  support.  Whatever  other  objects  an  organization 
may  have,  especially  an  organization  like  our  own,  the  grand  central  object, 
around  which  all  others  revolve,  and  from  which  they  draw  life,  is  co-opera- 
tion for  mutual  effort  and  advancement.  I  hold  that  co-operation,  properly 
understood  and  properly  applied,  will  place  a  limit  to  the  encroachments  of 
organized  monopoly,  and  will  be  the  means  by  which  the  mortgage-burdened 
farmers  can  assert  their  freedom  from  the  tyranny  of  organized  capital,  and 
obtain  the  reward  for  honesty,  industry,  and  frugality,  which  they  so  richly 
deserve,  and  which  they  are  now  so  unjustly  denied. 

"  Take  for  example  a  freight  question  as  illustrated  in  this  way:  A  car-load 
of  lumber  from  Galveston  to  Waco  will  probably  cost  you  about  forty  dollars 


50  AGRICULTURAL    ORGANIZATIONS, 

freight ;  but  if  you  load  that  very  same  fiat  car  with  cotton  and  ship  to  Galves- 
ton, the  freight  will  cost  about  one  hundred  and  fifty  dollars.  Here  is  a  tribute 
that  the  cotton  fields  pay  the  corporate  monopolies  for  nothing ;  but  I  hold  that 
we  have  an  adequate  and  complete  remedy  in  co-operation.  Nothing  would 
whip  them  quicker  or  more  completely  than  for  the  farmers  of  Texas  to  build 
cotton  mills  enough  to  manufacture  what  cotton  goods  they  want  to  use ;  then 
plant  only  as  much  cotton  as  they  want  to  manufacture,  and  spend  their  spare 
time  in  raising  a  diversity  of  products  for  the  supply  of  home  consumption, 
thus  rendering  themselves  independent.  But  the  possibilities  of  this  organi- 
zation exceed  those  of  any  or  all  other  organizations  combined,  when  we  take 
into  consideration  the  fact  that  in  no  part  of  the  globe  does  cotton  grow  to 
that  degree  of  perfection  that  it  does  in  the  cotton  belt  of  the  United  States ; 
that  the  necessities  of  the  world  absolutely  demand  the  exportation  of  a  large 
per  cent  of  the  crop  raised  in  this  favored  section  every  year;  and  if  the 
farmers  of  the  cotton  belt  were  all  to  unite  into  an  organization,  they  could 
force  the  world  to  pay  a  just  and  fair  price  for  the  labor  expended  in  raising 
this  staple.  There  is  no  necessity  for  the  condition  that  now  exists ;  no 
reason  why  the  price  of  your  next  year's  crop  is  now  set  in  London,  by  the 
knowledge  whether  the  Jews  —  who  control  the  money  market  of  the  world  — 
go  on  the  market  or  not.  The  possibilities  for  good  by  enhghtened  co-opera- 
tion are  without  limit. 

•'  For  some  two  and  a  half  months  I  have  been  acting  as  your  president,  in 
order  to  discharge  duties  of  that  office  which  would  otherwise  have  been  made 
vacant  by  the  resignation  of  President  Dunlap  and  Vice-President  Eddleman. 
I  issued  the  call  for  this  meeting.  Whether  I  had  the  authority  to  call  the 
meeting  or  not,  you  have  responded  by  your  presence,  and  I  now  wish  as  my 
last  act  in  this  capacity  to  explain  the  object  of  this  meeting,  and  then  call 
upon  you  to  elect  a  chairman  for  your  temporary  organization.  The  objects 
of  the  meeting  as  expressed  in  the  call  are :  — 


♦*  I,  C.  W.  Macune,  chairman  of  the  Executive  Committee,  and  ex  officio 
president  of  the  Farmers'  State  Alliance  of  Texas,  do  hereby  issue  this,  my 
official  call,  for  an  extra  session  of  the  Farmers'  State  Alliance  of  Texas,  to 
convene  in  the  city  of  Waco,  Texas,  at  ten  o'clock  a.m.,  on  the  third  Tuesday, 
it  being  the  eighteenth  day  of  January,  1887,  for  the  following  purposes, 
to  wit :  — 

"  First.   The  election  of  officers  to  fill  vacancies. 

''Second.  To  consider  the  report  of  the  'Conference  Committee'  that 
convened  in  Waco,  November  10,  1886,  at  the  request  of  said  Executive 
Committee,  which  report  is  to  be  published  in  the  Dallas  Mercury,  and  to  be 
sent  to  the  secretaries  of  the  various  Alliances  throughout  the  State,  to  which 
attention  is  hereby  directed. 

"  Third.  To  devise  a  method  of  sending  representatives  into  other  States 
of  the  Union,  for  the  purpose  of  organizing  and  co-operating  with  other  agri- 
cultural societies. 


THE  ALLIANCE  IN  TEXAS.  5 1 

'■'■Fourth.  To  consider  and  determine  upon  the  propriety  of  adopting  a 
second  or  co-operative  degree,  which  has  been  considerably  promulgated 
among  the  Alliances. 

"-Fifth.  And  for  such  other  purposes  as  the  absolute  necessities  of  the 
order  may  imperatively  demand. 

"All  duly  accredited  delegates  to  the  regular  meeting  of  the  said  State 
Alliance  held  in  August,  1886,  at  Cleburne,  Texas,  are  hereby  notified  to 
attend  this  above-called  session  of  said  State  Alliance,  and  will  be  recognized 
as  the  members  composing  said  called  session,  as  provided  in  Art.  11,  Sec.  6, 
of  the  constitution  of  said  Farmers'  State  Alliance  of  Texas. 

♦♦  C.  W.  Macune, 
"  Chairman  of  the  Executive  Co7nmittee  and  ex  officio  President 
of  the  Fartners'  State  Alliance  of  Texas. 

*•  Thus  you  see  this  is  a  business  meeting,  and  I  will  not  consume  your 
time  by  speaking.  These  objects  need  no  explanation,  unless  it  be  the  last. 
I  would  like  to  say  a  few  words  upon  that. 

*'  While  filling  my  position  as  chairman  of  the  Executive  Committee,  and 
acting  as  president  of  this  association,  I  have  been  the  recipient  of  a  great 
number  of  letters  from  the  different  parts  of  the  State,  asking  information  or 
instruction  in  Alliance  work,  or  offering  suggestions,  etc.  The  result  has 
been  that  the  imperfections  and  necessities  of  the  order  have  been  made 
visible,  and  it  is  to  the  result  of  information  and  experience  gained  in  this  way 
that  I  now  wish  to  call  your  attention. 

*•  Under  the  head  of:  *  Such  other  purposes  as  the  absolute  necessities  of 
the  order  imperatively  demand  ; '  the  following  suggestions  are  made  :  — 

"  There  should  be  a  code  of  laws  enacted  by  this  body,  which  would  consti- 
tute the  statutory  law  of  the  order.  The  constitution,  as  the  organic  law,  can 
only  express  principles,  and  should  be  supplemented  by  a  statutory  law  that 
will  explain  and  provide  for  a  uniform  and  certain  method  of  carrying  out  the 
principles  enunciated  in  the  constitution.  Resolutions,  such  as  it  has  been 
the  custom  of  this  body  to  pass,  do  not  seem  to  meet  the  demand,  and  it  is 
suggested  that  resolutions  be  passed  when  it  is  desired  to  express  a  senti- 
ment, or  as  advisory  measures,  but  that  all  commands  of  this  body,  prescrib- 
ing anything  or  prohibiting  anything,  be  enacted  as  laws,  and  have  a  uniform 
style  of  caption ;  e.g.  '  Be  it  enacted  by  the  Farmers'  State  Alliance  of 
Texas,  in  regular  (or  called)  session  assembled.' 

"  The  statutory  law  should  embrace  clear  and  distinct  provisions  defining 
the  duties,  powers,  and  responsibilities  of  the  president  of  the  State  Alliance, 
and  of  every  other  officer,  or  chairman,  or  member  of  the  standing  committee 
of  the  State  Alliance.  It  should  prescribe  a  method  of  trial,  by  which  the 
State  Alliance  may  try  a  County  Alliance,  and  one  by  which  a  County  Alliance 
may  try  a  Sub-Alliance.  There  should  be  a  legal  form  for  the  commissions  of 
all  officers  and  committee-men.  The  present  method  of  appointing  and  com- 
missioning organizing  officers  has  resulted  in  some  sections  having  too  many, 
and  some  sections  are  yet  unorganized,  and  does  not  seem  to  meet   the 


52  AGRICULTURAL    ORGANIZATIONS, 

demands  of  the  order.  It  is  suggested  that  the  number  in  each  congressional 
district  be  Umited  to  one,  and  that  he  receive  his  commission  upon  passing 
a  satisfactory  examination  before  an  examining  board,  composed  of  the  pres- 
ident, secretary,  and  Executive  Committee  of  the  State  Alliance,  and  that 
his  commission  be  good  for  a  specified  and  limited  time,  and  that  he  have 
power  and  authority  to  appoint  as  many  as  one  deputy  in  each  county,  vi^ho 
shall  be  deputies  under  him,  and  all  of  whose  acts  shall  be  done  on  his 
responsibilities.  That  the  law  defining  the  duties,  powers,  and  responsibilities 
of  organizing  officers  and  their  deputies,  be  made  complete  and  explicit,  and 
so  changed  that  they  may  be  more  interested  in  getting  good  material  than 
large  numbers  in  the  organizations,  and  that  they  be  not  allowed  to  take 
fifteen  men  as  charter  members  without  a  ballot.  Also  the  organizing  officers 
be  made  members  of  the  State  Alliance. 

'•The  order  has  grown  in  the  last  year  and  a  half  from  700  Alliances  to 
about  3500,  now  organized;  and  perhaps  the  most  potent  argument  that 
organizing  officers  have  used  in  securing  this  rapid  accession  to  our  ranks  has 
been  the  individual  benefits  that  would  accrue  from  concentration  of  trade  in 
purchasing  supplies,  and  the  bulking  of  products  when  offered  for  sale.  Letters 
of  inquiry  are  being  constantly  received,  asking  information  as  to  trade  con- 
tracts and  trade  arrangements.  Brethren  who  have  joined  with  sanguine 
hope  of  the  benefits  that  would  come  from  co-operation  within  the  order, 
should  not  be  disappointed ;  if  they  are,  they  will  leave  our  ranks  in  disgust, 
and  our  numbers  will  decrease  as  rapidly  as  they  have  increased.  This  body 
should,  therefore,  enact  laws  defining  and  establishing  a  bureau,  or  making  it 
the  duty  of  the  executive  or  some  other  committee,  to  collect  and  classify  the 
wants  and  desires  of  the  order  and  ascertain  the  very  best  means  of  supplying 
those  wants;  and  they  should  at  all  times  be  ready  to  give  the  very  best 
information  attainable  as  to  trade  contracts,  and  they  should  also  keep  a 
record  of  the  different  trade  contracts  and  arrangements  ;  they  should  also  keep 
a  record  of  the  different  contracts,  and  note  on  same  the  amount  of  success  and 
satisfaction  that  attend  it  in  its  working,  in  order  to  classify  same  as  statistical 
evidence  as  time  progresses,  to  the  end  that  we  may  determine,  from  the 
teaching  of  experience,  which  is  attended  with  the  very  best  results. 

"  This  body  should  take  effective  and  adequate  steps  to  support  and  assist, 
to  direct  and  concentrate,  the  efforts  being  made  by  County  Alliances  to 
regulate  and  reform  the  system  of  purchasing  supplies  and  sale  of  products. 

'•  There  should  be  a  plain  law  as  to  the  admission  of  infidels,  and  if  they 
are  excluded,  which  it  is  hoped  they  will  be,  that  the  question  also  be  settled 
as  to  whether  they  should  be  allowed  to  remain  after  they  have  gained  admis- 
sion to  the  order. 

**  Under  the  laws  of  Texas,  the  charter  of  an  incorporated  association  rests 
in  the  Board  of  Trustees;  and  it  is  hereby  requested  that  provision  be  made 
for  the  election  of  a  Board  of  Trustees,  to  be  composed  of  at  least  fifteen 
members,  and  that  the  Board  of  Trustees  shall,  when  a  vacancy  occurs  in 
the  office  of  president  and  vice-president,  fill  the  vacancy  by  appointment  for 
the  unexpired  term,  unless  they  shall  deem  it  expedient  to  hold  a  called 


THE  ALLIANCE  IN  TEXAS,  53 

session  of  the  State  Alliance ;  and  they  should  as  soon  as  possible  be  intrusted 
with  the  power  of  deciding  when  a  called  meeting  of  this  body  is  necessary. 

•*  There  should  be  a  law  defining  the  manner  of  consolidating  two  or  more 
Alliances,  when  they  shall  so  desire. 

"  Respectfully  submitted, 

"  C.  W.  Macune, 
"  Chairman,  Executive  Cotfwiiitee.'''' 

The  message  had  a  quieting  effect,  and  seemed  to  satisfy  the 
brethren  that  the  Alliance  had  been  in  safe  hands,  and  that  the 
best  interests  of  the  order  had  been  conserved.  The  idea  began 
to  obtain  that  the  difficulty  which  at  'one  time  threatened  the 
perpetuity  of  the  order  had,  under  the  guidance  of  honest  and 
discreet  officers,  prompted  by  a  sense  of  duty  and  responsibility, 
been  made  to  serve  the  best  interests  of  the  order,  and  promised 
to  be  a  blessing  in  disguise.  Brother  Macune  was,  on  motion, 
made  permanent  chairman,  until  the  successor  of  President 
Dunlap  had  been  selected.  One  hundred  and  four  counties 
were  represented  at  this  meeting,  which  showed  a  rapid  growth 
during  President  Macune's  administration. 

The  following  officers  were  elected  to  fill  vacancies :  Evan 
Jones,  President ;  R.  F.  Butler,  Vice-President.  W.  M.  Mathes 
and  B.  F.  Rogers  were  elected  members  of  the  Executive  Com- 
mittee, to  fill  vacancies. 

On  motion  of  Brother  Daniels  it  was 

"  Resolved,  That  we  extend  to  Brother  C.  W.  Macune  our  grateful  thanks  for 
the  able  manner  in  which  he  has  conducted  the  affairs  of  the  order  since  the 
resignation  of  President  Dunlap,  and  assure  him  that  perfect  satisfaction  has 
been  given." 

The  following  was  adopted  :  — 

**  Whereas,  The  manner  of  selling  our  cotton,  as  adopted  by  the  County 
Alliances,  has  proven  unsatisfactory,  and  as  some  of  the  County  Alliances  hare 
requested  that  the  State  Alliances  adopt  some  plan  which  will  bring  the  pro- 
ducer and  consumer  nearer  together,  and  dispense  with  so  many  middlemen ; 
therefore  be  it 

''Resolved,  That  a  committee  of  three  be  appointed  to  report  upon  the 
expediency  of  securing  an  agency  for  the  sale  of  the  coming  cotton  crop  in 
the  manufacturing  centres." 

Brothers  R.  J.  Sledge,  H.  W.  Wade,*and  B.  J.  Kendrick  were 
appointed  said  committee. 


54  AGRICULTURAL    ORGANIZATIONS. 

The  committee  appointed  to  consider  the  Conference  Report 
now  presented  their  report,  which  was  a  satisfactory  solution  of 
the  differences  heretofore  existing  in  the  State  AlUance.  The 
report  was  unanimously  adopted  by  a  rising  vote,  amid  cheers 
and  other  manifestations  of  deep  feeling.  It  was  felt  that  har- 
mony had  been  fully  restored,  and  the  main  object  of  this  called 
session  had  been  accomplished. 

"Report  of  Special  Committee  on  Proceedings  of  Conference 
•     Committee. 

"We,  to  whom  were  referred  the  proceedings  of  a  number  of  Alliance 
brothers,  calling  themselves  a  Conference  Committee,  which  met  in  Waco, 
November  lo,  1886,  beg  leave  to  submit  the  following  resolutions,  which  we 
earnestly  recommend  the  Alliance  to  adopt,  without  debate,  and  in  the  spirit 
of  brotherly  love  and  kindness,  as  a  settlement  of  the  seeming  dissatisfaction 
among  our  brothers  :  — 

**  Whereas^  There  is  no  warrant  in  our  constitution  for  any  committee  of 
conference ;  therefore  be  it 

''Resolved^  i.  That  the  proceedings  of  said  Conference  Committee  be  not 
recognized  by  the  Farmers'  State  Alliance. 

"2.  That  the  official  action  of  the  Executive  Committee  in  accepting  the 
resignation  of  President  Dunlap,  Vice-President  Eddleman,  and  Executive 
Committee-man  Harrison,  is  hereby  approved ;  also  all  other  acts  in  accord- 
ance with  the  constitution  of  the  Farmers'  State  Alliance. 

"3.  That  we  re-indorse  and  reaffirm  the  demands  passed  at  the  Cleburne 
session,  with  the  construction  that  they  are  non-partisan  in  a  political  sense. 

"Jacob  Brown,  Chairman.  J.  W.  Sumner, 

*♦  R.  A.  Burford,  Jos.  Smelser, 

**  D.  D.  Welch,  John  F.  Emerson, 

'•  W.  F.  Petty,  Committee:' 

The  committee  on  Acting  President  Macune's  report  said :  — 

"  We  have  examined  carefully  the  report  of  Brother  Macune,  and  find  it 
full  and  explicit,  and  in  keeping  with  law,  justice,  and  economy,  and  we 
recommend  its  indorsement.  We  further  recommend  that  he  be  sustained 
in  his  action  in  calling  this  session,  as  we  conceive  it  has  been  the  means  of 
protecting  and  preserving  our  noble  order." 

In  this  is  found  the  complete  vindication  and  approval  of  what 
had  been  considered  by  some  an  invasion  of  the  rights  of  the 
order,  and  is  a  fixed  example  of  the  reward  which  usually  follows 
patience  and  well-doing. 


THE  ALLIANCE  IN  TEXAS.  55 


"Report  of  Special  Committee  on  State  Agency  for  Sale  of 

Cotton. 

'*  We  beg  leave  to  make  the  following  report :  — 

"I.  We  respectfully  recommend  that  each  County  Alliance  establish  at 
least  one  co-operative  store,  cotton  yard,  and  lumber  yard. 

•'  2.  We  recommend  the  selection  by  the  Executive  Committee  of  a  person 
of  ability  and  competency,  in  every  sense  of  the  word,  who  shall  be  the  State 
Alliance  business  agent,  whose  duty  it  shall  be  to  negotiate  the  sale  of  cotton 
and  other  products  as  may  be  placed  under  his  charge  by  the  Alliance,  and  to 
purchase  from  first  hands  as  near  as  may  be  ;)ie  supplies  for  the  Alliance 
co-operative  stores,  recommended  above ;  who  shall  be  an  officer  of  the  State 
Alliance,  holding  his  office  until  his  successor  is  elected  and  qualified ;  sub- 
ject to  suspension  for  cause  by  the  Executive  Committee,  with  right  of  appeal 
to  the  State  Alliance ;  entitled  to  the  counsel  and  assistance  of  the  Executive 
Committee,  whenever  necessary ;  his  books  and  papers  always  open  to  the 
inspection  of  the  Executive  Committee,  whose  duty  it  shall  be  to  examine  them 
at  least  every  quarter ;  under  a  good  and  sufficient  bond  made  to  the  Executive 
Committee,  for  the  faithful  performance  of  the  duties  of  his  office ;  with  such 
salary  as  the  Executive  Committee  may  deem  proper,  and  the  reception  of  any 
emolument  from  any  other  source  than  the  Farmers'  State  Alliance  to  be 
sufficient  cause  for  dismissal  from  office  and  forfeiture  of  bond. 

"Respectfully  submitted, 

"B.  J.  Kendrick,  Chairman. 

After  transacting  a  large  amount  of  detail  business,  the  meet- 
ing adjourned,  to  meet  in  Waco,  in  regular  session,  the  first 
Tuesday  in  August,  1887.  At  this  point  we  will  take  leave  of 
the  history  of  the  State  Alliance  of  Texas,  and  follow  that  of  the 
National  Alliance.  The  State  Alliance  of  Texas  is  at  this  time 
standing  in  the  front  ranks,  amid  the  thirty-three  sister  States 
and  Territories,  that  she  can  now  point  to  with  pride  and  truth- 
fully say,  "These  are  my  children."  It  was  the  mother  of  the 
Farmers'  Alliance,  its  protector  while  young,  and  its  defender  in 
more  mature  years.  Every  true  Alliance  member  should  think 
of  the  Lone  Star  State  with  gratitude,  and  always  accord  to  her 
the  meed  of  praise.  God  bless  the  State  Alliance  of  Texas ! 
May  it  ever  prosper;  may  its  noble  brotherhood  continue  in 
the  faith,  and  at  last  reap  the  reward  in  reserve  for  those  who 
endure  to  the  end ;  so  say  I,  and  so  says  the  brotherhood  every- 
where. 


CHAPTER  IV. 

HISTORY   OF    THE   NATIONAL    ALLIANCE. 

During  the  morning  session  of  the  third  day  of  the  called 
meeting  of  the  Texas  State  Alliance,  at  Waco,  on  January  20, 
1887,  the  following  preamble  and  resolution  were  adopted :  — 

*'  Whereas,  One  of  the  objects  of  this  called  session  is  to  devise  some 
method  of  sending  representatives  into  other  States  of  the  Union,  for  the 
purpose  of  organization  and  co-operation  w^ith  other  agricultural  societies; 
therefore,  be  it 

^'Resolved,  That  this  body  elect  two  of  its  members  from  each  congress- 
ional district  in  the  State,  as  delegates  from  the  order,  to  meet  Brother  J.  A. 
Tetts,  a  delegate  from  the  Louisiana  Farmers'  Union,  and  organize  a  National 
Farmers'  Alliance,  with  instructions  to  procure  a  charter  from  the  government 
of  the  United  States,  if  practicable,  for  a  National  Farmers'  Alliance,  or  some 
modification  of  that  name,  and  to  organize  themselves  by  electing  the  neces- 
sary officers  and  adopting  a  constitution  and  by-laws,  to  be  submitted  to  the 
order  for  ratification ;  and,  that  they  inaugurate  an  efficient  system  of  extend- 
ing the  order  rapidly  in  other  States." 

Prior  to  the  passage  of  this  resolution,  considerable  talk  had 
been  indulged  in  with  reference  to  the  formation  of  a  national 
organization.  Brother  C.  W.  Macune,  Acting  President  of  the 
State  Alliance,  had  corresponded  with  the  officers  of  the  Farm- 
ers' Union  of  Louisiana,  and  had  ascertained  that  their  objects, 
purposes,  and  membership  were  similar  to  those  of  the  Alliance. 
Relying  upon  his  own  sense  of  the  natural  fitness  of  conditions, 
he  had  sent  Brother  Evan  Jones  to  Louisiana,  for  the  purpose 
of  arranging  a  basis  of  consolidation.  His  mission  was  so  suc- 
cessful that  Brother  J.  A.  Tetts  was  sent  to  the  meeting  at 
Waco,  with  full  powers  to  act,  as  the  following  correspondence 
will  show. 

"RusTON,  La.,  January  12,  1887. 
"  To  the  State  Farmers*  Alliance  of  the  State  of  Texas ;  Greeting : 

"Your  distinguished  representative,  Brother  Evan  Jones,  bearing  creden- 
tials from  Hon.  C.  W.  Macune,  ex  officio  president  of  your  honorable  body, 
honored  our  meeting  with  propositions  that  we  send  a  delegate  to  meet  your 
56 


C3 


i 


THE  NATIONAL  ALLIANCE.  57 

body  at  Waco,  at  a  called  meeting  to  be  held  on  and  after  the  i8th  of 
January. 

"  We,  the  State  Union  of  Louisiana,  appreciate  the  consideration  shown 
us,  and  hope  that  the  cordial  relations  between  the  two  sister  orders  may  con- 
tinue to  a  closer  union  of  interest  and  a  complete  harmony  of  action,  in  the 
near  future.  Having  such  a  hope,  we  have  submitted  an  outHne  of  a  union  to 
your  esteemed  representative,  and  to  further  the  movement  have  selected 
Brother  J.  A.  Tetts,  our  corresponding  secretary,  to  meet  you  at  Waco, 
during  the  meeting  to  be  held  at  that  place. 

"Brother  Evan  Jones  gave  a  very  clear  outline  of  the  principles  and  objects 
of  your  order,  which  we  cordially  adopt  in  our  order  though  (we  regret  to  say 
it),  not  as  fully  comprehended  as  they  seem  to  be  in  your  older  and  much 
better  posted  organization. 

"As  the  objects  and  principles  of  the  two  orders  are  identical,  we  see  no 
reason  why  they  should  not  be  united  under  the  same  national  government, 
and  work  in  harmony. 

"  Hoping  that  all  may  work  to  our  mutual  satisfaction  and  benefit,  we  refer 
you  for  further  details  to  Brother  Evan  Jones  and  our  delegate  elected  to  meet 

^^^*  Respectfully  submitted, 

"J.  C.  Jones, 
"P.  Moore, 

"J.    E.   ViRONY, 

"  Committee. 
"John  M.  Stallings, 
^^  President  of  the  State  Union  of  Louisiana. 
"L.  E.  RicnkKTiSy  Secretary  pro  tem:^ 

'*  RusTON,  La.,  January  13,  1887. 
"  To  the  Officers  and  Members  of  the  State  Farmers''  Alliance  of  the  State  of 

Texas ;  Greeting : 

"  This  is  to  certify  that  Brother  J.  A.  Tetts,  a  member  in  good  standing  of 
the  Farmers'  State  Union  of  Louisiana,  was  duly  elected  at  a  called  meeting 
of  the  State  Farmers'  Union,  of  Louisiana,  to  represent  our  Union  at  the 
meeting  called  at  Waco,  January  i8th,  of  your  honorable  body. 

"  This  election  was  held  in  accordance  with  an  invitation  from  the  chair- 
man of  your  Executive  Committee,  extended  through  Brother  Evan  Jones, 
who  honored  us  with  a  visit  in  behalf  of  your  organization. 

"  Brother  J.  A.  Tetts  is  empowered  by  the  State  Farmers'  Union,  of  Lou- 
isiana, to  treat  with  your  body  in  our  behalf  on  the  subject  of  a  union  of  the 
two  orders,  either  in  the  form  of  a  union  of  work,  or  a  connection  through  a 
national  alliance  of  farmers'  orders  or  organizations. 

"  John  M.  Stallings, 
"  President  of  the  State  Union  of  Louisiana. 
"A.  J.  TKYI.OR,  Secretary  pro  tem.^'' 


58  AGRICULTURAL    ORGANIZATIONS. 

"Waco,  January  12,  1887. 
"  To  the  Farmers'  State  Union  of  Louisiana ;  Greeting: 

♦'  Brothers  and  co-laborers  with  us  in  our  common  cause :  ^  It  is  with  pro- 
found pleasure  that  we  acknowledge  and  receive  your  duly  accredited  delegate, 
Brother  J.  A.  Tetts,  from  your  grand  body  to  this  grand  body,  now  in  session 
in  the  city  of  Waco,  Texas.  We  are  profoundly  impressed  with  his  earnest- 
ness, zeal,  and  ability  to  represent  both  your  grand  body  and  the  noble  cause 
which  he  represents,  and  through  him  we  desire  to  return  fraternal  greetings 
to  your  great  body,  and  trust  this  friendship  thus  begun  may  ever  continue. 

"  Respectfully, 

*' D.  J.  Eddleman,  G7;«w///^^." 

Brother  Macune  recognized,  at  this  early  date,  the  necessity 
of  a  unity  of  action  among  reform  organizations.  At  the  even- 
ing session  of  the  same  day,  the  matter  of  delegates  to  the 
National  Farmers'  Alliance  was  taken  up.  The  different  con- 
gressional districts  reported  their  lists  as  follows  :  — 

I,  J.  J.  Fairchild,  W.  K.  Deason ;  2,  W.  B.  Briggs,  B.  F. 
Rogers ;  3,  J.  M.  Perdue,  John  O'Byrne ;  4,  D.  B.  Hale,  Nat 
Draughan  ;    5,  A.  Dunlap,  Geo.  B.  Pickett ;   6,  J.  B.  Barry,  R. 

F.  Butler ;  7,  Joseph  Carter,  A.  C.  Russell ;  8,  Ben  Terrell, 
E.  B.  Warren;  9,  W.  M.  Reed,  C.  W.  Macune;  10,  J.  W. 
Goodwin,  W.  D.  Branum  ;   11,  S.  P.  Burns,  D.  M.  Rumph. 

The  delegates  thus  selected  were  confirmed,  and  these  breth- 
ren, with  Brother  J.  A.  Tetts,  constituted  the  members  of  the 
first  meeting  that  formed  the  National  Alliance. 

The  first  meeting  of  these  delegates  was  held  the  succeeding 
day,  January  21,  1887,  and  the  following  officers  were  elected: 
C.  W.  Macune,  President ;   J.  A.  Tetts,  First  Vice-President ; 

G.  B.  Pickett,  Second  Vice-President ;  J.  M.  Perdue,  Third  Vice- 
President  ;  E.  B.  Warren,  Secretary ;  R.  F.  Butler,  Treasurer. 

These  were  the  first  officers  of  the  National  Alliance. 
Work  was  at  'once  begun  on  the  formation   of  a  National 
constitution.     The  declaration  of  purposes  of  the  Texas  State 
Alliance  was  selected,  and  the  following  constitution  was  pre- 
pared :  — 

CONSTITUTION. 
Declaration  of  Purposes. 
Profoundly  impressed  that  we,  the  farmers  of  America,  who  are  united  by 
the  strong  and  faithful  ties  of  financial  and  home  interests,  should,  when 


THE  NATIONAL  ALLIANCE.  5$ 

organized  into  an  association,  set  forth  our  declaration  of  intentions,  we 
therefore  resolve : 

1.  To  labor  for  the  education  of  the  agricultural  classes  in  the  science  of 
economic  government,  in  a  strictly  non-partisan  spirit,  and  to  bring  about  a 
more  perfect  union  of  said  classes. 

2.  That  we  demand  equal  rights  to  all  and  special  favors  to  none. 

3.  That  we  return  to  the  old  principle  of  letting  the  office  seek  the  man, 
instead  of  the  man  seeking  the  office. 

4.  To  indorse  the  motto,  "In  things  essential  unity,  and  in  all  things 
charity." 

5.  To  develop  a  better  state  mentally,  raorally,  socially,  and  financially. 

6.  To  create  a  better  understanding  for  sustaining  our  civil  officers  in 
maintaining  law  and  order. 

7.  To  constantly  strive  to  secure  entire  harmony  and  good  will  to  all 
mankind,  and  brotherly  love  among  ourselves. 

8.  To  suppress  personal,  local,  sectional,  and  national  prejudices,  all 
unheal thful  rivalry,  and  all  selfish  ambition. 

9.  The  brightest  jewels  which  it  garners  are  the  tears  of  widows  and 
orphans,  and  its  imperative  commands  are  to  visit  the  homes  where  lacerated 
hearts  are  bleeding ;  to  assuage  the  sufferings  of  a  brother  or  sister ;  bury  the 
dead ;  care  for  the  widows  and  educate  the  orphans ;  to  exercise  charity 
towards  oifenders ;  to  construe  words  and  deeds  in  their  most  favorable  light, 
granting  honesty  of  purpose  and  good  intentions  to  others ;  and  to  protect 
the  National  Farmers'  Alliance  and  Co-operative  Union  until  death.  Its  laws 
are  reason  and  equity ;  its  cardinal  doctrines  inspire  purity  of  thought  and 
life ;  its  intention  is,  "  Peace  on  earth  and  good  will  to  man." 

Article  I. 

Section  i .  This  body  shall  be  known  as  the  National  Farmers'  Alliance 
and  Co-operative  Union  of  America,  with  power  to  make  its  own  constitution 
and  by-laws. 

Sec.  2.  The  National  body  shall  be  composed  of  delegates  from  the  vari- 
ous organizations  holding  charters  from,  accepting  the  secret  work  of,  and 
confirming  to  the  constitution  and  by-laws  of  this  National  organization. 

Sec.  3.  Each  State  organization  that  complies  with  the  above  require- 
ments shall  be  entitled  to  one  delegate  for  each  four  counties,  or  fraction  of 
four  counties,  organized  in  that  State. 

Sec.  4.  No  person  shall  be  eligible  to  membership  in  the  National  body 
until  he  shall  have  attained  the  age  of  twenty-five  years. 

Article  II. 

Section  i.  The  regular  annual  meeting  of  the  National  body  shall  be  on 
the  second  Wednesday  in  October  of  each  year,  at  ten  o'clock  a.m.,  and  at 
such  place  as  may  from  time  to  time  be  decided  by  the  body,  or  such  officer 
or  committee  as  they  may  delegate  that  duty. 

Sec.  2.    The  officers  of  the  National  Farmers'  Alliance  and  Co-operative 


6o  AGRICULTURAL    ORGANIZATIONS. 

Union  shall  be  a  President,  Vice-President,  an  additional  Vice-President  for 
each  State  organized,  a  Secretary,  a  Treasurer,  a  Chaplain,  a  Lecturer  and 
Assistant  Lecturer,  a  Doorkeeper  and  Assistant  Doorkeeper,  and  a  Sergeant- 
at-Arms. 

Sec.  3.  They  shall  be  elected  at  each  annual  meeting,  from  members  of 
the  body,  and  shall  be  entitled  to  hold  office  until  their  successors  are  elected 
and  installed ;  at  which  time  the  retiring  officers  shall  immediately  become 
honorary  members  of  the  National  body,  for  that  session  only. 

Sec.  4.  The  duties  of  the  officers  of  the  National  Farmers'  Alliance  and 
Co-operative  Union  shall  be  the  duties  usually  incumbent  upon  and  performed 
by  officers  of  the  same  name  in  similar  organizations. 

Sec.  5.    The  President  shall  be  the  presiding  officer. 

Sec.  6.  The  Vice-Presidents  of  the  body  shall  constitute  the  Executive 
Committee  and  Board  of  Trustees. 


Article  IIL 

Dues. 

Section  i.  Each  State  organization,  under  the  jurisdiction  of  this  body, 
shall  pay,  at  each  annual  session  of  the  body,  five  per  cent  of  the  gross  cash 
receipts  of  the  State  organization. 

Sec.  2.  The  members  of  the  National  order  are  expected  to  present,  at 
the  regular  annual  meetings,  reports  of  the  numerical  strength  and  condition 
of  the  order  in  the  State  they  represent,  and  of  the  success  attending  their 
efforts  in  co-operation ;  also  mental  and  moral  improvement. 

Article  IV. 

Section  i.  The  President,  Secretary,  and  Chairman  of  Committee  on 
Secret  Work  shall  constitute  a  board  for  the  examination  of  brothers  who 
wish  to  become  organizing  officers. 

Sec.  2.  A  brother  wishing  to  become  an  organizing  officer  shall  present 
to  the  above  board  of  examination  a  recommendation  from  the  President  and 
Secretary  of  his  State  organization,  or  some  other  creditable  authority,  ^s  to 
his  integrity  and  moral  character,  and  that  he  is  not  addicted  to  the  excessive 
use  of  intoxicants ;  upon  the  receipt  of  which,  it  shall  be  the  duty  of  the 
examining  board  to  examine  the  applicant  as  to  his  qualification  and  adapta- 
bility to  the  work. 

Sec.  3.  If  he  shall  pass  a  satisfactory  examination,  he  shall  be  commis- 
sioned as  organizing  officer  J)y  the  President,  which  commission  shall  be 
attested  by  the  Secretary. 

Sec.  4.  There  shall  not  be  more  than  one  organizing  officer  commissioned 
in  each  Congressional  District,  in  States  having  no  State  organization. 

Sec.  5.  The  organizers  shall  work  under  instructions  from  the  above- 
named  examining  board,  and  shall  report  to  the  National  Secretary. 

Sec.  6.    It  shall  be  the  duty  of  the  President  to  issue  a  charter,  attested 


THE  NATIONAL  ALLIANCE,  6l 

by  the  Secretary,  to  each  Alliance  organized  according  to  law  and  instruc- 
tions, by  organizing  officers. 

Sec.  7.  It  shall  be  the  duty  of  the  President  to  issue  charter,  attested  by 
the  Secretary,  to  any  State  organization,  or  any  farmers  in  the  State,  when 
they  comply  with  the  following  requirements  :  — 

A.  That  they  admit  to  membership  no  person  unless  eligible  to  member- 
ship, under  the  constitution  of  the  State  Alliance  of  Texas,  or  the  State  Far- 
mers' Union  of  Louisiana. 

B.  That  they  have  organizations  in  as  many  as  three  counties  in  the 
State  for  which  the  charter  is  desired. 

C.  That  they  will  adopt  and  use  the  secret  work  of  this  National  asso- 
ciation. 

D.  That  they  will  not  adopt  laws  or  usages  contrary  to  the  constitution 
of  this  National  order. 

E.  That  they  have  adopted  a  constitution  and  by-laws,  and  present  a 
copy  of  same  to  be  filed  with  the  National  Secretary. 

Article  V. 

Section  i.  All  rights  and  powers  not  herein  expressly  delegated,  are 
reserved  to  the  State  organizations  severally. 

Article  VI. 

Section  i.  This  constitution  cannot  be  altered  or  amended,  except  upon 
a  written  resolution,  clearly  setting  forth  the  change  or  addition  to  be  made, 
which  shall  be  read  in  open  session  on  at  least  two  separate  days,  and  adopted 
by  a  two-thirds  majority,  and  not  then  unless  it  be  ratified  by  three-fourths  of 
the  State  organizations  of  the  order  within  one  year. 

Name  of  Signers. 

J.  J.  Fairchild,  B.  F.  Rogers,  John  O'Byrne,  G.  B.  Pickett,  R.  F.  Butler, 
C.  W.  Macune,  S.  P.  Burns,  W.  K.  Deason,  W.  M.  Reed,  D.  B.  Hale,  An- 
drew Dunlap,  E.  B.  Warren,  W.  D.  Branum,  D.  M.  Rumph,  W.  B.  Briggs, 
J.  M.  Perdue,  Nat  Draughan,  J.  B.  Barry,  Ben  Terrell,  J.  W.  Goodwin,  J.  A. 
Tetts. 

At  the  evening  session  of  January  21,  the  above  constitution 
and  report  of  organization  were  submitted  to  the  Texas  State 
Alliance,  and  received  a  unanimous  ratification.  The  minutes 
of  that  meeting  further  show  that  the  officers  of  the  National 
Alliance,  being  called  upon,  made  appropriate  addresses,  thank- 
ing the  Alliance  for  the  honors  conferred  upon  them,  and  por- 
traying hopes  of  a  bright  future  for  the  cause. 

Brother  Harrison  also,  being  called  upon,  responded  in  a  feel- 
ing speech. 


62  AGRICULTURAL    ORGANIZATIONS. 

On  motion  of  Brother  Pickett  the  following  was  passed  :  — 

•'  Resolved^  That  should  it  become  necessary,  the  secretary  of  the  Farmers' 
State  Alliance  is  hereby  authorized  to  draw  his  draft  upon  the  treasurer  of 
the  Farmers'  State  Alliance  for  any  amount  not  to  exceed  $500,  as  a  loan  to 
the  National  Alliance,  to  enable  its  officers  to  organize,  said  amount  to  be  re- 
funded as  soon  as  a  sufficient  sum  accumulates  in  the  treasury  of  the  National 
Alliance." 

The  Farmers'  Union  of  1-ouisiana  also  ratified  the  constitution 
and  report  at  its  next  meeting.  In  this  manner  the  National 
Farmers'  Alliance  and  Co-operative  Union  of  America  began 
its  eventful  career.  These  brethren  builded  better  than  they 
knew,  and  brought  into  existence  an  organization  that  has  not 
only  proven  the  wonder^of  the  age,  but  has  developed  so  rapidly, 
through  the  living  principles  which  it  embodies,  that  its  own 
members  and  followers  are  hardly  able  to  keep  pace  with  its 
progress.  No  one  has  been  found  bold  enough  to  attempt  its 
completion,  or  venture  an  opinion  as  to  its  final  results.  It  is  a 
growth,  a  development,  that  increases  in  size  and  force  as  the 
obstacles  it  encounters  increase  in  numbers  and  importance. 
It  is  the  economic  conundrum  of  the  nineteenth  century,  and 
no  one  has  as  yet  fully  comprehended  its  mission. 

Directly  after  the  close  of  the  meeting,  President  Macune 
obtained  the  following  charter  from  the  General  Government :- — 

•*  Ads  of  Incor.  Liber.  ^^  folio  159  et  seq. 

♦'  United  States  of  America, 

District  of  Columbia. 

'*  Know  All  Men  that  the  National  Trade  Union  known  as  the  National 
Farmers'  Alliance  and  Co-operative  Union  of  America,  being  an  association  of 
working-people  having  two  or  more  branches  in  the  States  and  Territories  of 
the  United  States,  does  by  these  presents  file  its  Articles  of  Incorporation  in 
the  Office  of  the  Recorder  of  the  District  of  Columbia,  as  follows,  to  wit :  — 

"  1st.  This  Association  is  known  to  the  trade  under  the  name  of  National 
Farmers'  Alliance  and  Co-operative  Unionof  America. 

"  2d.  Under  this  name  it  shall  have  the  right  to  sue  and  be  sued,  to 
implead  and  be  impleaded,  to  grant  and  receive  property  Real,  Personal,  and 
Mixed,  and  to  use  said  property  and  the  proceeds  ajid  income  thereof  for  the 
objects  of  said  Corporation  as  in  its  charter  defined,  and  to  do  any  and  all 
Corporate  Acts. 

"  3d.  The  legal  residence  and  general  business  office  of  this  Association 
is  the  City  of  Washington  in  the  District  of  Columbiai^United  States  of  Amer- 


THE  NATIONAL  ALLIANCE.  6^^ 

ica ;  but  the  general  meetings  of  the  Association,  or  of  the  Board  of  Trustees, 
or  of  the  officers,  may  be  at  such  places  as  may  be  prescribed  by  the  Consti- 
tution or  Regulations  of  the  Association. 

"  4th.    The  term  for  which  it  is  to  exist  is  ninety-nine  years. 

"  5th.  The  number  of  Trustees  shall  be  three,  and  G.  B.  Pickett,  who 
resides  in  Wise  County,  Texas,  J.  M.  Perdue,  wh#  resides  in  Upshur  County, 
Texas,  and  J.  A.  Tetts,  who  resides  at  Ruston,  Louisiana,  are  the  trustees  for 
the  first  year. 

"  6th.   This  Association  shall  have  no  Capital  Stock. 

*♦  7th.  This  Association  is  formed  for  the  purpose.  A,  to  promote  the  science 
of  Agriculture  and  Horticulture  ;  B,  to  labor  for  the  education  of  the  Agricul- 
tural classes  in  the  science  of  economic  government  in  a  strictly  non-partisan 
spirit,  and  to  bring  about  a  more  perfect  union  of  said  classes ;  C,  to  develop 
a  better  state  mentally,  morally,  socially,  and  financially ;  D,  to  create  a  better 
understanding  for  sustaining  our  civil  officers  in  maintaining  law  and  order ; 
E,  to  constantly  strive  to  secure  entire  harmony  and  good  will  to  all  mankind 
and  brotherly  love  among  ourselves ;  F,  to  suppress  personal,  local,  sectional, 
and  national  prejudices,  all  unhealthful  rivalry  and  selfish  ambition ;  G,  to  aid 
its  members  to  become  more  skilful  and  efficient  workers,  to  promote  their 
general  intelligence,  to  elevate  their  character,  the  protection  of  the  individual 
rights  of  its  members,  the  raising  of  funds  for  the  benefit  of  the  sick,  the  dis- 
abled, or  the  families  of  deceased  members,  and  to  form  for  these  purposes  a 
more  close  union  among  all  white  persons  who  may  be  eligible  to  membership 
in  this  Association.  This  declaration  is  executed  and  filed  by  authority  of 
the  National  Farmers'  Alliance  and  Co-operative  Union. 

"  Witness  our  hands  and  seals,  using  scrolls  for  seals,  this  the  27th  day  of 
January,  a.d.  1887. 

[seal.]  ♦'  C.  W.  Macune, 

*'  President  of  the  National  Farmers^  Alliance  and 

Co-operative  Union  of  America. 

"  E.  B.  Warren, 

*•  Secretary  of  the  National  Fanners^  Alliance  and 

Co-operative  Ufiion  of  America. 

"The  State  of  Texas, 

County  of  Milam. 

"  Before  me,  the  undersigned  authority,  on  this  day  came  and  personally 
appeared  C.  W.  Macune,  President  of  the  National  Farmers'  Alliance  and 
Co-operative  Union,  known  to  me  to  be  the  person  who  executed,  and  whose 
name  is  subscribed  to  the  foregoing  instrument  of  writing,  and  acknowledged 
to  me  that  he  executed  the  same  for  the  purposes  and  considerations  and  in 
the  capacity  therein  set  forth  and  expressed. 

"  Given  under  my  hand  and  seal  of  office,  the  29th  day  of  January, 
A.D.  1887. 

(471,  vol.  I,  p.  158.) 
[notarial  seal.]  "  B.  I.  Arnold, 

*'  Notary  Public  Milam  Co.,  Texas. 


64  AGRICULTURAL    ORGANIZATIONS, 

"  The  State  of  Texas, 
County  of  Lee. 
'*  Before  me,  the  undersigned  authority,  on  this  day  came  and  personally 
appeared  E.  B.  Warren,  Secretary  of  the  National  Farmers'  Alliance  and 
Co-operative  Union  of  America,  known  to  me  to  be  the  person  who  executed, 
and  whose  name  is  subscribed  to  the  foregoing  instrument  of  writing,  and 
acknowledged  to  me  that  he  executed  the  same  for  the  ^^urposes  and  consid- 
erations and  in  the  capacity  therein  set  forth  and  expressed. 

"  Given  under  my  hand  and  seal  of  office,  this  the  27th  day  of  January, 
A.D.  1887. 

[notarial  seal.]  "C.  H.  Jones,  J.P.L.C.B.  1204, 

'"'■  Ex  officio  Notary  Public^  Lee  Co.^  Texas. 


)-ss: 


**  Office  of  Recorder  of  Deeds, 
District  of  Columbia. 
'•  I,  James  C.  Matthews,  Recorder  of  Deeds  of  the  District  of  Columbia, 
do  hereby  certify  that  I  have  compared  the  annexed  copy  of  Act  of  Incorpo- 
ration with  the  record  of  the  original  thereof,  recorded  in  this  office  on  the 
23d  day  of  February,  1887,  at  10.30  a.m.,  in  Acts  of  Incorporation  No.  4,  one 
of  the  Land  Records  of  the  District  of  Columbia,  on  page  159  et  seq.,  and  that 
the  same  is  a  correct  transcript  therefrom,  and  of  the  whole  of  said  record. 

•*  In  Testimony  Whereof,  I  have  here  hereunto  set  my  hand  and  affixed 
my  official  seal  this  23d  day  of  February,  1887. 

[seal.]  "Jas.  C.  Matthews. 

*'  Recorder  of  Deeds,  District  of  Columbia^ 

At  the  meeting  at  Waco,  a  resolution  had  been  passed,  instruct- 
ing the  president  to  extend  an  invitation  to  all  labor  organiza- 
tions to  send  delegates  to  the  next  meeting  of  the  National 
Farmers'  Alliance  and  Co-operative  Union  of  America,  to  be 
held  at  Shreveport,  Louisiana,  during  the  fall  of  1888.  Act- 
ing upon  this.  President  Macune  sent  Brother  G.  B.  Pickett  to 
visit  the  organization  known  as  the  Agricultural  Wheel,  then 
attracting  attention  in  Arkansas  and  adjoining  States.  His 
mission  proved  so  successful  that  delegates  were  sent  from  the 
National  Wheel  to  attend  the  meeting  at  Shreveport.  With 
his  usual  vigor,  based  upon  the  belief  that  the  farmers  of  the 
South  were  ready  for  co-operation  in  any  plan  that  promised 
relief,  he  sent  into  the  various  States  well-trained,  careful  organ- 
izers. It  was  the  custom  at  tnat  time  to  grant  no  one  a  license 
to  organize,  until  he  had  passed  a  rigid  examination  as  to  his 
qualifications  for  that  work.  By  this  means  the  moral  and 
intellectual  standard  of  the  men  sent  out  amons:  straneers  to 


THE  NATIONAL  ALLIANCE.  65 

propagate  the  work,  was  kept  up,  and  confidence  in  the  results 
of  their  efforts  was  well  founded.  It  is  well  worthy  of  notice 
that  these  brethren  received  no  salary,  their  only  remuneration 
being  the  fee  for  organizing,  which,  though  small,  was  enough 
to  make  them  self-sustaining.  A  similar  condition  was  never 
before  known. 

In  the  spring  of  1887,  President  Macune  sent  these  organizers 
into  the  States  of  Missouri,  North  Carolina,  Alabama,  Florida, 
Mississippi,  Kentucky,  Georgia,  and  Tennessee.  Here  was  an 
jattempt  to  organize  eight  States,  with  only  $500  in  the  treas- 
ury, and  even  that  was  a  loan  from  the  State  Alliance  of  Texas. 
The  venture  was  very  successful,  and  fully  met  the  expectation 
which  President  Macune,  in  his  good  judgment,  had  anticipated. 
From  this  time  until  the  National  meeting  at  Shreveport,  the 
work  of  propagation  was  incessant  and  effective.  Cheering 
news  came  in  from  nearly  all  the  States,  and  a  large  National 
meeting  became  assured.  As  this  was  the  first  meeting  after 
its  organization,  it  was  looked  forward  to  with  some  anxiety. 
Visions  of  the  fate  of  the  Grange  frequently  came  up,  and 
prophets  were  not  wanting  who  predicted  quick  and  certain 
destruction.  Filled  with  a  determination  to  discharge  every 
duty  faithfully  and  well ;  anxious  to  avoid  the  rocks  and  pitfalls 
that  had  proved  the  Waterloo  of  other  efforts  of  a  similar  nature  ; 
and,  above  all,  trusting  to  the  honesty,  fidelity,  and  integrity  of 
one  another,  the  brethren,  representing  nine  States,  met  together 
in  regular  annual  session. 

The  brethren  were  unacquainted  with  one  another,  and  not 
exactly  certain  of  the  proper  methods,  or  the  most  important 
purposes  to  serve.  But  the  meeting  soon  developed  a  large 
number  of  able  men,  who  have  since  proved  themselves  as  such, 
by  their  fidelity  and  constancy  to  the  cause  of  the  Alliance. 
Among  these  were  Colonel  L.  L.  Polk  and  S.  B.  Alexander, 
of  North  Carolina;  R.  T.  Love,  C.  T.  Smithson,  and  W.  R. 
Lacy,  of  Mississippi ;  Moore  and  Ansley,  of  Arkansas  ;  Oswald 
Wilson,  of  Florida;  S.  M.  Adams  and  H.  P.  Bone,  of  Alabama; 
Tanner,  Pratt,  and  Stallings,  of  Louisiana ;  Johnson  and  Despain, 
of  Missouri ;  McDowell  and  Gardner,  of  Tennessee ;  the  usual 
number  of  old  reliables  from  Texas,  and  many  others. 


66  AGRICULTURAL    ORGANIZATIONS. 

I  give  below  the  proceedings  in  detail. 

"  The  National  Farmers'  Alliance  and  Co-operative  Union  of  America  met  in 
regular  session,  in  Shreveport,  Louisiana,  October  12,  1887,  at  ten  o'clock  a.m. 

"The  following  officers  were  present:  C.  W.  Macune,  President;  J.  A. 
Tetts,  First  Vice-President;  G.  B.  Pickett,  Second  Vice-President;  J.  M. 
Perdue,  third  Vice-President;  E.  B.  Warren,  Secretary;  R.  F.  Butler,  Treas- 
urer ;  Ben  Terrell,  Lecturer ;  B.  F.  Rogers,  Assistant  Lecturer ;  Nat  Draughan, 
Sergeant-at-Arms. 

"  The  President  filled  vacancies  by  appointing  the  following  brethren  tem- 
porarily: W.  S.  Rushing  of  Mississippi,  Chaplain;  J.  A.  Green  of  Texas, 
Doorkeeper;  O.  M.  Wright  of  Louisiana,  Assistant  Doorkeeper. 

'*  The  Alliance  was  opened  in  due  form. 

"The  President  announced  the  following  Committee  on  Credentials:  Ma- 
Gee  of  Mississippi,  Polk  of  North  Carolina,  and  Jones  of  Texas- 

"By  consent,  T.  B.  Ruff  of  Tennessee,  a  member  of  the  Agricultural 
Wheel,  was  duly  initiated  into  the  Farmers'  Alliance. 

"The  following  committee  on  order  of  business  was  announced:  G.  B. 
Pickett  of  Texas,  Linn  Tanner  of  Louisiana,  Oswald  Wilson  of  Florida. 

"  The  Committee  on  Credentials  reported  as  follows  : 

"We,  your  committee,  find  the  following  brethren  entitled  to  seats  in  this 
body: 

"Mississippi:  J.  G.  Hamilton,  R.  S.  MaGee,  T.  E.  Groom,  Hazelhurst; 
W.  B.  Mosley,  Chester;  T.  L.  Darden,  Fayette;  W.  S.  Rushing,  Carthage; 
T.  W.  Sullivan,  Carrol  ton ;  E.  L.  Martin,  Jackson;  R.  T.  Love,  Chester; 
C.  T.  Smithson,  Newport;  W.  R.  Lacy,  Carthage. 

"Arkansas:  W.  H.  Moore,  Belfont ;  John  A.  Ansley,  Prescott;  George 
Martin,  Sulphur  Rock ;  Joseph  Tisdale,  Texarkana. 

"  Florida:  Oswald  Wilson,  Marianna. 

"North  Carolina:  L.  L.  Polk,  Raleigh. 

"Alabama:  J.  M.  Robinson,  S.  M.  Adams,  L  N.  Gresham,  and  J.  M. 
Langston;  Six  Mile  Alliance,  H.  P.  Bone. 

"Louisiana:  J.  C.  Jones,  Ruston ;  W.  M.  Vickars,  Shreveport;  A.  T. 
Hatcher  and  L.  C.  McAlpin,  Lula ;  R.  L.  Tannehill,  Winfield ;  E.  McDonald, 
Rayville;  Linn  Tanner,  Cheneyville ;  P.  F.  B.  Pratt,  Bastrop;  J.  M.  Stall- 
ings,  Ruston. 

"Missouri:  A.  B.  Johnson,  W.  D.  Ham,  Poplar  Bluff;  J.  W.  DeSpain, 
J.  Graves. 

"Tennessee:  J.  A.  McDowell,  Union  City;  A.  E.  Gardner,  Dresden. 

"  Texas :  J.  S.  Massey,  F.  Hoffheinz,  A.  M.  Turnbull,  J.  A.  Green,  W.  P. 
Hancock,  J.  M.  Renick,  R.  A.  Binford,  J.  J.  Fairchild,  T.  M.  Smith,  R.  P. 
Briscoll,  N.  H.  C.  Elliot,  C.  E.  Cade,  D.  C.  Whitman,  L.  L.  Sloss,  D.  J. 
Eddleman,  C.  A.  Leverton,  Evan  Jones,  L  Stoddard,  R.  J.  Wallace,  R.  M. 
Kay,  S.  O.  Daws,  Matt  S.  Wallace,  R.  J.  Sledge.  John  O'Byrne,  H.  C. 
Maund. 

"  The  Alliance  adjourned  until  1.30  p.m. 


THE  NATIONAL   ALLIANCE.  67 

"  1.30  P.M.  President  Macune  in  the  chair.  The  Alliance  opened  in  due 
form. 

"  President  Macune  delivered  his  annual  address,  which  was  full  of  interest- 
ing facts  and  suggestions. 

"Message. 

' '  Brethren  of  the  Farmers'  National  Alliaiice  and  Co-operative  Union  of 

America : 

"  This  is  indeed  an  auspicious  occasion.  It  is  the  first  session  of  this 
body ;  and  this  body  is  the  first  organization  of  the  real  cotton-raisers  ever 
inaugurated  on  a  plan  calculated  to  assist  the  poor  man.  It  is  a  time  in  the 
history  of  cotton-raising  when  the  price  of  that  staple  is  not  equal  to  the  cost 
of  producing  it.  This  is  a  gathering  of  representative  men  from  ten  States  ; 
men  who  represent  the  greatest  of  all  industries,  the  agricultural,  assembled 
here,  not  merely  for  the  pleasures  or  emoluments  to  be  gained  by  their  attend- 
ance, but,  I  trust,  imbued  with  the  proper  conceptions  of  the  great  responsi- 
bility resting  upon  them,  thoroughly  alive  to  the  conditions  of  the  times,  and 
firmly  resolved  to  work  out  the  proper  and  true  solution  of  how  to  relieve  the 
depressed  condition  of  agriculture  in  our  beautiful  southland,  and,  when 
found,  to  stand  shoulder  to  shoulder  in  one  solid  phalanx,  till  the  effort  is 
crowned  with  victory.  As  the  first  legislative  body  ever  convened  in  the 
order,  you  will  have  a  great  work  to  perform,  and  the  future  prosperity  of 
this  great  movement  is,  therefore,  largely  in  your  hands.  Your  attention  is 
called  to  the  causes  that,  combined,  created  the  necessity  for  this  organiza- 
tion; the  plan  on  which  organization  has  been  effected,  comprising  the 
organic  law  of  the  order,  both  written  and  unwritten ;  also  the  objects  and 
conditions  it  is  expected  to  achieve,  in  the  event  that  success  attends  the 
effort.  The  laws  to  be  made  by  this  body  will  be  statutory,  and  will  be  based 
upon  and  explanatory  of  the  organic  law ;  they  should  be  prompted  by  the 
necessities  that  gave  rise  to  the  existence  of  the  order,  and  executed  with  a 
spirit  of  devotion  to  the  objects  we  seek  to  achieve,  bounded  only  by  the  limit 
of  possibility. 

'*Mr.  Garvin,  in  his  history  of  the  Alliance  in  Texas,  says  that  it  was 
started  somewhere  between  1870  and  1875,  in  Lampasas  County,  by  a  num- 
ber of  farmers,  who  associated  themselves  together  in  a  defensive  league,  to 
resist  the  encroachments  of  land-sharks,  who  proposed  to  rob  them  of  their 
homes.  The  history  of  the  move,  from  its  inception  up  to  1886,  was  not 
attended  with  much  interest.  It  had  grown  by  August,  1885,  to  tlie  number 
of  about  700  Subordinate  Alliances,  and  had  changed  its  objects  and  workings, 
until  they  resembled  very  closely  those  of  the  present.  From  August,  1885, 
to  August,  1886,  a  most  prodigious  growth  was  recorded;  the  increase  was 
about  2000  Sub-Alliances.  Among  the  reasons  for  this  rapid  growth,  and 
probably  one  of  the  most  potent,  was  the  fact  that  all  other  occupations  were 
either  organized,  or  were  rapidly  organizing,  and  the  farming  interest  was 
unable  to  cope  with  them,  unorganized  ;  therefore  the  necessity  for  organization 
for  self-defence.     Again,  the  results  of  combination  had  reduced  the  price  of 


68  AGRICULTURAL    ORGANIZATIONS. 

all  products  the  farmer  had  to  sell  to  such  an  extent,  that  in  many  cases  they 
would  not  pay  hireling's  wages  to  the  one  who  produced  them,  and  were 
really  grown  at  a  loss.  The  rule  was,  that  a  year  spent  in  the  most  vigorous 
labor  and  rigid  economy  would  with  good  management  yield  a  bare  subsist- 
ence, and  in  many  cases  it  yielded  less ;  and  would  finally  result  in  a  sur- 
render of  the  farm  to  the  mortgagee  merchant,  and  the  addition  of  one  more 
family  to  the  army  of  renters.  It  seemed  to  be  an  admitted  fact  that  organi- 
zation was  the  only  hope  of  the  farmer,  and  as  the  Alliance  was  presented  as 
strictly  a  farmers'  organization,  its  ranks  were  rapidly  filled  with  all  those 
who  felt  disposed  to  unite  and  resist  the  encroachments  of  other  organizations, 
and  who  realized  that  it  required  organization  to  meet  organized  power. 
Such  large  numbers  joining  a  secret  organization  in  so  short  a  time  rendered 
proper  instructions  as  to  the  principles  and  objects  of  the  order  impossible ; 
consequently  many  joined  who  were  not  as  well  posted  as  they  should  have 
been,  and  vast  differences  were  entertained  as  to  the  policy  to  be  pursued  in 
order  to  accomplish  with  speed  and  certainty  the  objects  of  the  order. 

'*  Some  contended  that  the  only  hope  was  in  the  ballot-box,  and  that 
united  political  action  was  the  only  \yay  for  the  Alliance  ever  to  accomplish 
anything ;  others,  realizing  the  danger  to  American  institutions,  by  the  intro- 
duction of  a  secret  political  party,  contended  that  we  must  eschew  politics 
altogether,  and  that  the  Alliance  was  a  social  and  benevolent  organization, 
calculated  to  make  man  a  better  farmer  and  a  better  neighbor.  Others  had 
different  conceptions :  some,  that  it  would  make  all  farmers'  boys  orators ; 
some,  that  it  would  stop  horse-stealing ;  some,  that  it  would  make  all  its 
members  truthful  and  honest;  and  the  contention  between. the  different 
factions  was  beginning  to  assume  alarming  proportions,  as  a  family  quarrel, 
when  the  called  session  of  the  Farmers'  State  Alliance  of  Texas  was  held  in 
the  city  of  Waco,  in  January  last.  One  object  of  that  called  meeting  was 
to  devise  some  plan  of  extending  the  work  into  other  States.  The  Louisiana 
State  Union,  which  had  met  just  prior  to  that  time,  had  elected  and  sent  to 
that  meeting  a  delegate,  to  co-operate  with  the  State  Alliance  of  Texas  in  the 
extension  of  the  work.  It  was  there  shown  that  there  was  already  in  exist- 
ence an  organization  in  the  northwestern  States  calling  itself  the  National 
Farmers'  Alliance,  but  that  it  was  a  very  loose  organization,  and  was  non- 
secret,  that  the  door  to  membership  was  too  wide  for  it  to  meet  the  wants  of 
the  times  in  the  South.  It  was  the  prevailing  sentiment  that  none  but  those 
most  interested  in  farming  should  ever  be  admitted.  It  was,  after  a  full  inves- 
tigation, decided  that  the  organization  as  it  existed  in  Texas,  and  the  other 
States  of  the  South,  to  which  it  had  spread  from  and  by  the  authority  of  the 
Texas  Alliance,  could  accomplish  nothing  by  joining  the  National  Farmers' 
Alliance  of  the  Northwest,  and  in  view  of  the  fact  that  the  cotton  belt  of 
America  was  a  circumscribed  country,  there  was  a  necessity  for  a  national 
organization  of  those  residing  in  the  cotton  belt,  to  the  end  that  the  whole 
world  of  cotton-raisers  might  be  united  for  self-protection.  This  was  a  grand 
conception,  and  one  susceptible  of  results  beyond  our  expectations.  It  was, 
therefore,  decided  to  organize,  in  connection  with  Louisiana,  a  National  Farm- 


THE  NATIONAL  ALLIANCE.  69 

ers'  Alliance  and  Co-operative  Union  of  America ;  to  make  it  a  strong  national 
order,  with  the  one  great  battle-cry  of  co-operation  as  the  universal  principle 
upon  which  all  could  unite ;  co-operation  in  its  broadest  sense,  that  is,  that 
we  will  assist  one  another,  that  we  will  stand  shoulder  to  shoulder  in  bearing 
the  crosses  and  burdens  of  life,  that  we  will  intelligently  pull  together  in 
everything;  in  buying  and  selling,  in  producing  and  consuming.  There  is 
a  necessity  for  enlightened  co-operation  in  everything,  leaving  local  issues 
for  local  or  State  Alliances  to  settle. 

"■  The  necessity  for  the  extension  of  the  work  lay  in  the  fact  that  other 
States  were  in  as  bad  a  condition  as  Texas  and  Louisiana,  and  that,  as  the 
interests  of  the  cotton-producers  were  identical,  and  the  evils  from  which  they 
were  suffering  general,  the  greatest  good  could  not  be  effected  without 
uniting  the  whole  cotton  belt.  It  was  necessary  to  the  local  business  experi- 
ments already  commenced,  that  they  be  made  general,  and  be  participated  in 
by  all,  in  order  that  they  prove  a  greater  success.  Single  towns  or  counties 
could  not  inaugurate  a  move  that  would  affect  the  cotton  business  much,  and 
a  whole  State  could  not  accomplish  as  much  acting  alone  as  it  could  in  con- 
junction with  the  other  ten.  It  will  be  seen,  then,  that  in  the  organization  of 
this  national  association,  the  object  was  to  organize  the  agriculturists  of  the 
cotton  belt  for  business  purposes ;  and  that  purpose  has  been  carried  out,  and 
has  been  found  to  give  sufficient  scope  to  the  ability  of  all,  and  that  the  dis- 
sensions spoken  of  in  the  early  history  of  the  order,  in  regard  to  politics  and 
other  subjects,  have  entirely  died  out,  and  given  place  to  an  enlightened  effort 
to  accomplish  something  grand  —  a  business  organization. 

*«  If  we  look  back  through  the  history  of  this  and  other  countries,  we  will 
see  that  some  branches  of  industry  have  always  been  knocking  at  the  doors 
of  legislation,  and  when  weak,  begging  for  class  laws  that  would  assist  their 
business  efforts ;  if  they  were  strong,  they  would  either  demand  or  buy  such 
favors  ;  but  in  either  case  they  have  too  often  been  successful.  It  is  proverbial 
that  the  other  two  great  classes  of  production,  the  manufacturing  and  the 
commercial,  which  include  railroads  and  transportation  lines,  have  been  largely 
built  up  to  their  present  condition  of  wealth  and  prosperity  by  government 
favors  and  assistance.  Now,  if  this  be  true,  at  whose  expense  has  the  gov- 
ernment done  this,  as  there  are  only  three  classes  of  producers?  It  must 
evidently  have  been  at  the  expense  of  the  third  ,class,  which  is  the  great 
agricultural.  The  agricultural  class,  then,  has  not  only  received  no  govern- 
ment favors,  but  has  been  bled  to  enrich  other  classes.  This  is  now  fully 
realized,  and  is  productive  of  a  determination  on  the  part  of  our  people  to 
submit  to  such  wrongs  no  longer.  They  do  not  organize  a  new  political 
party  to  carry  out  their  plans ;  they  call  upon  the  government  to  correct  the 
evils,  or  provide  protection,  as  the  case  may  be.  It  is  realized  that  class  legis- 
lation is  a  great  evil,  because  it  builds  up  two  classes  at  the  expense  of  the 
third.  Then  either  let  the  third  class  be  the  recipient,  or  do  away  with  all 
class  legislation.  If  a  party  was  organized  for  that  purpose,  the  party  would 
die  when  that  purpose  was  accomplished. 

*'  Under  our  system  of  government,  we  should  not  resort  to  a  new  political 


70  AGRICULTURAL    ORGANIZATIONS. 

movement  to  carry  out  every  reform  necessary.  We  have  the  two  great 
principles  and  conceptions  of  the  genius  of  our  institutions,  as  contended 
for  by  John  Adams  and  Thomas  Jefferson,  as  a  basis  for  a  division  into  two 
great  political  parties;  that  should  suffice:  let  every  one  carry  his  ideas  of 
reform  to  the  party,  to  which  he  belongs  from  principle.  And  as  the  agricul- 
turists comprise  a  large  majority  of  all  the  voters,  they  will  necessarily  com- 
prise a  majority  in  each  party.  But  their  greatest  influence  in  politics  can 
be  brought  to  bear,  not  at  the  hustings,  but  in  the  halls  of  legislation,  by 
the  proper  and  judicious  exercise  of  the  right  of  petition.  There  they  step 
forward  as  Alliance  men  strong  and  united,  and  demand  that  the  government 
redress  wrongs  committed  by  it ;  but  in  partisan  politics  the  members  of  our 
order  should  participate,  not  as  Alliance  men,  but  as  citizens,  because  politics 
is  for  the  citizen. 

'*  Let  the  Alliance  be  a  business  organization  for  business  purposes,  and 
as  such,  necessarily  secret,  and  as  secret,  necessarily  strictly  non-political. 
This  is  somewhat  of  a  digression,  but  is  made  in  order  to  show  the  ideas 
that  were  entertained  at  the  time  this  national  association  was  launched  forth 
on  the  sea  of  experiment  as  a  business  organization  of  the  farmers  of  the 
cotton  belt.  The  plan  on  which  organization  has  been  effected  is  to  some 
extent  new  ;  and  while  it  perhaps  contains  nothing  original,  it  is  experimental, 
in  that  it  combines  the  features  of  several  different  systems.  Being  a  secret 
organization,  it  is  necessarily  to  some  extent  like  the  father  of  all  secret 
organizations,  monarchical  in  form ;  but  being  a  chartered  association,  under 
the  law  of  our  country,  for  business  purposes,  and  being  composed  of  a  people 
who  are  familiar  with,  and  devoted  to,  a  republican  form  of  government,  its 
written  law  is  in  conformity  to  that  system.  You  will,  therefore,  find  in  the 
construction  of  a  code  of  statutory  law  that  you  must  provide  for  a  member- 
ship who  occupy  a  dual  relation  to  the  order ;  that  is,  the  constitution  is  the 
written  organic  law,  and  outlines  a  republican  form  of  government.  The 
secret  work  is  the  unwritten  organic  law,  and  is  co-ordinate  with  the  written, 
and  outlines  a  limited  monarchy.  By  keeping  these  ideas  in  view,  you  will 
avoid  confusion,  and  will  find  questions  of  law  much  easier  of  solution. 

"  It  is  a  great  pleasure  to  be  able  to  congratulate  you  on  the  rapid  exten- 
sion of  the  work  under  the  plan  outlined.  There  are  now  State  organizations 
in  eight  States,  and  in  many  States  the  work  is  progressing  in  a  very  satisfac- 
tory manner,  as  the  report  of  the  secretary  will  show.  The  plan  of  organiza- 
tion seems  to  meet  the  necessities,  with  perhaps  a  few  modifications.  There 
appear  to  be  no  prominent  defects  in  the  plan  as  a  national  enterprise,  and  as 
complete  jurisdiction  is  surrendered  to  the  State  Alliances  when  organized, 
it  rests  with  them  to  make  laws  to  meet  local  conditions.  There  is  a  feature 
of  the  Alliance  that  is  very  important,  and  has  always  been  a  part  of  the 
unwritten  work,  that  it  might  perhaps  be  well  to  introduce  some  laws  and 
regulations  in  the  written  work,  in  order  that  it  may  be  more  universally 
understood.  That  is  the  trade  system,  and  the  co-operative  efforts  being 
made  to  act  in  harmony  in  the  sale  of  products  and  purchase  of  commodities. 
On  the  success  of  this  feature  much  of  the  prosperity  of  the  order  depends ; 


THE  NATIONAL   ALLIANCE,  7 1 

hence,  some  general  laws  and  recommendations  should  be  in  print,  in  plain 
and  easy-to-be-understood  language,  so  that  all  may  understand,  and  tend 
towards  one  and  the  same  object.  Much  might  be  said  as  to  the  future  oi" 
this  great  movement,  and  still  it  is  all  expressed  in  the  single  sentence 
'  There  is  no  limit  to  the  possibilities.'  However,  I  call  your  attention  to  tht 
fact  that  our  people,  owing  to  money  pressure  and  the  fact  that  cotton  is  our 
great  money  crop,  are  disposed  to  rely  too  much  on  it,  and  purchase  many^ 
things  that  should  be  produced  at  home ;  therefore  this  body  should  strongly 
recommend  more  diversity  of  farming,  to  the  end  that  our  people  become 
more  self-sustaining,  and  therefore  less  dependent. 

*'  State  Alliances  should  be  called  upon  to  take  steps  to  assist  their  mem- 
bers in  procuring  the  facilities  for  diversifying  their  products,  and  to  assist  V 
them  in  the  sale  of  their  surplus ;  and  further,  these  States  raise  7,500,000 
bales  of  cotton  yearly ;  a  little  over  two-thirds  of  this  enormous  crop  is  sold 
in  Europe,  and  the  price  not  only  for  that,  but  for  all  that  is  used  in  America, 
is  fixed  in  Great  Britain ;  and  yet  our  government  does  not  allow  one  yard  of 
cotton  cloth  imported  without  a  tax  of  about  sixty  per  cent  of  its  value.  This 
enables  American  spinners  to  undersell  the  British  looms,  and  prevents  the 
importation  of  British  cloth,  but  dies  not  prevent  British  spinners  from  dis- 
criminating against  American  cotton  in  every  conceivable  manner,  and  in  con- 
stantly crowding  the  price  of  the  staple  down,  so  as  to  enable  them  to  compete 
with  the  American  spinner.  The  condition  simply  is,  that  the  British  spinner 
fixes  the  price  on  every  pound  of  cotton  raised,  and  the  effect  of  our  law  is  to 
make  him  virtually  interested  in  reducing  the  price  of  our  cotton.  Were  it 
not  for  this  tariff-law  discrimination  against  him,  by  an  ad  valorem  tax,  he 
would  as  soon  see  cotton  high  as  low ;  and  would,  perhaps,  prefer  it  high. 

**  Our  people  occupy  the  ridiculous  position  of  not  only  paying  the  New 
England  spinner  about  fifty  per  cent  more  for  the  cotton  cloth  than  it  is  worth, 
but  they,  by  submitting  to  that  law,  allow  conditions  that  very  naturally  reduce 
the  price  of  every  pound  of  cotton  they  raise. 

"It  is  not  claimed  that  as  cotton-planters  and  Alliance  men  we  should 
demand  the  abolition  of  all  tariff;  that  would  not  be  our  province  in  that 
capacity.  We  may  do  that  as  citizens,  if  we  choose  ;  but  as  cotton-raisers  and 
an  Alliance  business  organization,  we  have  a  right  to  demand  the  correction  of 
evils  that  afilict  and  sap  the  very  life-blood  from  our  business.  Merchants, 
bankers,  insurance  men,  and  all  others  do  the  same.  But  in  so  doing  we  should 
be  careful  that  we  do  not  inflict  wrongs  on  others,  or  on  other  interests. 

'*  It  is  claimed  by  many  intelligent  and  honest  thinkers,  that  if  we  reduce 
the  tariff  on  manufactured  cotton  goods,  we  would  ruin  American  manufac- 
turing ;  and  we  might  with  propriety  reply :  Which  is  the  most  essential,  that 
the  few  American  factories  keep  on  paying  a  dividend  of  from  twenty  to  forty- 
five  per  cent,  and  that  the  many  farmers  become  tenants,  serfs,  and  slaves ;  or 
that  the  manufacturer  be  placed  upon  a  level  with  the  agriculturist,  and  that 
each  be  allowed  the  fruits  of  his  own  labor,  and  a  fair  interest  on  the  money 
invested  ?  But  our  object  is  to  show  the  effect  that  a  reduction  of  the  cotton 
tariff  would  have  on  the  mills.     In  the  first  place,  there  is  no  surplus  of  cotton 


72  AGRICULTURAL    ORGANIZATIONS. 

raised  in  the  world,  and  this  is  proven  by  the  fact  that  there  is  no  accumulation 
of  it.  Now,  it  is  true  that  the  old  doctrine  of  price  being  regulated  by  demand 
and  supply  holds  good  in  this  instance,  but  in  a  country  where  every  seventh 
person  is  either  a  pauper  or  is  the  recipient  of  public  charity  in  some  shape, 
the  demand  is  very  materially  modified  by  the  ability  to  purchase ;  and  that 
whenever  the  ability  to  purchase  is  enhanced,  the  demand  will  be  very  mate- 
rially increased. 

"Now,  if  by  reducing  the  tariff,  English  cotton  goods  were  introduced, 
cheaper  goods  would  increase ;  the  ability  to  purchase  and  the  increased 
demand  would  act  upon  the  limited  cotton  supply  by  increasing  the  price  of 
the  raw  cotton,  which  would,  in  turn,  raise  the  price  of  the  cloth  to  its  present 
price,  or  perhaps  higher,  and  still  keep  up  the  increased  ability  to  purchase 
by  the  increased  amount  of  money  put  in  circulation  by  the  cotton-producers, 
who  would  be  receiving  an  increased  price  for  cotton.  Therefore,  the  result 
would  be,  not  to  lessen  the  price  of  cotton  goods,  but  to  increase  the  price  of 
raw  cotton ;  and  it  is  held  that  the  increased  demand  would,  as  far  as  justice 
is  necessary,  compensate  the  mills  for  the  loss  of  profit. 

*'  In  conclusion,  it  is  hereby  recommended  that  this  body  formulate  some 
plan  of  universal  co-operation  among  our  people,  whereby  each  Sub,  County, 
and  State  Alliance  shall  have  an  agent,  and  that  a  national  agent  be  chairman 
of  a  board  composed  of  the  different  State  agents,  and  that  a  system  be  es- 
tablished for  conducting  the  production  and  disposition  of  the  cotton  crop. 
Such  a  board  could  have  accurate  and  reliable  information  every  month,  as 
to  the  condition  of  the  crop  in  every  neighborhood  in  the  eleven  Southern 
States.  They  could  negotiate  and  consummate  arrangements  tending  to  an 
increased  price ;  and  should  all  negotiations  prove  of  non-effect,  they  could 
adopt  a  graduated  scale  for  the  reduction  of  the  cotton  crop,  which  would  be 
an  injustice  to  none.  This  plan  is  simply  offered  as  a  suggestion,  and  it  is 
hoped  that  something  of  this  character  will  be  adopted. 

"C.   W.   Macune. 

**  A  memorial  to  the  Congress  of  the  United  States,  touching  the  questions  of 
protective  tariff,  silver,  and  bonds  was  referred  to  the  Committee  on  Demands. 

"A  printed  letter  from  the  Knights  of  Labor  was  read,  and  on  motion 
referred  to  the  Committee  on  Resolutions. 

"  The  following,  offered  by  N.  H.  C.  Elliot,  was  adopted :  — 

"  Whereas,  The  farmers  of  North  Carolina  have  an  organization  known  as 
the  State  Farmers'  Association,  the  declared  objects  and  purposes  of  which 
are  in  accord  with  the  general  principles  and  purposes  of  the  Farmers' 
Alliance;  therefore, 

"  Resolved^  That  a  committee  be  appointed  to  present  to  that  body,  at  its 
next  annual  meeting  in  Greensboro,  on  the  second  Wednesday  in  January, 
1888,  the  general  objects,  purposes,  and  principles  of  the  Farmers'  Alliance, 
to  the  end  that  the  said  Farmers'  State  Association  may  be  induced  to  adopt 
the  same  and  become  thoroughly  affiliated  with  us. 

*'  Whereupon  the  president  appointed  N,  H.  C.  Elliot  of  Texas,  L.  L.  Polk 
and  S.  B.  Alexander  of  North  Carolina,  said  comniittee, 


THE  NATIONAL  ALLIANCE.  ^^ 

"The  following  paper,  offered  by  Martin  of  Arkansas,  was  read,  and  on 
motion  received  and  concurred  in  :  — 

"  Believing  that  all  labor  organizations  should  be  a  unit  in  their  efforts  to 
bring  relief  to  the  toiling  masses,  whenever  they  are  satisfied  that  their  rights 
are  infringed  upon  by  organized  capital ;  therefore  be  it 

'*  Resolved^  That  the  Farmers'  Alliance  and  Co-operative  Union  will  at  all 
times  oppose  any  unjust  or  oppressive  move  of  any  corporation,  the  object  of 
which  is  to  do  an  injury  to  any  of  the  sister  labor  organizations.     And, 

'•'■Resolved,  That  we  will,  in  an  honest,  legitimate  way,  assist  any  labor 
organization  to  throw  off  the  oppressive  yoke  of  organized  capital. 

"The  following,  offered  by  J.  A.  Ansley  of  Arkansas,  was,  on  motion, 
adopted :  — 

"  Resolved,  That  the  chair  appoint  a  committee  of  four  on  the  part  of  the 
Farmers'  Alliance  and  Co-operative  Union,  to  confer  with  a  like  committee  to 
be  composed  of  one  member  from  each  State,  sent  to  this  body  as  delegates 
or  representatives  by  various  State  Agricultural  Wheels.  Said  committee  will 
formulate  a  plan  upon  which  said  bodies  may  consolidate.  Should  any  plan 
be  agreed  upon,  the  same  shall  be  sent  by  a  delegate  from  this  body,  and 
submitted  for  the  consideration  of  the  National  Agricultural  Wheel,  at  its 
annual  meeting  in  November  next. 

"  The  following  were  announced  as  said  committee:  R.  F.  Butler,  B.  F. 
Rogers,  and  Evan  Jones,  of  Texas,  and  J.  C.  Jones  of  Louisiana. 

"  On  motion  of  G.  B.  Pickett  of  Texas,  the  regular  order  of  business  was 
suspended,  and  H.  C.  Brown,  Secretary  and  Treasurer  of  the  State  Agricul- 
tural Wheel  of  Kentucky;  S.  B.  Erwin,  President  State  Agricultural  Wheel 
of  Kentucky;  S.  H.  McDowell,  Secretary  National  Wheel  of  Tennessee; 
Alf  E.  Gardner,  Secretary  and  Treasurer  National  Wheel,  Tennessee,  were 
introduced  and  initiated  into  the  Farmers'  Alliance  and  Co-operative  Union 
of  America,  preparatory  to  a  conference  between  the  States  represented  by 
these  brethren,  pointing  to  a  union  of  these  orders. 

"The  Conference  Committee  made  the  following  report:  — 

'-'■  Resolved,  That  we,  as  delegates  of  the  Farmers'  Alliance  and  Agricultu- 
ral Wheel,  agree  to  accept,  as  a  basis  Q(f  union,  the  secret  work  of  the  Alliance 
and  the  national  constitution  of  the  same ;  each  State  accepting  this  basis  of 
union  to  retain  such  name  as  they  now  have,  if  they  so  desire. 

"-Resolved,  That  the  eligibility  clause  in  the  National  Alliance  constitution 
be  explained  by  statutory  enactment,  showing  that  the  State  Alliance  of 
Texas,  or  the  State  Farmers'  Union  of  Louisiana,  have  no  power  to  change 
this  eligibility. 


'J. 

H. 

McDowell,  Tenn., 

''  Agricjiltural  Wheel. 

'♦B. 

F. 

Rogers,  Tex., 

'R. 

,  F. 

Butler,  Tex., 

'Evan 

Jones,  Tex., 

'J- 

C. 

Jones,  La., 

"  Committee. 

74  AGRICULTURAL    ORGANIZATIONS. 

'*The  time  having  arrived  to  which  the  election  of  the  officers  had  been 
set,  John  O.  Byrne  of  Texas  moved  that  each  State  be  admitted  to  cast  the 
whole  number  of  votes  to  which  they  were  entitled.     Carried. 

"  The  delegates  from  Florida  asked  the  privilege,  in  behalf  of  Florida,  to 
place  in  nomination  C.  W.  Macune,  as  a  candidate  for  president  of  the 
National  Farmers'  Alliance  and  Co-operative  Union  of  America,  who  was,  on 
motion,  unanimously  elected  by  a  rising  vote. 

'*A  motion  prevailed  that  Brother  L.  L.  Polk  of  North  Carolina  inform 
Brother  C.  W.  Macune  of  his  election. 

"  Nominations  were  then  declared  in  order  for  vice-jDresidents  and  such 
other  officers  as  are  provided  for  by  the  constitution  of  the  National  Farmers' 
Alliance  and  Co-operative  Union  of  America,  in  regular  order,  which  resulted 
in  the  election  of  the  following  brethren  to  the  respective  offices  :  — 

"First  Vice-Presidents,  L.  L.  Polk,  North  Carolina;  R.  T.  Love,  Missis- 
sippi ;  S.  B.  Alexander,  North  Carolina ;  H.  P.  Bone,  Alabama ;  Linn  Tanner, 
Louisiana;  W.  H.  Moore,  Arkansas;  S.  B.  Erwin,  Kentucky;  A.  B.  John- 
son, Missouri;  J.  H.  McDowell,  Tennessee;  M.  D.  K.  Taylor,  Texas; 
Oswald  Wilson,  Florida;  E.  B.  Warren,  Secretary,  Texas;  A.  E.  Gardner, 
Treasurer,  Tennessee ;  J.  C.  Jones,  Chaplain,  Louisiana ;  Ben  Terrell,  Lec- 
turer, Texas;  J.  A.  Tetts,  Assistant  Lecturer,  Louisiana;  L  N.  Gresham, 
Doorkeeper,  Alabama ;  H.  C.  Brown,  Assistant  Doorkeeper,  Kentucky ;  T.  E. 
Groome,  Sergeant-at-Arms,  Mississippi. 

"A  motion  prevailed  to  select  the  place  for  the  next  meeting  of  this 
National  Alliance.  Whereupon,  Meridian,  Mississippi,  was  duly  and  consti- 
tutionally selected  as  such  place. 

"A  motion  by  Love  of  Mississippi  prevailed,  that  a  committee  of  one 
from  each  State  represented  here,  be  appointed  to  report  at  the  next  meeting 
of  this  body  some  plan  by  which  we  can  own  our  organ ;  also,  in  addition, 
our  printing  establishment,  for  the  publishing  of  everything  necessary  to  the 
needs  of  Alliances,  such  as  school-books,  etc. 

"The  president  announced  as  the  Committee  on  National  Organ  J.  H. 
McDowell  of  Tennessee,  Ansley  of  Arkansas,  E.  L.  Martin  of  Mississippi, 
L.  L.  Polk  of  North  Carolina,  Oswald  Wilson  of  Florida,  Tannehill  of  Lou- 
isiana, A.  B.  Johnson  of  Missouri,  and  Lane  of  Alabama. 

"  Resolved,  That  this  National  Alliance  and  Co-operative  Union  of  America 
adjourn  to  meet  in  Meridian,  Mississippi,  on  the  second  Wednesday  in  October, 


"Demands  of  the  National  Farmers'  Alliance  upon  Congress. 

'■'■Resolved^  That  we,  the  National  Farmers'  Alliance  and  Co-operative 
Union  of  America,  in  convention  assembled,  advocate  and  indorse  the  follow- 
ing principles,  as  in  accord  with  the  sentiments  and  demands  of  the  tillers  of 
the  soil :  — 

"  I.  We  demand,  first,  the  recognition  by  incorporation,  of  trades-unions, 
co-operative  stores,  and  such  other  associations  as  may  be  organized  by  the 


THE  NATIONAL  ALLIANCE.  75 

industrial  classes,  to  improve  their  financial  condition,  or  promote  their  general 
welfare. 

"2.  We  demand  that  all  the  public  lands  be  held  in  small  bodies,  not 
exceeding  three  hundred  and  twenty  acres  to  each  purchaser,  for  actual  settlers, 
on  easy  terms  of  payment. 

**  3.  That  large  bodies  of  land  held  by  private  individuals  or  corporations, 
shall  be  assessed  for  taxation  at  such  rates  as  they  are  offered  to  purchasers, 
on  credit  of  one,  two,  and  three  years,  in  bodies  of  one  hundred  and  sixty 
acres  or  less. 

"  4.  That,  whereas,  large  bodies  of  our  public  lands  have  been  sold  to 
foreign  capitalists,  thus  tending  to  the  establishment  of  land  aristocracy  in 
this  country,  similar  to  that  which  has  reduced  the  people  of  Ireland  and  other 
monarchical  governments  to  a  condition  of  abject  serfdom,  we  demand  the 
passage  of  laws  forbidding  the  ownership  of  lands  by  aliens,  whose  allegiance 
belongs  to  other  nations ;  and  that  the  public  domain  be  held  as  the  heritage 
of  our  own  people  and  our  children  after  us. 

"5.  That  all  lands  forfeited  by  railroads  and  other  corporations  immedi- 
ately revert  to  the  Government  and  be  declared  open  for  purchase  by  actual 
settlers,  on  the  same  terms  as  other  public  lands. 

**  6.  We  demand  that  all  fences  be  removed,  by  force,  if  necessary,  from 
public  lands  unlawfully  fenced  by  cattle  companies,  syndicates,  or  any  other 
form  or  name  of  monopoly. 

"7.  We  demand  the  extinguishment  of  the  public  debt  of  the  United 
States  by  operating  the  mints  to  their  fullest  capacity,  in  coining  silver  and 
gold,  and  the  tendering  of  the  same  without  discrimination,  to  the  public 
creditors  of  the  nation,  according  to  contract. 

"8.  We  demand  the  substitution  of  legal-tender  treasury  notes  for  the 
issues  of  national  banks  ;  that  the  Congress  of  the  United  States  shall  regulate 
the  amount  of  such  issue  by  per  capita  circulation,  that  shall  increase  and 
keep  pace  with  the  growth  of  the  country's  population  and  the  expansion  of 
her  business  interests.  We  further  demand  the  repeal  of  the  present  national 
banking  system. 

"9.  We  demand  that  the  Department  of  Agriculture  be  made  one  of  the 
departments  of  State ;  that  it  shall  be  increased  in  scope  and  efficiency,  and 
in  connection  therewith  there  shall  be  established  a  bureau  of  labor  statistics. 

"  10.  We  demand  the  enactment  of  laws  to  compel  corporations  to  pay 
their  employees  according  to  contract  in  lawful  money  for  their  services,  and 
the  giving  to  mechanics  and  laborers  a  first  lien  upon  the  products  of  their 
labor,  to  the  extent  of  their  full  wages. 

"II.  That  the  laws  relating  to  the  suppression  of  the  transmission  of 
immoral,  profane,  or  obscene  literature  through  the  mails,  be  made  more 
stringent,  and  be  extended  so  as  to  suppress  the  transmission  of  such  litera- 
ture by  any  public  carrier. 

"12.  We  demand  that  the  United  States  Government  purchase,  by  right 
of  eminent  domain,  the  telephone  and  telegraph  lines,  and  operate  them  as 
adjuncts  of  the  United  States  postal  service. 


76  AGRICULTURAL    ORGANIZATIONS. 

"13.  That  in  view  of  the  fact  that  the  delegates  to  this  body  represent  a 
majority  of  the  cotton-producers  of  the  cotton  belt  of  America,  which  belt 
produces  over  two-thirds  of  the  cotton  of  the  whole  world ;  and  in  view  of  the 
further  fact  that  two-thirds  of  the  cotton  in  the  cotton  belt  is  demanded  and 
used  for  export  to  a  foreign  power,  which  fixes  the  price  on  every  pound  of 
our  cotton ;  and  in  view  of  the  fact  that  the  said  power  is  debarred  from 
returning  to  this  country  a  single  yard  of  manufactured  cotton,  thereby  mak- 
ing said  power  interested  in  crowding  down  to  the  lowest  figure  the  price  of 
cotton,  we  hereby  demand  that  the  United  States  Government  adopt  a  speedy 
system  of  reduction  of  the  import  duty  on  manufactured  cottons,  in  such  a 
way  as  to  do  justice  to  this,  the  greatest  of  all  classes  of  producers. 

"  14.  We  demand  such  a  revision  of  the  tariff  as  will  lay  the  heaviest 
burdens  on  the  luxuries  and  the  lightest  on  the  necessaries  of  life,  and  as  will 
reduce  the  incomes  from  imports  to  a  strictly  revenue  basis. 

"15.  That  as  a  remedy  against  the  unjust  accumulation  and  encroachment 
of  capital,  we  demand  a  graduated  income  tax. 

"16.  That  as  upon  the  intelligence  of  the  people  depend  the  stability  and 
perpetuity  of  our  own  free  government,  we  demand  for  the  masses  a  well- 
regulated  system  of  industrial  and  agricultural  education. 

"17.  That  we  oppose  the  continued  influx  of  pauper  labor  from  the  mon- 
archies of  Europe,  whose  anarchic  views  and  communistic  doctrines  are 
breeding  discontent  and  disloyalty  to  law,  order,  peace,  and  good  government, 
and,  by  an  overplus  of  worthless  labor,  reducing  our  own  laboring  classes  to 
starvation ;  we  therefore  demand  more  stringent  laws  to  prevent  this  country 
being  further  used  as  an  asylum  for  the  communists  and  paupers  of  other 
countries. 

"18.  We  demand  that  the  constitutions,  both  State  and  national,  be  so 
amended  as  to  provide  for  the  election  of  United  States  Senators  by  direct 
vote  of  the  people." 

The  meeting  closed  amid  universal  satisfaction,  and  a  general 
determination  to  take  the  order  into  all  the  cotton  States.  In 
fact,  the  formation  of  the  cotton-growing  States  into  one  grand 
agricultural  organization  was  as  much  as  the  most  sanguine 
expected.  It  was  argued  that  the  cotton  belt  of  the  United 
States  produced  seven-tenths  of  the  cotton  of  the  world,  and 
that  the  producers  of  the  raw  material,  through  combination, 
could  force  prices  to  where  they  would  return  a  fair  profit  on 
production.  Such  a  position  was  logically  correct,  and  no  doubt 
could  be  made  effective.  It  was  with  this  idea  that  many  of 
the  States  joined  the  organization.  However,  it  soon  began  to 
appear  that  the  wheat  and  cattle  raisers  of  the  West  were  in  the 
same  position,  and  dominated  by  the  same  power.  A  sort  of 
fellow-feehng   was   engendered   through  mutual    distress,  that 


THE  NATIONAL  ALLIANCE,  yj 

finally  took  shape  and  led  to  the  introduction  of  the  order  into 
the  Western  States. 

President  Macune  was  fortunate  in  the  selections  for  vice- 
presidents  in  the  different  States ;  also  in  securing  the  services 
of  Brother  E.  B.  Warren,  who  made  a  most  excellent  secretary. 
But  above  all,  for  the  prosecution  of  such  a  work,  he  had  the 
assistance  and  hearty  co-operation  of  Brother  Ben  Terrell,  as 
national  lecturer.  Brother  Terrell  labored  incessantly,  going 
anywhere  and  everywhere  that  the  judgment  of  the  president 
deemed  necessary.  Under  such  management,  and  with  such 
coadjutors,  failure  was  impossible.  The  work  of  organization 
spread  rapidly.  Further  negotiations  were  held  with  the 
National  Wheel,  looking  toward  consolidation,  with  good  suc- 
cess ;  and  Brother  Terrell  was  sent  to  attend  their  national 
meeting  at  McKenzie,  Tennessee.  Mutual  explanations  were' 
made,  and  it  was  decided  to  hold  a  meeting  at  the  same  time 
and  place,  and  try  to  consolidate.  Meridian,  Mississippi,  was 
the  place  selected. 

It  would  fill  a  volume  to  detail  the  immense  amount  of  labor 
performed  by  President  Macune  and  his  corps  of  assistants,  in  the 
propagation  of  the  principles  of  the  order.  Brother  Macune  saw 
clearly  the  benefits  arising  from  active,  effective,  and  successful 
work  in  the  line  of  organization,  and  bent  his  whole  energy  to 
further  that  end.  He  seems  to  have  been  the  guiding  and  deci- 
sive power,  with  every  one  willing  and  ready  to  assist.  New 
States  were  organized,  business  agencies  were  established,' and 
the  progress  of  the  Alliance  was  without  a  parallel  in  history. 

Under  such  conditions,  the  time  for  the  third  annual  session 
of  the  Alliance  drew  near.  The  meeting  at  Shreveport  was  a 
sort  of  getting  together  of  the  scattered  forces  of  the  Alliance 
into  one  compact  organization,  with  mutual  understandings 
between  those  who,  though  belonging  to  the  same  Order,  were 
comparative  strangers.  The  meeting  held  at  Meridian  was  an  > 
attempt  to  further  extend  the  field  of  operation,  by  consolidating^^ / 
with  an  organization  similar  in  character,  aims,  and  purposes,' 
but  made  up  of  almost  entire  strangers.  Under  these  circum- 
stances, the  more  timid  were  reluctant  to  run  any  chances  of 
making  a  mistake.  President  Macune  had  looked  over  the 
ground  thoroughly,  and  carefully  considered  the  matter  in  all 


78  AGRICULTURAL    ORGANIZATIONS. 

its  bearings,  and  concluded  that  the  consolidation  of  these  two 
forces  into  one  would  form  a  power  for  good  that,  in  the  end, 
would  be  irresistible.  Having  come  to  this  conclusion,  he  made 
every  exertion  possible  to  accomplish  this  result.  In  this  he 
was  ably  assisted  by  Brothers  L.  L.  Polk,  J.  H.  McDowell,  and 
others. 

The  annual  meeting  at  Meridian  was  composed  of  full  dele- 
gations from  twelve  States  and  Territories,  every  oile  in  earnest, 
and  all  flushed  with  the  victories  of  the  past  year.  I  give  the 
most  important  acts  of  that  meeting,  in  the  synopsis  which 
follows  :  — 

•*  The  National  Farmers'  Alliance  and  Co-operative  Union  of  America  met  in 
regular  session  in  the  city  of  Meridian,  Mississippi,  December  5,  1888,  with  the 
following  officers  present :  C.  W.  Macune,  President ;  L.  L.  Polk,  First  Vice- 
President;  R.  T.  Love,  Vice-President  for  Mississippi;  S.  B.  Alexander, 
Vice-President  for  North  Carolina;  H.  P.  Bone,  Vice-President  for  Alabama; 
Linn  Tanner,  Vice-President  for  Louisiana ;  A.  B.  Johnson,  Vice-President 
for  Missouri;  J.  H.  McDowell,  Vice-President  for  Tennessee;  E.  B.  Warren, 
Secretary ;  A.  E.  Gardner,  Treasurer ;  Ben  Terrell,  Lecturer ;  H.  C.  Brown, 
Assistant  Doorkeeper;  T.  E.  Groome,  Sergeant-at-Arms. 

*'  The  president  filled  vacancies  by  appointing  the  following,  pro  tern. : 
J.  W.  Beck  of  Georgia,  Chaplain;  T.  J.  Bounds,  Doorkeeper. 

**  Alliance  opened  in  due  form. 

"Committee  on  Credentials  appointed,  consisting  of  Quicksall  of  Ken- 
tucky, Dimmick  of  Louisiana,  Tracy  of  Texas,  Bone  of  Alabama,  and 
Payne  of  North  Carolina. 

"The  following  officers  were  appointed  temporarily:  Evan  Jones,  Vice- 
President  for  Texas  ;  W.  A.  Wilson,  Vice-President  for  Georgia  ;  H.  McRae, 
Vice-President  for  South  Carolina ;  W.  M.  Huey,  Assistant  Sergeant-at-Arms  ; 
G.  L.  Clark,  Assistant  Doorkeeper.  J.  W.  Reid,  B.  J.  Hubbard,  and  J.  C. 
DeLoach  were  appointed  secretaries. 

'♦  While  waiting  for  the  report  of  Committee  on  Credentials,  President 
Macune  read  his  annual  message,  as  follows :  — 

'■'^  Brethren :  In  presenting  to  you  this,  my  annual  message,  to  the  third 
regular  session  of  this  body,  at  the  expiration  of  my  term  of  office,  I  have 
much  to  say,  and  feel  deeply  impressed  with  the  importance  of  a  full  and  free 
expression  to  you  as  to  the  past  and  present  condition  of  the  order,  and  the 
necessities  of  the  future.  Ours  is  no  common  struggle ;  upon  it  depend,  in  a 
great  measure,  the  future  prosperity  of  agriculture  and  the  liberty  and  inde- 
pendence of  those  engaged  in  that  pursuit  And,  indirectly,  the  perpetuity  of 
our  system  of  government  must  be  largely  affected  by  our  success  or  failure. 
This  is  true  because  the  people  whom  we  seek  to  relieve  from  the  oppression  of 
unjust  conditions,  are  the  largest  and  most  conservative  class  of  citizens  of 
this  country ;  they  are  the  greatest  producers,  and  are  the  permanent,  stable, 


THE  NATIONAL  ALLIANCE.  79 

and  solid  class,  on  which  the  prosperity  of  all  others  depends,  and  to  which 
all  must  look  to  judge"  of  the  future  of  the  land. 

'*  Causes  that  tend  to  depress  and  enelave  this  important  element  of  our 
country,  which  may  be  well  designated  as  the  foundation  of  the  superstruct- 
ure, must  surely  endanger  the  very  structure  itself,  and  tend  towards  ultimate 
dissolution  and  loss  of  all  control.  Strange  as  the  assertion  may  sound,  it  is 
nevertheless  true,  that  we  have  two  classes  of  anarchists  in  this  country :  one 
the  avowed  anarchists,  who  oppose  all  law  and  order,  and  the  other  a  blindly 
selfish  class,  who  would  loudly  disclaim  anarchy,  but  advocate  conditions  that 
so  surely  sap  the  vitals  of  productive  labor,  that  the  result  is  ten  times  more 
productive  of  results  ripe  for  anarchy  than  all  the  agitation  of  the  avowed 
anarchists.  If  our  order  means  anything,  it  means  justice,  right,  law,  and 
order,  and  therefore  must  be  the  very  antipode  of  all  forms  of  anarchy,  both 
avowed  and  disguised.  So  just  a  cause  may  well  command  great  devotion 
and  energy ;  but  when,  in  addition  to  the  justice  of  the  principles  involved  in 
the  movement,  its  magnitude  and  importance  and  the  necessity  for  action  are 
considered,  the  command  will  be  recognized  and  accepted  as  imperative  by 
all  those  who  have  allied  themselves  to  the  order.  As  to  the  magnitude  and 
importance  of  the  business,  you,  as  the  representatives  of  the  membership  at 
large,  are  to  be  congratulated  upon  the  wonderful  growth  the  order  has  made 
in  so  short  a  time.  As  will  be  shown  by  the  report  of  your  secretary,  there 
are  now  about  ten  thousand  Sub-Alliances ;  these  are  associated  into  about 
eight  hundred  County  Alliances,  and  represent  an  individual  membership  of 
about  four  hundred  thousand.  Twelve  States  are  working  under  charters 
from  this  body,  and  three  or  four  more  are  about  ready  to  be  chartered. 
While  this  is  a  good  showing  for  the  time  and  means  employed,  it  is  but  a 
start  compared  with  what  may  be  done  in  the  same  field,  and  may  well  and 
forcibly  impress  you  with  the  importance  of  providing  a  more  efficient  system 
of  securing  laborers  and  means  with  which  to  prosecute  the  work.  As  to  the 
necessity  for  action,  all  will  perhaps  admit  that  it  exists,  and  that  it  calls  for 
immediate  activity.  All  other  occupations  are  organized  and  are  constantly 
striving  to  draw  the  lines  of  their  organization  closer,  and  the  progress  of 
material  development  has  brought  about  such  peculiar  conditions  in  this  day 
and  time  that  to  avoid  organization  is  to  refuse  the  benefits  of  enlightened 
co-operation,  and  suffer  from  the  evil  effects  of  trusts  and  combines,  that  seem 
to  have  no  limit  to  their  greed,  and  heed  no  resistance  except  organization. 
That  this  is  understood  and  recognized  by  the  masses  is  evinced  by  the  avid- 
ity with  which  they  embrace  an  opportunity  to  unite  with  the  organization, 
and  this  should  be  carefully  noted  as  an  indication  of  the  responsibility  rest- 
ing on  this  body  to  provide  such  laws  and  rules  within  the  order  as  will  insure 
to  its  members  the  benefits  of  enlightened  co-operation  in  fact ;  and  such  laws 
as  will  assist  them  in  acting  as  a  unit  to  resist  the  encroachments  of  opposing 
organized  power. 

•'  Questions  of  great  delicacy  and  importance  will  be  presented  to  this  body 
for  solution,  and,  unfortunately,  the  limited  time  that  the  majority  will  prob- 
ably agree  to  stay  may  render  a  proper  consideration  and  discussion  of  all 


8o  AGRICULTURAL    ORGANIZATIONS, 

the  subjects  impossible.  It  is  therefore  suggested  that  you  try  to  get  all  the 
business  presented  to  the  body  on  the  first  day  and  referred  to  the  com- 
mittees ;  that  the  committees  be  made  small  and  expected  to  work  and  report 
promptly.  So  great  an  amount  of  work  as  you  have  before  you  must  neces- 
sarily be  done  largely  by  committees,  unless  much  time  is  consumed  in  its 
execution. 

"  One  of  the  most  important  subjects  to  be  considered  is  the  basis  of  an 
organic  union  with  the  National  Agricultural  Wheel.  This  was  discussed  at 
your  last  regular  meeting,  and  the  national  lecturer  appointed  to  visit  the 
National  Agricultural  Wheel  at  its  regular  session  in  Nashville,  Tennessee,  in 
December,  1887,  and  make  overtures  tending  toward  such  union.  He  was 
courteously  received  and  highly  honored  by  that  body,  and  his  propositions 
and  negotiations  treated  with  all  the  respect  due  his  important  mission  from 
this  honorable  body.  As  a  result,  the  National  Agricultural  Wheel  adjourned 
its  regular  session  at  that  time  and  place,  to  meet  with  the  National  Farmers' 
Alliance  and  Co-operative  Union  of  America,  at  this  meeting.  That  arrange- 
ment has  been  carried  out,  and  they  are  here  to-day,  and  should  have  your 
immediate  attention  and  consideration  until  you  have,  if  possible,  agreed 
upon  a  basis  that  will  place  these  two  great  orders,  that  are  working  and 
striving  for  the  same  ends  by  the  same  methods,  under  the  same  jurisdiction ; 
so  that  as  a  unit,  they  may  press  forward,  shoulder  to  shoulder,  united  in  one 
solid  phalanx :  one  motive,  right ;  one  thought,  victory ;  and  one  sentiment, 
fraternal  love,  actuating  bot^. 

"  Your  attention  is  called  to  the  necessity  of  adopting  and  publishing  the 
policy  that  will  be  pursued  as  to  the  extension  of  the  organization  into  the 
Northern  States. 

"  It  will  be  remembered,  at  the  time  of  the  organization  of  this  order  as  a 
national  trade-union,  the  prime  motive  was  to  secure  a  strong  organization 
of  the  producers  of  the  cotton  belt  of  America.  It  was  argued  that  an  organ- 
ization of  that  district  meant  virtually  an  organization  of  the  world,  so  far  as 
the  production  of  cotton  was  concerned  ;  and  that,  therefore,  in  that  direction 
was  the  best  field  to  demonstrate  the  power  and  benefits  of  co-operation  and 
organization.  In  pursuance  of  this  doctrine,  the  work  has  been  pushed  with 
most  vigor  in  the  cotton  States,  until  each  has  now  a  State  Alliance.  Other 
States  are  knocking  at  the  door,  and  it  seems  that  there  can  be  no  good 
cause  for  denying  them  admission.  But  the  extension  of  the  work  into  new 
territory,  where  new  conditions  and  issues  are  to  be  met,  is  attended  with 
great  responsibility  and  danger.  The  danger  is,  that  the  objects  of  the  order 
and  the  methods  it  proposes  to  work  by  will  be  misunderstood.  It  should  be 
remembered  that  the  evils  which  now  afilict  agriculture  are  of  a  general  char- 
acter, and  have  been  for  years  developing,  and  consequently  no  spasmodic 
effort  will  relieve,  neither  can  an  effort  directed  by  one  idea  alone  be  ade- 
quate. The  relief  measures  must  be  general  in  character  and  must  be  applied 
in  every  possible  way,  and  contended  for  with  a  persistence  and  determi- 
nation that  will  be  content  with  slow  and  partial  results  for  the  present  genera- 
tion, and  insure  the  grandest  benefits  to  posterity.     Consequently,  great  care 


THE  NATIONAL  ALLIANCE.  8 1 

must  be  exercised  that  the  ship  of  state  be  kept  sailing  in  the  open  waters  of 
general  reform,  ready  to  respond  to  and  take  advantage  of  any  favorable 
wind  that  may  be  presented.  The  shoals  and  rocks  of  special  ideas  must  be 
avoided,  as  containing  the  elements  of  disaster. 

"  While  all  will  admit  that  nothing  will  be  of  as  great  service  in  promoting 
the  objects  the  Alliance  seeks  to  achieve  as  certain  legislative  enactments, 
still  nothing  could  be  more  disastrous  to  the  order  than  to  tie  it  to  that  one 
channel  of  reform,  because  by  directing  all  effort  in  that  direction,  it  would 
soon  be  recognized  as  the  chief  object  of  the  order,  and  when  that  was 
accomplished,  the  necessity  for  the  existence  of  the  order  would  no  longer 
remain,  and  it  would  nattirally  go  to  pieces.  He  who  teaches  as  a  panacea 
for  all,  either  a  party  reform,  a  money  reform,  a  land  reform,  or  any  other 
special  reform  for  general  conditions,  must  not  be  accepted  as  a  guide.  All 
the  special  reforms  that  contain  good  should  be  contended  for  as  methods  of 
the  Alliance,  but  great  care  should  be  taken  not  to  confound  them  with  the 
principles  which  are  general  and  are  founded  on  ultimate  truth,  and  as  such, 
and  in  that  capacity,  are  alone  capable  of  meeting  the  general  adverse  con- 
ditions to  be  contended  with.  Hence  the  necessity,  in  the  extension  of  the 
work  into  new  territory,  of  being  able  to  define  the  issues  on  which  the  meth- 
ods to  be  pursued  will  depend,  in  plain  and  simple  language,  so  that  all  will 
understand  readily  and  indorse  fully.  In  the  cotton  belt,  co-operation  in 
regulating  the  price  of  that  product  has  been  an  idea  that  all  could  grasp  at 
once  and  indorse  it;  but  other  sections  are  not^favored  with  a  product  of 
which  they  have  a  comparative  monopoly  in  the  production,  and  the  danger  is 
that  without  some  strong  object  of  peculiar  class  to  act  as  a  ballast,  they  may 
attach  too  much  importance  to  partisan  political  methods,  and  getting  them 
mixed  with  the  principles  of  the  order,  seriously  injure  the  movement.  It 
must  therefore  be  extremely  hazardous  to  extend  the  order  into  new  territory 
without  using  great  caution,  and  giving  full  notice  to  all  who  contemplate 
joining  its  ranks,  that  its  objects  are :  '  To  teach  the  principles  of  economic 
government  in  a  strictly  non-partisan  spirit ' ;  'To  bring  about  a  better 
understanding  among  agriculturalists';  *To  promote  mental,  moral,  social, 
and  financial  prosperity ' ;  '  To  bury  the  dead,  relieve  the  sick  and  afflicted, 
to  comfort  the  distressed ' ;  and  that  it  means  '■  Peace  on  earth  and  good  will 
to  man.'  While  it  is  every  man's  duty  to  his  family  and  country,  under  our 
form  of  government,  to  be  a  partisan,  the  proper  place  for  him  to  receive  a 
true  education  is  not  in  a  partisan  school.  Let  the  order  be  the  great  school 
of  truth,  in  which,  by  a  thorough  exchange  of  ideas,  all  may  be  truly  educated. 
Let  it  there  be  agreed  what  great  principles  shall  be  indorsed.  Leave  parti- 
sanship to  the  individual,  but  study  and  discuss  political  economy  as  a  class, 
and  arrive  at  true  conclusions.  There  need  be  no  apprehension  as  to  what 
will  be  the  partisan  policy  of  any  people  who  believe  and  think  alike,  from 
enlightened  understanding  of  the  same  subject.  They  would  then  act  to- 
gether and  be  beyond  the  reach  of  those  who  would  try  to  array  them  to  do 
battle  on  account  of  class  prejudice.  It  is  therefore  suggested  that  this  body, 
as  the  representative  of  all  the  Alliances  now  organized,  pass  such  laws  as 


82  AGRICULTURAL    ORGANIZATIONS. 

will  prohibit  Alliances  from  taking  organized  action  in  partisan  politics  or 
sectarian  religion,  under  penalty  of  forfeiture  of  charter,  and  that  all  Alli- 
ances to  be  hereafter  organized  be  notified  of  that  law  before  charters  are 
issued  to  them. 

"Your  attention  is  called  to  the  necessity  of  defining  —  both  for  the  infor- 
mation of  the  membership  and  as  a  guide  for  your  executive  —  the  genius 
of  your  laws,  both  organic  and  statutory :  this  will  be  found  a  task  worthy  of 
careful  execution.  It  seems  that  the  order  is  under  two  distinct  systems  of 
law  and  government,  and  must  necessarily  be  so  as  long  as  it  is  a  secret  order 
with  a  written  constitution  —  the  charter  from  the  United  States  government 
and  the  constitution  adopted  at  the  first  meeting  of  this  body,  composed  of 
delegates  from  two  States  and  ratified  by  those  States  —  comprises  the  organic 
law.  Under  it  each  State  is  a  separate  autonomy,  limited  only  by  the  rights 
and  powers  expressly  delegated  to  the  national  government  in  the  constitu- 
tion, thus  making  the  order  like  the  government  of  the  United  States,  a  con- 
federated form  of  republican  government,  and  authorizing  its  legislative  branch 
to  make  laws  to  the  extent  expressly  delegated  by  the  constitution  only. 

*'  The  other  system  of  laws  that  governs  the  order,  and  to  which  it  is  sub- 
ject, is  similar  to  that  of  all  other  secret  societies,  and  is  of  the  nature  of  a 
limited  or  constitutional  monarchy,  and  must  ever  be  so  as  long  as  the  secret 
work  emanates  from  the  general  government.  By  authority  of  this  system, 
you  have  in  your  legislative  capacity,  while  in  session,  powers  co-ordinate  at 
least  with  the  constitution.  No  constitution  has  ever  prescribed  a  penalty  for 
violating  the  obligation,  still  any  Sub-Alliance  or  any  president,  by  virtue  of 
this  last  system  of  laws,  to  which  the  order  is  subject,  would,  on  sufficient 
evidence,  expel  a  member  for  that  offence,  and  expulsion  is  the  extent  of  pun- 
ishment possible  under  the  constitution.  Your  powers,  then,  as  a  legislative 
body,  are  supreme  under  the  one  system,  and  are  only  limited  by  the  consti- 
tution under  the  other.  You  will  therefore  be  at  liberty,  should  you  so 
decide,  to  pass  a  system  of  statutory  laws,  and  to  offer  the  State  Alliances 
constitutional  amendments  for  their  adoption.  It  will  be  found  a  great  con- 
venience to  adopt  a  uniform  rule  when  enacting  statutory  laws ;  have  them 
read  by  caption,  numbered,  and  referred  to  appropriate  committees  ;  also  require 
that  they  all  commence  in  the  same  form,  as,  'be  it  enacted.'  This  will  save 
time  from  being  wasted  in  useless  discussion  before  the  body.  Statutory 
laws  enacted  by  this  body,  by  virtue  of  the  authority  of  the  unwritten  law  or 
secret  work,  should  be  supreme,  controlling  and  being  recognized  and  en- 
forced by  all  subordinate  divisions  of  the  government.  That  is  to  say,  should 
this  body  pass  a  law  by  that  authority  which  affected  the  individual  member- 
ship, all  State,  County,  and  Subordinate  Alliances  would  immediately  be  sub- 
ject to  that  law  and  responsible  for  its  execution. 

"  The  organic  law,  as  embodied  in  the  constitution,  should  express  nothing 
but  general  principles,  and  should  leave  the  provisions  for  applying  those 
principles  entirely  to  legislative  enactment.  This  is  peculiarly  necessary  in 
our  form  of  popular  government,  where  amendments  to  the  constitution  have 
to  be  ratified  by  three-fourths  of  the  State  Alliances  before  becoming  laws. 


THE  NATIONAL  ALLIANCE.  83 

Hence  the  necessity  of  having  the  constitution  contain  as  few  provisions  as 
possible,  and  restrict  it  to  a  simple  expression  of  principles  so  general  and 
permanent  that  they  will  need  no  change ;  and  to  a  definition  limiting  the 
rights  and  powers  of  all  concerned.  Your  present  constitution,  therefore, 
needs  very  few  changes ;  there  are,  however,  three  constitutional  amendments 
submitted  to  your  attention,  as  of  sufficient  importance  to  be  submitted  to  the 
States,  and  you  are  requested  to  consider  the  advisability  of  so  doing. 

"  First,  a  change  as  to  the  manner  of  raising,  and  the  amount  of,  the  reve- 
nues now  derived  from  the  States,  as  five  per  cent  of  the  gross  receipts. 
There  is  no  necessity  for  any  special  elaboration  on  this  point,  as  all  will 
admit  that  the  revenues  are  not  adequate  to  meet  the  running  expenses  which 
must  be  incurred,  and  that  this  comdition  must  seriously  hamper  the  work. 
Your  secretary  has  had  a  hard  fight  with  short  funds ;  he  has  received  less 
than  one  thousand  dollars,  and  is  over  one  thousand  dollars  in  debt.  That 
office  is  economically  managed  when  the  gross  expenses  do  not  exceed  thirty- 
five  hundred  dollars  per  year,  including  stationery,  postage,  printing,  etc. 
But  the  funds  coming  in  under  the  present  system  have  been  so  irregular  and 
vague  that  the  secretary  has  been  compelled  to  manage  along,  relying  upon 
other  resources  for  the  greater  part  of  the  year.  He  had  a  right  to  expect 
that  in  the  end  he  would  receive  enough  from  this  body  to  pay  all  indebtedness. 
No  other  officer  has  been  allowed  any  expense  during  the  past  year.  But  all 
of  your  officers  have  been  compelled  to  advance  the  funds  from  their  own 
pockets  to  defray  their  expenses  in  attending  this  meeting.  This  is  a  hard- 
ship, and  is  not  just ;  the  laborer  is  worthy  of  his  hire,  and  should  at  least  get 
his  own  money  returned  to  him.  However,  the  greatest  necessity  for  revenue 
is  to  provide  a  fund  for  the  elaboration  and  extension  of  the  work  into  new 
fields. 

*'  The  second  amendment  is  in  regard  to  representation,  which,  under  the 
present  plan,  is  cumbersome  and  sometimes  unequal.  One  delegate  from 
every  four  counties  is  not  based  on  any  ratio  as  to  extent  of  territory  or  numer- 
ical strength  of.  constituency.  This  should  be  remedied,  so  as  to  always  keep 
the  size  of  the  body  within  the  bounds  of  reason,  and  at  the  same  time  provide 
some  uniformity  as  to  the  amount  of  interests  represented  by  each  member. 

"  The  third  amendment  suggested  is  one  providing  for  a  supreme  judiciary, 
to  be  co-ordinate  in  power  with  the  executive  and  legislative  branches,  with 
appellate  jurisdiction  in  matters  of  controversy  between  the  State  Alliances, 
and  in  trials  for  impeachment  of  officers  of  the  National  Alliance.  Such 
appeals,  in  the  latter  class  of  cases,  being  taken  from  the  findings  of  special 
committee  appointed  by  the  president,  when  competent ;  and  when  not,  to  be 
appointed  by  the  Legislative  Department  when  in  session ;  and  when  not,  to 
be  appointed  by  the  Supreme  Bench.  The  Supreme  Judiciary  should  have 
original  and  final  jurisdiction  in  cases  involving  the  constitutionahty  of  any 
statutory  laws,  and  in  cases  defining  the  legal  relations  of  the^  order  with  other 
organized  bodies. 

"  The  statutory  laws  of  the  order  will  depend  entirely  upon  your  wisdom, 
and  should  clearly  define  and  provide  for  the  effective  operation  of  every 


84  AGRICULTURAL    ORGANIZATIONS. 

principle  of  the  constitution.  You  are  to  be  congratulated  upon  having  one 
vice-president  from  each  of  the  States,  and  that  the  vice-presidents  form 
the  Executive  Committee,  and  it  is  suggested  that  you  constitute  them  a 
diplomatic  council,  with  power  to  meet  at  any  time  on  call  of  the  president, 
and  define  and  carry  out  a  plan  of  consolidation  with  any  kindred  organiza- 
tion, subject  to  ratification  and  approval  by  the  Supreme  Judiciary.  This 
would  enable  such  business  to  be  despatched  at  all  times  of  the  year. 

'*  It  is  suggested  that  a  law  be  passed  regulating  the  printing  of  rituals  and 
charters,  and  that  States  should  not  be  allowed  to  have  that  work  done.  A 
reason  for  this  is  that  the  National  Alliance,  by  having  large  numbers  made, 
can  secure  better  work  for  less  money ;  and  further,  it  might,  by  being  re- 
stricted to  the  National  Executive  Committee,  be  made  a  source  of  revenue. 

"  There  is  great  necessity  for  a  statutory  enactment  that  will  be  the  means 
of  securing  full  and  accurate  crop  reports  at  least  four  times  a  year ;  and  some 
action  should  be  taken  by  this  body  that  will  impress  the  people  with  the 
importance  of  this  business  and  secure  the  co-operation  of  all  to  perfect  a 
bureau  that  will  be  absolutely  correct,  and  can  at  all  times  be  relied  upon  to 
represent  the  interest  of  the  producer,  whether  it  be  simply  to  inform  him  of 
the  best  time  to  sell,  or  contradict  some  falsehood  circulated  by  speculators 
to  reduce  the  price  of  produce. 
7  "Your  attention  is  called  to  the  fact  that  the  laws  of  the  United  States, 

-.  under  which  this  National  Trade  Union  is  chartered,  require  that  the  head- 
quarters of  the  corporation  be  in  the  District  of  Columbia,  and  it  is  suggested 
that  you  consider  the  propriety  of  opening  an  office  in  Washington,  to  be  the 
home  of  the  corporation.  The  order  seems  now  to  have  grown  large  enough 
to  make  this  necessary  and  advisable. 

"  If  the  people  of  this  country  suflfer  from  the  effects  of  class  legislation,  if 
class  legislation  has  been  the  result  of  influences  and  importunities  brought 
to  bear  by  certain  classes  upon  the  law-making  powers,  it  seems  that  it  might 
be  well  for  agriculture  to  have  a  small,  but  competent  and  inexpensive  com- 
mittee to  watch  the  motions  of  Congress,  and  present  and  push  the  influences 
and  importunities  that  may  be  thought  advisable  in  behalf  of  the  members  of 
that  great  class,  and  sound  the  alarm  when  offensive  class  legislation  seemed 
probable. 

"  The  different  State  Alliances,  during  the  past  year,  have  been  organizing 
their  business  efforts  and  are  endeavoring  to  co-operate  on  the  exchange  plan. 
This  plan  is  pure  and  simple  co-operation,  with  no  joint-stock  features  what- 
ever, and  differs  from  similar  plans  before  introduced,  in  several  important 
particulars.  It  is  calculated  to  benefit  the  whole  class,  and  not  simply  those 
who  have  surplus  money  to  invest  in  capital  stock ;  it  does  not  aspire  to,  and 
is  not  calculated  to  be  a  business  for  profit  in  itself,  but  is  intended  to  be 
strictly  auxiliary  and  supplemental  to  the  farming  efforts.  Another  distinc- 
tive feature  of  the  exchange  plan  is  that,  instead  of  encouraging  a  number  of 
independent  stores  scattered  over  the  country,  —  each  in  turn  to  fall  a  prey  to 
the  opposition,  whenever  they  shall  think  it  of  sufficient  importance  to  con- 
centrate a  few  forces  against  it,  —  this  plan  provides  for  a  strong  central  State 


THE  NATIONAL  ALLIANCE.  85 

head,  and  places  sufficient  capital  stock  there  to  make  that  the  field  for  con- 
centrating the  fight  of  the  opposition,  and  a  bulwark  of  strength  and  refuge 
for  the  local  store  efforts.  The  opposition  to  the  central  exchange  under  this 
system  is  of  course  very  determined  and  very  bitter,  but  it  has  been  found 
vastly  better  than  the  scattering  fight,  and  certainly  has  a  much  greater 
advantage  in  repelling  the  attacks  of  the  opposition,  and  seems  competent 
to  conquer  all  the  attacks  of  the  external  opponents,  if  properly  sustained  by 
the  constituency.  The  greatest  danger  comes  from  bombs  thrown  by  the 
enemy,  that  cause  dissension  and  dissatisfaction  among  the  membership.  Of 
course  a  big  majority  will  be  found  firm  and  steadfast,  but  a  few  are  always 
waiting  anxiously  to  be  struck  by  such  bombs.  This  system  has  been  tried 
longer  and  more  extensively  in  Texas  than  any  other  State,  and  has  been 
attended  with  no  little  strife  and  opposition.  In  the  effort  made  in  that  State, 
it  was  thought  best  last  winter  to  deviate  from  the  true  exchange  plan ;  the 
business  was  just  being  started  and  did  not  have  its  capital  stock  paid  up 
sufficiently  to  enable  the  central  exchange  to  stock  up  with  goods,  and  the 
exchange  plan  proper  was  held  in  abeyance,  intending  to  develop  it  fully  when 
the  capital  should  be  sufficiently  paid  in ;  and  a  plan  was  offered  by  the 
Alliances,  and  by  them  adopted,  by  the  provisions  of  which  a  system  of  joint 
notes,  made  by  the  Sub-Alliances  and  secured  by  mortgages  on  the  cotton 
crop,  are  given  by  the  Sub-Alliances  direct  to  the  central  exchange,  under  the 
supervision  and  approval  of  the  county  business  agent.  These  joint  notes 
ranged  in  amount  from  one  hundred  to  five  thousand  dollars,  and  were  in- 
tended to  represent  the  amount  of  credit  purchases  that  each  Alliance  desired 
to  make  on  time  during  the  year.  All  the  notes  were  made  due  November 
15th,  and  as  the  previous  custom  of  the  country  had  been  October  ist,  that 
was  intended  as  a  step  toward  lengthening  the  season  for  marketing  the 
cotton.  The  effort  contemplated  making  nothing  fall  due,  on  the  following 
year,  prior  to  the  first  day  of  January.  The  exchange  was  expected  to  use 
the  joint  notes,  which  were  negotiable  paper,  as  a  basis  of  credit,  and  borrow 
money  upon  them  to  be  used  in  purchasing  the  supplies  for  the  makers  of  the 
notes. 

"The  effort  was  only  partially  successful,  owing  principally  to  the  small 
amount  of  capital  paid  up.  The  notes,  if  ever  so  good,  could  not  be  used  at 
their  face  value  in  borrowing  money ;  the  borrower  must  have  some  capital  or 
ability  to  pay  of  himself.  The  amount  of  notes  made  in  favor  of  the  exchange 
was  about  four  hundred  and  twenty  thousand  dollars ;  the  amount  of  goods 
put  out  on  credit  was  about  two  hundred  and  seventy-five  thousand  dollars ; 
the  amount  of  stock  paid  into  the  co-operation  was  about  seventy-six  thousand 
dollars  ;  but  at  this  time  the  exchange  was  in  its  greatest  trouble,  and  received 
the  criticisms  through  the  press  that  crippled  it  and  interfered  the  most  with 
its  success  ;  it  had  only  received  about  seventeen  thousand  dollars  cash  capital 
on  which  to  operate,  and  had  put  out  in  the  neighborhood  of  two  hundred 
thousand  dollars'  worth  of  goods  to  the  brethren,  or  nearly  twelve  times  its 
capital.  The  result  of  the  effort  in  Texas  has  probably  demonstrated  that 
that  plan  should  not  be  attempted  by  an  exchange,  unless  it  has  a  large  paid- 


86  AGRICULTURAL    ORGANIZATIONS. 

up  capital.  However,  that  plan,  if  carried  out,  is  calculated  to  assist  greatly 
in  handling  the  cotton  crop,  because  it  enables  the  poor  man  to  make  a  crop 
without  mortgaging  to  the  merchant.  The  exchange  plan  of  Texas  is  now 
more  forcibly  than  ever  demonstrating  its  success.  The  brotherhood  of  the 
entire  State  have  paid  up  their  indebtedness  to  the  exchange,  closer  than  ever 
before  known  in  a  credit  business,  and  the  exchange  has  been  enabled  to 
liquidate  its  indebtedness  faster  than  most  any  corporation  or  mercantile  con- 
cern in  the  State.  It  had  paid,  on  the  first  day  of  September,  one  hundred 
and  fifty  thousand  dollars;  and  while  the  commercial  reports  every  day 
showed  private  mercantile  concerns,  in  different  parts  of  the  State,  making 
consignments,  giving  mortgages,  closing  out,  etc.,  in  greater  numbers  than  had 
been  known  for  years,  the  exchange  was,  every  day,  growing  more  solid  and 
getting  its  business  in  a  healthier  condition,  and  one  fact  that  stands  out 
prominent,  and  is  a  subject  of  congratulation,  is,  that  not  a  single  Alliance  or 
co-operative  store,  that  traded  with  the  exchange,  has  failed. 
\  "  With  a  State  exchange  system  in  each  State,  it  is  quite  probable  that  you 
will  be  called  upon  to  consider  bills  for  the  establishment  of  a  National  Ex- 
change, for  the  purpose  of  harmonizing  the  efforts  of  the  State  exchanges,  and 
to  assist  and  direct  their  enterprises.  In  so  doing,  you  should  exercise  the 
greatest  conservatism  and  extremest  caution.  An  investigation  of  the  subject 
will  impress  you  with  its  magnitude  and  importance.  Nothing  visionary 
should  be  for  a  moment  tolerated.  You  should  not  provide  for  a  National 
Exchange  simply  because  there  may  be  a  demand  for  it ;  better  let  it  pass 
unless  you  can  see  positively  how  it  will  do  great  good,  and  be  an  efficient, 
successful,  working  enterprise,  and  see  it  so  plainly  that  you  can  demonstrate 
it  to  a  certainty.  If  a  system  of  national  co-operation  can  be  made  a  success, 
it  must,  under  our  form  of  government,  depend  largely  upon  the  perfection 
and  success  of  the  State  systems  that  compose  it ;  and  they  in  turn  upon  the 
county  systems;  and  they  in  turn  upon  the  people.  Therefore,  there  is  a 
danger  of  establishing  a  national  system  too  early  (before  it  has  a  proper 
foundation),  and  the  result  of  such  action  would  be  an  inefficient  and  inoper- 
ative enterprise,  from  which  half  a  million  people  would  expect  wonders, 
while  it  found  itself  powerless  to  accomplish  anything,  and,  as  a  result,  great 
injury  to  a  just  and  worthy  cause.  Examine,  therefore,  carefully  into  the  con- 
dition of  the  co-operative  effort  in  each  State,  before  considering  a  national 
plan,  and  should  you  decide  to  adopt  one,  leave  no  possible  chance  for  a  fail- 
ure. Do  this  by  prohibiting  it  from  undertaking  more  than  it  can  surely 
accomplish,  and  do  not  place  a  responsibility  without  bestowing  power  to 
discharge  it. 

"  Your  attention  is  called  to  the  recent  troubles  in  regard  to  a  combination 
in  cotton  bagging. 

"  There  seems  no  good  reason  why  jute  butts,  from  Calcutta,  should  be 
the  only  substance  used  to  wrap  the  cotton  crop.  The  effort,  however,  to  use 
burlaps  or  corn  husks  as  a  substitute,  seems  to  be  a  failure,  but  a  bagging 
made  of  cotton  is  now  by  many  regarded  as  a  success  in  every  way  except 
price.    If  this  body  could  take  steps  towards  inducing  the  British  purchaser 


THE  NATIONAL   ALLIANCE.  Sj 

to  abolish  his  custom  of  docking  American  cotton  six  per  cent  for  the  bagging, 
provided  it  was  wrapped  in  good  substantial  bagging  made  of  cotton,  it  would 
seem  to  solve  the  question  entirely.  Perhaps  the  true  solution  would  be  to 
establish  the  cotton  mills  in  the  cotton-growing  districts ;  but  that  will  take 
time,  effort,  and  changes  in  many  present  customs,  laws,  and  conditions. 
One  of  the  most  important  inducements  to  manufacturers  is  cheap  money, 
and  one  of  the  greatest  aids  to  cheap  money  are  insurance  companies ;  they 
control  vast  sums,  that^or  absolutely  safe  investments,  are  content  with  low 
rate  of  interest,  and  interest  on  the  money  invested  in  a  plant  of  three  or 
four  millions  is  of  more  importance  than  the  freights  on  the  cotton  or  coal 
they  use.  Cheap  money  will  have  to  be  secured  before  many  factories  are 
located. 

"The  importance  of  an  Alliance  Insurance  Company,  therefore,  is  not  to 
be  overlooked.  From  the  moment  the  farmer  sells  Ifis  bale  of  cotton,  it  is 
not  only  insured,  but  everything  it  touches  and  every  man  that  owns  it  is 
insured,  and  the  cotton  pays  it  all.  Everything  and  nearly  everybody  in  this 
country  pays  tribute  to  the  insurance  companies.  Why  not,  then,  have  the 
strongest  stock  insurance  company  in  America,  with  two  departments,  one  life 
and  one  fire,  the  capital  stock  of  which  would  be  used  in  loans  to  cotton  fac- 
tories in  the  cotton  States.'*     It  is  certainly  worthy  of  consideration. 

"  You  can  perhaps  accomplish  much  good  by  adopting  suitable  memorials 
to  Congress,  expressive  of  your  sentiment  in  regard  to  the  various  questions 
in  which  our  order  is  deeply  and  financially  interested.  This  important 
method  of  bringing  the  wants  and  necessities,  as  well  as  the  wishes,  of  the 
petitioners  before  Congress,  is  prosecuted  with  vigor  with  other  classes,  and 
has  long  been  neglected  by  the  agriculturist^. 

"  The  relations  with  other  labor  organizations  are  satisfactory  and  friendly, 
but  have  not  been  attended  with  as  much  intercourse  as  is  probably  advisable 
and  necessary,  to  insure  a  thorough  understanding  of  objects  and  methods. 
You  are  therefore  requested  to  provide  for  a  committee  of  one  for  each 
labor  organization  known  to  exist ;  to  officially  communicate  with  such  orders 
and  secure  any  information  they  may  be  willing  to  give  as  to  their  objects  and 
methods,  ahd  that  such  committee-men  report  promptly  all  such  information 
to  your  chief  executive,  to  the  end  that  he  may  at  all  times  be  informed  as  to 
the  diplomatic  relations  of  the  order,  and  be  competent  to  take  such  action 
as  the  exigencies  of  the  situation  may  require.  At  your  last  session,  a  com- 
mittee was  provided  for  by  the  body,  and  appointed  by  the  chair,  to  visit  the 
executive  officers  of  the  Farmers'  Alliance  of  the  Northern  and  Western  States, 
with  a  view  of  negotiating  a  basis  on  which  a  union  might  be  achieved.  Your 
president  corresponded  with  the  said  officers,  and  made  an  appointment  with 
them  to  meet  said  committee  at  Des  Moines,  Iowa,  in  January  last.  No  re- 
port has  been  received  from  the  chairman  of  the  committee ;  consequently 
your  executive  has  no  information  to  guide  him  in  taking  any  further  action 
in  regard  to  the  Alliance  of  the  Northwest.  : 

"The  influence  brought  to  bear  by  labor  agitation  has  been  productive  of 
action  by  Congress,  that  will  probably  result  in  the  establishment  of  a  cabinet 


88  AGRICULTURAL    ORGANIZATIONS. 

office  for  a  representative  of  agriculture,  and  you,  as  a  people,  are  deeply 
interested  in  the  selection  the  new  President  will  make  to  fill  that  position. 

"  The  relations  with  the  world  at  large  are  not  as  unfriendly  as  many  sup- 
pose. The  more  intelligent  of  all  other  classes  realize  that  all  are  interested 
in  the  prosperity  of  the  agricultural  producer,  and  that  their  true  interests  do 
not  antagonize  his ;  conditions  which  tend  to  depress  and  ruin  his  business, 
must,  in  time,  be  disastrous  on  those  who  depend  on  him  for  food  and  cloth- 
ing. But  there  is  an  element  of  opposition  in  several  other  classes  of  our 
country,  who  oppose  Alliance  eiforts  from  purely  selfish  motives,  and  will 
spare  no  labor  to  oppose-and  create  confusion  in  the  ranks.  However,  such 
opposition  is  an  evidence  of  the  justice  of  the  cause,  and  must  ever  be  met  by 
the  right  on  all  occasions.  The  order  will,  therefore,  pass  on  without  heed- 
ing such  opposition,  to  the  accomplishment  of  its  glorious  mission  —  relieving 
suffering  humanity  and  melting  the  chains,  now  forged  to  enslave  posterity, 
into  useful  implements  for  the  promotion  of  equality,  justice,  prosperity,  and 
happiness  to  all  who  labor  honestly. 

*'  The  Committee  on  Credentials  reporte#the  following  list  of  delegates  :  — 

♦♦Alabama:  H.  P.  Bone,  T.  M.  Barbour,  R.  M.  Honeycutt,  J.  H.  Harris, 
H.  G.  McCall. 

♦'Georgia:  J.  W.  Beck,  C.  T.  Zachary,  D.  W.  Dyal,  A.  F.  Pope,  W.  A. 
Willson,  R.  L.  Burk,  J.  H.  Turner. 

♦♦  Kentucky:  J.  E.  Quicksall,  W.  S.  Stone. 

♦♦Louisiana:  W.  M.  Mann,  J.  M.  Stallings,  A.  Dimmick,  W.  R.  Womack, 
A.  T.  Hetcher,  T.  A.  Clayton,  T.  S.  Adams. 

"Mississippi:  W.  A.  Boyd,  Robert  C.  Patty,  G.  W.  Dyer,  W.  M.  Steel, 
J.  W.  Copeland,  S.  D.  Lee,  J.  C  DeLoach,  H.  F.  Simrall,  F.  M.  Glass, 
D.  R.  Hearne,  D.  F.  Chapman,  J.  H.  Beaman,  W.  L.  Mitchell,  G.  L.  Donald, 
G.  A.  Tennison,  H.  H.  Ratliffe.  T.  L.  Darden,  member  Committee  on 
Secret  Work. 

♦♦North  Carolina:  J.  F.  Payne,  W.  M.  White. 

♦'  South  CaroHna:  J.  W.  Reid,  A.  C.  Lyles,  H.  McRae. 

♦'  Tennessee:  J.  P.  Buchanan,  T.  B.  Harwell,  J.  B.  Castles,  W.  T.  Grant. 

♦♦Texas:  W.  T.  Baggett,  B.  J.  Hubbard,  H.  C.  Stephenson,  G.  L.  Clark, 
Evan  Jones,  W.  D.  Ivey,  F.  M.  Sellers,  B.  J.  Kendrick,  R.  M.  Flowers, 
M.  G.  York,  W.  M.  Huey,  W.  W.  Durham,  R.  J.  Sledge,  C.  M.  Wilcox, 
T.  M.  Smith,  Harry  Tracy. 

♦♦  Indian  Territory  :  Charles  Roberts. 

♦♦  Missouri:  M.  V.  B.  Page. 

♦♦Kansas:  W.  P.  Brush. 

♦'  The  president  gave  notice  that  some  few  days  ago  he  appointed  a  con- 
ference committee  of  three,  consisting  of  G.  B.  Pickett  of  Texas,  C.  L. 
Smithson  of  Mississippi,  and  L.  L.  Polk  of  North  Carolina,  to  confer  with  a 
similar  committee  from  the  National  Agricultural  Wheel,  in  reference  to 
organic  union  of  the  two  orders. 

♦♦  The  Committe  of  Conference  on  Organic  Union  being  announced, 
reported  as  follows:  — 


THE  NATIONAL  ALLIANCE.  89 

"  Meridian,  Miss.,  December  5,  1888. 
*'  To  the  Presidejit  of  the  National  Farmers''  Alliance  and  Co-operative  Union 
of  America. 

"We,  your  Joint  Committee,  appointed  to  consider  a  plan  for  the  consoli- 
dation of  the  National  Agricultural  Wheel  and  National  Farmers'  Alliance 
and  Co-operative  Union  of  America,  beg  leave  to  submit  the  following  report : 
"  1st.   We  most  heartily  recommend  the  proposed  consolidation  of  the  two 
orders. 

*'  2d.  We  recommend  that  the  name  of  the  consolidated  order  be  The 
National  Alliance  Wheel  and  Co-operative  Union  of  America. 

"  3d.  We  recommend  that  the  two  bodies  meet  in  the  court-house,  in  this 
city,  at  3  o'clock  this  afternoon,  in  joint  session  or  in  committee  of  the  whole, 
to  be  presided  over  by  the  president  of  the  National  Alliance. 

•'4th.  We  recommend  that  on  all  questions  or  matters  relating  to  the 
organic  laws  of  such  consolidated  body,  each  body  shall  be  entitled  to  an 
equal  number  of  votes,  and  on  all  committees  appointed  to  perfect  such  con- 
solidation, the  two  bodies  are  to  have  equal  representation,  to  be  determined 
by  their  respective  presidents. 

"  L.  L.  Polk,  E.  M.  Nolen, 

"  G.  B.  Pickett,  W.  H.  Hickman, 

"W.S.Morgan,  C.  T.  Smithson, 

"  Farmers''  Alliance  Committee.  Wheel  Committee. 

"  Moved  by  Charles  Roberts  of  Indian  Territory,  and  seconded  by  J.  S. 
Castle  of  Tennessee,  that  the  rules  be  suspended  and  report  be  adopted. 

"After  some  discussion,  F.  M.  Sellers  of  Texas  moved  the  previous 
question,  which  was  agreed  upon,  and  the  vote  being  then  taken  on  the 
original  motion,  it  was  carried. 

"A  committee  from  the  National  Agricultural  Wheel  being  present  at  the 
door,  bearing  a  message  from  their  organization  announcing  their  action  in 
reference  to  organic  union,  the  president  instructed  Brother  Polk  to  bring  the 
gentlemen  in  and  introduce  them.  The  committee,  through  their  chairman, 
reported  that  their  body  had  by  a  unanimous  vote  adopted  the  recommenda- 
tions of  their  conference  committee,  which  in  substance  means  that  they  are 
in  favor  of  union. 

"  The  time  having  arrived  to  adjourn,  for  the  purpose  of  meeting  with  the 
National  Agricultural  Wheel  as  a  joint  committee,  the  president  announced 
that,  previous  to  such  adjournment,  he  wanted  the  legal  situation  understood, 
and  held  that,  as  a  joint  committee,  the  body  in  which  they  were  about  to 
participate  would  have  no  power  to  change  any  laws  of  the  National  Farmers' 
Alliance  and  Co-operative  Union  of  America,  and  that  all  action  taken  by  the 
joint  committee  would  have  to  be  re-enacted  by  this  body  to  become  a  law  in 
this  order,  and  if  such  action  modified  the  constitution,  it  would  have  to  be 
ratified  by  three-fourths  of  the  State  organizations  within  one  year. 

"In  the  joint  session  of  the  Farmers'  Alliance  and  Co-operative  Union  and 
the  National  Agricultural  Wheel,  the  consolidation,  recommended  by  the  Con- 


go  AGRICULTURAL    ORGANIZATIONS, 

ference  Committee,  was  unanimously  agreed  upon,  and  the  name  adopted 
for  the  proposed  organization  was  The  Farmers  and  Laborers'  Union 
OF  America.  Pending  the  discussion  of  a  constitution,  the  joint  session 
adjourned  to  lo  a.m.  to-morrow. 

"  The  joint  session  resumed  its  work. 

"  The  constitution  was  adopted  set'tatitn,  and  an  election  of  officers  was 
held,  with  the  following  result :  For  President,  Evan  Jones  of  Texas ;  for 
Vice-President,  Isaac  McCracken  of  Arkansas ;  for  Secretary,  A.  E.  Gardner 
of  Tennessee  ;  for  Treasurer,  Linn  Tanner  of  Louisiana. 

"  The  constitution  was  then  referred  to  the  several  State  organizations  of 
the  two  bodies  for  ratification,  and  it  was  ordered  that,  in  the  event  of  three- 
fourths  of  the  Farmers'  State  Alliances  ratifying  the  consolidation,  the  presi- 
dent of  the  National  Farmers'  Alliance  and  Co-operative  Union  shall  issue  his 
proclamation  making  known  said  ratification,  and  that  when  three-fourths 
of  the  State  Agricultural  Wheels  shall  have  ratified  the  consolidation,  in 
accordance  with  the  terms  of  this  agreement,  the  president  of  the  National 
Agricultural  Wheel  shall  issue  his  proclamation  of  said  ratification.  The 
consolidation  shall  then  be  officially  made  known  by  proclamation  of  the 
president  of  the  Farmers  and  Laborers'  Union  of  America. 

"  It  was  further  ordered  that,  in  the  event  of  the  ratification  of  the  pro- 
posed consolidation,  the  next  meeting  shall  be  held  in  St.  Louis,  at  lo  a.m., 
on  the  first  Tuesday  of  December,  1889. 

*'  The  constitution,  as  adopted  by  the  joint  session,  is  similar  to  that  of  the 
Farmers'  Alliance,  except  that  the  eligibility  of  ministers  of  the  gospel  for 
membership  is  restricted  to  those  living  in  the  country. 

"Motion  made  by  Patty  of  Mississippi  that  a  roll  of  States  be  called,  in 
order  to  find  out  whether  delegates  were  instructed  as  to  organic  union  with 
the  Agricultural  Wheel.  Prevailed,  and  one  State  declared  itself  instructed 
to  form  the  union. 

"  Motion  by  Patty  of  Mississippi,  that  the  Chair  appoint  a  committee  of 
one  from  each  State  and  Territory,  to  take  into  consideration  the  question 
of  organic  union  with  the  National  Wheel,  on  the  basis  this  day  agreed  upon 
in  joint  session,  and  the  said  committee  report  to-night  before  12  p.m. 
Adopted,  and  committee  appointed:  R.  C.  Patty,  Mississippi;  Womack, 
Louisiana;  Quicksall,  Kentucky;  Willson,  Georgia;  Bone,  Alabama;  Alex- 
ander, North  Carolina ;  Reid,  South  Carolina;  Buchanan,  Tennessee;  Sellers, 
Texas ;  Roberts,  Indian  Territory ;  Brush,  Kansas ;  Johnson,  Missouri. 

"  The  committee  of  one  from  each  State,  on  the  method  by  which  the 
organic  union  could  be  perfected,  made  the  following  report,  which  was 
adopted :  — 

"  To  the  National  Farmers'  Alliance  and  Co-operative  Union  of  Afnerica :  — 
"  Your  select  committee,  acting  under  instructions,  beg  leave  to  report  the 

following  resolutions,  to  wit :  — 

''Resolved,  ist,  That  we  approve  the  proposed  constitution  and  by-laws 

this  day  adopted  in  joint  session  with  the  National  Wheel,  and  that  the  same 


THE  NATIONAL  ALLIANCE.  9 1 

be  printed  and  transmitted  with  all  convenient  despatch  to  the  several  State 
and  Territorial  Alliances,  for  consideration. 

''Resolved,  2d,  That  when  as  many  as  three-fourths  of  said  State  and 
Territorial  Alliances  shall  have  ratified  said  proposed  constitution  and  by- 
laws, the  president  of  the  National  Alliance  and  Co-operative  Union  shall 
make  proclamation  to  that  effect;  and  when  concurrent  action  shall  have 
been  had  by  the  National  Wheel,  the  president  this  day  elected  by  said  joint 
session  shall  make  proclamation  providing  for  the  organic  union  of  State, 
County,  and  Sub-Alliances  and  Wheels  respectively,  in  accordance  with  such 
regulations  as  he  may  prescribe. 

"  Resolved,  That  the  present  organization  of  the  National  Farmers'  Alliance 
and  Co-operative  Union  of  America  be  preserved  intact,  until  such  proposed 
organic  union  shall  have  been  effected. 

"  Respectfully  submitted, 

"Robert  C.   Patty, 
"  Chairman,  for  the  Com?nittee. 

**  Report  of  Committee  on  National  Organ. 
*'  The   report  of  the  Committee   on  National   Organ  was   received  and 
adopted  by  unanimous  vote.     Their  report  was  this  proposition  ;  — 

"  The  undersigned  hereby  respectfully  present  the  following  plan  and 
proposal  for  your  consideration  and  adoption  :  — 

"  We  will  organize  a  company,  with  ten  shares  of  $1000  each,  paid- 
up  capital,  composed  of  good  Alliance  men,  and  will  not  increase  the 
number  of  shareholders,  and  will  hold  all  the  shares  or  any  part  of  them 
subject  to  purchase  at  full  face  value  by  the  Farmers  and  Laborers'  Union 
of  America,  when  that  body  has  funds  for  investment  in  that  enterprise. 
Said  company  will  start  and  run  for  a  term  (^  ten  years,  more  or  less,  a 
newspaper,  to  be  not  less  than  a  four-page  seven-column  paper,  issued 
weekly,  and  devoted  to  the  circulation  of  official  news  and  the  interests  of 
agriculture,  and  the  general  dissemination  of  the  true  principles  of  political 
economy,  strictly  non-partisan  in  politics  and  non-sectarian  in  religion;  to 
be  a  clean  and  neat  paper  of  high  moral  tone,  such  as  will  be  a  source  of 
true  education  to  the  youth,  of  emulation  to  those  in  active  middle  life,  and 
of  congratulation  and  comfort  to  the  aged. 

*'  The  company  will  execute  a  bond  to  the  president  of  the  order  and  his 
successors  in  office,  in  the  sum  of  $50,000,  that  all  contracts  by  said ,  corpora- 
tion with  members  of  the  order,  either  for  subscriptions  or  advertising, 
will  be  strictly  carried  out.  Said  company  will,  should  you  accept  this  prop- 
osition, locate  said  paper  in  the  city  of  Washington,  District  of  Columbia, 
and  put  it  into  successful  operation  on  or  before  the  first  day  of  April,  1889, 
and  will  furnish  same  to  all  yearly  subscribers  at  one  dollar  per  year. 
*'  A.  B.  Johnson,  Chairman.  *'  Ben  Terrell, 
"  R.  J.  Sledge,  '*  C.  W.  Macune, 

"  W.  P.  Brush,  ♦'  R.  J.  Sledge, 

'•J.  A.  Tetts,  "  Harry  Tracy, 

"  Robert  C.  Patty,  Committee. 


§5 


AGRICULTURAL    ORGANIZATIONS. 


"Resolutions  by  Warren:  That  when  this  body  adjourns,  it  shall  be  to 
meet  at  Atlanta,  Georgia,  the  first  Wednesday  in  October,  1889,  should  such 
meeting  be  necessary.     Call  sessions  to  be  held  at  same  place. 

"A  resolution  was  unanimously  passed,  thanking  the  good  citizens  of 
Meridian  for  their  royal  hospitality.  It  was  just  simply  unparalleled.  The 
entire  delegation  of  nearly  200  were  made  guests  of  this  heroic  city  for  nearly 
a  week. 

"C.  W.  Macune, 
"  President  National  Fai'tners'  Alliance  and 
Cooperative  U7ii9n. 
"  B.  J.  Hubbard, 
"J.  W.  DeLoach, 
"J.  W.  Reid, 
*  •  Recording  Secretaries. 
"Attest: 
"Ed.  B.  Warren,  Secretary ^"^ 


CHAPTER   V. 

HISTORY    OF    THE    NATIONAL    ALLIANCE Continued. 

The  work  done  by  the  convention  held  at  Meridian,  Missis- 
sippi met  with  general  approval.  A  fresh  impetus  had  been 
given  the  order,  and  many  of  the  benefits  predicted  at  the 
beginning  were  being  realized.  The  jute  bagging  trust  was 
being  successfully  contested,  and  it  seemed,  for  the  first  time 
in  history,  that  the  farmers  were  capable,  and  determined  to 
take  care  of  themselves.  During  the  early  spring,  a  national 
organ,  The  National  Economist,  was  established,  at  the  city 
of  Washington,  District  of  Columbia,  and  during  the  summer 
an  important  meeting  was  called,  at  Birmingham,  Alabama,  for 
the  purpose  of  considering  the  sale  of  cotton.  At  this  meeting 
much  important  business  was  done ;  various  plans  for  the  relief 
of  cotton-growers  were  formulated ;  and  President  Macune, 
President  McCracken,  and  Chairman  S.  M.  Adams  were  re- 
quested to  issue  a  proclamation  requesting  the  proper  officers 
in  the  various  State  organizations  to  convene  all  the  county 
organizations  in  their  respective  States,  on  the  second  Tuesday 
in  June,  1889,  for  the  purpose  of  taking  proper  action  to  carry 
out  the  plans  of  the  convention. 

At  the  Meridian  meeting  a  plan  of  consolidation  had  been 
agreed  upon  and  submitted  to  the  States  interested,  for  their 
action.  As  fast  as  the  State  meetings  were  held,  the  propo- 
sition for  consolidation  was  ratified.  When  the  required  num- 
ber had  given  their  consent,  the  following  joint  proclamation 
was  issued  :  — 

**  Know  all  men  by  these  presents,  that  — 

*'  Whereas,  The  National  Farmers'  Alliance  and  Co-operative  Union  of 
America  did,  at  its  last  regular  meeting,  to  wit,  on  the  5th  day  of  December, 
1888,  in  the  city  of  Meridian,  State  of  Mississippi,  agree  upon  a  new  consti- 
tution for  tlie  order,  and  that  said  constitution  was  twice  read  in  open  session 
on  two  separate  days,  as  required  by  law,  and  then  passed  by  a  two-thirds 
majority,  and  then  submitted  to  the  States  for  ratification  in  conformity  to 
Article  VI.  of  the  constitution  now  in  force;  and 

93 


94  AGRICULTURAL    ORGANIZATIONS. 

"  Whereas^  The  vote  of  the  various  State  Alliances  on  said  proposition  is 
officially  recorded  as  follows :  Affirmative ;  Tennessee,  South  Carolina,  Ala- 
bama, Louisiana,  Kentucky,  Kansas,  Missouri,  Virginia,  North  Carolina, 
Georgia,  Mississippi,  Florida,  Indian  Territory:  Negative;  none  reported. 
New  Mexico  has  not  reported  at  all,  and  the  State  Alliance  of  Texas  ratifies 
conditionally.  This  record  shows  that  the  requisite  three-fourths  of  the  State 
Alliances  have  ratified  said  constitution ;  and 

"  Whereas^  The  National  Agricultural  Wheel  did,  at  its  annual  meeting, 
which  was  held  in  connection  with  the  National  Farmers'  Alliance  and  Co- 
operative Union  of  America,  and  the  Farmers'  Mutual  Benefit  Association, 
in  the  city  of  Meridian,  State  of  Mississippi,  formulate  a  new  constitution  for 
the  government  of  the  order,  and  the  same  has  been  submitted  to  the  State 
Wheels  for  their  ratification  ;  and 

*'  Whereas^  The  following  State  Wheels  have  ratified  the  same  :  Tennessee, 
Arkansas,  Missouri,  Indian  Territory,  Alabama,  Mississippi,  Kentucky, 
Louisiana,  Wisconsin,  and  Texas.  This  record  shows  that  over  three-fourths 
of  the  State  Wheels  have  adopted  the  aforesaid  constitution ;  and 

*'  Whereas,  The  National  Farmers'  Alliance  and  Co-operative  Union  of 
America,  the  National  Agricultural  Wheel,  and  the  Farmers'  Mutual  Benefit 
Association  did  pass  the  following  resolutions,  to  wit:  — 

*'  'When  as  many  as  three-fourths  of  said  State  and  Territorial  Alliances 
shall  have  ratified  said  proposed  constitution,  the  president  of  the  National 
Farmers'  Alliance  and  Co-operative  Union  of  America  shall  make  proclama- 
tion to  that  effect,  and  when  concurrent  action  shall  have  been  had  by  the 
National  Agricultural  Wheel,  the  president  this  day  elected  by  the  joint 
session  shall  make  proclamation  providing  for  the  organic  union  of  the  State, 
County,  and  Sub-Alliances  and  Wheels,  respectively,  in  accordance  with  such 
regulations  as  he  may  prescribe ' ;  and 

"  Whereas,  The  said  organizations,  acting  in  joint  session,  did  provide  for 
a  new  set  of  officers  in  case  said  constitution  should  be  ratified,  and  did  elect 
as  officers  for  that  purpose,  Evan  Jones,  President ;  Isaac  McCracken,  Vice- 
President;  A.  E.  Gardner,  Secretary;  and  Linn  Tanner,  Treasurer:  Now, 
therefore, 

"  We,  the  undersigned,  C.  W.  Macune,  President  of  the  National  Farmers' 
Alliance  and  Co-operative  Union  of  America,  and  Isaac  McCracken,  President 
of  the  National  Agricultural  Wheel,  and  Evan  Jones,  President  of  the  Farmers 
and  Laborers'  Union  of  America,  do  by  the  authority  in  us  vested,  severally 
and  officially,  issue  this  our  proclamation  to  the  order  at  large,  to  wit :  — 

''First.  The  membership  of  the  Farmers'  Alliance  are  hereby  notified 
that  the  new  constitution  has  been  ratified  by  the  requisite  number  of  States, 
and  the  same  is  hereby  declared  to  supersede  the  constitution  now  in  force, 
and  to  be  in  full  force  and  effect  from  and  after  the  thirtieth  day  of  September, 
1889. 

''Second.  The  membership  of  the  Agricultural  Wheel  are  hereby  notified 
that  the  new  constitution  has  been  ratified  by  the  requisite  number  of  States, 
and  the  same  is  hereby  declared  to  supersede  the  constitution  now  in  force. 


THE  NATIONAL  ALLIANCE.  95 

and  to  be  in  full  force  and  effect  from  and  after  the  thirtieth  day  of  September, 
1889, 

'•  Third.  The  two  national  bodies  now  known  as  the  National  Farmers' 
Alliance  and  Co-operative  Union  of  America,  and  the  National  Agricultural 
Wheel,  are  hereby  declared  to  be  merged  and  consolidated  into  one  body,  to 
be  known  as  the  Farmers  and  Laborers'  Union  of  America,  said  consolidation 
to  take  effect  and  be  in  force  from  and  after  the  thirtieth  day  of  September, 
1889,  and  to  be  in  charge  of  the  following  officers,  to  wit:  President,  Evan 
Jones  of  Texas ;  Vice-President,  Isaac  McCracken  of  Arkansas ;  Secretary, 
A.  E.  Gardner  of  Tennessee  ;  Treasurer,  Linn  Tanner  of  Louisiana. 

"  Given  under  our  hands,  in  the  city  of  Washington,  District  of  Columbia, 
this,  the  24th  day  of  September,  a.d.  1889. 

♦*C.  W.  Macune, 
**  Isaac  McCracken, 
"Evan  Jones." 


By  virtue  and  under  the  authority  of  this  proclamation,  the 
two  great  agricultural  organizations  became  one.  Consolidation 
had  been  accomplished,  and  the  courage,  labor,  and  persistency 
of  President  Macune  had  been  crowned  with  success.  In 
January,  1887,  the  State  Alliance  of  Texas  met  at  Waco,  many 
predicted  for  the  last  time.  In  place  of  disaster  came  a  great 
victory  for  the  true  principles  of  the  Alliance.  Instead  of 
disintegration,  the  State  Alliance  was  strengthened  and  the 
National  Alliance  brought  into  being.  At  once  consolidation 
was  secured  with  the  Farmers'  Union  of  Louisiana.  October, 
1887,  the  national  meeting  held  at  Shreveport  laid  the  founda- 
tion for  the  consolidation  of  the  Alliance  and  Wheel.  The 
meeting  at  Meridian,  in  December,  1888,  arranged  the  details, 
and  the  proclamation  of  September,  1889,  confirmed  it.  Within 
two  years  and  eight  months  from  the  birth  of  the  National 
Alliance,  three  national  orders  had  been  united  into  one,  all 
in  excellent  working  condition,  with  a  system  well  in  hand, 
and  a  membership  comprising  eighteen  States  and  Territories 
and  numbering  fully  one  million  people.  This  was  a  vast  under- 
taking, the  most  stupendous  and  far  reaching  that  the  agri- 
cultural people  of  the  world  had  ever  conceived  possible  to 
accomplish.  It  required  courage,  sagacity,  patience,  and,  above 
all,  an  abiding  faith  in  the  objects  sought,  and  a  firm  belief  in 
the  ultimate  triumph  of  truth.  The  task  was  performed  nobly, 
grandly,  and  conscientiously,  and  the  one  man  above  all  others 


^ 


96  AGRICULTURAL    ORGANIZATIONS. 

to  whom  belongs  the  meed  of  praise,  and  the  credit  of  its  accom- 
^  plishment,  is  Brother  C.  W.  Macune.  Standing  as  he  did,  Hke 
the  tower  of  strength  that  he  is,  "four  square  to  every  wind  that 
blew,"  he  was  enabled  to  hand  over  to  his  successor  this  grand 
organization,  as  the  fruit  of  nearly  three  years  of  labor. 

During  this  year  much  had  been  done  by  way  of  organizing 
and  perfecting  the  system  of  spreading  the  doctrines  of  the 
Alliance.  The  new  organization  was  beginning  to  attract  the 
attention  of  the  political  as  well  as  the  commercial  world.  It 
grew  rapidly,  and  as  the  next  annual  meeting  at  St.  Louis 
approached,  the  interest  in  the  order  became  intensified.  The 
next  annual  meeting  was  held  at  St.  Louis,  Missouri.  The  fol- 
lowing is  a  synopsis  of  the  proceedings  :  — 

FIRST  DAY. 

St.  Louis,  Missouri,  December  3,  1889. 
Delegates  assembled  at  Entertainment  Hall,  Exposition  Building,  at 
ten  o'clock,  a.m.,  and  listened  to  speeches  of  welcome,  made  by  Mayor 
Noonan  and  Governor  Francis  of  Missouri,  and  responses  by  J.  H. 
McDowell  of  Tennessee,  and  A.  J.  Streeter  of  Illinois.  Convention 
then  adjourned  to  1.30  p.m.  The  Farmers  and  Laborers'  Union  of 
America  met  at  1.30  p.m.,  President  Evan  Jones  presiding.  Prayer  by 
Chaplain  J.  D.  Satterwhite  of  Missouri.  The  following  officers  were 
appointed :  Chaplain,  J.  D.  Satterwhite  of  Missouri ;  Steward,  R.  W. 
^Tucker  of  Tennessee;  Assistant  Stewards,  C.  J.  Higgins,  Alabama; 
W.  J.  Talbert,  South  Carolina,  and  D.  Ried  Parker,  North  Carolina ; 
Doorkeeper,  J.  H.  Turner,  Georgia ;  Assistant  Doorkeeper,  J.  M.  Ram- 
sey, Kentucky;  Sergeant-at-Arms,  G.  A.  Gowan,  Tennessee. 

Report  of  Committee  on  Credentials. 
The  following  are  the  delegates,  with  their  post-office  addresses  :  — 

Alabama:  J.  H.  Harris,  Oakbowery;  C.  J.  Higgins,  Logan;  T.  J.  Carlisle,  Brun- 
dinge;   R.  F.  Kolb,  Montgomery;   S.  M.  Adams,  Randolph;   H.  D.  Lane,  Athens. 

Arkansas:  L.  H.  Moore,  Alston;  John  W.  Lybrand,  Grapevine;  N.  E.  Chambers, 
Van  Buren;  Daniel  Morgan,  Magnolia;  John  A.  Ansley,  Prescott;  E.  F.  Stackhouse, 
Little  Rock,  President  State  Alliance;  I.  P.  Langky,  Bee  Bee;  W.  S.  Morgan, 
Hardy;   Isaac  McCracken,  Ozone,  Vice-President  Farmers  anHTLaborers'  Union. 

Georgia:  L.  F.  Livingston,  Cora;  Felix  Corput,  Atlanta;  W.  J.  Northen,  Sparta; 
J.  W.  Hogan,  Valdosta;   J.  H.  Turner,  Lagrange. 

Florida :  Robert  F.  Rogers,  Live  Oak,  President  State  Alliance;  A.  S.  Mann,  Jack- 
sonville;  Oswald  Wilson,  New  York,  State  Business  Agent;   H.  C.  Randall,  Purcell. 


THE  NATIONAL  ALLIANCE,  97 

Indian  Territory :  R.  C.  Betty,  Dougherty. 

Indiana :  R.  F.  Peck,  Shoals. 

Kansas:  A.  E.  Dickinson,  Meriden;  B.  H.  Clover,  Cainbridge;  Van  B,  Prather, 
Columbus;   S.  J.  Atkins,  Ruston;   John  S.  McKinley,  Wichita, 

Kentucky:  H.  C.  Brown,  Clinton;  S.  B.  Erwin,  CUnton;  W.  T.Winn,  Fulton; 
W.  W.  Gill,  Olmstead;  W.  R.  Browder,  Olmstead;  S.  B.  Penn,  Slater;  J.  E.  Quick- 
sail,  Ezell;   B.  F.  Davis,  Ezell;   G.  W.  Comer,  Peach  Orchard. 

Louisiana:  J.  A.  Tetts,  Ruston;  Daniel  Morgan;  T.  J.  Guice;  J.  D.  Hunnicutt; 
J.  D.  Hammond,  Bastrop:   T.  A.  Clayton,  New  Orleans,  State  Business  Agent. 

Missouri:  J.  S.  Hall;  H.  W.  Hickman,  Puxico;  J.  W.  Rodgers,  St.  Louis,  713 
Olive  Street,  State  Secretary;  Thomas  Day;  S.  F.  Boyden,  Neosho;  George  W.  Reg- 
ister, Poplar  Bluff;  D.  F.  Eskew;  Marcus  W.  Wood,  Chairman  Trade  Committee; 
George  A.  Handley,  Belton;   W.  A.  Taylor,  Versailles,  Box  45;   F.  L.  Hogard,  Belton. 

Maryland:  N.  A.  Dunning,  Washington,  District  of  Columbia;  Harry  Tracy, 
Washington,  District  of  Columbia. 

Mississippi:  R.  C.  Patty,  Macon;  H.  F.  Simrall,  Vicksburg;  J.  H.  Beeman,  Ely; 
Frank  Burkett,  Okolona;  F.  M.  Blount,  Highland;  A.  M.  Street,  Boonville. 

North  Carolina :  Elias  Carr,  Old  Sparta,  President  State  Alliance;  S.  B.  Alexander, 
Charlotte,  Chairman  Executive  Committee;  L.  L.  Polk,  Raleigh,  State  Secretary; 
E,  A.  Moye,  Greenville,  Member  Judiciary  Committee;  A.  J.  Dalby,  Oxford,  Agent 
Tobacco  Manufacturing  Company;  W.  A.  Graham,  Macpelah,  Trustee  B.  and  F.; 
A,  H.  Worth,  Raleigh,  Business  Agent  North  Carolina. 

Nebraska :  J.  D.  Hatfield,  Clinton. 

Oklahoma:  W.  H.  Barton,  Guthrie. 

South  Carolina :  W.  J.  Talbert,  Holmes,  Lecturer;  D.  K.  Norris,  Hickory  Flat; 
T.  P.  Mitchell,  Member  State  Executive  Committee;  J.  W.  Reid,  Reidville,  Secretary 
State  Alliance  and  Member  National  Committee  on  Secret  Work;  W.  W.  Keys, 
Greenville,  Editor  Cotton  Plant. 

Tennessee:  J.  B.   Buchanan,  Murfreesboro ;    R.  W.   Tucker,  Nashville;     J.  R. 
Miles,  Ralston  Station;   J.  H.  McDowell,  Nashville;   J.  F.  Tillman,  Palmetto;   B.  H. 
Hord,  Nashville;  E.  B.  Wade,  Murfreesboro;  A.  E.  Gardner,  Dresden. 
»/ Texas:  B.  J.  Kendrick,  Waco;    C.  M.  Wilcox,  Waco;    E.B.Warren,  Weather- 
ford;   H.  S.  P.  Ashby,  Smithfield;  T.  J.  Anderson,  Paris. 

Virginia:  Robert  Beverly,  The  Plains;  Mann  Page,  Brandon;  G.  H.  Chrisman, 
Chrismann. 

The  following  communications  were  received  :  — 

From  the  Farmers'  Mutual  Benefit  Association  :  — 

Mount  Vernon,  Illinois,  November  25,  1889. 

I  certify  that  the  following  resolution  was  unanimously  adopted  by 
the  General  Assembly  of  the  Farmers'  Mutual  Benefit  Association,  in 
session  at  Mount  Vernon,  Indiana,  November  19  to  23,  1889  :  — 

To  the  Officers  and  Me7nbe7's  of  the  Farmers  and  Laborers'*  Union  of 

America,  in  Session  at  St.  Louis  : 

The  Farmers'  Mutual  Benefit  Association  sends  heartiest  greetings, 
and  bids  you  God- speed.     We  congratulate  you  on  your  consolidation. 


gS  AGRICULTURAL    ORGANIZATIONS. 

and  wish  you  unbounded  success.  We  are  glad  to  state  that  our  organi- 
zation was  never  in  a  more  flourishing  condition.  We  are  pushing  the 
work  of  organization  and  education;  our  membership  is  encouraged 
and  hopeful,  and  we  will  heartily  join  you  in  any  effort  you  may  make,  or 
plan  you  may  devise,  for  the  amelioration  of  the  condition  of  our  people, 
or  to  redress  the  wrongs  of  the  long-suffering  and  patient,  but  over- 
burdened farmers  and  laborers  of  the  country,  and  that  our  committee 
on  co-operative  trade  be,  and  they  are  hereby,  charged  with  the  bearing 
of  this  communication  to  said  meeting. 

Given  under  my  hand  and  seal  of  said  association,  the  day  and  date 

above  written. 

John  P.  Steele,  Secretary, 

From  the  National  Farmers'  Alliance  :  — 

St.  Louis,  December  3,  1889. 
To  the  Farmers  and  Laborers'  Union  of  America  : 

Gentlemen  :  The  National  Farmers'  Alliance,  in  convention  assem- 
bled, have  duly  elected  a  committee  of  conference,  consisting  of  nine 
members,  to  meet  with  a  like  committee  from  your  organization. 

Respectfully, 

J.  Burrows, 
President  National  Farmers'  Alliance. 

Committee  from  the  National  Alliance  of  the  Northwest  was  then 
announced  in  waiting.  Brothers  L.  F.  'Livingston  of  Georgia,  Mann 
Page  of  Virginia,  and  L.  L.  Polk  of  North  Carolina  were  appointed  a 
committee  to  receive  the  visiting  committee  and  seat  them  on  the  plat- 
form. After  an  interchange  of  views,  the  committee  retired,  and  on 
motion,  the  following  Committee  on  Conference  was  appointed  to  confer 
with  the  National  AUiance  of  the  Northwest :  H.  W.  Hickman,  Missouri ; 
Mitchell,  South  CaroHna ;  Page,  Virginia ;  Clover,  Kansas ;  Lybrand, 
Arkansas  ;  Patty, .  Mississippi ;  Tucker,  Tennessee  ;  Anderson,  Texas  ; 
and  Morgan,  Louisiana. 

Also  the  following  committee  was  appointed  to  confer  with  the  Mutual 
Benefit  Association :  Davis,  Missouri ;  Clayton,  Louisiana ;  Gowan, 
Tennessee ;  Bird,  Alabama ;  and  Worth,  North  Carolina. 

On  motion,  a  committee  of  conference  on  cotton  tare  and  bagging, 
consisting  of  one  from  each  cotton  State,  was  appointed. 

The  Committee  on  Conference  then  made  a  report  as  follows  :  — 

The  joint  committee  agree  to  recommend  to  our  respective  organiza- 
tions the  adoption  of  the  following  resolutions,  to  wit :  — 


THE  NATIONAL   ALLIANCE.  99 

First,  That  a  joint  committee  of  five  on  the  part  of  the  National 
Farmers'  AlHance  and  a  Hke  number  on  the  part  of  the  National  Farm- 
ers and  Laborers'  Union  be  appointed,  with  authority  to  formulate  a 
plan  for  a  confederation  of  said  organizations  and  of  other  known  agri- 
cultural and  industrial  organizations  in  the  United  States,  to  the  end 
that  immediate  and  practical  co-operation  may  be  secured  for  the  ac- 
complishment of  the  objects  common  to  all. 

Second,  That  the  autonomy  of  said  organization  be  preser\^ed  intact 
until  such  time  as  the  way  may  be  found  clear  to  effect  organic  union, 
if  the  same  should  hereafter  be  found  necessary. 

A.  J.  Streeter  (111.),  Chatrf?ian, 
Robert  C.  Patty  (Miss.),  Secretary. 

SECOND   DAY. 
President  Jones  delivered  his  annual  address  :  — 

To  the  Officers  and  Metnbers  of  the  Far7ners  and  Laborers^  Union  of 

America,  greeting. 

Dear  Brothers  :  This  is  certainly  an  auspicious  occasion,  it  being  the 
first  meeting  of  our  organization ;  an  organization  that  to-day  stands 
without  a  peer  in  its  influence  for  good  —  not  to  the  farmers  and  laborers 
only,  that  you  represent,  but  to  every  legitimate  and  necessary  interest 
of  a  free  and  independent  government ;  and  upon  the  perpetuation  of 
its  principles  and  their  influence  upon  our  people  depend  the  prosperity 
and  liberty  of  all  classes,  and  the  stabiHty  and  power  of  our  nation. 
An  organization  whose  fundamental  principles  are  founded  upon  equity 
and  justice,  and  whosfe  cardinal  doctrines  inspire  peace  on  earth,  a  love 
of  liberty,  and  good-will  to  all  mankind ;  an  organization  whose  rise  and 
progress  are  without  a  parallel,  and  which  is  destined  in  no  distant  day 
to  embrace  the  entire  agriculture  and  laborers  of  the  world,  and  whose 
power  and  influence  shall  protect  their  Hberty  and  interest  from  the 
encroachment  of  rings,  trusts,  and  soulless  combinations,  which  are 
absorbing  all  of  the  profits  of  labor,  and  thereby  paralyzing  the  indus- 
tries of  our  country. 

The  wonderful  growth  of  our  order  during  the  brief  period  of  ten 
years,  and  the  rapid  strides  it  has  taken  in  establishing  its  various  busi- 
ness enterprises,  based  upon  fair  and  equitable  principles,  have  had  a 
salutary  influence  upon  commerce,  and  excited  the  admiration  and 
respect  of  the  business  world. 

It  has  also  aroused  the  hostility  of  the  greedy  and  avaricious  trusts, 
rings,  and  monopolistic  combinations,  to  such  an  extent  that  great  and 


lOO  AGRICULTURAL    ORGANIZATIONS. 

persistent  efforts  are  put  forth  by  them  to  thwart  us  in  every  attempt  at 
reform,  or  effort  to  correct  the  prevaiUng  evils  that  now  environ  and 
threaten  the  destruction  of  our  industrial  classes. 

Ours  is  no  common  effort.  We  are  approaching  a  period  of  social 
and  political  development  that  will  test  the  wisdom  and  patriotism  of 
our  whole  people,  and  will  demand  the  most  guarded  and  conservative 
action  of  our  greatest  statesmen. 

The  weal  or  woe  of  our  nation  depends  upon  the  intelligent  action  of 
the  industrial  and  conservative  classes,  through  organization,  education, 
and  co-operation. 

Brethren,  in  view  of  the  above  facts,  and  recognizing  you  as  repre- 
senting the  intelligence  of  the  various  State  organizations  in  this,  our 
highest  legislative  body  (a  cre-ature  of  the  National  Farmers'  Alliance 
and  Co-operative  Union  of  America  and  the  National  Agricultural 
Wheel,  the  consolidated  power  and  influence  of  which  make  it  one  of 
the  greatest  organizations  in  the  world),  would  call  your  attention  to  the 
gravity,  magnitude,  and  importance  of  this  occasion,  and  impress  upon 
you  the  necessity  of  the  most  guarded,  intelligent,  and  conservative 
action. 

It  is  an  evident  fact  that  to  free  our  industrial  classes  from  the  oppres- 
sions that  now  prevail  so  universally,  will  require  a  perfect  concert  of 
action  of  all  sections ;  therefore,  one  of  the  most  important  subjects 
to  be  considered  by  this  body  is  a  basis  of  union  or  co-operation  with 
all  kindred  organizations ;  and  whereas  there  have  been  negotiations 
between  the  National  Farmers'  AlUance  and  the  Farmers'  Mutual  Benefit 
Association  of  the  Northwestern  States,  looking  to  a  consolidation  of 
these  two  great  agricultural  organizations  with  the  Farmers  and  Laborers' 
Union  of  America,  and  as  delegates  from  the  National  Farmers'  AlHance 
and  National  Mutual  Benefit  Association  are  now  in  the  city,  I  would 
recommend  that  you  give  this  matter  your  immediate  attention,  and,  if 
possible,  agree  upon  a  basis  of  union,  or  at  least  co-operation. 

I  would  call  your  attention  to  the  necessity  of  more  closely  guarding 
State  rights  in  our  constitution. 

Would  recommend  that  the  work  of  organizing  should  come  under 
the  jurisdiction  of  State  organizations,  provided,  however,  that,  in  unor- 
ganized States,  the  president  of  the  Farmers  and  Laborers'  Union  of 
iVmerica  shall  appoint  organizers  and  take  general  supervision  of  the 
work ;  and 

Whereas^  The  constitution  defines  the  duties  of  an  executive  com- 
mittee, would  call  your  attention  to  the  failure  of  its  providing  for  the 
creation  of  same  ;  and 


THE  NATIONAL  ALLIANCE^.    y-y^y.-lOl 

Whereas,  The  constitution,  under  the  head  of  miscellaneous,  now 
provides  that  all  trials  for  offences  shall  be  by  the  Farmers  and  Laborers' 
Union  of  America,  while  in  session  ;  and 

Whereas,  The  time  of  holding  said  meetings  is  limited,  and  the  ex- 
penses of  the  same  great,  would  recommend  the  creation  of  a  supreme 
judiciary,  who  shall  hear  and  try  all  cases. 

I  would  also  call  your  attention  to  the  necessity  of  bonding  your  sec- 
retary. Also  to  the  more  clearly  defining  Article  VII.,  governing  eligi- 
bility. 

The  advancement  of  civilization,  the  development  of  the  natural 
resources  of  our  country,  the  promotion  and  perpetuation  of  our  free 
institutions,  the  stability,  power,  and  influence  of  our  republican  system 
of  government,  the  creation  and  successful  operation  of  all  our  gigantic 
enterprises,  which  give  strength  and  influence  to  government,  depend 
largely,  if  not  wholly,  upon  the  intelligent  application  of  the  true  princi- 
ples of  co-operation.  The  most,  if  not  every  failure  of  all  the  various 
business  efforts  of  our  order,  are  due  to  a  want  of  a  proper  understand- 
ing, and  a  strict  adherence  to  the  business  principles  of  co-operation. 

It  is  the  foundation  that  underlies  the  whole  superstructure  of  our 
noble  order,  and  a  strict  adherence  to  its  principles  will  lead  the 
membership  to  a  degree  of  prosperity  that  shall  gladden  the  hearts  of 
all,  and  bring  joy  and  contentment  around  the  family  circle. 

I  would  recommend  that  you  spare  no  effort  in  providing  the  neces- 
sary facilities  for  the  better  education  of  the  membership  in  these  great 
principles. 

The  monopolization  of  finance  has  been,  and  now  is,  the  fountain 
from  which  all  monopoHes,  rings,  trusts,  and  oppressive  organizations 
draw  their  support,  strength,  and  power. 

Money  in  shrinking  and  insufficient  volume  remits  labor  to  idleness, 
reduces  the  price  of  products,  plants  mortgages  on  the  homes  of  our 
people,  bankrupts  those  who  are  forced  to  borrow,  paralyzes  our  indus- 
tries, and  produces  hard  times  and  great  privations  among  the  masses. 

It  is  impossible  to  have  an  equitable  adjustment  of  capital  and  labor 
so  long  as  money  is  contracted  below  that  which  is  adequate  to  the 
demands  of  commerce ;  hence,  if  we  would  correct  the  abuses  and 
powers  that  are  now  prostrating -and  enslaving  our  industries,  lift  the 
mortgages  from  the  homes  of  our  people,  restore  peace  and  prosperity 
to  our  now  paralyzed  and  almost  ruined  agricultural  and  laboring  people, 
we  must  have  a  circulating  medium  in  suiiflcient  volume  to  admit  of 
transacting  our  business  upon  a  cash  basis. 

I  would  therefore  recommend  that  you  demand,  at  the  hands  of  the 


192  ,  ;     .     AG'RI-ClJhTURAL    ORGANIZATIONS. 

law-making  functions  of  our  nation,  a  monetary  system  that  shall  con- 
form to  the  interest  of^the  producing  and  laboring  classes,  as  well  as 
the  speculator  and  usurer ;  that  the  coinage  of  silver  be  as  free  as  gold, 
and  that  gold  and  silver  be  supplemented  with  treasury  notes  (which 
shall  be  a  full  legal  tender  for  all  contracts),  in  a  sufficient  amount  to 
furnish  a  circulating  medium  commensurate  to  the  business  necessities 
of  the  people. 

There  is,  perhaps,  no  question  that  demands  more  serious  attention 
at  this  time  than  the  present  condition  of  our  land. 

From  its  many  resources  flows  all  the  wealth  of  our  nation ;  and  upon 
its  proper  and  just  distribution  depend  the  prosperity,  contentment,  and 
happiness  of  the  yeomanry  —  a  class  upon  whom  all  nations  must  largely 
depend  for  strength  and  support. 

During  the  greatest  prosperity  of  Rome,  about  eighty-five  per  cent 
of  her  population  owned  titles  in  land.  It  was  then  that  she  was 
founded  upon  a  rock,  and  was  mistress  of  the  world;  but  in  the  course 
of  her  history,  through  the  monopolization  of  her  lands  by  the  few, 
through  unjust  legislation,  the  homes  were  wrenched  from  the  hands 
of  the  masses,  and  when  the  dark  death-ford  was  reached,  upon  which 
civilization  was  to  die,  less  than  two  per  cent  of  the  people  controlled 
the  land ;  and  it  is  said  that  about  fifteen  hundred  men  controlled  the 
wealth  of  the  world. 

To-day  we  find  in  America  millions  of  acres  of  her  fertile  lands, 
bought  by  the  lives  and  efforts  of  our  forefathers,  which  should  have 
been  held  sacred  for  homes  for  their  posterity,  squandered  upon  rail- 
roads and  other  corporations,  and  millions  more  are  owned  and  con- 
trolled by  domestic  and  foreign  syndicates ;  while  a  large  per  cent  of 
our  homes  are  hopelessly  mortgaged,  and  about  fifty  per  cent  of  our 
sons  are  tenants. 

This  wholesale  absorption  of  land  by  aggregated  capital  must  be 
checked,  or  it  will  finally  enslave  the  honest  yeomanry  pf  our  country, 
and  inevitably  destroy  our  much-loved  republic.  The  hope  of  America 
depends  upon  the  ownership  of  the  land  being  vested  in  those  who  till 
the  soil.  Give  the  people  homes,  —  theirs  to  improve,  theirs  to  culti- 
vate, theirs  to  beautify,  and  theirs  to  enjoy,  —  and  our  grand  republic 
will  stand  as  the  acme  of  modern  civilization  and  national  greatness. 

I  would  recommend  that  you  demand  legislation  for  the  better 
protection  of  the  lands  and  homes  of  our  people,  and  a  law  prohibit- 
ing the  alien  ownership  of  land  in  America.  Lands  of  America  should 
be  owned  and  controlled  by  citizens  of  America. 

As  a  means  of  developing  the  many  natural  resources  of  our  great 


THE   NATIONAL   ALLIANCE.  103 

and  powerful  nation,  and  the  distribution  of  our  products  for  the  use 
and  comfort  of  our  people,  the  railroads  take  the  lead  as  a  benefactor 
of  the  human  family,  if  properly  used ;  but  the  avarice  and  greed  mani- 
fested on  the  part  of  these  great  corporations,  have  through  their  unjust 
manipulation  of  transportation  destroyed  all  competition,  and  become 
oppressors  rather  than  servants  of  the  people  for  which  they  were  cre- 
ated. These  corporations  have  rights  that  should  be  protected  ;  a  right 
to  business,  to  legitimate  profit,  to  property,  and  restricted  power.  It 
is  not  the  railroads  of  which  the  people  complain,  but  the  abuses  of 
their  powers,  chartered  rights,  and  privileges. 

Everything  they  have  and  enjoy  hangs  like  a  plummet  to  its  cord 
upon  law  alone ;  and  ag  the  law  derives  its  strength  solely  from  the  will 
and  obedience  of  the  people,  every  rail,  car,  stock,  bond,  and  charter 
has  its  security  and  protection  chiefly  from  that  tender  homage  and 
reverence  which  emanates  from  the  hearts  of  our  law-abiding  and  liberty- 
loving  agriculturists ;  and  in  oppressing  them,  they  are  chafing  the  cords 
upon  which  alone  hang  their  profits,  franchises,  and  existence. 

I  would  recommend  that  you  demand  such  legislation,  both  national 
and  State,  as  shall  regulate  and  control  rates  and  classifications  of 
freights  on  all  lines  of  transportation,  that  fair  dealing  and  justice  may 
be  secured  to  all. 

While  our  order,  as  an  order,  is  strictly  non-partisan  in  politics,  yet 
Section  I.  in  our  declaration  of  purposes  says,  that  "  we  shall  labor  for 
the  education  of  the  agricultural  classes  in  the  science  of  economic  gov- 
ernment, in  a  strictly  non-partisan  spirit." 

It  is  an  evident  fact  that  the  origin  and  power  to  perpetuate  the  ex- 
istence of  the  various  rings,  trusts,  and  combines,  that  now  oppress  our 
people  and  threaten  the  overthrow  of  our  free  institutions,  are  due  to 
unjust  legislation,  and  the  intimacy  and  influence  that  still  exist  between 
our  representatives  and  these  powerful  corporations  and  combines,  are 
such  as  to  give  good  reason  for  serious  alarm.  We  have  reached  a 
period  in  the  history  of  our  government  when  confidence  in  our  poHtical 
leaders  and  great  political  organizations  is  almost  destroyed,  and  the 
estrangement  between  them  and  the  people  is  becoming  more  manifest 
every  day. 

The  common  people  are  now  beginning  to  see  that  there  is  no  just 
cause  for  the  now  almost  universal  depression  that  pervades  the  labor- 
ing classes  of  every  section  of  our  country,  and  are  disposed  to  attribute 
the  same  to  the  corrupting  influence  that  these  great  combines  and  cor- 
porations exert  over  our  leaders  and  political,  moral,  and  social  institu- 
tions.    So  long  as  our  people  neglect  to  inform  themselves  upon  the 


I04  AGRICULTURAL    ORGANIZATIONS. 

great  issues  of  the  hour,  and  continue  to  follow  blindly  machine  politi- 
cians to  the  neglect  of  their  own  interest,  they  will  continue  to  lose  their 
individuaUty,  influence,  and  power  in  our  political  institutions,  and  be 
wholly  at  the  mercy  of  the  soulless  corporations  that  are  now  jvielding 
such  an  influence  over  our  government. 

The  very  existence  of  our  free  institutions  and  repubHcan  form  of 
government,  the  very  life  and  prosperity  of  the  agricultural  and  laboring 
people,  depend  largely,  if  not  wholly,  upon  financial,  land,  and  transpor- 
tation reformation.  It  is  a  conceded  fact  that  a  republican  form  of 
government  lives  alone  in  the  hearts  of  the  people ;  and  its  destiny 
depends  entirely  upon  the  purity  of  the  ballot,  and  as  this  is  in  the  hands 
of  every  man,  there  can  be  no  safety,  except  as  is  guaranteed  by  its 
intelligent  use.  This  is  the  fortress  of  our  nation's  strength  ;  and  if  our 
order  would  reach  that  high  degree  of  usefulness  for  which  it  was  created, 
it  must,  through  a  well-defined  system  of  economic  questions,  produce 
this  intelligence  and  virtue,  thus  preparing  our  people  for  an  intelligent 
use  of  their  franchise. 

When  the  dissolution  took  place  of  the  two  national  bodies  that  com- 
pose the  Farmers  and  Laborers'  Union  of  America,  I  found  myself  in  a 
very  awkward  and  embarrassing  situation. 

The  responsibility  of  these  two  national  bodies  merged  into  one  im- 
perfect organization,  with  a  defective  constitution,  and  with  demands 
coming  from  the  various  States  for  organizers,  new  rituals,  secret  work, 
and  other  printed  matter,  and  having  no  funds  in  the  treasury  for  defray- 
ing expenses,  and  being  compelled  to  draw  upon  my  own  private  funds 
for  the  defraying  of  all  my  office  and  official  expenses,  with  considerable 
division  and  dissension  in  some  of  the  States,  and  having  no  executive 
committee  or  supreme  judiciary  to  share  my  responsibilities,  I  must 
confess  that  it  was  with  great  forebodings  that  I  assumed  my  official 
duties. 

Among  my  first  official  duties  was  to  appoint  an  executive  committee, 
composed  of  Brothers  J.  H.  McDowell  of  Tennessee,  G.  L.  Clark  of 
Texas,  and  J.  A.  Tetts  of  Louisiana.  I  also  arranged  with  Brother 
J.  H.  McDowell  for  the  printing  of  50,000  rituals  and  the  new  secret 
work  —  which  were  ready  for  distribution  to  State  secretaries  within 
thirty  days  from  the  issuing  of  our  official  proclamation. 

During  the  two  months  of  our  organization,  I  have  given  the  order 
my  very  best  efforts,  availing  myself  of  every  possible  means  for  the  har- 
monizing of  the  brotherhood  in  States  where  unity  failed  to  exist,  and  to 
perfect  our  organization.  There  were  brethren  who  were  ever  ready 
with  their  counsel  and  encouragement,  which  assisted  me  greatly  in  the 


THE  NATIONAL  ALLIANCE,  1 05 

discharge  of  my  arduous  duties.  To  them  I  shall  ever  feel  grateful  for 
their  assistance,  fidelity,  and  patriotism  to  the  order  during  these  trying 
hours. 

Brethren,  never  before  in  the  history  of  organized  labor  have  we  been 
confronted  with  graver  questions  of  business,  of  greater  magnitude  and 
importance,  than  will  be  presented  to  this  convention.  You  virtually 
hold  in  your  hands  the  destiny  of  our  order,  upon  whose  success  or  fail- 
ure depends  the  weal  or  woe  of  the  patient  and  long-suffering  agricultu- 
ral and  laboring  people  of  our  nation.  To-day  all  eyes  are  turned  to 
St.  Louis,  while  millions  of  anxious,  waiting  hearts  are  trusting  to  your 
patriotism  and  wise  deliberation  that  shall  pave  the  way  for  their  relief. 

Feeling  confident  that  you  will  meet  bravely,  calmly,  and  unselfishly 
the  great  work  which  now  lies  before  you,  and  realizing  your  responsi- 
bihty  and  the  necessity  of  having  justice  done  to  all  respecting  the 
humble  as  well  as  the  highest  members  of  the  order,  thereby  strengthen- 
ing the  ties  that  now  bind  us  together  in  one  common  brotherhood,  I 
assure  you  as  your  chairman,  that  my  motto  shall  be,  "  Equal  rights  to 
all,  and  special  privileges  to  none." 

Let  us,  therefore,  as  brethren,  true  to  our  God,  cause,  and  families, 
enter  upon  the  business  of  this  meeting  with  full  confidence  in  each 
other  and  brotherly  love  to  all  mankind,  and  may  He  who  doeth  all 
things  well  guide  us  in  our  deliberation  to  the  perfecting  and  perpetu- 
ating of  our  order,  free  our  nation  from  corporative  power,  and  break 
the  shackles  that  now  bind  our  industries  in  iron  chains. 

St.  Louis,  Missouri,  December  4,  1889. 
The  following  resolution  was  adopted  :  — 

Resolved^  That  the  National  Farmers'  Alliance  is  hereby  cordially 
invited  to  visit  us  in  a  body,  to  listen  to  the  address  of  Ex- President 
C.  W.  Macune,  on  the  aims  and  principles  of  the  Farmers  and  Laborers' 
Union  of  America.     Adopted. 

After  considerable  detail  business.  Ex- President  C.  W.  Macune,  of  the 
Farmers'  Alliance  and  Co-operative  Union  of  America,  delivered  the 
following  address :  — 

Brethren  of  the  Farmers  and  Laborers'  Union  of  America  : 

It  is  the  custom  when  legislative  bodies  of  this  character  convene,  for 
the  president  to  deliver  an  address,  setting  forth  the  exact  condition  of 
the  order,  telling  what  has  been  accompHshed  during  his  administration, 
and  making  such  suggestions  for  consideration  as  he  deems  best.  This 
has  already  been  done  by  our  worthy  president.     But  this  organization. 


lo6  AGRICULTURAL    ORGANIZATLONS. 

and  consequently  our  president's  active  administration,  is  only  about  two 
months  old,  and  prior  to  its  formation  the  same  interests  were  repre- 
sented by  two  national  organizations.  As  I  had  the  honor  to  be  presi- 
dent of  one  of  those  organizations,  the  National  Farmers'  Alliance  and 
Co-operative  Union  of  America,  not  only  during  the  five-sixths  of  the 
past  year,  but  from  the  very  first  organization  of  that  order  in  January, 
1887,  it  seems  to  me  appropriate  that  I  too  deliver  you  an  address.  In 
fact,  so  very  important  do  I  deem  the  message  that  I  have  to  impart  to 
you  that  I  offer  no  apology  for  its  presentation,  believing  that  my  famil- 
iarity with  all  the  past  methods  of  the  National  Alliance  will  enable  me 
to  point  out  to  you  the  lessons  taught  by  the  critical  periods  in  its  his- 
tory, to  give  a  clear  and  full  conception  of  the  writing  between  the  lines 
in  its  present  strength  and  condition,  and  to  suggest  certain  necessary 
lines  of  action  worthy  of  a  careful  consideration.  A  further  reason  for 
the  delivery  of  this  address  is  that  I  have,  up  to  this  time,  been  filling 
a  responsible  position  as  editor  of  your  national  official  organ,  the 
National  Economist,  and  this  position  has  brought  me  in  direct  weekly 
communication  with  the  whole  order,  which  has  forcibly  impressed  me 
with  many  of  the  necessities  of  the  order  and  shown  the  great  impor- 
tance of  the  consideration  by  this  body  of  several  questions  which  will 
be  the  means  of  outlining  a  policy  for  said  official  organ  to  be  guided 
by  during  the  coming  year.  This  body,  while  discussing  the .  situation 
and  deliberating  upon  the  policy  to  be  pursued,  should  be  thoroughly 
conversant  with  the  history  of  the  past  efforts  and  the  present  condition 
of  the  order,  and  possibly  suggestions  as  to  the  future  by  those  who  have 
filled  executive  offices  may  be  of  service.  They  are,  at  least,  offered 
for  consideration. 

In  1886  the  Alliance  movement  of  the  South  was  confined  principally 
to  the  State  of  Texas.  The  State  Alliance  of  that  State  had  chartered  a 
few  Sub-Alliances  in  Indian  Territory,  and  a  small  number  in  the  State 
of  Alabama.  The  report  of  the  State  secretary  at  the  regular  annual 
meeting  of  that  year  showed  that  the  order  had  grown  from  about  six 
hundred  to  over  twenty-seven  hundred  Sub-Alliances  during  the  year 
that  ended  in  August,  1886.  As  a  natural  and  unavoidable  consequence 
of  such  rapid  organization,  the  principles,  objects,  and  methods  of  the 
Alliance  were  very  imperfectly  understood  by  the  majority  of  the  mem- 
bership. It  was  an  election  year  in  that  State,  and  partisan  feeling  ran 
high.  Dissensions  within  the  order  were  so  great  that  a  dissatisfied 
minority  met  and  organized  themselves  into  an  opposition  State  Alliance, 
secured  a  charter  from  the  State  of  Texas,  and  elected  a  corps  of  State 
officers.     The  outlook  for  the  order  at  that  time  was  indeed  unpromis- 


THE  NATIONAL  ALLIANCE.  107 

ing,  and  utter  dissolution  seemed  imminent  and  almost  certain.  I  was  at 
the  time  chairman  of  the  Executive  Committee,  and  by  direction  of  the 
president  I  succeeded  in  securing  a  conference  between  the  officers  of 
the  State  Alliance  and  the  officers  of  the  element  that  had  seceded,  the 
result  of  which  was  that  the  seceders  agreed  to  take  no  further  steps,  but 
hold  their  charter  in  abeyance  till  the  next  regular  meeting  of  the 
State  Alliance.  Immediately  after  the  conference,  the  president  and 
vice-president  resigned,  and  by  virtue  of  my  office  I  called  a  meeting  of 
the  State  Alliance  to  convene  in  January,  1887,  for  the  purpose  of  filling 
the  vacancies  and  taking  such  other  action  as  the  necessities  of  the  order 
demanded.  I  immediately  wrote  to  Hon.  A.  J.  Streeter  of  Illinois,  who 
was  then  president  of  the  National  Farmers'  Alliance,  and  Hon.  J.  Bur- 
rows of  Nebraska,  who  was  vice-president  of  that  order,  for  information 
in  regard  to  the  origin,  history,  methods,  and  purposes  of  the  National 
Alliance ;  also  to  Brother  J.  A.  Tetts  of  Louisiana,  who  was  prominent 
in  the  work  of  the  Louisiana  Farmers'  Union,  asking  like  information  in 
regard  to  the  Union.  The  Western  Rural  was  at  that  time  published  as 
the  official  organ  of  the  National  Alliance,  and  its  editor,  Mr.  Milton 
George,  was  the  national  secretary.  I  received  the  Western  Rural  regu- 
larly, and  preserved  the  published  rulings  of  the  national  secretary  as  to 
qualifications  for  membership,  and  the  rules  prevailing  in  the  National 
Alliance  governing  charters,  etc.  The  Louisiana  Union  showed  by  its 
constitution  that  it  was  practically  the  same  organization  then  existing  in 
Texas  as  the  Farmers'  Alliance,  and  that  it  diifered  only  in  name ;  and 
as  I  had  notice  that  Louisiana  would  have  a  called  meeting  just  prior  to 
the  called  meeting  in  Texas,  I  appointed  Brother  Evan  Jones  a  delegate 
to  visit  the  Louisiana  Union  and  make  overtures  in  behalf  of  unity.  He 
was  well  received,  and  a  committee  of  one  from  the  Union  was  elected 
to  visit  the  called  meeting  of  the  Texas  State  Alliance,  and  empowered 
to  act  in  behalf  of  the  Union  in  taking  steps  for  the  extension  of  the 
work  into  new  fields.  All, this  may  seem  like  dry  detail,  but  it  is  neces- 
sary in  order  to  properly  understand  the  exact  conditions  that  sur- 
rounded and  controlled  the  formation  of  the  National-  Farmers'  Alliance 
and  Co-operative  Union  of  America,  when  there  was  already  in  existence 
a  National  Farmers'  Alliance  in  the  States  farther  nprth.  It  is  unques- 
tionably very  necessary  to  show  that  the  second  National  Alliance  was 
not  instituted  in  opposition  to,  or  as  a  rival  of,  the  National  Alliance 
then  in  existence,  if  such  be  the  case,  and  I  believe  it  was. 

The  called  meeting  of  the  State  Alliance  of  Texas,  held  in  the  city  of 
Waco,  in  January,  1887,  i§  a  noted  landmark  in  the  history  of  the 
Alliance.     At  that  meetmg  provision  was  made  for  the  organization  of 


lo8  AGRICULTURAL    ORGANIZATIONS, 

the  National  Alliance,  and  after  it  was  organized  its  constitution  was 
ratified.  There  were  over  four  hundred  delegates  assembled  at  the 
meeting,  and  a  more  discordant  and  dissatisfied  assemblage  of  equal 
size  probably  never  convened ;  and  yet,  after  a  four-days  session,  a 
more  harmonious  and  completely  unified  body  of  equal  size  was  perhaps 
never  seen.  In  my  address  at  the  opening  of  the  meeting,  I  called 
;  attention  to  the  dissensions  and  dissatisfaction  within  the  order,  much  of 
lit  the  result  of  misunderstanding,  and  some  the  result  of  personal  ambi- 
tion and  local  prejudices.  I  took  the  position  that  if  the  order  was  a 
good  thing,  it  was  our  duty  to  spread  the  light ;  that  we  must  be  aggres- 
sive ;  that  if  we  considered  Texas  well  enough  organized,  and  concluded 
to  fold  our  hands  and  enjoy  the  expected  benefits  of  the  Alliance,  we 
would  be  doomed  to  disappointment,  because  dissensions  and  conten- 
tions would  soon  prove  to  be  effective  causes  for  disintegration  and 
rupture. 

The  very  existence  and  perpetuation  of  the  order  demanded  that  it 
must  take  an  aggressive  position  in  favor  of  an  overshadowing  effort  for 
good  in  behalf  of  the  membership,  that  would  act  as  a  nucleus  and 
rallying  cry,  and  be  of  so  general  a  character  that  it  would  receive  the 
indorsement  of  the  entire  membership.  Without  this  the  local  issues, 
developed  by  local  conditions  and  successfully  met  by  the  order,  would 
assume  undue  proportions,  and  frequently  produce  confusion  by  being 
mistaken  for  the  chief  objects  of  the  order.  To  prevent  a  great  order 
that  is  scattered  over  a  large  extent  of  territory,  and  embraces  people 
whose  habits  and  occupations  have  developed  a  great  many  different 
local  issues,  from  breaking  up  into  detachments  to  each  combat  a  local 
and  fleeting  issue,  thereby  placing  it  at  the  mercy  of  a  better  organized 
foe  that  would  decoy  each  detachment  into  an  ambush  where  it  could 
be  destroyed  with  ease ;  to  prevent  such  dire  but  certain  consequences 
there  must  be  a  general  issue  to  which  each  detachment  will  return 
after  having  sallied  out  to  demolish  a  local  issue,  and  in  support  of 
which  all  are  agreed  and  united  into  a  solid  phalanx,  thereby  being  able 
to  meet  either  the  detached  or  combined  forces  of  the  opposition. 
The  general  aggressive  issue  decided  upon  at  the  called  meeting  was 
"  Organization  of  the  Cotton  Belt  of  America,"  and  under  the  purifying 
and  inspiring  effects  of  that  philanthropic  object  local  issues  and  per- 
sonal prejudices  were  crowded  to  the  background,  and  every  man  took 
his  place  in  the  ranks  of  the  aggressive,  shoulder  to  shoulder,  determined 
to  succeed,  and  to-day  we  may  note  the  grand  result.  Less  than  three 
years  have  elapsed  since  that  day,  and  yet  the  entire  cotton  belt  is  well 
organized. 


THE  NATIONAL  ALLIANCE.  I09 

When  the  question  of  electing  delegates  from  the  Texas  State  Alli- 
ance, to  meet  with  delegates  from  the  Louisiana  Union,  for  the  purpose 
of  organizing  a  national  order,  was  pending,  I  presented  to  the  body 
all  the  information  in  regard  to  the  National  Farmers'  Alliance  that  I 
had  received  from  the  columns  of  the  Western  Rural  and  the  correspon- 
dence with  Presidents  Streeter  and  Burrows ;  a  careful  consideration  of 
which  showed  that  there  were,  at  that  time,  at  least  three  reasons  why  the 
Texas  State  Alliance  was  not  willing  to  join  itself  to  tJiat  order.  The 
first  was,  the  National  Farmers'  Alliance  was  a  non-secret  and  very 
loose  organization,  with  neither  fees  nor  dues,  and  charters  seemed  to 
be  sent  out  by  the  national  secretary,  Mr.  George,  to  anybody  who 
would  request  them,  on  very  little  evidence  as  to  the  qualifications  of 
those  applying.  Second,  the  published  rulings  as  to  the  qualifications 
of  membership  made  colored  persons  eligible ;  and  third,  the  national 
secretary  published  a  ruling  that  any  person  raised  on  a  farm  was  con- 
sidered a  practical  farmer,  and  was  therefore  eligible,  regardless  of  his 
present  occupation. 

The  membership  of  the  Texas  State  Alliance  and  the  Louisiana  Union 
were  at  that  time  unanimously  opposed  to  each  of  these  three  methods, 
and  therefore  thought  it  useless  to  delay  organizing  a  national  body  that 
would  conform  to  the  genius  of  the  institution  they  had  so  grandly  com- 
menced to  build.  They  did  not  propose  to  enter  the  territory  of  the 
National  Farmers'  Alliance,  nor  to  oppose  it  in  any  way,  but  they 
thought  it  would  be  presumption,  and  perhaps  a  needless  waste  of  time, 
to  lose  a  year  in  order  to  ask  the  National  Farmers'  Alliance  to  modify 
its  methods  that  they  might  join  it ;  and  therefore  they  organized  their 
own  national  in  their  own  territory. 

From  the  date  of  the  organization  of  the  national,  the  order  grew  very 
rapidly,  as  the  reports  from  the  different  State  organizations  at  this 
meeting  show.  This  rapid  growth  was  largely  due  to  the  zeal  of  a 
membership,  united  in  an  effort  thoroughly  understood  and  indorsed  by 
all,  exerted  at  a  time  when  the  masses  were  ripe  for  the  movement. 
The  lines  of  argument  that  induced  people  to  join  the  order  are  impor- 
tant and  should  be  carefully  considered,  because  they  indicate  in  some 
degree  what  they  expect  the  order  to  accompHsh  in  their  behalf  and  by 
their  assistance. 

After  a  very  careful  survey  of  the  work,  I  find  myself  unable  to  avoid 
the  conclusion  that  the  leading  and  principal  arguments  used,  and 
especially  those  that  have  been  to  any  extent  effective,  have  all  had  for 
their  object,  either  directly  or  indirectly,  conditions  that  would  render 
farming  more  profitable   from  a  financial  standpoint.     The  methods 


no  AGRICULTURAL    ORGANIZATIONS. 

offered  for  acquiring  this  desirable  state  of  affairs  have  been  numerous, 
and  often  very  ingenious,  sometimes  wild  and  impracticable.  Some 
have  held  that  organization  would  render  farming  profitable  and  pros- 
perous by  the  benefits  that  would  naturally  flow  from  the  more  intimate 
social  exchange  of  ideas  and  courtesies  at  the  meeting,  where  each 
could  learn  the  methods  pursued  in  the  detail  of  farm  work  by  all  the 
others,  and  that  the  dissemination  of  such  practical  data  would  render 
all  more  productive,  and  that,  as  a  consequence,  they  would  be  stepping 
into  the  ranks  of  those  who  have  been  eulogized  for  having  been  able 
to  make  two  blades  of  grass  grow  where  only  one  grew  before.  It  seems 
to  me  that  more  importance  and  value  have  been  attached  to  this  senti- 
ment than  its  merits  entitle  it  to  receive.  A  proof  of  this  is  found  in 
the  fact  that  the  cereal  crops  of  the  United  States,  in  1867,  aggregated 
about  a  billion  and  a  quarter  bushels,  and  brought  about  a  billion  and  a 
quarter  dollars ;  and  from  that  time  the  crop  increased  till,  in  1885,  it 
reached  the  enormous  sum  of  over  three  billion  bushels,  and  the  whole 
crop  sold  for  less  than  a  biUion  and  a  quarter  dollars.  Others  have 
held  that  organization  could  render  farming  profitable  by  the  introduc- 
tion of  better  business  methods,  in  which  all  would  unite  and  co-operate 
for  the  purpose  of  selling  our  products  higher,  and  purchasing  such 
commodities  as  we  are  compelled  to  buy,  cheaper.  Those  who  have 
made  a  special  study  of  this  feature  of  the  effort  realize  that  the  purely 
technical  effort  of  improving  our  methods  of  farming,  by  which  we  may 
possibly  increase  the  amount  of  products  we  make  in  return  for  a  given 
amount  of  labor  and  expense,  although  it  be  praiseworthy,  desirable, 
and  worthy  of  encouragement,  is  not  a  force  or  remedy  nearly  equal  to 
the  emergency,  and  that  the  influences  that  tend  to  depress  agriculture 
and  render  the  pursuit  of  that  occupation  unprofitable,  have  rapidly 
gained  the  ascendency  over  and  neutralized  the  beneficent  effects  that 
should  have  followed  the  introduction  of  wise  methods  and  new  and 
improved  machinery  in  the  past,  whereby  the  results  of  productive  effort 
have  been  increased  most  wonderfully.  It  is  deemed  unwise  to  depend 
entirely  on  a  remedy  that  has  proved  ineffectual  on  every  occasion. 
They  contend  for  something  more  cfTficient,  by  advocating  a  better 
system  of  handhng  and  disposing  of  what  we  produce,  and  a  more  care- 
ful and  economical  method  of  purchasing  supplies.  This  they  expect 
to  accomplish  by  securing,  as  nearly  as  possible,  a  direct  sale  of  our 
products  to  those  who  consume  them,  thereby  gaining  the  commissions 
now  paid  to  middlemen  that  do  not  appear  to  be  necessary,  and 
increasing  the  price  of  the  produce  sold.  They  will  reduce  the  price 
of  commodities  purchased  by  encouraging  cash  transactions  on  a  large 


THE   NATIONAL  ALLIANCE.  Ill 

scale,  thereby  eliminating  the  loss  and  risk  that  attend  the  credit  busi- 
ness, and  getting  the  benefit  of  wholesale  prices.  The  hope  of  ultimate 
success  from  this  line  of  effort  depends  upon  the  ability  to  enhance  the 
price  of  what  we  have  to  sell,  and  diminish  the  price  of  what  we  have 
to  buy,  thereby  increasing  the  gains.  The  ability  to  do  this,  it  is  usually 
argued,  depends  upon  the  amount  of  devotion  each  member  will  exer- 
cise in  favor  of  the  object.  This  line  of  argument  also  holds,  that  if 
each  would  be  wiUing  to  make  enough  sacrifices  of  prejudice,  and  time, 
and  money,  they  would  be  certain  to  succeed.  And  yet  if  we  admit  all 
that  is  claimed  in  this  direction,  we  must  still  realize  that  there  is  a 
limit  to  the  power  that  can  be  enforced  by  these  methods.  For 
example,  we  cannot  reduce  the  price  of  the  commodities  we  purchase 
any  below  what  it  costs  to  manufacture  them,  neither  can  we  raise  the 
price  of  the  produce  we  have  to  sell  above  a  certain  limit,  without  a 
tendency  to  have  the  demand  supplied  from  other  sources  or  by  substi- 
tutes. The  probabilities  of  success,  therefore,  by  the  business  methods 
alone,  will  depend  upon  the  power  thus  wielded  being  equal  to  or 
greater  than  the  tendency  to  depression  that  has  proved  so  powerful  in 
the  past. 

Still  another  method  of  advocating  organization  as  a  means  of  in- 
creasing the  profits  of  farming  is,  that  by  organization  a  united  effort 
can  be  brought  to  bear  upon  the  authorities  that  will  secure  such 
changes  in  the  regulations  that  govern  the  relations  between  different 
classes  *of  citizens  as  are  necessary  to  secure  equal  rights,  equal  privi- 
leges, and  equal  chances.  Those  mentioned,  as  advocating  the  second 
or  business  line  of  teaching  as  the  remedy,  seem  to  have  drunk  a  little 
deeper  at  the  fountain  of  thought  and  wisdom  than  the  first  class  of 
teachers  mentioned ;  and  those  of  the  third  class,  now  under  considera- 
tion, seem  to  have  pursued  the  investigation  even  further  than  the 
second  class.  They  recognize  the  generally  known  and  universally 
acknowledged  maxim  of  political  economists,  that  a  general  rise  in 
prices  always  attends  an  increase  in  the  volume  of  the  circulating 
medium  of  the  country,  and  a  general  fall  in  prices  always  attends  a 
decrease  in  its  volume  ;  and  that  the  regulations  governing  the  relations 
between  the  different  classes  of  citizens  in  this  country  empower  a 
certain  specified  class  to  issue  over  one-half  of  the  circulating  medium, 
and  permit  them  to  withdraw  from  circulation  any  or  all  of  such  money 
at  their  own  pleasure,  thereby  allowing  said  class  to  regulate,  as  they 
may  choose,  the  volume  of  circulating  medium  in  the  country,  subject 
to  a  limit  of  about  forty  per  cent ;  that  is  to  say,  should  they  choose  to 
retire  all  their  circulation,  they  would  reduce  the  volume  of  the  circu- 


112  AGRICULTURAL    ORGANIZATIONS. 

lating  medium  of  the  country  to  forty  per  cent  of  its  present  volume, 
and  as  a  necessary  and  unavoidable  consequence  reduce  the  price  of 
everything  in  nearly  the  same  proportion.  There  is  then  absolutely 
no  way  of  avoiding  the  conclusion  that  such  class  possesses  the  power 
to  produce  a  general  rise  or  fall  of  fifty  per  cent  in  prices,  at  pleasure. 
Those  who  realize  this  state  of  affairs  contend  that  it  is  a  waste  of 
energy  for  all  the  farmers  in  this  great  land  to  combine  and  co-operate 
to  raise  the  prices  of  a  given  product  when,  if  their  most  sanguine  hopes 
were  realized,  they  would  not  augment  the  price  over  twenty-five  per 
cent,  while  at  the  same  time  representatives  of  another  class  of  citizens 
of  this  country  could  receive  instructions  from  one  office  in  a  single 
hour  which  would  depress  prices  fifty  per  cent.  In  fact,  owing  to  the 
inflexible  rigidness  of  such  a  system,  the  fluctuation  in  general  prices  is 
very  great  between  the  different  seasons  of  the  same  year,  and  for  the 
following  reasons :  Agriculture  presents,  during  the  last  four  months  of 
every  year,  an  actual  tangible  addition  to  the  wealth  of  the  nation,  equal 
to  five  times  the  gross  volume  of  all  the  money  in  actual  circulation  in 
the  country ;  and  all  this  agricultural  product  comes  on  the  market  to 
purchase  money  for  the  use  of  the  agriculturist.  Now  it  stands  to 
reason  that  such  an  increase  in  the  demand  for  money,  when  there  is 
no  increase  in  the  supply,  must  augment  its  price,  —  which  is  its  pur- 
chasing power,  —  and  which  means  diminished  prices  for  everything 
else.  Now  if,  in  addition  to  this  powerful  tendency,  a  certain  class 
possesses  the  power  to  diminish  the  supply  at  that  season,  in  the  face  of 
the  augmented  demand,  the  tendency  to  a  rise  in  the  purchasing  power 
of  money  becomes  certain  and  irresistible.  The  experience  of  every 
man  in  the  agricultural  districts  of  the  West  and  South  has  no  doubt 
often  shown  him  a  difference  of  fifty  per  cent  or  more  in  the  price  of 
an  article  during  the  fall  season  and  the  spring.  And  it  is  universally 
known  that,  in  pursuance  of  the  above  phenomena,  general  prices  are 
much  lower  in  the  fall  than  in  the  spring  season.  Great  respect  is  due 
to  the  teachings  of  those  who  contend  that  the  greatest  power  being 
exercised  to  depress  agriculture  to-day  emanates  from  unjust  regulations 
governing  the  relations  between  the  different  classes  of  citizens  ;  and  if, 
by  a  united  effort,  we  can  secure  the  correction  of  the  evils  they  point 
out,  we  will  pave  a  way  for  the  certain  triumph  of  our  business  efforts, 
and  the  enjoyment  of  more  satisfactory  and  prosperous  social  relations. 
It  seems  to  me  that  there  is  much  good  in  the  teachings  of  all  three  of 
these  methods,  and  that  it  will  be  found  a  duty  of  this  body  to  en- 
courage the  effort  to  improve  in  farming  from  a  technical  standpoint, 
as  a  result  of  the  pleasant  social  reunions  enjoyed  in  the  subordinate 


THE  NATIONAL  ALLIANCE.  1 13 

organization.  Also,  to  sustain  and  assist  in  every  possible  manner  the 
efforts  made  to  co-operate  for  business  purposes,  by  the  different  county 
and  State  organizations,  and  to  provide  a  plain,  simple,  and  specific 
demand  on  the  part  of  the  national  organization  for  the  proper,  just, 
and  equitable  regulation  of  the  relations  between  the  different  classes  of 
citizens. 

These  three  classes  of  teachings,  and  modifications  of  them,  have 
been  the  principal  inducements  offered  people  as  reasons  why  they 
should  join  our  ranks ;  and  the  fact  that  they  have  joined  in  such  vast 
numbers  indicates  the  necessity  for  action  in  the  directions  pointed  out, 
and  is  a  pledge  that  they  will  assist  in  carrying  out  such  methods.  Of 
the  three  different  methods,  that  of  relief  from  the  business  effort  has 
received  the  most  attention,  and  been  by  far  the  most  prominent.  This 
is  due,  probably,  to  the  fact  that  the  technical  and  social  co-operation 
seems  best  adapted  to  the  workings  of  the  subordinate  body,  while  the 
business  efforts  have  demonstrated  the  necessity  of  the  wider  range  of 
co-operation  to  be  secured  in  the  county  and  State  organizations,  and 
the  co-operation  necessary  to  secure  the  proper  adjustment  of  economic 
relations  seems  peculiarly  within  the  province  of  the  national  organiza- 
tion, as  it  is  the  very  foundation  upon  which  the  whole  class  in  all  the 
States  must  depend.  The  prominence  given  to  the  business  effort,  by 
the  different  State  organizations,  has  not  been  without  important  results, 
the  full  details  of  which,  I  suppose,  will  be  reported  to  you  by  the 
different  State  delegations.  They  have,  in  nearly  all  the  States,  organized 
their  business  with  a  strong  capital  stock,  ranging  from  $50  to  I5  00,000. 
Texas  has^  a  capital  stock  of  |>5 00,000,  divided  into  individual  shares 
of  five  dollars  each.  Several  States  have  their  capital  stock  divided  into 
shares  of  ;^ioo  each,  and  issue  them  to  subordinate  bodies  only.  I 
think  this  last  method  has  many  advantages,  and  would  particularly 
recommend  the  plan  gf  the  exchange  of  Georgia  as  one  that  seems  to 
me  wisely  prepared. 

In  my  message  to  the  last  regular  session  of  the  National  Farmers' 
Alliance  and  Co-operative  Union  of  America,  at  Meridian,  I  pointed 
out  the  necessity  for  great  caution  in  the  formation  of  any  national  plan 
of  co-operation  for  business  purposes.  I  now  desire  to  reiterate  that 
caution,  and  say  to  those  who  wish  to  inaugurate  a  National  Farmers' 
Exchange,  that  there  is  danger  of  such  an  enterprise  being  so  placed 
that  it  cannot  accomplish  much,  and  still,  when  in  existence,  the  people 
will  expect  much  of  it.  There  may,  perhaps,  be  some  plan  formulated 
by  which  the  different  State  exchanges  can  co-operate,  but  I  doubt  the 
wisdom  of  going  any  further  than  that,  by  organizing  a  national  exchange. 


114  AGRICULTURAL    ORGANIZATIONS. 

or  of  incurring  much  expense  on  the  part  of  the  national  for  business 
purposes.  It  seems  that  the  co-operation  for  business  purposes,  in 
order  to  be  effective  and  reach  its  highest  development,  should  be  more 
extensive  than  can  be  obtained  in  the  subordinate  bodies  alone,  and 
that  it  absolutely  requires  co-operation  between  the  subordinates  in 
the  counties,  and  co-operation  between  the  counties  in  the  State ;  but 
beyond  the  State  organization  there  does  not  seem  to  be  any  prominent 
and  conclusive  reason  for  extending  so  strong  and  close  an  organization, 
in  which  it  would  be  necessary  to  lodge  so  much  power  and  responsibil- 
ity. Each  State  is  a  complete  jurisdiction  within  itself,  and  usually  has 
different  and  distinct  conditions,  customs,  usages,  and  issues.  It  always 
comprises  territory  and  business  enough  to  develop  all  the  branches  of 
business,  as  manufacturers,  jobbers,  wholesalers,  retailers,  brokers,  com- 
mission men,  etc.  From  all  these  reasons,  I  conclude  that  while  co- 
operation between  the  different  State  business  efforts  will  probably  be 
necessary  and  beneficial,  stronger  reasons  than  I  have  yet  been  able  to 
discover  should  exist  before  a  national  exchange  organization  will  be 
able  to  do  much  good. 

From  these  considerations,  it  must  now  be  plain  to  you  that  the  order 
has,  by  means  of  the  consolidation  here  to  be  consummated,  reached  a 
period  of  full  development  that  places  a  responsibility  upon  it  for  effi- 
cient and  aggressive  action.  The  three  efiftctive  Hnes  of  effort  above 
specified,  that  have  induced  this  vast  army  of  brethren  to  espouse  the 
cause  and  place  their  shoulders  to  the  wheel,  have  each  a  proper  field 
in  which  to  operate.  The  national  organization,  by  securing  a  better 
adjustment  of  the  economic  policy  of  the  government,  will  insure  that 
the  regulations  governing  the  relations  between  the  different  c*lasses  of 
citizens  shall  be  just,  fair,  and  equitable,  and  thereby  lay  a  foundation 
on  which  the  States,  in  their  business  efforts,  will  find  it  possible  to 
reach  complete  success,  but  without  which  they  would,  as  now,  be  con- 
tending with  inevitable  defeat,  and  the  success  of  the  business  effort 
rendered  certain  by  the  exercise  of  the  great  powers  possessed  by  tlie 
State  Alliances,  when  they  can  be  exercised  under  the  just  conditions 
which  it  is  the  province  of  the  national  to  secure,  will  augment  the  social 
benefits  and  enjoyments  that  should  result  from  the  subordinate  organ- 
izations. Each  has  its  special  field,  and  the  success  of  the  national  ren- 
ders success  in  the  State  effort  possible,  and  the  success  of  these  two 
contributes  to  the  true  benefits  which  must  finally  flow  to  the  subordi- 
nate body. 

As  we  have  seen,  the  order  has  made  a  most  prodigious  growth,  and 
its  business  efforts  have  reached  a  high  stage  of  development  and  useful- 


THE  NATIONAL   ALLIANCE.  1 15 

ness.  Your  attention  is  now  called  to  the  genius  of  the  government  of 
the  order.  It  will  be  found  in  the  highest  sense  interesting  and  pecul- 
iar. We  have  had  a  written  law  and  an  unwritten  law.  Two  sets  of 
laws  and  systems  of  government  have  been  in  force  at  one  and  the  same 
time.  Every  individual  member  has  sustained  a  dual  relation  to  the 
order,  and  yet  all  have  harmonized  perfectly,  and  there  has  been  no 
conflict  or  clash.  The  written  law  is  comprised  of  the  charter  from  the 
United  States  government ;  the  constitution  and  legislative  enactments 
of  the  national  order ;  the  charters,  constitutions,  and  legislative  enact- 
ments of  the  various  State  organizations  ;  and  the  charters,  constitutions, 
and  legislative  enactments  of  the  various  county  and  subordinate  bodies. 
The  form  of  government  under  the  written  law  was  democratic,  the  sub- 
ordinate bodies  each  being  a  simple  democracy  in  which  the  individual 
is  the  sovereign,* and  all*members  vote  on  all  questions.  The  State  and 
national  bodies  were  each  a  confederated  form  of  republican  govern- 
ment, and  every  step  from  the  people,  who  are  the  supreme  power, 
lessened  the  power  of  the  delegated  body.  The  national  only  had  such 
powers  as  were  expressly  delegated  to  it  by  the  States,  and  the  State 
only  had  such  powers  as  were  bestowed  upon  it  by  delegates  from  the 
subordinate  bodies.  Its  form  of  government,  under  the  written  law, 
was  modelled  after,  and  was  very  similar  to,  the  form  of  political  govern- 
ment under  which  we  live.  The  unwritten  law  is  the  secret  work,  and, 
like  all  other  secret  orders,  it  has  necessitated  and  depended  upon  a 
form  of  government  closely  analogous  to  a  Hmited  monarchy.  Accord- 
ing to  it,  all  power  and  authority  must  emanate  from  the  recognized 
head,  and  permeate  through  the  various  branches  to  the  individual 
membership.  Under  this  system  of  law,  this  is  a  supreme  body,  and 
under  the  written  law  the  membership  of  the  subordinate  were  supreme, 
because,  under  the  written  law  the  membership  could,  by  the  exercise 
of  their  constitutional  privileges,  abolish  the  national  body  entirely ;  and 
under  the  unwritten  law  the  national  could,  by  the  exercise  of  its  power, 
abolish  a  subordinate  body  by  revoking  its  charter.  This  system  of  dual 
sources  of  power  and  forms  of  government,  that  originate  at  opposite 
extremities  of  the  order,  and  encompass  it  as  two  parallel  bands  through- 
out its  entire  extent,  is  wonderfully  calculated  to  add  to  its  strength  and 
efficiency,  and  furnishes  a  complete  safeguard  against  any  weak  point  in 
either  system,  by  always  having  the  strength  of  the  other  system  present 
and  ready  to  assist  and  maintain  it.  The  necessity  for  this  full  and 
complete  statement  of  the  genius  of  the  government  of  the  order  is  two- 
fold :  First,  an  imperfect  conception  of  these  principles  has  often  been 
the  cause  of  considerable  hesitation  and  embarrassment  on  the  part  of 


Il6  AGRICULTURAL    ORGANIZATIONS. 

State  presidents,  when  called  upon  to  rule  on  questions  upon  which  the 
constitutional  law  was  not  very  explicit ;  and  second,  delegates  to  the 
national  frequently  seem  to  think  that  the  only  way  they  have  of  offering 
new  and  necessary  regulations  to  the  order  is  by  modifying  the  constitu- 
tion or  offering  a  resolution.  Now  the  facts  are  that  resolutions  should 
be  offered  for  nothing  but  as  expressions  of  sentiment  or  advisory  meas- 
ures recommended  to  the  order  or  others ;  that  the  constitution  should 
contain  nothing  but  the  declaration  of  purposes  of  the  order,  an  outline 
of  the  different  branches  of  government,  an  expressed  limitation  of  the 
powers  of  each  branch  and  each  officer,  and  such  general  provisions 
governing  the  laws  and  usages  as  are  of  universal  application,  and  will 
be  permanent  and  require  no  modification  and  change.  Then,  to  pro- 
vide rules  for  the  conduct  of  the  officers,  and  the  carrying  out  of  the 
provisions  of  the  constitution  and  render  the  workings  of  the  order 
effective  and  satisfactory,  not  resolutions,  but  laws  should  be  passed, 
the  difference  being  that  laws  would  prescribe  certain  things  while  reso- 
lutions simply  recommend  them.  Every  bill  should  be  refused  consid- 
eration unless  it  commence  according  to  an  established  form,  as,  "  Be  it 
hereby  enacted  by  the  Farmers  and  Laborers'  Union  of  America,"  etc., 
and  each  bill  should  have  a  caption  and  be  numbered.  If  the  laws  of 
the  legislative  body  were  expressed  in  this  way,  they  would  soon  make  a 
valuable  code  of  statutory  laws  for  the  order,  that  would  save  much  of 
the  time  now  wasted  in  discussing  resolutions  that  are  simply  a  repeti- 
tion of  what  may  have  been  passed  many  times  before,  but  is  not  in  a 
shape  to  be  of  record.  This  will  also  obviate  the  necessity  for  making 
any  changes  or  additions  to  the  national  constitution,  which  is  very 
desirable,  as  every  possible  means  should  be  resorted  to  that  will  tend 
to  make  the  national  organic  law  fixed  and  permanent ;  let  it  be  too 
sacred  to  be  modified  except  in  cases  of  the  plainest  necessity. 

Observation  of  the  workings  of  the  order  in  the  past  leads  me  to 
make  the  following  suggestions  :  — 

I.  There  should  be  an  efficient  and  uniform  method  of  securing 
reports  as  to  the  strength,  financial  condition,  •  etc.,  from  the  entire 
order.  The  national  secretary  cannot  now  send  out  a  blank  asking  for 
information  and  get  a  response  that  is  satisfactory  from  half  of  the 
States,  because  the  blanks  used  by  one  State  secretary  are  entirely 
different  from  those  used  by  another,  and  consequently  the  information 
they  have  is  of  a  different  character.  To  make  statistics  of  the  order 
valuable  they  should  all  be  gathered  in  response  to  the  same  questions, 
and  it  seems  to  me  that  the  best  way  to  secure  that  end  would  be  for 
this  body  to  provide  for  a  small  but  competent  committee  who  should 


THE  NATIONAL   ALLIANCE.  II7 

call  upon  each  State  secretary  to  send  them  a  copy  of  what  he  finds  to 
be  the  best  blank  for  subs  to  report  to  county  organizations,  and  what 
for  county  to  report  to  State  organizations  upon,  and  give  this  com- 
mittee authority  to  consider  all  these  forms,  adopt  the  best  as  the 
standard  for  all,  and  get  up  the  reports  to  the  national,  State,  and 
county  bodies  in  a  complete  system.  They  can  then  be  printed  from 
plates  in  large  numbers,  and  thereby  reduce  the  expense. 

2.  Independent  of  the  secretaries'  reports,  a  system,  of  crop  reports 
should  be  inaugurated,  that  will  be  mor^  prompt,  accurate,  and  reUable 
than  the  estimates  made  and  pubhshed  every  year  by  the  speculators,  who 
are  interested  in  depressing  prices  of  our  produce.  This  is  of  the  utmost 
importance ;  and  yet  all  efforts  made  up  to  this  time  have  been  signal 
failures.  I  would  therefore  suggest  that  the  national,  State,  county,  and 
subordinate  bodies  each  elect  a  crop  statistician,  to  be  paid  by  the  body 
electing  him,  and  who  shall  be  h^d  responsible  to  make  regular  reports 
as  required  by  the  officers  to  whom  he  is  to  report,  and  that  the  national 
statistician  report  monthly  to  the  president  of  the  national  body. 

3.  The  national  committee  on  secret  work  should  alone  be  authorized 
to  print  the  ritual,  and  all  sub  and  county  charters  should  emanate  from 
the  national,  and  be  issued  by  the  various  States. 

4.  The  regular  annual  meetings  of  the  State  bodies  should  be  timed 
so  as  to  come  in  rotation,  thereby  allowing  national  officers  to  visit  them. 

5.  All  written  official  documents  of  the  national  should  bear  the 
impress  of  the  seal,  and  all  printed  official  documents  should  have 
printed  on  them  a  fac-simile  of  the  seal. 

6.  The  secretary  should  be  required,  on  the  first  of  every  month,  to 
pay  the  treasurer  all  the  money  he  has  received,  and  the  treasurer  pro- 
hibited from  paying  out  any  money,  except  on  a  warrant  drawn  by  the 
secretary  and  approved  by  the  president,  and  the  secretary  should  be 
prohibited  from  drawing  a  warrant  on  the  treasurer,  except  upon  a 
voucher  or  account  that  is  audited  and  approved  by  such  auditing 
officer  as  this  body  may  provide. 

7.  There  seems  at  present  a  necessity  for  a  national  lecturer,  and  as 
that  necessity  may  only  exist  for  a  year  or  two,  it  might  be  provided 
for  temporarily ;  and  if  it  be,  the  lecturer  should  be  an  efficient  officer, 
with  probably  a  larger  salary  than  any  other  national  officer,  and  be 
required  to  do  active  work  during  his  term. 

8.  Since  education  is  one  of  the  most  potent  agents  at  our  command, 
the  national  should  impress  upon  the  membership  the  importance  of 
every  member  reading  his  State  and  national  organ. 

9.  The  president  should  be  authorized  at  any  time  to  appoint  com- 


Ii8  AGRICULTURAL    ORGANIZATIONS. 

mittees  to  confer  with  any  or  all  other  labor  organizations,  on  questions 
relating  to  the  objects  and  methods  of  organized  producers,  always 
reserving  to  this  body  the  right  to  ratify  or  reject  their  action. 

With  these  recommendations  as  to  matters  within  the  order,  I  will 
leave  that  feature  of  the  work  and  call  your  attention  to  the  relations  of 
the  national  order  to  the  government  and  people  of  this  country  at  large. 
Our  relations,  as  an  organized  force,  with  the  people  of  the  United 
States  and  with  the  government  have  been  wonderfully  improved  during 
the  last  year,  by  the  establislfment  and  publication  of  your  national 
organ,  the  National  Economist,  at  the  national  headquarters.  It  has 
been  the  means  of  presenting  the  true,  just,  and  equitable  side  of  the 
movement  to  a  class  of  readers  who  before  never  saw  anything  but 
misrepresentations  of  the  objects  of  the  order.  It  has  fought  for  our 
rights  from  a  high,  dignified,  and  indisputable  standpoint  of  right,  and 
as  a  result  we  now  see  leading  papers  #nd  periodicals  in  the  large  cities 
publishing  articles  in  the  interest  of  the  masses  that  a  few  years  ago 
they  would  not  have  allowed  to  come  inside  their  doors.  In  fact,  our 
national  organ  has  been  so  conducted  that  the  entire  order  has  shown 
unmistakable  evidences  of  the  fact  that  they  are  proud  of  it,  and  that 
it  has  been  a  wonderful  educator  and  benefit  to  the  membership. 
Nevertheless,  the  national  organ  will  never  reach  its  highest  develop- 
ment for  good  until  it  goes  hand  in  hand  with  a  good,  efficient  State 
organ  in  every  State,  and  the  State  organs  of  the  various  States  will  not 
reach  their  highest  development  for  good  without  a  harmony  of  effort 
and  concentration  of  forces.  I  therefore  submit  for  your  consideration 
the  propriety  of  authorizing  the  national  and  State  organs  to  organize 
themselves  into  a  newspaper  alliance  for  the  purpose  of,  first,  lessening 
their  expenses;  second,  guaranteeing  a  uniformity  of  sentiment,  offi- 
cially indorsed  by  a  national  supervising  committee ;  and  third,  in- 
creasing their  usefulness  and  efficiency;  and  that  this  body  make  its 
president  ex  officio  chairman  of  a  committee  of  three,  who  shall  pass 
upon  and,  if  approved,  place  their  stamp  upon  every  article  expressing 
editorial  opinion  as  to  doctrine  which  emanates  from  a  central  editorial 
bureau  for  publication  in  the  various  papers  of  such  newspaper  alliance. 
A  thoroughly  reliable  and  uniform  expression  of  sentiment  can  in  this 
way  be  secured  in  all  parts  of  the  country  at  the  same  time.  Our  State 
organs  are  at  present  doing  a  great  work,  and  accomplishing  much 
more  for  the  order  than  is  generally  supposed.  In  nearly  every  State 
in  which  the  order  has  a  State  organ  it  will  be  found,  on  comparison, 
to  be  the  best  farmers'  paper  in  that  State,  and  members  who  read  their 
State  and  national  organs  are  always  too  well  posted  to  waver  in  their 


THE  NATIONAL  ALLIANCE,  II9 

allegiance  to  the  order,  on  account  of  any  of  the  arguments  or  false 
reports  of  the  opposition.  With  such  an  alliance  as  an  auxiliary,  when 
the  conflict  of  the  national  deepens,  the  full  force  and  influence  of 
twenty  or  twenty-five  of  the  best  papers  in  the  country  could  be 
manipulated  with  great  advantage  to  the  true  interests  of  our  cause. 
This  will  be  by  far  the  most  potent  agent  at  our  command  in  the 
impending  struggle,  since  by  it  we  can  keep  our  own  ranks  thoroughly 
posted  and  unified,  and  at  the  same  time  we  can  meet  the  opposition 
at  no  disadvantage,  in  an  eflbrt  to  secure  the  influence  of  the  great 
class  that  now  stand  comparatively  neutral,  but  will  sympathize  with 
and  assist  us  when  convinced  that  our  objects  are  right  and  our  meth- 
ods fair. 

In  considering  our  relations  to  the  world  at  large,  I  believe  it  well  to 
call  your  attention  to  what,  after  a  long  and  careful  investigation,  I 
believe  to  be  a  fact,  and  that  is,  that  all  the  evils  which  afflict  agriculture 
to-day,  and  especially  all  which  contribute  to  the  present  universal 
depression,  arise  either  directly  or  indirectly  from  unjust  regulations  or 
privileges  enjoyed  by  other  classes  under  our  financial  system,  or  our  sys- 
tem of  laws  in  regard  to  transportation  corporations,  or  our  land  system. 
In  the  consideration  of  these  prime  causes  of  the  many  abuses  that  afflict 
our  class  we  as  a  national  organization  of  farmers  occupy  a  peculiar  but 
not  unsatisfactory  position.  It  has  been  the  custom  for  changes  in  any 
important  feature  of  governmental  regulations  to  be  inserted  in  partisan 
platforms,  and  in  this  way  brought  before  the  masses.  We  compose  at 
least  fifty  per  cent  of  the  strength  of  each  of  the  political  parties.  The 
two  oldest  political  parties  have  each  had  their  turn  at  the  administra- 
tion of  affairs,  and  neither  has  made  a  single  move  toward  these  ques- 
tions that  are  now  of  more  importance  to  our  class  than  all  others. 
Evidently  we  have  been  derelict  in  our  duty  to  ourselves,  because  we 
have  not  made  our  influence  felt  in  the  party  to  which  we  belong.  We 
have,  from  time  to  time,  at  our  meetings  passed  resolutions  making 
various  and  sundry  demands  of  our  law-makers,  but  up  to  the  present 
time  there  are  little  or  no  visible  results.  I  believe  we  have '  scattered 
too  much  and  tried  to  cover  too  much  ground,  and  that  we  should  now 
concentrate  upon  the  one  most  essential  thing  and  force  it  through  as 
an  entering  wedge  to  secure  our  rights.  A  political  party  is  one  thing, 
and  we  in  our  organized  capacity  are  entirely  different  from  it.  In  fact, 
we  are  the  exact  opposite.  Parti sanism  is  the  life  of  party,  and  the 
more  bitter  it  can  be  made,  the  more  solid  the  party.  We,  by  the  dis- 
semination of  the  true  principles  of  economic  government,  set  free  the 
strongest  influence  for  neutralizing  partisanism,  because  if  all  thoroughly 


\    1 20  AGRICULTURAL    ORGANIZATIONS. 

understood  perfect  political  economy,  and  all  were  honest,  all  would 
agree,  and  therefore  there  would  be  no  partisanism  or  party. 

We  are  a  complete  opposite  to  a  political  party.  We  dissolve  preju- 
dices, neutralize  partisanism,  and  appeal  to  reason  and  justice  for  our 
rights,  and  are  willing  to  grant  to  all  other  classes  the  same.  Party 
appeals  to  prejudice,  and  depends  on  partisan  hatred  for  power  to  per- 
petuate itself.  The  strength  of  a  political  party  is  its  platform,  which, 
when  constructed  with  the  highest  modern  art,  seeks  to  pander  to  the 
prejudices  of  every  section.  It  must  contain  a  plank  for  every  question 
that  is  agitated  or  discussed,  and  be  expressed  in  such  equivocal  terms 
as  to  mean  one  thing  to  one  man  and  the  opposite  to  another.  Now, 
since  we  are  the  very  opposite  of  a  political  party,  and  have  for  our 
object,  not  to  get  control  of  the  chief  offices  of  the  government  with  all 
their  power  and  responsibility,  and  do  nothing  except  perpetuate  our- 
selves, but  to  accomplish  some  needed  reforms  in  the  regulation  of  the 
relations  between  the  different  classes  of  citizens,  no  matter  which 
party  furnishes  us  the  servants  that  may  occupy  the  offices,  it  must  be 
plain  that  we  would  only  weaken  our  cause  were  we  to  attempt  to  con- 
struct a  platform  after  the  custom  of  political  parties.  Our  strength 
lies  in  an  entirely  different  and  opposite  direction.  We  should  unite 
every  effort  on  the  accomplishment  of  the  one  reform  first  necessary, 
and  the  most  important,  and  rest  assured  that  the  accomplishment  of 
that  will  insure  us  a  development  of  strength  sufficient  to  then  carry 
other  necessary  reforms  in  their  turn.  With  these  thoughts  as  to  the 
policy  to  pursue,  let  us  carefully  consider  which  is  the  most  urgent, 
most  important  and  necessary  reform  to  be  dignified  as  the  battle-cry 
of  the  order  temporarily,  till  accompHshed. 


THIRD    DAY. 

Brother  Tracy  submitted  the  following  :  — 

Committee  appointed  to  wait  upon  Hon.  Mr.  Powderly  reported  that 
arrangements  had  been  made  to  have  him  address  this  body  at  3.30  p.m., 
with  Messrs.  Beaumont  and  Wright ;  which,  on  motion,  was  adopted. 

On  motion,  the  house  adjourned  to  meet  at  1.30  p.m. 

Convention  called  to  order  at  1.30  p.m..  President  Jones  in  the  chair. 

The  following  resolution  was  read  by  Brother  Patty  of  Mississippi :  — 

Resolved^  That  the  National  Farmers  and  Laborers'  Union  declare  in 
favor  of  organic  union  with  the  National  Farmers'  Alliance. 

That  a  committee  of  five  be  appointed  to  meet  a  Hke  committee  on 


THE  NATIONAL  ALLIANCE,  121 

the  part  of  the  National  Farmers'  AlHance,  to  prepare  a  constitution 
and  plan  of  consolidation  for  said  organizations.     Adopted. 

The  following  resolution,  relative  to  taking  census,  was  read  and 
adopted :  — 

Whereas,  Statements  are  often  made  and  the  belief  is  growing,  that 
we  are  becoming  a  nation  of  landlords  and  tenants,  and  that  the  homes 
and  farms  of  the  country  are  very  largely  under  mortgage  ;  and 

Whereas ,  Exact  knowledge  on  this  subject  is  of  great  importance  in 
the  study  of  the  social  and  economic  questions  of  the  day ;  therefore  be 
it  resolved  by  the  National  Farmers'  Alliance  and  Industrial  Union,  — 

1.  That  Robert  P.  Porter,  superintendent  of  the  eleventh  census,  be 
respectfully  requested  to  collect  evidence  in  the  next  census,  what  per- 
centage of  the  people  in  this  country  occupy  their  own  homes  and  farms, 
and  what  proportion  are  tenants ;  and  of  those  who  occupy  their  own 
homes  and  farms,  what  proportion  have  their  property  free  from  debt ; 
and  of  the  homes  and  farms  which  are  under  mortgage,  what  percentage 
of  the  value  is  so  mortgaged,  and  also  what  proportion  of  such  indebted- 
ness is  for  purchase  money. 

2.  That  if  the  present  law  providing  for  the  census  enumeration  does 
not  include  provisions  to  take  a  complete  census  of  farm  indebtedness, 
we  request  the  Congress  of  the  United  States  to  so  amend  the  present 
law  as  to  provide  for  the  above  enumeration,  and  further  that  the  publi- 
cation setting  forth  the  above  facts  shall  be  the  first  report  given  to  the 
public. 

3.  That  the  secretary  forward  a  copy  of  the  above  resolutions  to  the 
superintendent  of  the  census  and  each  member  of  Congress  and  Senate. 


FOURTH    DAY. 

The  report  on  constitution  was  read  and  accepted ;  after  which  the 
following  officers  were  elected  for  the  ensuing  year  :  — 

L.  L.  Polk  of  North  Carolina  was  elected  President ;  B.  H.  Clover 
of  Kansas,  Vice-President ;  J.  H.  Turner  of  Georgia,  Secretary ;  H.  W. 
Hickman  of  Missouri,  Treasurer ;  Ben  Terrell  of  Texas,  Lecturer. 

On  motion,  a  committee  from  the  Northwestern  Alliance  was  received, 
and  considerable  time  given  to  a  conference  with  this  body. 

Brother  Polk  was  asked  to  take  the  chair  to  receive  the  committee. 

Adjourned  to  meet  at  7.30  p.m. 

Convention  called  to  order  at  7.30  p.m.,  President  L.  L.  Polk  in  the 
chair. 


122  AGRICULTURAL    ORGANIZATIONS. 

On  motion,  the  body  proceeded  with  the  completion  of  the  organiza- 
tion. 

The  election  of  three  judges  resulted  as  follows  :  R.  C.  Patty  of  Mis- 
sissippi, for  a  term  of  three  years  ;  Isaac  McCracken  of  Arkansas,  two 
years ;  Evan  Jones  of  Texas,  one  year. 

The  Committee  on  Demands  made  the  following  report  on  confedera- 
tion with  the  Knights  of  Labor.     Adopted. 

Report  of  Committee  on  Demands. 

St.  Louis,  Missouri,  December  6,  1889. 

Agreement  made  this  day  by  and  between  the  undersigned  committee 
representing  the  National  Farmers'  Alliance  and  Industrial  Union  on 
the  one  part,  and  the  undersigned  committee  representing  the  Knights 
of  Labor  on  the  other  part,  witnesseth :  The  undersigned  committee 
representing  the  Knights  of  Labor,  having  read  the  demands  of  the 
National  Farmers'  Alliance  and  Industrial  Union,  which  are  embodied 
in  this  agreement,  hereby  indorse  the  same  on  behalf  of  the  Knights  of 
Labor,  and  for  the  purpose  of  giving  practical  effect  to  the  demands 
herein  set  forth,  the  legislative  committees  of  both  organizations  will  act 
in  concert  before  Congress  for  the  purpose  of  securing  the  enactment 
of  laws  in  harmony  with  the  demands  mutually  agreed. 

And  it  is  further  agreed,  in  order  to  carry  out  these  objects,  we  will 
support  for  office  only  such  men  as  can  be  depended  upon  to  enact 
these  principles  in  statute  law,  uninfluenced  by  party  caucus. 

/'*    The  demands  hereinbefore  referred  to  are  as  follows  :  — 

1.  That  we  demand  the  abolition  of  national  banks,  and  the  substitu- 
tion of  legal  tender  treasury  notes  in  heu  of  national  bank  notes,  issued 
in  sufficient  volume  to  do  the  business  of  the  country  on  a  cash  system ; 
regulating  the  amount  needed  on  a  per  capita  basis,  as  the  business 
interests  of  the  country  expand ;  and  that  all  money  issued  by  the  gov- 
ernment shall  be  legal  tender  in  payment  of  all  debts,  both  public  and 
private. 

2.  That  we  demand  that  Congress  shall  pass  such  laws  as  shall  effec- 
tually prevent  the  dealing  in  futures  of  all  agricultural  and  mechanical 
productions ;  preserving  a  stringent  system  of  procedure  in  trials  as  shall 
secure  the  prompt  conviction,  and  imposing  such  penalties  as  shall 
secure  the  most  perfect  compliance  with  the  law. 

3.  That  we  demand  the  free  and  unlimited  coinage  of  silver. 

4.  That  we  demand  the  passage  of  laws  prohibiting  the  alien  owner- 


THE  NATIONAL  ALLIANCE,  123 

ship  of  land,  and  that  Congress  take  early  steps  to  devise  some  plan  to 
obtain  all  lands  now  owned  by  aliens  and  foreign  syndicates ;  and  that 
all  lands  now  held  by  railroad  and  other  corporations,  in  excess  of  such 
as  is  actually  used  and  needed  by  them,  be  reclaimed  by  the  govern- 
ment and  held  for  actual  settlers  only. 

5.  BeUeving  in  the  doctrine  of  "  Equal  rights  to  all  and  special  privi- 
leges to  none,"  we  demand  that  taxation,  national  or  State,  shall  not  be 
used  to  build  up  one  interest  or  class  at  the  expense  of  another. 

We  believe  that  the  money  of  the  country  should  be  kept  as  much  as 
possible  in  the  hands  of  the  people,  and  hence  we  demand  that  all  reve- 
nues, national.  State,  or  county,  shall  be  limited  to  the  necessary  expenses 
of  the  government,  economically  and  honestly  administered. 

6.  That  Congress  issue  a  sufficient  amount  of  fractional  paper  cur- 
rency to  facilitate  exchange  through  the  medium  of  the  United  States 
mail. 

7.  We  demand  that  the  means  of  communication  and  transportation 
shall  be  owned  by  and  operated  in  the  interest^ of  the  people,  as  is  the 
United  States  postal  system. 

For  the  better  protection  of  the  interests  of  the .  two  organizations,  it 
is  mutually  agreed  that  such  seals  or  emblems  as  the  National  Farmers' 
Alliance  and  Industrial  Union  of  America  may  adopt,  will  be  recognized 
and  protected  in  transit  or  otherwise  by  the  Knights  of  Labor,  and  that 
all  seals  and  labels  of  the  Knights  of  Labor  will  in  like  manner  be  recog- 
nized by  the  members  of  the  National  Farmers'  Alliance  and  Industrial 
Union  of  America. 

S.  B.  Erwin,  Chairman^     J.  D.  Hatfield, 
N.  S.  Hall,  Secretary ^        S.  B.  Alexander, 
J.  D.  Hammonds,  D.  K.  Norris, 

F.  M.  Blunt,  H.  S.  P.  Ashby, 

B.  H.  Clover,  R.  F.  Peck, 

M.  Page,  R.  C.  Betty, 

J.  R.  Miles,  W.  S.  Morgan, 

W.  H.  Barton,  J.  W.  Turner, 

N.  a.  Dunning,  A.  S.  Mann, 

S.  M.  Adams, 
Conwiittee  on  Deniatids  of  the  National  Earmers^ 
Aliia?ice  and  Industrial  Union. 
T.  V.  Powderly,  Ralph  Beaumont, 

A.  W.  Wright, 
Committee  representing  the  Order  of  the  Knights 
of  Labor. 


124  AGRICULTURAL   ORGANIZATIONS. 


FIFTH   DAY. 

St.  Louis,  Missouri,  December  7,  1889. 

Committee  appointed  to  wait  on  the  Kansas  delegation  reported  that 
delegation  in  waiting  to  be  admitted. 

On  motion  they  were  admitted  at  once. 

The  delegation  was  escorted  to  the  platform,  and  reported  that  they 
were  ready  to  consolidate. 

After  much  enthusiasm  the  following  resolution  was  unanimously 
adopted :  — 

Resolved,  That  the  National  Farmers'  Alliance  and  Industrial  Union 
hereby  approve  and  ratify  the  consolidation  of  the  Farmers'  Alliance  and 
Farmers  and  Laborers'  Union  of  the  State  of  Kansas.  That  J.  M.  Mor- 
ris, G.  Bosher,  L.  V.  Herlosker,  Perry  Daniels,  T.  J.  McLean,  and  Henry 
Shapscott  be  received  and  seated  as  delegates  from  said  State,  and  that 
a  charter  for  the  Farmers'  Alliance  and  Industrial  Union  of  the  State  of 
Kansas  be  issued  to  B.  H.  Clover  and  S.  M.  Morris  and  their  associates. 
Committee  on  Constitution  reported  on  the  monetary  system,  which, 
after  an  animated  discussion,  was  adopted  by  a  large  majority. 

We,  your  committee  on  the  monetary  system,  beg  to  submit  the 
following  report,  and  recommend  that  50,000  copies  of  this  report, 
with  complete  arguments  in  support  of  the  same,  be  published  and  dis- 
tributed to  the  members  of  our  order  and  to  the  country,  under  the 
supervision  of  the  National  Economist^  provided  the  printing  and  distri- 
bution shall  be  done  at  actual  cost  by  said  journal,  to  be  paid  on  the 
20th  day  of  November,  1890. 

C.  W.  Macune, 
L.  L.  Polk, 
L.  F.  Livingston, 
W.  S.  Morgan, 

H.  S.  P.  ASHBY. 

Report  of  the  Committee  on  the  Monetary  System. 

The  financial  policy  of  the  general  government  seems  to-day  to  be 
peculiarly  adapted  to  further  the  interests  of  the  speculating  class,  at 
the  expense  and  to  the  manifest  detriment  of  the  productive  class ;  and 
while  there  are  many  forms  of  relief  offered,  there  has,  up  to  the  present 
time,  been  no  true  remedy  presented,  which  has  secured  a  support  uni- 
versal enough  to  render  its  adoption  probable.  Neither  of  the  political 
parties  offers  a  remedy  adequate  to  our  necessities,  and  the  two  parties 


THE  NATIONAL  ALLIANCE.  1 25 

that  have  been  in  power  since  the  war  have  pursued  practically  the  same 
financial  policy.  The  situation  is  this :  The  most  desirable  and  neces- 
sary reform  is  one  that  will  adjust  the  financial  system  of  the  general 
government  so  that  its  provisions  cannot  be  utilized  by  a  class,  which 
thereby  becomes  privileged  and  is  in  consequence  contrary  to  the  genius 
of  our  government,  and  which  is  to-day  the  principal  cause  of  the 
depressed  condition  of  agriculture.  Regardless  of  all  this,  the  poHtical 
parties  utterly  ignore  these  great  evils  and  refuse  to  remove  their  cause, 
and  the  importunities  of  the  privileged  class  have  no  doubt  often  led  the 
executive  and  legislative  branches  of  the  government  to  believe  that  the 
masses  were  passive  and  reconciled  to  the  existence  of  this  system, 
whereby  a  privileged  class  can,  by  means  of  the  power  of  money  to 
oppress,  exact  from  labor  all  that  it  produces  except  a  bare  subsistence. 
Since,  then,  it  is  the  most  necessary  of  all  reforms,  and  receives  no  atten- 
tion from  any  of  the  prominent  political  parties,  it  is  highly  appropriate 
and  important  that  our  efforts  be  concentrated  to  secure  the  needed 
reform  in  this  direction,  provided  all  can  agree  upon  such  measures. 
Such  action  will  in  nowise  connect  this  movement  to  any  partisan  effort, 
as  it  can  be  applied  to  the  party  to  which  each  member  belongs. 

In  seeking  a  true  and  practical  remedy  for  the  evils  that  now  flow 
from  the  imperfections  in  our  financial  system,  let  us  first  consider  what 
is  the  greatest  evil,  and  on  what  it  depends.  The  greatest  evil,  the  one 
that  outstrips  all  others  so  far  that  it  is  instantly  recognized  as  the  chief, 
and  known  with  certainty  to  be  more  oppressive  to  the  productive  inter- 
ests of  the  country  than  any  other  influence,  is  that  which  delegates  to 
a  certain  class  the  power  to  fix  the  price  of  all  kinds  of  produce  and  of 
all  commodities.  This  power  is  not  delegated  directly,  but  it  is  dele- 
gated indirectly  by  allowing  such  class  to  issue  a  large  per  cent  of  the 
money  used  as  the  circulating  medium  of  the  country,  and  having  the 
balance  of  such  circulating  medium,  which  is  issued  by  the  government, 
a  fixed  quantity  that  is  not  augmented  to  correspond  with  the  necessi- 
ties of  the  times.  In  consequence  of  this,  the  money  issued  by  the 
privileged  class,  \yhich  they  are  at  liberty  to  withdraw  at  pleasure,  can 
be,  and  is,  so  manipulated  as  to  control  the  volume  of  circulating 
medium  in  the  country  sufficiently  to  produce  fluctuations  in  general 
prices  at  their  pleasure.  It  may  be  likened  unto  a  simple  illustration  in 
philosophy :  the  inflexible  volume  of  the  government  issue  is  the  ful- 
crum ;  the  volume  of  the  bank  issue  is  the  lever  power ;  and  price  is  the 
point  at  which  power  is  applied,  and  it  is  either  raised  or  lowered  with 
great  certainty,  to  correspond  with  the  volume  of  bank  issue.  Any 
mechanic  will  instantly  recognize  the  fact  that  the  quickest  and  surest 


126  AGRICULTURAL    ORGANIZATIONS, 

way  of  destroying  the  power  of  the  lever  to  raise  or  lower  price,  is  to 
remove  the  resistance  offered  -by  the  fulcrum  —  the  inflexible  volume  of 
government  issue.  The  power  to  regulate  the  volume  of  money  so 
as  to  control  price  is  so  manipulated  as  to  develop  and  apply  a  potent 
force,  for  which  we  have  in  the  English  language  no  name ;  but  it  is  the 
power  of  money  to  oppress,  and  is  demonstrated  as  follows :  In  the  last 
four  months  of  the  year,  the  agricultural  products  of  the  whole  year 
having  been  harvested,  they  are  placed  on  the  market  to*  buy  money. 
The  amount  of  money  necessary  to  supply  this  demand  is  equal  to 
many  times  the  actual  amount  in  circulation.  Nevertheless,  the  class 
that  controls  the  volume  of  the  circulating  medium  desires  to  purchase 
these  agricultural  products  for  speculative  purposes ;  so  they  reduce  the 
volume  of  money  by  hoarding,  in  the  face  of  the  augmented  demand, 
and  thereby  advance  the  exchangeable  value  of  the  then  inadequate 
volume  of  money,  which  is  equivalent  to  reducing  the  price  of  the  agri- 
cultural products.  True  agriculturists  should  hold  their  products  and 
not  sell  at  these  ruinously  low  prices.  And  no  doubt  they  would 
if  they  could;  but  to  prevent  that,  practically  all  debts,  taxes,  and 
interest  are  made  to  mature  at  that  time,  and  they  being  forced  to 
have  money  at  a  certain  season  when  they  have  the  product  of  their 
labor  to  sell,  the  power  of  money  to  oppress  by  its  scarcity  is  applied 
until  it  makes  them  turn  loose  their  products  so  low  that  their  labor 
expended  does  not  average  them  fifty  cents  per  day.  This  illustrates 
the  power  of  money  to  oppress ;  the  remedy,  as  before,  lies  in  removing 
the  power  of  the  fulcrum  —  the  inflexible  government  issue  —  and  sup- 
plying a  government  issue,  the  volume  of  which  shall  be  increased  to 
correspond  with  the  actual  addition  to  the  wealth  of  the  nation  pre- 
sented by  agriculture  at  harvest  time,  and  diminished  as  such  agricul- 
tural products  are  consumed.  Such  a  flexibility  of  volume  would 
guarantee  a  stability  of  price,  based  on  cost  of  production,  which  would 
be  compelled  to  reckon  the  pay  for  agricultural  labor  at  the  same  rates 
as  other  employment.  Such  flexibility  would  rob  money  of  its  most 
potent  power  —  the  power  to  oppress  —  and  place  a  premium  on  pro- 
ductive effort.  But  how  may  so  desirable  a  result  be  secured  ?  Let  us 
see.  By  applying  the  same  principles  now  in  force  in  the  monetary 
system  of  the  United  States,  with  only  slight  modification  in  the  detail 
of  their  execution.  The  government  and  the  people  of  this  country 
realize  that  the  amount  of  gold  and  silver,  and  the  certificates  based  on 
these  metals,  do  not  comprise  a  volume  of  money  sufficient  to  supply 
the  wants  of  the  country ;  and  in  order  to  increase  the  volume,  the  gov- 
ernment allows  individuals  to  associate  themselves  into  a  body  corporate. 


THE   NATIONAL   ALLIANCE.  127 

and  deposit  with  the  government  bonds  which  represent  national 
indebtedness,  which  the  government  holds  in  trust,  and  issues  to  such 
corporation  paper  money  equal  to  ninety  per  cent  of  the  value  of  the 
bonds,  and  charges  said  corporation  interest  at  the  rate  of  one  per  cent 
per  annum  for  the  use  of  said  paper  money.  This  allows  the  issue  of 
paper  money  to  increase  the  volume  of  the  circulating  medium  on  a 
perfectly  safe  basis,  because  the  margin  is  a  guarantee  that  the  banks 
will  redeem  the  bonds  before  they  mature.  But  now  we  find  that  the 
circulation  secured  by  this  method  is  still  not  adequate ;  or,  to  take  a 
very  conservative  position,  if  we  admit  that  it  is  adequate  on  the  aver- 
age, we  know  that  the  fact  of  its  being  entirely  inadequate  for  half  the 
year  makes  its  inflexibility  an  engine  of  oppression,  because  a  season  in 
which  it  is  inadequate  must  be  followed  by  one  of  superabundance  in 
order  to  bring  about  the  average,  and  such  a  range  in  volume  means 
great  fluctuations  in  prices,  which  cut  against  the  producer,  both  in  buy- 
ing and  selling,  because  he  must  sell  at  a  season  when  produce  is  low, 
and  buy  when  commodities  are  high.  This  system,  now  in  vogue  by 
the  United  States  government,  of  supplementing  its  circulating  medium 
by  a  safe  and  redeemable  paper  money,  should  be  pushed  a  little  further, 
and  conducted  in  such  a  manner  as  to  secure  a  certain  augmentation  of 
supply  at  the  season  of  the  year  in  which  the  agricultural  additions  to' 
the  wealth  of  the  nation  demand  money,  and  a  diminution  in  such 
supply  of  money  as  said  agricultural  products  are  consumed.  It  is  not 
an  average  adequate  amount  that  is  needed,  because  under  it  the  great- 
est abuses  may  prevail;  but  a  certain  adequate  amount  that  adjusts 
itself  to  the  wants  of  the  country  at  all  seasons.  For  this  purpose,  let 
us  demand  that  the  United  States  government  modify  its  present  finan- 
cial system,  — 

1.  So  as  to  allow  the  free  and  unhmited  coinage  of  silver,  or  the 
issue  of  silver  certificates  against  an  unlimited  deposit  of  bullion. 

2.  That  the  system  of  using  certain  banks  as  United  States  deposi- 
tories be  abolished,  and  in  place  of  said  system,  establish  in  every  county 
in  each  of  the  States  that  offers  for  sale  during  the  one  year  ^500,000 
worth  of  farm  products,  —  including  wheat,  corn,  oats,  barley,  rye,  rice, 
tobacco,  cotton,  wool,  and  sugar,  all  together,  —  a  sub-treasury  office, 
which  shall  have  in  connection  with  it  such  warehouses  or  elevators  as 
are  necessary  for  carefully  storing  and  preserving  such  agricultural  prod- 
ucts as  are  offered  it  for  storage ;  and  it  should  be  the  duty  of  such 
sub-treasury  department  to  receive  such  agricultural  products  as  are 
offered  for  storage,  and  make  a  careful  examination  of  such  products, 
and  class  same  as  to  quality,  and  give  a  certificate  of  the  deposit  show- 


128  AGRICULTURAL    ORGANIZATIONS. 

ing  the  amount  and  quality,  and  that  United  States  legal  tender  paper 
money  equal  to  eighty  per  cent  of  the  local  current  value  of  the  products 
deposited  has  been  advanced  on  same,  on  interest  at  the  rate  of  one  per 
cent  per  annum,  on  the  condition  that  the  owner,  or  such  other  person 
as  he  may  authorize,  will  redeem  the  agricultural  product  within  twelve 
months  from  date  of  the  certificate,  or  the  trustee  will  sell  same  at  pub- 
lic auction  to  the  highest  bidder,  for  the  purpose  of  satisfying  the  debt. 
Besides  the  one  per  cent  interest,  the  sub-treasurer  should  be  allowed 
to  charge  a  trifle  for  handling  and  storage,  and  a  reasonable  amount  for 
insurance,  but  the  premises  necessary  for  conducting  this  business  should 
be  secured  by  the  various  counties  donating  to  the  general  government 
the  land,  and  the  government  building  the  very  best  modern  buildings, 
fire-proof  and  substantial.  With  this  method  in  vogue,  the  farmer, 
when  his  produce  was  harvested,  would  place  it  in  storage  where  it 
would  be  perfectly  safe,  and  he  would  secure  four-fifths  of  its  value  to 
supply  his  pressing  necessity  for  money,  at  one  per  cent  per  annum. 
He  would  negotiate  and  sell  his  warehouse  or  elevator  certificates  when- 
ever the  current  price  suited  him,  receiving  from  the  person  to  whom  he 
sold,  only  the  difference  between  the  price  agreed  upon  and  the  amount 
already  paid  by  the  sub-treasurer.  When,  however,  these  storage  cer- 
tificates reached  the  hand  of  the  miller  or  factory,  or  other  consumer, 
he,  to  get  the  product,  would  have  to  return  to  the  sub-treasurer  the  sum 
of  money  advanced,  together  with  the  interest  on  same  and  the  storage 
and  insurance  charges  on  the  product.  This  is  no  new  or  untried 
scheme ;  it  is  safe  and  conservative ;  it  harmonizes  and  carries  out  the 
system  already  in  vogue  on  a  really  safer  plan,  because  the  products  of 
the  country,  that  must  be  consumed  every  year,  are  really  the  very  best 
security  in  the  world,  and  with  more  justice  to  society  at  large.  For  a 
precedent,  attention  is  called  to  the  following  :  — 

In  December,  1848,  the  London  Times  announced  the  inevitable  fail- 
ure of  the  French  republic  and  disintegration  of  French  society  in  the 
near  future ;  but  so  wise  was  the  administration  of  the  statesmen  of  that 
nation  that  two  months  later  it  was  forced  to  eat  its  own  words  —  saying 
in  its  columns,  February  16,  1849  :  — 

"  As  a  mere  commercial  speculation  with  the  assets  which  the  bank 
held  in  hand,  it  might  then  have  stopped  payment  and  liquidated  its 
affairs  with  every  probability  that  a  very  few  weeks  would  enable  it  to 
clear  off  its  habihties.  But  this  idea  was  not  for  a  moment  entertained 
by  M,  D'Argout,  and  he  resolved  to  make  every  effort  to  keep  alive 
what  may  be  termed  the  circulation  of  the  life-blood  of  the  community. 
The  task  was  overwhelming.     Money  was  to  be  found  to  meet  not  only 


THE  NATIONAL  ALLIANCE.  1 29 

the  demands  on  the  bank,  but  the  necessities,  both  public  and  private, 
of  every  rank  in  society.  It  was  essential  to  enable  the  manufacturers 
to  work,  lest  their  workmen,  driven  to  desperation,  should  fling  them- 
selves amongst  the  most  violent  enemies  of  public  order.  It  was  essen- 
tial to  provide  money  for  the  food  of  Paris,  for  the  pay  of  troops,  and 
for  the  daily  support  of  the  industrial  establishments  of  the  nation.  A 
failure  on  any  one  point  would  have  led  to  a  fresh  convulsion,  but  the 
panic  had  been  followed  by  so  great  a  scarcity  of  the  metallic  currency, 
that  a  few  days  later,  out  of  a  payment  of  26,000,000  fallen  due,  only 
47,000  francs  could  be  recorded  in  silver. 

"  In  this  extremity,  when  the  bank  alone  retained  any  available  sums  of 
money,  the  government  came  to  the  rescue,  and  on  the  night  of  the  15  th 
of  March,  the  notes  of  the  bank  were,  by  a  decree,  made  a  legal  tender, 
the  issue  of  these  notes  being  limited  in  all  to  350,000,000,  but  the 
amount  of  the  lowest  of  them  reduced  for  the  public  convenience  to  100 
francs.  One  of  the  great  difficulties  mentioned  in  the  report  was  to 
print  these  loo-franc  notes  fast  enough  for  the  public  consumption.  In 
ten  days  the  amount  issued  in  this  form  had  reached  80,000,000  francs. 

"To  enable  the  manufacturing  interests  to  weather  the  storm  at  a 
moment  when  all  the  sales  were  interrupted,  a  decree  of  the  National 
Assembly  had  directed  warehouses  to  be  opened  for  the  reception  of  all 
kinds  of  goods,  and  provided  that  the  registered  invoice  of  the  goods  so 
deposited  should  be  made  negotiable  by  indorsement.  The  bank  of 
France  discounted  these  receipts.  In  Havre  alone  eighteen  millions 
were  thus  advanced  on  colonial  produce,  and  in  Paris  fourteen  millions 
on  merchandise  ;  in  all,  sixty  millions  were  made  available  for  the  pur- 
poses of  trade.  Thus,  the  great  institution  had  placed  itself,  as  it  were, 
in  direct  contact  with  every  interest  of  the  community,  from  the  minis- 
ter of  the  Treasury  down  to  the  trader  in  a  distant  outport.  Like  a 
huge  hydraulic  machine,  it  employed  its  colossal  powers  to  pump  a  fresh 
stream  into  the  exhausted  arteries  of  trade  to  sustain  credit,  and  preserve 
the  circulation  from  complete  collapse." — Fro7n  the  Bank  Charter  Act, 
and  the  Rate  of  Interest^  London,  i8yj. 

This  is  proof  positive,  and  a  clear  demonstration,  in  1848,  what  this 
system  could  accomphsh  when  a  necessity  existed  for  resorting  to  it. 
But  since  that  time  every  conceivable  change  has  tended  toward  render- 
ing such  a  system  easier  managed  and  more  necessary.  The  various 
means  of  rapid  transportation,  and  the  facilities  for  the  instantaneous 
transmission  of  intelligence,  make  it  no  disadvantage  for  the  produce  of 
a  country  to  be  stored  at  home  until  demanded  for  consumption,  and 
the  great  saving  that  will  follow  the  abolition  of  local  shipments  shows 


130  AGRICULTURAL    ORGANIZATIONS. 

what  great  economy  such  a  system  is.  In  this  day  and  time,  no  one 
will  for  a  moment  deny  that  all  the  conditions  for  purchase  and  sale 
will  attach  to  the  government  certificates  showing  amount,  quality,  and 
running  charges  that  attach  to  the  product. 

The  arguments  sustaining  this  system  will  present  themselves  to  your 
minds  as  you  ponder  over  the  subject.  The  one  fact  stands  out  in  bold 
relief,  prominent,  grand,  and  worthy  the  best  effort  of  our  hearts  and 
hands,  and  that  is,  "  This  system  will  emancipate  productive  labor  from 
the  power  of  money  to  oppress,"  with  speed  and  certainty.  Could 
any  object  be  more  worthy?  Surely  not;  and  none  could  be  devised 
that  would  more  enlist  your  sympathies. 

Our  forefathers  fought  in  the  Revolutionary  War,  making  sacrifices  that 
will  forever  perpetuate  their  names  in  history,  to  emancipate  productive 
labor  from  the  power  of  a  monarch  to  oppress.  Their  battle-cry  was, 
"  Liberty."  Our  monarch  is  a  false,  unjust,  and  statutory  power  given 
to  money,  which  calls  for  a  conflict  on  our  part  to  emancipate  produc- 
tive labor  from  the  power  of  money  to  oppress.  Let  the  watchword 
again  be,  "  Liberty  !  " 

Delegation  from.  Farmers'  Alliance  of  the  State  of  Dakota  were 
admitted,  and  the  following  communication  was  received  and  unani- 
mously adopted  :  — 

St.  Louis,  Missouri,  December  7,  1889. 
To  the  Farmers  aiid  Laborers^  Union  of  America  : 

In  pursuance  of  the  joint  action  of  the  National  Farmers'  Alliance 
and  the  Farmers  and  Laborers'  Union,  pro^^iding  for  an  organic  union 
between  the  two  bodies,  the  conditions  being  that  when  the  new  consti- 
tution should  be  jointly  proposed,  approved,  and  ratified  by  said  Farm- 
ers and  Laborers'  Union,  and  by  two-thirds  of  the  State  Alliances 
composing  the  National  Farmers'  Alliance,  then  by  proclamation  of 
the  presidents  of  the  two  bodies  the  union  should  be  declared  com- 
pleted, we  the  delegates  from  the  State  Alliance  of  South  Dakota,  by 
authority  reposed  in  us,  do  hereby  accept  and  ratify  said  constitution, 
as  amended  and  agreed  upon  by  the  National  Farmers'  Alliance  and  the 
Farmers  and  Laborers'  Union,  to  take  effect  upon  acceptance  and  s-ati- 
fication  of  said  constitution  by  two-thirds  of  the  State  AUiances  com- 
posing the  National  Farmers'  Alliance. 

Attest:  C.  V.  Gardner, 

Chairman  of  Delegation, 

A.  Wardall, 
Secretary  of  Delegation. 


THE  NATIONAL   ALLIANCE.  131 

Resolved,  That  C.  V.  Gardner,  F.  F.  B.  Coffin,  A.  N.  Van  Dorn,  E.  B. 
Cummings,  Alonzo  Wardall,  and  Mrs.  Elizabeth  Wardall  be  received 
and  seated  as  delegates  from  South  Dakota,  and  that  a  charter  for  the 
Farmers'  Alliance  and  Industrial  Union  of  South  Dakota  be  issued  to 
said  persons  and  their  associates.  That  Walter  Muir  be  received  and 
seated  as  a  fraternal  delegate  from  the  State  of  North  Dakota.  Adopted 
unanimously. 

On  motion,  the  city  of  Jacksonville,  Florida,  was  selected  as  the  place 
of  holding  the  next  regular  session. 

Committee  on  Land  made  the  following  report,  which  was  adopted  :  — 

Your  committee  on  land  submit  the  following  report :  — 

The  total  number  of  farms  in  the  United  States  is  about  5,000,000 ; 
1,280,000  are  rented.  Since  1880  there  has  been  an  increase  in  farm 
renting  to  the  extent  of  twenty-five  per  cent.  It  is  evident  to  the  most 
ordinary  observer  that  the  farms  are  passing  out  of  the  hands  of  those 
who  cultivate  them.  It  cannot  be  urged  that  this  is  the  result  of  incom- 
petency or  idleness  on  the  part  of  the  tillers  of  the  soil,  for  statistics 
show  that  the  wealth  of  the  country  has,  during  the  past  twenty-five 
years,  increased  more  than  one  hundred  per  cent.  No  other  nation  has 
ever  shown  such  an  enormous  increase  of  wealth  in  the  same  length  of 
time.  All  this  increase  of  wealth  is  the  result  of  the  active  energies  of 
the  producers.  It  is  a  peculiar  condition,  that  the  producers  of  all  this 
wealth  have  gradually  grown  poorer ;  but  still  the  cold,  hard  fact  stares 
them  in  the  face  that  they  are  not  only  not  living  as  well  as  they  should, 
but  their  farms  are  gradually  slipping  from  their  grasp. 

The  natural  and  inevitable  result  of  this  accumulation  of  wealth  into 
the  hands  of  the  capitalists,  and  at  the  expense  of  the  producers,  is  the 
establishment  of  a  land  aristocracy  on  the  one  hand,  and  tenant  farmers 
on  the  other ;  such  a  system  as  has  obtained  in  many  of  the  European 
countries. 

Your  committee  have  had  neither  the  time  nor  the  facilities  to  pre- 
pare as  extensive  a  report  as  the  importance  of  the  subject  demands. 
From  the  best  and  most  reliable  authority  we  can  obtain,  the  amount  of 
mortgaged  indebtedness  resting  upon  the  farms  and  homes  of  the  peo- 
ple is  not  less  than  $16,000,000,000.  The  interest  on  this  vast  sum,  at 
eight  per  cent  per  annum,  is  ;^  1,2 80,000,000.  This  is  the  annual  tribute 
which  the  farmers  of  this  country  are  paying  to  Shylocks.  The  im- 
mensity of  this  vast  sum  can  the  more  readily  be  realized  when  we  con- 
sider that  it  exceeds  the  value  of  the  entire  wheat,  corn,  and  cotton 
crops  of  the  United  States  for  one  year.     Nor  is  this  all.     Other  forms 


132 


AGRICULTURAL    ORGANIZATIONS. 


of  indebtedness,  both  public  and  private,  swell  the  above  sum  to  more 
than  $30,000,000,000.  When  we  consider  the  fact  that  the  annual  in- 
crease of  all  agricultural  interests  is  less  than  three  per  cent,  it  does  not 
take  more  than  an  ordinary  observer  to  realize  that  it  is  only  a  matter  of 
time  when  the  eight  per  cent  annual  tribute  will  absorb  all  the  land 
in  the  country,  as  it  has  certainly  done  in  other  parts  of  the  world. 
Statistics  show  that  more  than  200,000,000  acres  of  land  have  been 
granted  to  various  railroad  companies.  Foreign  syndicates  own  more 
than  20,000,000  acres.  In  addition  to  this,  the  comparative  statistics 
show  that  there  is  a  tendency  to  increase  the  number  of  large  farms  in 
the  United  States,  and  that  the  number  of  small  farms  is  growing  less 
each  year. 

We  recommend  to  this  body  that  they  take  immediate  action  to  fur- 
nish some  relief  to  the  many  thousands  of  farmers  whose  only  hope  in 
being  able  to  lift  the  mortgages  from  their  homes  and  farms  is  through 
the  early  action  of  Congress,  to  devise  some  method  to  protect  their 
interests  and  give  to  them  the  fruits  of  their  labor. 

J.  F.  Tillman,  Chairman^ 
S.  B.  Erwin, 
W.  H.  Barton, 
B.  J.  Kendrick. 

The  following  resolutions  were  read  and  adopted  :  — 

Whereas,  The  National  Econotnist,  our  adopted  official  national 
organ,  has  so  boldly  and  fearlessly  advocated  our  cause  and  defended 
our  principles ;  therefore  be  it 

Resolved  by  this  national  body,  That  we  heartily  approve  of  the  course 
it  has  pursued,  and  recommend  that  every  member  of  the  order  should 
subscribe  and  read  the  paper,  as  one  of  the  best  means  of  education  in 
the  way  of  industrial  freedom. 

The  Committee  on  Secret  Work  reported  and  exemplified  the  secret 
work. 

The  meeting  adjourned  at  6  p.m.,  to  meet  the  first  Tuesday  in  Decem- 
ber, 1890,  at  Jacksonville,  Florida. 


CHAPTER   VI. 

HISTORY    OF    THE    NATIONAL    ALLIANCE COIlcluded, 

It  was  both  hoped  and  expected  that  the  Alliance  of  the 
Northwest  would  consolidate  with  the  National  Farmers'  Alli- 
ance and  Industrial  Union,  as  had  the  Union  and  Wheel,  and 
form  one  grand  agricultural  organization.  All  efforts  in  that 
direction  proved  futile,  through  the  persistent  opposition  of  a 
few  men  who  have  since  been  relegated  to  obscurity.  Much 
disappointment  was  manifested,  and  considerable  ill-feeling  was 
engendered  over  the  failure  of  consolidation.  A  careful  analysis* 
of  the  causes  which  conspired  to  bring  about  this  result  dis- 
closed the  fact  that  sectionalism,  that  old  enemy  of  national 
organized  labor,  was  the  controlling  factor.  The  members  of 
the  order  rapidly  sized  up  the  situation,  and  the  matter  of  con- 
solidation was  soon  lost  sight  of  in  the  vigorous  effort  to  push 
the  organization  into  new  territory.  The  agreement  made  with 
the  Knights  of  Labor  added  much  strength  to  the  movement, 
and  gave  it  a  standing  among  a  class  of  people  who  had  hereto- 
fore been  inclined  to  doubt  its  motives  and  methods.  This 
compact  has  stood  the  assaults  of  both  old  political  parties,  and 
is  the  rallying  cry  of  labor  in  production  at  the  present  time. 

Immediately  after  this  meeting.  President  L.  L.  Polk  and 
Secretary  J.  H.  Turner  opened  offices  in  Washington,  District 
of  Columbia,  the  Grand  Council  having  provided  for  such  action. 
Active,  aggressive  work  was  begun  at  once.  Brother  C.  W. 
Macune,  Chairman  of  the  Executive  Board,  called  the  balance 
of  the  board,  Brothers  A.  Wardall  of  South  Dakota  and  J.  F. 
Tillman  of  Tennessee,  to  Washington,  for  consultation.  At 
this  meeting  the  whole  situation  was  thoroughly  discussed  with 
President  Polk.  A  plan  of  campaign  was  agreed  upon,  and  an 
agreement  made  to  push  the  work  vigorously.  The  now  famous 
sub-treasury  bill  was  drawn  up  and  introduced  into  both  houses 
of  Congress,  and  arrangements  were  made  to  send  out  literature 
and  secure  petitions.     Brother  Macune  being  at  the  head  of  the 


134  AGRICULTURAL    ORGANIZATIONS, 

•  ■ 

Legislative  Committee,  also  did  some  grand  work  for  the  order  in 

that  direction.     Believing  in  direct  methods,  and  at  the  same 

time  being  conservative  and  consistent,  his  efforts  were  soon 

felt  in  Congress,  and  the  effects  were  seen-  throughout  the  whole 

country. 

President  Polk  soon  had  organizers  at  work  in  nearly  every 
North  and  Northwestern  State,  and  the  fruits  ^f  their  labors 
began  to  appear.  As  the  result  of  such  efforts,  the  States  of 
Indiana,  Illinois,  Michigan,  Pennsylvania,  Colorado,  and  Cali- 
fornia were  added  to  the  organization,  with  other  States  well 
under  way.  The  little  difficulties  in  Texas  and  Missouri  were 
met  and  overcome  by  the  prompt  action  of  the  national  officers, 
and  the  whole  order  was  put  on  the  high  road  of  prosperity. 
The  vitality  of  the  order  was  disclosed  by  the  manner  in  which 
•it  withstood  the  shock  of  a  hotly  contested  political  campaign. 
In  this  contest  the  Alliance  was  no  passive  factor.  It  made 
itself  both  known  and  felt  in  many  States.  Its  methods  differed 
somewhat  in  different  sections,  but  the  one  idea  of  a  change  of 
conditions  obtained  all  through  the  contest.  In  the  South,  the 
Alliance  directed  its  efforts  to  the  primaries,  while  in  the  North 
and  West  it  made  the  fight  at  the  polls.  In  the  South,  the  new 
Alliance  principle,  known  as  the  sub-treasury  plan,  furnished 
the  basis  for  nearly  all  contention.  The  Alliance  stood  squarely 
upon  that  measure,  and  made  its  provisions  the  gauge  of  fealty. 
Congressman  after  Congressman,  who  could  not  stand  the  test, 
was  deposed,  and  a  tried  Alliance  man  put  in  his  place.  In  the 
West,  the  St.  Louis  demands,  or  compact,  were  made  the  basis 
of  operations. 

The  history  of  politics  furnishes  no  parallel  to  the  campaign 
in  the  West,  especially  in  Kansas  and  Dakota.  Independent 
candidates  were  nominated,  and  a  square  fight  was  made  between 
the  reform  element  and  the  old  political  parties.  As  the  cam- 
paign advanced,  the  feeling  became  more  bitter  and  intense. 
An  idea  prevailed  among  the  members  of  the  order  that  a  fail- 
ure would  prove  the  destruction  of  the  Alliance,  and  result  in 
the  complete  bankruptcy  of  nearly  all  its  members.  Because  of 
this  belief,  the  struggle  became  fierce  and  strong.  Past  affili- 
ations were  forgotten  ;  party  ties  were  broken ;  and  an  entirely 
new  political  alignment  was  effected.     The  two  old  parties  aided 


THE  NATIONAL   ALLIANCE.  1 35 

each  other  where  it  was  possible,  and  the  entire  power  of  par- 
tisan machinery  was  worked  to  its  utmost  capacity.  Opposition 
simply  provoked  increased  efforts,  and  political  trickery  increased 
watchfulness,  and  the  effective  work  of  the  independents  con- 
tinued amid  it  all.  Education  on  economic  lines  had  been  doing 
its  perfect  work,  and  the  people  were  filled  with  a  desire  to 
obtain  further  information.  As  a  result  of  this,  these  reform 
meetings  were  the  largest  political  gatherings  ever  seen  on  this 
continent.  When  the  end  came,  and  the  smoke  of  battle  had 
cleared  away,  the  ground  was  found  thickly  strewn  with  the 
political  corpses  of  the  candidates  of  both  old  parties.  In  the 
South,  the  States  of  Georgia  and  North  and  South  Carolina 
made  the  best  showing ;  while  in  the  West,  Kansas,  Nebraska, 
and  the  Dakotas  led  the  others.  The  effect  of  this  political 
contest  will  go  down  to  future  generations.  It  marked  an  epoch 
in  the  history  of  American  politics.  It  was  a  deserved  rebuke 
to  old  party  methods,  and  a  rugged  notice  that  conditions  must 
be  changed.  The  lessons  taught  by  this  campaign  will  not  soon 
be  forgotten  ;  neither  will  the  power  and  advantage  gained  by 
the  people  soon  be  relinquished. 

During  the  summer  and  through  the  political  canvass,  vile 
and  vicious  attacks  were  made  by  the  old  parties  upon  the 
organization  as  a  body,  and  its  national  officers  in  particular, 
Brothers  Polk  and  Macune  coming  in  for  the  largest  share. 
Through  all  this  the  membership  stood  firm,  with  but  here  and 
there  an  exception.  Of  course  the  excitement  incident  to  a 
political  campaign  retarded,  to  some  extent,  the  work  of  organ- 
izing ;  but  the  seed  sown  during  this  time  was  destined  to  bring 
forth  a  rich  harvest  of  new  recruits,  which  is  now  being  gathered. 
The  success  of  this  campaign  increased  the  interest  of  the  pub- 
lic generally,  and  the  politicians  in  particular,  in  the  national 
meeting  that  was  to  be  held  in  December  of  that  year.  Taken 
as  a  whole,  the  year's  work  had  proven  very  satisfactory  indeed. 
President  Polk  had  visited  nearly  every  State  in  person,  and  had 
contributed  his  full  share  toward  the  ultimate  success  attained. 
The  reform  press  had  been  strengthened  and  encouraged,  and 
was  doing  a  truly  wonderful  work  in  the  line  of  education. 

The  wisdom  of  having  the  national  organ  of  the  order  located 
at  Washington  was  clearly  shown  by  the  great  benefit  derived 


136  AGRICULTURAL    ORGANIZATIONS. 

by  the  entire  brotherhood  from  the  National  Economist,  This 
paper,  under  the  guidance  of  Brother  C.  W.  Macune,  exerted  a 
wide-spread  influence  for  good  throughout  the  entire  nation, 
and  demonstrated  the  fact  that  reform  papers,  in  order  to  obtain 
and  retain  a  standing  among  intelligent  people,  must  take  a  dig- 
nified, conservative  position.  Education  being  the  foundation 
stone  of  the  order,  everything  possible  was  done  to  make  prog- 
ress in  that  direction.  Newspapers,  pamphlets,  tracts,  etc., 
were  sent  out  in  great  numbers,  and  eagerly  read  by  the  breth- 
ren. The  new  principle  of  government  loans  direct  to  the  peo- 
ple was  thoroughly  and  intelligently  discussed.  The  result  has 
demonstrated  the  fact  that  the  people,  as  a  rule,  are  willing  to 
learn  the  truth,  and  when  once  learned,  are  quite  apt  to  act 
accordingly.  This  wave  of  education  on  economic  questions 
spread  with  great  rapidity,  and  its  effects  have  been  truly  won- 
derful. The  Sub-Alliances,  through  the  discussion  of  financial 
and  other  matters,  have  brought  men  and  women  to  public 
notice  who  are  destined  to  fill  important  positions  in  the  future 
conduct  of  this  nation.  The  reform  press  is  filled  with  letters 
from  members  of  these  subordinate  Alliances,  which  are  not  only 
sound  in  principle,  but  full  of  good  sense  and  practical  ideas. 
Men  and  methods  are  no  longer  taken  for  granted,  but  must 
first  pass  through  the  ordeal  of  a  thorough  analysis  in  the  Alli- 
ance. By  this  means,  the  trickster  is  discovered,  the  demagogue 
exposed,  and  the  scoundrel  avoided. 

During  the  entire  year,  nothing  but  educational  methods  were 
considered.  Every  point  in  this  regard  was  strengthened,  and  all 
undertakings  encouraged.  The  national  officers  were  continually 
at  work  endeavoring  to  show  the  people  the  necessity  of  under- 
standing their  own  situation.  The  result  was  highly  satisfac- 
tory to  all  concerned.  The  order  grew  rapidly  during  the  year, 
in  numbers  and  importance.  It  became  more  unified  and  accus- 
tomed to  the  methods  and  usages  of  organization.  The  necessity 
for  united  action  became  more  apparent  each  day,  and  a  general 
desire  to  work  harmoniously  for  the  good  of  all  seemed  to  per- 
vade the  entire  order.  The  success  at  the  elections  disclosed 
the  power  of  united  action,  and  gave  universal  encouragement. 

The  year  began  with  a  large  organization,  with  untried  ma- 
chinery, considerable  differences  of  opinion,  and  in  some  cases 


THE  NATIONAL   ALLIANCE.  137 

a  fear  of  the  result.  It  ended  with  a  much  larger  membership, 
with  an  almost  complete  system  of  organization  working  smoothly, 
nearly  all  differences  eliminated,  and  a  record  of  triumphs  all 
along  the  line.  Such  was  the  year  1890.  Long  will  it  be  remem- 
bered by  the  brotherhood.  As  the  time  for  the  annual  meeting 
approached.  President  Polk  gave  up  lecturing  and  speaking,  and 
took  a  general  survey  of  the  situation,  preparatory  to  making 
his  report.  He  found  nothing  but  success  and  improvement  on 
every  hand.  He  had  the  proud  satisfaction  of  giving  to  the 
brethren  of  the  national  meeting  a  most  satisfactory  account  of 
his  stewardship.  While  it  had  been  to  him  a  year  of  unremit- 
ting toil  and  anxiety,  it  had  been  to  the  order  one  of  prosperity 
and  rapid  advancement. 

At  the  St.  Louis  meeting,  Brother  Macune  brought  forward 
the  sub-treasury  plan,  and  the  meeting  indorsed  it  by  an  over- 
whelming majority.  In  fact,  there  were  but  seven  votes  against 
it.  This  measure,  which  has  been  fully  explained  in  another 
part  of  this  work,  soon  became  the  rallying  cry  of  the  order. 
By  common  consent,  it  was  accepted  as  the  one  great  principle 
of  the  Alliance,  and  it  proved  to  be  the  greatest  educator  yet 
brought  to  notice.  During  the  winter  of  1890  a  bill  embodying 
its  principles  was  introduced  into  both  houses  of  Congress,  and 
the  contest  at  once  began.  The  old  party  papers  antagonized 
it,  and  the  politicians  went  wild  with  rage  over  the  innovation, 
as  they  termed  it.  Amidst  it  all,  Alliance  members  and  papers 
continued  to  argue  in  its  favor  ;  precedents  and  matters  of  legis- 
lation were  gathered  from  every  possible  source,  until  all  oppo- 
sition was  confused  and  confounded.  Petitions  by  the  thousands 
were  poured  into  Congress,  as  well  as  letters  and  resolutions, 
until  both  the  old  parties  became  thoroughly  alarmed  at  the  out- 
look. Congress  continued  in  session  very  late,  and  when  the 
politicians  finally  reached  home,  they  found  the  Alliance  thor- 
oughly entrenched  and  working  for  its  principles.  It  is  the 
sub-treasury  plan,  and  the  vivifying  effects  which  followed  its 
investigation,  and  the  senseless  ridicule  of  the  opposition,  that 
concentrated  the  hosts  of  the  Alliance  and  brought  substantial 
victories  in  the  South  ;  and  the  same  may  be  said,  but  in  a  some- 
what less  degree,  of  the  Northwest. 

As  the  time  for  the  Ocala  meeting  approached,  the  interest 


138  AGRICULTURAL    ORGANIZATIONS. 

of  the  politicians  became  apparent.  Every  possible  effort  was 
made  to  break  down  the  Alliance,  by  dividing  it  upon  the  sub- 
treasury  plan.  A  few  political  aspirants  were  found  in  the 
Alliance,  ready  to  serve  any  power  that  proijiised,  political  pre- 
ferment. The  recognized  method  of  such  was  to  oppose  the 
sub-treasury  plan.  Of  course  there  were  a  few  wha^-  honestly 
considered  the  sub-treasury  plan  as  wrong  in  principle,  and  that 
it  would  do  harm  in  practice.  Such  were  the  exception,  and  not 
the  rule.  Under  these  conditions  the  annual  meeting  was  held. 
The  annual  meeting  at  St.  Louis  adjourned  to  meet  at  Jack- 
sonville, Florida,  but  the  citizens  of  that  place  failed  to  realize 
its  importance,  and  neglected  to  make  any  provision  for  the 
session.  Taking  advantage  of  this  apathy,  the  bright  little  town 
of  Ocala,  many  miles  in  the  interior,  made  such  flattering  prop- 
ositions that  the  executive  committee  changed  the  place  of 
meeting.  As  a  consequence,  the  National  Council  of  the  Na- 
tional Farmers'  AUiance  and  Industrial  Union  met  at  Ocala, 
December  2,  1890.  A  synopsis  of  the  proceedings  is  given 
below. 

FIRST  DAY. 

Council  called  to  order  by  the  President,  L.  L.  Polk,  at  1 2  m.,  sharp, 
and  opened  in  due  form. 

Prayer  by  the  Chaplain,  Rev.  Isom  P.  Langley  of  Arkansas.  ^^ 

The  following  officers  were  appointed  by  the  chair  :  Isom  P.  Langley 
of  Arkansas,  Chaplain;  A.  E.  Cole  of  Michigan,  Assistant  Lecturer; 
H.  M.  Gilbert  of  Indiana,  Doorkeeper;  T.  J.  Guice  of  Louisiana, 
Assistant  Doorkeeper;  J.  C.  A.  Hiller  of  Missouri  and  W.  B.  James 
of  Kansas,  Sergeants- at- Arms. 

Moved  by  R.  F.  Rogers  of  Florida  that  an  invitation  be  extended  to 
Governor  Flemming  and  other  leading  citizens  of  the  State,  to  the  meet- 
ing this  afternoon,  which  shall  be  for  the  public  generally.     Carried. 

On  motion  of  S.  B.  Erwin  of  Kentucky,  a  committee  of  five  was 
appointed  on  credentials  :  W.  J.  Talbert  of  South  Carolina,  Chairman ; 
W.  L.  Peek  of  Georgia ;  M.  D.  Davie  of  Kentticky ;  G.  T,  Barbee  of 
Virginia ;  P.  B.  Maxson  of  Kansas. 

Afternoon  Session. 
Convention  called  to  order  at  two  o'clock. 

Brother  Rogers  introduced  Francis  P.  Flemming,  governor  of  Florida, 
who  delivered  the  address  of  welcome. 


THE  NATIONAL  ALLIANCE.  I  39 

Mr.  J.  F.  Dunn  of  Florida  was  then  introduced  by  Brother  Rogers. 
Mr.  Dunn  made  a  telling  talk, -and  gave  words  of  encouragement  and 
cheer  to  the  farmers  of  America. 

H.  L.  Loucks  of  North  Dakota  responded  to  the  addresses  of 
Governor  Flemming  and  Hon.  J.  F.  Dunn. 

The  annual  message  of  the  President  was  then  read  by  the  President, 
Hon.  L.  L.  Polk,  as  follows  :  — 

To  the  National  Fanne?'s'  Alliance  and  Industrial  Union  : 

Congratulating  you,  and  through  you  the  great  organization  you  repre- 
sent, on  the  hopeful  and  encouraging  auspices  under  which  you  have 
this  day  assembled,  I  beg  to  submit  for  your  earnest  consideration  such 
thoughts  and  suggestions,  affecting  the  present  and  future  of  our  great 
order,  as  may  conduce  to  the  successful  prosecution  of  its  noble  and 
patriotic  purposes. 

Profoundly  impressed  with  the  magnitude  of  this  great  revolution  for 
reform,  involving  issues  momentous  and  stupendous  in  their  character, 
as  affecting  the  present  and  future  welfare  of  the  people;  the  pubhc 
mind  is  naturally  directed  to  this  meeting  with  anxious  interest,  if  not 
soHcitude,  and  you  cannot  be  unmindful  of  the  importance  and  responsi- 
bility that  attach  to  your  action  as  representatives.  Coming,  as  you  do, 
from  States  and  localities  remote  from  each  other,  and  differing  widely 
from  each  other  in  their  material  and  physiological  characteristics,  and 
marked  by  those  social  and  political  differences  which  must  necessarily 
arise  under  our  form  of  government,  it  is  your  gracious  privilege,  as  it 
shall  be  your  crowning  honor,  to  prove  to  the  world,  by  your  harmonious 
action  and  thoroughly  fraternal  co-operation,  that  your  supreme  purpose 
is  to  meet  the  demands  of  patriotic  duty  in  the  spirit  of  equity  and 
justice. 

The  great  and  universal  depression  under  which  the  agricultural 
interests  of  these  United  States  are  suffering,  is,  in  view  of  our  surround- 
ings and  conditions,  an  anomaly  to  the  students  of  industrial  progress. 
No  country  or  people  in  all  history  has  been  so  favored  and  blessed  with 
opportunity  and  favorable  conditions  for  the  successful  and  profitable 
prosecution  of  agricultural  industries.  With  soils,  climate,  and  seasons 
admirably  adapted  to  the  successful  growth  of  all  the  great  staple  crops 
demanded  by  commerce  ;  with  a  people  justly  noted  for  their  industry, 
frugality,  and  progressive  enterprise,  and  characterized  by  an  aggressive- 
ness in  material  development  which  has  no  parallel  in  history;  with 
transportation  faciUties,  inland  and  upon  the  seas,  equal  to  the  produc- 
tive power  of  the  country ;  with  a  development  in  railroad  and  manu- 


I40  AGRICULTURAL    ORGANIZATIONS. 

facturing  enterprise,  and  in  the  growth  of  villages,  towns,  and  cities  — 
marvellous  in  its  expansion ;  with  the  rapid  accumulation  of  colossal  for- 
tunes in  the  hands  of  the  few ;  —  why,  instead  of  the  happy  song  of  peace, 
contentment,  and  plenty,  which  should  bless  the  homes  of  the  farmer 
and  laborer  of  the  country,  should  we  hear  the  constant  and  universal 
wail  of  "  hard  times  "?  To  solve  this  significant  and  vital  question  in 
the  light  of  equity,  justice,  and  truth,  is  the  underlying  principle,  the 
holy  mission  and  inspiration,  of  this,  the  greatest  industrial  revolution  of 
the  ages. 

To  restore  and  maintain  that  equipoise  between  the  great  industrial 
interests  of  the  country,  which  is  absolutely  essential  to  a  healthful  prog- 
ress and  to  the  development  of  our  civilization,  is  a  task  which  should 
enHst  the  minds  and  energies  of  all  patriotic  people  —  a  task  as  stupen- 
dous as  its  accomplishment  shall  be  grand  and  glorious. 

The  pathway  of  human  governments  is  strewn  with  mournful  wrecks  of 
republics,  whose  ruin  was  wrought  by  and  through  the  subordination  and 
degradation  of  some  one  or  more  of  their  essential  elements  of  civiliza- 
tion. 

It  has  been  truly  said  that  agriculture  is  the  basis  of  all  wealth,  and 
important  and  indispensable  as  it  is  in  this  relation,  yet  its  higher  char- 
acter and  function  as  the  basis  of  all  life,  of  all  progress,  and  of  all  higher 
civilization,  can  be  measured  only  by  human  capability  and  aspiration  to 
reach  the  highest  perfection  of  society  and  government.  Standing  as  it 
does,  by  far  the  most  important  of  our  great  industrial  interests,  and 
related  as  it  is,  in  such  important  connection,  with  every  individual  and 
every  conceivable  interest  in  our  country,  its  prosperity  means  the  better- 
ment of  all  —  its  decline  means  the  decline  of  all. 

Retrogression  in  American  agriculture  means  national  decay  and  utter 
and  inevitable  ruin.  Powerful  and  promising  as  is  this  young  giant 
republic,  yet  its  power  and  glory  cannot  survive  the  degradation  of 
the  American  farmer.  Never,  perhaps,  in  the  history  of  the  world  has 
industrial  and  economical  thought  been  more  intensely  engaged  than  for 
the  past  two  years,  in  this  country,  in  the  investigation  of  the  causes 
which  have  conspired  to  place  agriculture  so  far  in  the  rear  in  the  race 
of  material  progress. 

This  investigation,  earnest,  sincere,  and  searching,  has  led  to  the 
general,  if  not  universal  conviction,  that  it  is  due  in  large  measure  and 
in  most  part  to  partial,  discriminating,  and  grossly  unjust  national  legis- 
lation. Were  it  due  to  false  or  imperfect  systems  of  farm  economy,  we 
would  be  graciously  allowed  and  liberally  advised  to  apply  the  remedy 
by  improved  systems  of  our  own  devising ;  but  thanks  to  the  founders  of 


THE  NATIONAL  ALLIANCE.  141 

our  government  for  the  power  and  privilege  of  going  beyond  the  domain 
of  the  farm  to  correct  the  evils  that  afflict  us. 

This  great  organization,  whose  jurisdiction  now  extends  to  thirty-five 
States  of  this  Union,  and  whose  membership  and  co-workers  number 
millions  of  American  freemen  —  united  by  a  common  interest,  confronted 
by  common  dangers,  impelled  by  a  common  purpose,  devoted  to  a  com- 
mon country,  standing  for  a  common  destiny,  and  guided  by  the  dictates 
of  an  exalted  patriotism,  will,  in  the  exercise  of  conservative  poHtical 
action,  strive  to  secure  "  equal  rights  for  all  and  special  privileges  to 
none,"  and  secure  indeed  a  "  government  of  the  people,  for  the  people, 
and  by  the  people." 

No  patriot  can  view,  but  with  feelings  of  gravest  apprehension  and 
alarm,  the  growing  tendency,  under  the  fostering  care  of  our  pohtico- 
economic  systems,  to  the  centralization  of  money  power  and  the  upbuild- 
ing of  monopolies.  Centralized  capital,  allied  to  irresponsible  corporate 
power,  stands  to-day  as  a  formidable  menace  to  individual  rights  and 
popular  government.  This  power  is  felt  in  our  halls  of  legislation. 
State  and  national ;  in  our  popular  conventions,  at  the  ballot  box,  and 
in  our  temples  of  justice  ;  and  it  arrogantly  lays  its  unholy  hand  on  that 
greatest  and  most  powerful  lever  of  modern  thought  and  action,  —  the 
press  of  our  country. 

Emboldened  by  the  rapid  growth  of  its  power,  it  has  levied  tribute  on 
the  great  political  parties  of  the  country,  which  must  be  paid  in  servile 
party  subserviency  to  its  greedy  demands.  High  places  in  politics  and 
in  government  have  been  intrusted  to  its  chosen  servants  and  suborned 
leaders,  who  scorn  the  will  and  the  interests  of  the  people ;  so  that 
reflecting,  patriotic  men  are  confronted  with  the  question  whether  this 
is  really  a  popular  government  founded  "on  the  consent  of  the  gov- 
erned," and  whose  "  powers  are  vested  in  and  derived  from  the  people," 
or  whether  it  is  a  party  government,  whose  powers  are  vested  in  and 
derived  from  arrogant  and  unfaithful  party  leaders. 

We  are  rapidly  drifting  from  the  moorings  of  our  fathers,  and  stand 
to-day  in  the  crucial  era  of  our  free  institutions,  of  our  free  form  of  gov- 
ernment, and  of  our  Christian  civilization.  To  rescue  these  inestimable 
blessings  and  interests  from  the  impending  peril  should  be  the  self- 
imposed  duty  of  all  patriots  throughout  the  land. 

Since  our  last  annual  meeting  in  the  city  of  St.  Louis,  the  States  of 
Illinois,  Indiana,  Michigan,  North  Dakota,  California,  Colorado,  West 
Virginia,  Pennsylvania,  and  Oklahoma  have  been  added  to  the  roll  call 
of  our  Supreme  Council.  Organizers  are  at  work  in  the  States  of  Wash- 
ington, Oregon,  Ohio,  New  York,  New  Jersey,  and  Arizona.     And  in 


142  AGRICULTURAL    ORGANIZATIONS. 

all  these  States  the  fields  are  ripe  unto  the  harvest,  but  the  laborers  are 
few. 

I  cannot  too  earnestly  urge  upon  you  the  importance  of  devising 
means  and  methods  for  the  prompt  occupation  of  these  and  other 
States,  with  competent  and  active  organizers.  During  the  year  I  have 
visited  officially  twenty-four  States,  and  everywhere  I  found  a  zealous 
interest  and  harmonious  spirit  among  the  brotherhood.  Indeed,  the 
order  was  never  in  finer  spirit  or  more  united  in  purpose  than  it  is 
to-day. 

If  asked  what  is  the  greatest  and  most  essential  need  of  our  order,  as 
contributing  most  to  its  ultimate  and  triumphant  success,  I  should  unhes- 
itatingly answer,  and  in  one  word  —  Education ;  education  in  the  mutual 
relations  and  reciprocal  duties  between  each  other,  as  brethren,  as  neigh- 
bors, as  members  of  society ;  education,  in  the  most  responsible  duties 
of  citizenship ;  education,  in  the  science  of  economical  government ; 
education,  for  higher  aspiration,  higher  thought,  and  higher  manhood 
among  the  masses ;  education,  in  a  broad  patriotism,  which  should  bind 
the  great  conservative  masses  of  the  country  in  the  strongest  ties  of  fra- 
ternity and  union.  Hence  I  urgently  commend  to  your  most  favorable 
consideration  the  importance  of  providing  at  once  a  plan  by  which 
competent  lecturers  can  be  actively  employed  and  maintained  in  the 
field.  Zealous,  faithful,  and  untiring,  as  has  been  your  national  lecturer, 
Brother  Terrell,  yet  the  service  rendered  by  him  was  not  a  tithe  of  what 
is  urgently  demanded  from  all  sections  of  our  territory.  I  commend  to 
your  consideration  the  policy  of  employing  lecturers  at  fixed  salaries, 
to  be  paid  from  the  national  treasury,  or  treasuries  of  the  States  in  which 
they  shall  be  employed,  or  from  both,  jointly,  whose  entire  time  shall  be 
devoted  to  the  work,  and  in  sufficient  number  that  the  whole  field  may 
be  canvassed  during  the  year.  Selected  for  their  peculiar  fitness,  and 
employing  their  whole  time,  they  would  give  us  a  service  which,  for  effi- 
ciency, could  be  secured  in  no  other  way.  In  most  of  the  States  com- 
prising this  council,  the  entire  service  of  at  least  two  good  lecturers  could 
and  should  be  constandy  employed,  even  should  it  require  the  temporary 
abandonment  of  local  or  State  enterprises. 

Never,  perhaps,  in  the  history  of  this  order  has  there  been,  or  will 
there  be,  a  period  when  the  demand  for  this  indispensable  service  will 
be  so  great  as  now ;  and  never  can  the  expenditure  of  money,  if  wisely 
directed,  be  so  effectual  and  so  profitable  to  our  order.  In  view  of  its 
great  importance  and  the  urgent  demand  for  it,  I  trust  you  will  pardon 
me,  if  I  most  earnestly  insist  that  this  department  of  our  work  shall  have 
your  most  deliberate  and  earnest  consideration. 


THE  NATIONAL  ALLIANCE.  1 43 

By  far  the  most  potent  and  influential  power  underlying  this  great 
revolution  of  industrial  and  economic  thought  has  been  the  reform  press. 
At  the  earhest  moment  practicable,  the  Supreme  Council  should  digest 
and  inaugurate  a  plan  which  ultimately  will  give  to  every  family  in  our 
order  a  thoroughly  reliable  paper,  devoted  to  the  principles  of  the  order. 
We  have  a  national  organ  of  high  order,  and  several  of  the  States  have 
organs  which  are  doing  noble  service  in  the  cause ;  but  as  an  order,  we 
cannot  claim  to  be  properly  "equipped,  nor  need  we  hope  for  zeal,  fra- 
ternity, and  unity,  so  essential  to  success,  until  each  State  in  our  juris- 
diction shall  have  at  least  one  paper  to  represent  us,  whose  dignity,  and 
character,  and  power  shall  command  the  support  of  our  members  and 
the  respect  of  our  enemies.  Let  us  place  our  aims,  purposes,  and  prin- 
ciples at  the  hearthstones  of  our  laboring  millions,  and  thus  arouse  to 
activity  the  dormant  brain  power  of  the  masses,  that  they  may  grasp  the 
grand  possibihties  and  duties  of  their  existence. 

Educate  the  people  in  the  science  of  true  economical  government, 
and  in  the  great  principles  of  civil  and  religious  freedom,  and  keep  them 
informed  as  to  the  dangers  which  threaten  these  inestimable  blessings, 
and  we  establish  a  safeguard  for  the  liberties  of  the  people.  I  respect- 
fully suggest  for  your  consideration  the  advisability  and  expediency  of 
placing  the  ownership  of  the  national  organ  with  the  national  order,  and 
the  ownership  of  State  organs  with  their  State  organizations,  respectively. 
This  plan  would  secure  harmonious  co-operation  and  a  uniform  policy 
through  all  the  leading  organs  of  the  order,  and  would  avoid  any  possible 
conflict  arising  from  personal  interest.  Then  the  will  of  the  order 
would  be  the  law  of.  the  organ  and  its  rule  of  action. 

If  the  Supreme  Council  shall  inaugurate  plans  or  measures  for  the 
dissemination  and  inculcation  of  true  Alliance  principles  among  the 
people,  its  existence  and  power  will  be  firmly  established.  Let  the  peo- 
ple read  and  hear  the  truth  as  we  understand  it. 

Many  of  the  State  organizations  have  adopted  business  systems  which 
are  being  operated  with  varying  success.  Some  of  them  are  eminently 
satisfactory  and  have  made  large  savings  to  the  membership.  Existing 
conditions  in  the  different  States  vary  so  widely  as  to  preclude  the  adop- 
tion of  any  uniform  system  for  the  transaction  of  business,  but  I  would 
respectfully  suggest  that  this  department  of  Alliance  work  could  be 
materially  aided  through  the  investigations  of  a  committee,  appointed 
for  the  purpose,  who  shall  examine  the  most  successful  methods  now  in 
operation,  and  present  their  conclusions  in  printed  form,  outlining  their 
general  features  for  the  guidance  of  new  State  organizations,  and  as 
suggestive  of  improvements  on  the  systems  which  have  been  found  less 


144  AGRICULTURAL    ORGANIZATIONS. 

successful.  A  matter  of  such  importance  to  our  financial  well-being 
should  receive  your  careful  and  generous  attention. 

It  is  the  fixed  purpose  of  this  organization  to  secure,  if  possible, 
certain  needed  legislative  reforms.  However  urgent  and  emphatic  may 
be  our  demands,  experience  teaches  us 'that  they  are  of  no  avail  unless 
supported  and  enforced  by  such  practical  methods  as  will  convince  the 
law-making  power  of  our  determination  and  ability  to  prosecute  them 
to  a  successful  issue. 

Let  this  Supreme  Council,  representing  all  parts  of  the  country,  and 
that  great  interest  that  pays  over  eighty  per  cent  of  all  taxes  of  the  coun- 
try, assert  and  maintain  its  dignity  and  its  solemn  purpose  to  protect  and 
advance  the  interests  of  its  constituency,  by  declaring  their  legislative 
needs,  and  by  showing  to  the  American  Congress  that  when  its  demands 
on  paper  are  ignored,  it  can  and  will  vindicate  and  maintain  its  claims 
at  the  ballot  box.  Our  recent  experience  with  that  body,  as  well  as 
with  the  leaders  of  the  two  great  political  parties  of  the  country,  should 
admonish  us  that  the  time  has  arrived  when  this  great  organization 
should  take  bold  and  determined  action. 

To  this  end,  I  respectfully  recommend  that  this  council  authorize  the 
organization  of  a  body  to  be  known  as  the  National  Legislative  Council 
of  the  National  Farmers'  Alliance  and  Industrial  Union,  to  whom  shall 
be  committed  the  charge  of  such  legislative  reforms  as  may  be  indicated 
by  your  body.  I  would  respectfully  suggest  that  the  Legislative  Council 
be  composed  of  your  national  president,  who  shall  be  ex  officio  chairman, 
and  the  presidents  of  all  States  represented  in  the  Supreme  Council ; 
and  that  this  body  shall  hold  its  annual  meeting  within  sixty  days  after 
the  adjournment  of  the  Supreme  Council,  at  such  time  and  place  as  may 
be  indicated  by  the  national  president ;  and  that  it  be  empowered  and 
authorized  to  appoint  such  legislative  committees  as  in  its  judgment 
may  be  wise ;  and  that  it  be  required  to  transmit  to  each  of  the  States, 
in  printed  form,  through  the  national  secretary,  for  distribution  to  the 
reform  press,  lecturers,  and  membership  of  the  order,  all  measures  or 
bills  (together  with  the  arguments  in  their  favor),  as  they  may  decide 
should  be  enacted  into  laws.  Let  it  be  required,  further,  that  the  Legis- 
lative Council  shall  keep  a  correct  record  of  all  its  proceedings,  which 
shall  be  submitted  through  its  chairman  to  the  next  annual  meeting  of 
the  Supreme  Council. 

This  body  composed,  as  it  would  be,  of  presumably  the  best  and 
wisest  men  of  our  order,  and  coming  fresh  from  the  people  of  each 
State,  and  being  thoroughly  coaversant  with  the  measures  of  legislation 
proposed,  and  acting  in  harmonious  concert  on  all  questions  for  the  com- 


THE  NATIONAL   ALLIANCE,  1 45 

mon  good,  without  regard  to  sectional  or  geographical  divisions,  would 
wield  a  moral  power  which  would  enforce  the  respect  of  any  legislative 
body  to  whom  it  would  appeal,  and  enlist  the  earnest  sympathy  and 
co-operation  of  the  great  mass  of  the  people  whom  it  would  represent. 
Not  only  would  its  service  in  this  direction  be  potential  for  good  in 
securing  harmony  and  unity  of  action  among  the  people,  and  by  crys- 
tallizing and  concentrating  that  action  upon  any  desired  measure  of 
reform,  but  the  natural  and  harmonious  blending  of  the  moral  force  of 
such  a  body,  with  the  influence  of  the  reform  press  throughout  the  States, 
would  establish  and  solidify  a  power  which  could  not  fail  to-  exercise 
a  most  beneficent  effect  on  public  affairs. 

We  have  reached  that  point  in  the  development  of  our  organization 
when  we  must  address  ourselves  to  the  important  and  indispensable  work 
of  organizing  and  systematizing  these  various  departments  of  our  effort, 
to  which  I  have  briefly  adverted. 

Organize  your  lecture  system  so  that  we  may  have  able  and  competent 
men  constantly  employed  in  advocating  our  principles  and  purposes 
throughout  all  the  States  within  your  jurisdiction  ;  organize  and  establish 
a  system  through  which  we  may  reach  the  people  through  the  columns 
of  an  able  representative  reform  press ;  aid  the  membership,  as  far  as 
we  may  be  able,  in  devising  and  establishing  the  best  possible  system 
for  conducting  their  business  through  county  and  State  agencies ;  and 
place  our  demands  for  legislation,  as  an  organization,  in  the  hands  of 
an  able  body  of  men  representing  each  of  the  States,  and  no  power,  nor 
combination  of  powers,  can  prevent  or  thwart  our  ultimate  and  tri- 
umphant success. 

1.  I  respectfully  call  your  attention  to  the  necessity  of  a  change  in 
Section  2,  Article  V.,  of  our  constitution,  defining  the  relative  powers  and 
duties  of  the  judiciary  and  executive  departments,  in  the  matter  of  offi- 
cial rulings  by  the  president.  The  requirement  that  the  president  shall 
submit  promptly  all  official  rulings  to  the  judicial  department  for  con- 
sideration and  action,  is  unnecessary  and  often  impracticable.  In  cases 
of  importance,  the  delay  thus  enforced,  especially  should  the  judiciary 
fail  to  concur  in  the  ruHng  of  the  president,  might  work  great  injustice 
and  incalculable  damage.  I  suggest,  respectfully,  the  expediency  of  so 
amending  the  section  referred  to  as  to  authorize  appeals  to  the  judiciary 
from  the  rulings  of  the  president  —  the  decisions  of  the  judiciary  on 
such  appeals  to  be  the  final  construction  of  the  law  until  the  next  meet- 
ing of  the  Supreme  Council. 

2.  Section  2,  Article  VIII. ,  of  the  constitution  makes  it  the  duty  of 
the  Supreme  Council  to  enact  a  uniform  eligibiUty  clause  for  the  various 


146  AGRICULTURAL    ORGANIZATIONS. 

State  constitutions  ;  also  to  enact  laws  defining  "  the  eligibility  of  persons 
of  mixed  or  unusual  occupation  or  residence,  subject  to  all  the  limita- 
tions of  this  article."  In  pursuance  of  this  requirement,  Section  20  of 
the  statutory  laws  enacted  at  the  last  session  of  the  Supreme  Council, 
says,  "  That  the  question  of  eligibility  be  left  to  each  State,  subject  to 
the  limitations  of  the  constitution."  This  conflict  between  the  organic 
and  statutory  laws  has  caused  confusion  and  embarrassment  throughout 
the  States.  I  recommend  that  Section  20  of  the  statutory  laws  be 
repealed,  and  that  the  Supreme  Council  enact  a  law  in  conformity  to 
Section  2,  Article  VIII.,  of  the  constitution.  I  further  recommend  that 
the  Supreme  Council  determine  and  fix  definitely  the  question  of  the 
eligibility  of  mechanics  living  in  cities  and  incorporated  towns.  Much 
confusion  and  irregularity  has  grown  out  of  the  ambiguity  of  the  law  on 
the  eligibility  of  this  particular  class  of  our  citizens,  and  it  is  important 
to  the  good  of  the  order  that  the  matter  should  be  definitely  settled. 

3.  Under  Sections  17  and  18  of  the  statutory  laws,  the  office  of  crop 
statistician  is  created  and  his  duties  defined.  The  functions  and  powers 
of  this  officer  and  his  subordinates  are  so  indefinite,  and  the  machinery 
through  which  this  service  is  to  be  performed  is  so  imperfect,  that  I  beg 
to  direct  your  attention  to  it.  The  importance  and  magnitude  of  this 
work,  if  undertaken  at  all,  require  an  expenditure  of  money  and  labor 
much  beyond  the  scope  contemplated  by  the  law  as  it  now  stands.  The 
value  of  the  information  sought  depends  upon  its  accuracy,  and  the 
promptness,  often,  with  which  it  is  disseminated  to  the  membership. 
To  secure  this  would  require  the  constant  service  and  entire  time  of  the 
head  of  the  department,  and  much  of  the  time  and  service  of  his  subor- 
dinates throughout  the  States.  It  will  be  observed  that  neither  the 
chief  officer  nor  any  of  his  subordinates  are  required  to  give  any  specified 
time  to  the  work,  nor  are  they  allowed  any  compensation  for  their 
services,  nor  any  appropriation  to  defray  expenses  of  printing,  etc. 
Under  existing  laws  this  service  must  necessarily  be  voluntary  and  imper- 
fect, and  hence  of  little  value ;  and  I  would  therefore  recommend  that 
means  and  measures  be  adopted  to  render  it  effective  and  of  practical 
value  to  the  order,  or  that  it  be  abolished. 

4.  I  recommend,  if  it  be  practicable  and  expedient,  that  the  office 
and  duties  of  treasurer  be  transferred  and  merged  into  that  of  the 
secretary. 

5.  I  respectfully  suggest  to  your  body  the  expediency  and  advisability 
of  requiring  any  officer  of  your  body  who  may  be  nominated  or  ap- 
pointed to  any  civil  office,  to  tender  the  resignation  of  his  office  promptly 
upon  his  acceptance  of  such  nomination  or  appointment. 


THE  NATIONAL   ALLIANCE.  1 47 

For  a  statement  of  the  work  and  duties  performed  in  the  various 
departments,  you  are  respectfully  referred  to  the  reports,  respectively,  of 
the  officers  in  charge.  And  in  this  connection,  I  recommend,  with  the 
concurrence  of  all  the  officers  concerned,  the  appointment  of  a  compe- 
tent committee,  early  in  your  session,  who  shall,  with  your  national 
secretary,  examine  carefully  and  thoroughly  the  records  of  all  receipts 
and  disbursements,  and  report  thereon  before  your  adjournment. 

It  affords  me  pleasure  to  testify  to  the  fidelity  and  efficient  labor  of 
all  the  officers  connected  with  your  national  office. 

An  intelligent  conception  and  comprehension  of  the  relations  and 
reciprocal  obligations  between  the  citizen  and  the  government  is  one  of 
the  highest  attributes  of  American  citizenship ;  and  under  our  form  of 
government,  one  of  the  most  important  and  responsible  duties  devolving 
upon  the  citizen  is  the  attainment  of  this  knowledge.  Hence,  first  and 
foremost  in  our  "  declaration  of  principles,"  we  announce  that  we  are 
"  to  labor  for  the  education  of  the  agricultural  classes  in  the  science  of 
economical  government,  in  a  strictly  non-partisan  spirit,  and  to  bring 
about  a  more  perfect  union  of  said  classes." 

Were  it  the  design  of  the  framers  of  our  organic  law  to  impress  our 
membership  with  the  responsible  and  patriotic  duty  of  reaching  that 
exalted  standard  in  citizenship  to  which  all  American  freemen  should 
aspire,  and  to  assert  that  our  organization  was  political  in  the  highest 
sense  of  that  term,  they  were  fortunate  in  adopting  the  language  used  in 
this  declaration.  But  while  our  organization  is  political,  it  cannot  be 
partisan  or  sectional  in  its  action.  In  support  of  this  declaration,  we 
proudly  point  to  our  whole  past  record  and  to  the  recent  popular  elec- 
tion, and  particularly  to  the  noble  and  patriotic  bearing  of  the  brother- 
hood in  the  States  of  Kansas  and  South  Carolina. 

It  is  as  needless  as  it  would  be  criminal  to  attempt  to  disguise  the 
fact  that,  as  an  organization,  we  have  reached  a  critical  period  in  our 
existence.  Insidious  and  powerful  influences  are  seeking  to  divert  us 
from  the  high  purposes  and  grand  objects  for  which  we  were  organized. 
Flushed  and  elated  with  success,  —  marvellous  in  many  of  its  aspects, 
and  the  most  remarkable  in  the  political  history  of  this  country,  —  let 
us  not  impair  its  prestige  and  power  by  indifference  or  inactivity  on  the 
one  hand,  or  by  grasping  for  the  impracticable  or  unattainable  on  the 
other. 

Strong  as  we  are  and  strong  as  we  must  become,  —  strong  enough,  if 
united,  to  render  our  lines  impregnable  to  any  open  or  opposing  force, — 
yet  we  are  not  strong  enough,  nor  can  we  be,  to  withstand  the  intrigue 
and  treachery  of  foes  within.     Our  principles  must  find  their  "  city  of 


148  AGRICULTURAL    ORGANIZATIONS. 

refuge,"  and  our  cause  its  citadel  of  safety,  in  the  loyal  hearts  of  a 
devoted  membership. 

Let  our  primary  bodies  barricade  their  doors  against  unworthy  and 
designing  men ;  and  if  such  be  found  already  within  the  gates,  let  them 
at  once  be  furnished  a  safe  and  speedy  exit  to  the  camp  of  the  enemy. 
Let  these  primary  bodies  —  standing  as  sentinels  at  the  outer  gates — be 
constantly  on  the  alert,  and  watch  with  ceaseless  vigilance,  lest  they 
admit  dangerous  emissaries  from  corporations,  or  political  or  monopolis- 
tic combinations.  Let  us,  as  an  order,  adopt  as  our  rule  of  action  the 
inflexible  test  of  loyalty  to  Alliance  principles,  as  the  first  and  most 
essential  prerequisite  to  membership  and  to  our  confidence.  Apply  this 
test  in  the  selection  of  officers,  from  the  steward  of  a  primary  body  to 
the  president  of  your  national  body.  Apply  this  test  rigidly  to  all  men 
who  aspire  to  represent  us  in  any  capacity,  and  especially  to  those  — 
whether  of  high  or  low  degree  —  who  are  to  be  intrusted  with  the  duties 
and  powers  of  legislation.  And  if,  in  the  faithful  and  impartial  applica- 
tion of  this  test,  any  reasonable  doubt  should  arise,  do  not  hesitate  to 
give  our  cause  the  full  benefit  of  such  doubt.  Place  no  man  on  guard 
who  is  not  a  loyal  and  faithful  friend  to  our  cause.  Herein  lie  our 
strength  and  our  safety. 

Let  us  stand  unitedly  and  unflinchingly  by  the  great  principles  enun- 
ciated at  our  St.  Louis  meeting.  In  the  light  of  our  recent  experience, 
the  important  work  of  discussing  and  elucidating  these  principles  must 
devolve  upon  us.  In  Congress,  on  the  hustings,  in  conventions,  and  in 
the  partisan  press  of  the  country,  there  was  a  significant  silence  on  these 
principles,  except  and  only  in  cases  where  we  forced  their  discussion. 
All  propositions  presented  by  us,  looking  to  financial  reform,  and  notably 
the  measure  known  as  the  sub-treasury  plan,  were  ignored  by  Con- 
gress, and  even  the  discussion  of  this  plan  was  suppressed,  notwithstand- 
ing the  petitions  of  hundreds  of  thousands  of  our  members  for  financial 
relief  in  this  direction.  Neither  of  the  great  political  parties  of  the 
country,  nor  indeed  did  the  leaders'  of  these  parties,  indicate  a  favorable 
inclination  to  heed  the  demands  of  these  milHons  of  oppressed  and  long- 
suffering  farmers. 

A  careful  review  of  financial  legislation  by  Congress,  for  the  past  quar- 
ter of  a  century,  together  with  the  disregard  manifested  by  that  body  to 
the  just  and  urgent  demands  of  the  people  for  financial  relief,  has  fixed 
upon  the  public  mind  the  alarming  apprehension  that  the  seductive  hand 
of  monopolistic  and  corporate  power  has  lifted  the  American  Congress 
to  that  dangerous  eminence  from  which  they  can  no  longer  hear  the  cry 
of  the  people.     But  the  decree  has  gone  forth  that  this  dangerous  and 


THE  NATIONAL  ALLIANCE.  149 

threatening  state  of  things  cannot  much  longer  exist.  Congress  must 
come  nearer  to  the  people,  or  the  people  will  get  nearer  to  Congress. 

Let  us  not  be  diverted,  through  the  machinations  of  political  intrigue, 
from  the  great  and  paramount  issue  now  before  the  American  people  — 
financial  reform.  Let  this  be  the  slogan  and  the  rallying  cry  of  the  peo- 
ple until  relief  shall  come.  We  cannot  hope  for  rehef  if  we  accept  the 
financial  policy  adopted  and  practised  for  a  quarter  of  a  century  by  the 
two  great  political  parties  of  the  country. 

Never  in  the  political  history  of  the  country  was  there  such  universal 
interest  among  the  people,  and  such  urgent  demand  on  the  political  par- 
ties for  financial  reform,  as  characterized  the  recent  campaign ;  and  yet 
the  great  effort  of  the  leaders  of  each  of  these  parties  and  of  the  partisan 
press,  was  to  give  overshadowing  prominence  to  questions  and  issues 
partaking  largely  of  a  partisan  character  to  the  exclusion  of  the  one 
great  vital,  living  issue  —  financial  reform.  Indeed,  the  evasion  of  this 
great  issue  has  been  prominently  characteristic  of  the  two  great  parties 
for  the  past  twenty-five  years. 

The  great  absorbing  question,  let  me  repeat,  before  the  American 
people,  is  not  whether  the  Democratic  or  the  Republican  party,  with 
their  evident  subserviency  to  the  will  of  corporate  and  money  power, 
shall  be  in  the  ascendency ;  but  the  question  is,  whether  under  our  re- 
publican form  of  government  the  citizen  or  the  dollar  shall  be  the  sov- 
ereign. Thoroughly  imbued  with  the  magnitude  and  importance  of  this 
issue,  the  people  who  constitute  the  parties  revolted  against  the  designs 
and  dictation  of  suborned  leadership  in  the  recent  election. 

A  system  of  finance  which  recognizes  and  secures  to  every  citizen  of 
this  country  an  equitable,  fair,  and  just  right  to  share  its  benefits,  and 
which  will  furnish  a  volume  of  circulating  medium  adequate  to  the  legiti- 
mate demands  of  the  country,  at  a  low  rate  of  interest,  is  the  greatest 
and  most  urgent  need  of  the  times.  Let  the  people  here  represented 
continue  to  reiterate,  and  with  increased  emphasis  demand  :  — 

1.  That  silver  shall  be  restored  to  its  dignity  and  place  as  a  money 
metal,  with  all  the  rights  of  coinage  and  all  the  qualities  of  legal  tender 
which  gold  possesses. 

2.  That  the  currency  of  the  country  shall  be  issued  direct  to  the  peo- 
ple, at  a  low  rate  of  interest  and  without  discrimination,  and  shall  be  a 
legal  tender  for  all  debts,  public  and  private. 

3.  That  taxation  shall  be  more  nearly  equalized,  by  requiring  that  all 
property  shall  bear  a  just  proportion  of  its  burdens. 

4.  That  alien  ownership  of  land  should  be  resisted  and  prohibited. 


I50  AGRICULTURAL    ORGANIZATIONS. 

5.  That  public  transportation  should  be  owned  and  controlled  by  the 
government. 

6.  That  no  class  or  interest  should  be  taxed  to  build  up  any  other 
class  or  interest. 

7.  That  public  revenues  should  be  limited  to  an  honestly  and  eco- 
nomically administered  government. 

And  for  the  further  security  of  the  public  welfare,  let  them  demand  :  — 

8.  A  just  and  equitable  system  of  graduated  taxation  on  incomes. 

9.  The  election  of  United  States  senators  by  a  direct  vote  of  the 
people. 

These  demands  are  the  necessary  and  legitimate  outgrowth  of  our 
rapidly  advancing  civilization,  and  the  highest  considerations  for  the 
public  weal  and  safety  should  impel  us  to  earnest  and  persistent  endeavor 
to  engraft  them  upon  our  governmental  policy. 

In  all  the  broad  field  of  our  noble  endeavor  as  an  order,  there  is  no 
purpose  grander  in  design,  more  patriotic  in  conception,  or  more  benef- 
icent in  its  possible  results,  to  the  whole  country  and  to  posterity, 
than  the  one  in  which  we  declare  to  the  world  that  henceforth  there 
shall  be  no  sectional  lines  across  Alliance  territory.  Failing  in  all  else 
we  may  undertake  as  an  organization,  if  we  shall  accomplish  only  a 
restoration  of  fraternity  and  unity,  and  .obliterate  the  unnatural  estrange- 
ment which  has  unfortunately  so  long  divided  the  people  of  this  country, 
the  Alliance  will  have  won  for  itself  immortal  glory  and  honor.  In  the 
spirit  of  a  broad  and  liberal  patriotism,  it  recognizes  but  one  flag  and 
one  country.  Confronted  by  a  common  danger,  afflicted  with  a  com- 
mon evil,  impelled  by  a  common  hope,  the  people  of  Kansas  and 
Virginia,  of  Pennsylvania  and  Texas,  of  Michigan  and  South  Carolina, 
make  common  cause  in  a  common  interest.  It  recognizes  the  im- 
portant truth,  that  the  evils  which  oppress  the  agricultural  interests  of 
the  country  are  national  in  their  character,  and  that  they  cannot  be 
corrected  by  sectional  effort  or  sectional  remedies.  It  recognizes  the 
fact  that  the  war  ended  in  1865  ;  that  chattel  slavery  is  gone,  and  that 
the  prejudices  and  divisions,  born  of  its  existence,  should  go  with  it. 

Community  of  interests  between  the  great  States  of  the  middle, 
southern,  and  western  sections,  is  the  mighty  natural  force  which  will 
draw  them  together  in  solid  array  in  the  impending  struggle  between 
the  people  and  plutocratic  power. 

Causes  other  than  political  (potent. and  effective  as  the  latter  have 
been)  have  conspired  to  propagate  and  perpetuate  sectionalism.  The 
rich,  powerful,  and  densely  populated  East  must  needs  have  an  out- 
let for  its   aggressive   enterprise,  its  rapidly  accumulating  wealth,  and 


THE  NATIONAL  ALLIANCE.  151 

its  growing  population.  The  dense  forests  and  fertile  plains  of  the 
magnificent  and  inviting  West  were  transformed  into  rich  and  powerful 
States.  Lines  of  immigration  and  enterprise,  of  wealth  and  of  general 
development,  were  pushed  forward  with  marvellous  rapidity  and  success 
to  the  shores  of  the  Pacific.  Along  these  lines  were  transplanted  from 
the  East  the  prejudices  and  animosities  engendered  for  a  half-century. 
The  South,  traversed  by  no  transcontinental  line  of  communication, 
sullen  and  humiliated  in  her  great  and  crushing  losses,  and  by  defeat  in 
war,  most  naturally  nursed  the  sectional  animosities  and  prejudices  of 
the  past.  What  an  inviting  condition  was  thus  presented  for  wicked 
sectional  agitators  ;  and  how  assiduously  they  utilized  it,  let  the  shameful 
sectionalism  of  the  past  quarter  of  a  century  answer.  But  the  people  of 
the  awakening  South  and  the  people  of  the  great  agricultural  West, 
aroused  and  inspired  by  a  common  danger,  have  locked  their  hands  and 
shields  in  a  common  cause,  the  cause  of  a  common  country. 

The  lines  of  sectionalism  have  been  cut  in  twain.  The  Alliance  has 
planted  its  banner,  on  which  is  inscribed  in  characters  of  golden  light, 
"  Equal  rights  to  all  and  special  favors  to  none,"  from  the  State  of 
New  York  on  the  east  to  the  golden  gates  of  the  Pacific  on  the  west ; 
from  the  Gulf  on  the  south  to  the  Great  Lakes  on  the  north,  embrac- 
ing within  its  territory  the  great  staple  crops  of  the  country,  —  the  centre 
of  population  and  the  centre  of  poHtical  power. 

We  cannot  fail  to  see  the  opportunity  of  the  hour ;  and  recognizing 
that  opportunity,  we  must  not  forget  that  it  carries  with  it  corresponding 
responsibilities.  The  opportunity  is  for  the  great  conservative,  law- 
abiding,  patriotic  masses  to  assert  and  establish  a  perpetual  union 
between  the  people.  The  sequent  obHgation  is,  that  these  great  masses 
must  discourage,  discountenance,  and  discard  from  their  councils  the 
wicked  demagogical  agitators  who  for  the  last  twenty- five  years  have 
sought  to  foster  discord  and  dissension  that  they  themselves  might 
thrive.  Ordinarily  they  are  the  men  —  North  and  South  —  who  were 
"  invisible  in  war,  and  have  become  invincible  in  peace." 

Divided,  we  stand  as  a  Samson  shorn  of  his  locks ;  united,  we  stand 
a  power  that  is  invincible.  Cato  fired  and  thrilled  the  Roman  senate 
with  the  fierce  cry,  "Carthage  must  be,  destroyed."  Must  we,  as 
citizens  of  this  great  republic,  emulate  such  a  vengeful  spirit  ?  Hanni- 
bal, while  yet  a  tender  youth,  was  placed  by  his  father  on  his  knees  and 
made  to  swear  eternal  vengeance  against  the  Romans.  Must  we,  as 
Christian  parents,  entail  upon  our  children  the  bitter  legacy  of  hate? 
Hundreds  of  thousands  of  noble,  aspiring,  hopeful,  and  ardently  patriotic 
young  men  all  over  the  land  are  manfully  enlisting  in  the  responsible 


152  AGRICULTURAL    ORGANIZATIONS. 

duties  of  American  citizenship.  Born  since  the  war,  —  thank  God  !  — 
their  infant  vision  was  first  greeted  by  the  hght  of  heaven,  unobscured 
by  the  smoke  of  battle,  and  their  infant  ear  first  caught  the  sweet 
sound  of  hallowed  peace,  unmingled  with  the  hoarse  thundering  of 
hostile  cannon.  Shall  they  be  taught  to  cherish,  and  foster,  and  per- 
petuate that  prejudice  and  animosity,  whose  fruits  are  evil,  and  only 
evil? 

"  Let  the  dead  past  bury  its  dead  " ;  and  let  us,  as  an  organization, 
with  new  hope,  new  aspirations,  new  zeal,  new  energy,  and  new  life, 
turn  our  faces  toward  the  rising  sun  of  an  auspicious  and  inviting  future, 
and  reconsecrate  ourselves  to  the  holy  purpose  of  transmitting  to  our 
posterity  a  government  "  of  the  people,  by  the  people,  and  for  the 
people,"  and  which  shall  be  unto  all  generations  the  citadel  of  refuge 
for  civil  and  religious  liberty. 

Adjourned  until  7.30  p.m. 

Evening  Session. 

Committee  on  Credentials  reported  :  — 

Arkansas  Alliance :  L.  H.  Moore,  J.  E.  Bryant. 

Arkansas  Farmers  and  Laborers'  Union :  D.  E.  Barker,  I.  P.  Langley. 

Alabama :  H.  P.  Bone,  J.  P.  R.  Beck,  B.  W.  Groce. 

Louisiana:  J.  T.  W.  Hancock,  T.  S.  Adams,  A.  D.  Lafargue,  T.  J.  Guice. 

Mississippi :  J.  H.  Beeman,  Frank  Burkett,  W.  S.  McAllister,  A.  M.  Street. 

Indiana :  W.  W.  Prigg,  Thomas  W.  Force. 

Illinois :   M.  L.  Crum,  H.  M.  Gilbert. 

Missouri :  J.  S.  Hall,  N.  J.  Wallard,  J.  C.  A.  Hiller,  L.  Leonard,  Ahira  Manring, 

J.  W.  Gray. 
Georgia :  L.  F.  Livingston,  W.  L.  Peek,  W.  A.  Broughton,  R.  A.  Wright,  T.  B. 

Trammell,  W.  S.  Copeland,  A.  Q.  Moody. 
North  Carolina:  M.  L.  Wood,  S.  B.  Alexander,  Elias  Carr,  George  Williamson, 

R.  B.  Vance,  E.  A.  Moye. 
South  Carolina :  J.  W.  Stokes,  W.  J.  Talbert,  S.  C.  Latimer,  J.  E.  Jarnigan. 
Texas :  J.  M.  Perdue',  G.  L.  Clark,  Sam.  H.  Dickson,  S.  O.  Dawes. 
Colorado :  W.  S.  Starr,  E.  H.  Bruton. 

Tennessee :  J.  P.  Buchanan,  J.  H.  McDowell,  E.  B.  Wade,  W.  C.  Lightfoot. 
Maryland  :  Hugh  Michell,  J.  W.  Kerr. 
Kansas:  James  Blakeley,  Frank  McGrath,  T.  B.  Maxson,  D.  H.  Walker,  Mrs. 

B.  H.  Clover,  A.  Terrell,  J.  M.  Nevelle,  W.  B.  James. 
Florida:   R.  F.  Rogers,  Thomas  Hines,  S.  S.  Harvey. 
North  Dakota :  E.  M.  Sanford,  Walter  Muir. 
South  Dakota :  H.  L.  Loucks,  C.  L.  Hinckley,  A.  V.  Vandorn. 
Kentucky:  S.  B.  Irwin,  M.  D.  Davie,  W.  T.  Winn,  P.  H.  Haney. 
Pennsylvania :  A.  W.  Knepper,  H.  C.  Demming. 
Michigan :  A.  E.  Cole,  A.  N.  Howe,  George  Northup. 
Indian  Territory :  J.  W.  Stewart,  R.  C.  Betty. 


THE   NATIONAL   ALLIANCE.  1 53 

Virginia :  Mann  Page,  G.  T.  Barbee,  G.  Chrisman,  Robert  Beverley. 

West  Virginia :  S.  A.  Houston,  T.  R,  Carskadon. 

New  York  :  D.  F.  Allen. 

Minnesota:  W.  E.  Fish. 

California:  J.  S.  Barbee,  D.  C.  Vestal. 

The  report  was  taken  up  in  sections  and  adopted  seriatim. 

The  report  of  the  Committee  on  Credentials,  where  the  dues  were 
paid,  was  adopted  as  a  whole,  and  said  delegates  seated. 

Joseph  S.  Barbee  of  California  handed  in  the  application  and  fee  for 
the  charter  for  California  State  Alliance. 


SECOND   DAY. 

Resolution  by  Alonzo  Wardall  of  South  Dakota,  adopted  unani- 
mously :  — 

Whereas,  The  National  Council  of  the  Colored  Farmers'  Alliance  is 
now  in  session  in  this  city ;  and  whereas  we  are  engaged  in  a  common 
cause,  and  our  interests  are  mutual :  therefore. 

Resolved,  That  a  committee  of  five  from  this  body  be  appointed  to 
wait  upon  them  with  our  cordial  fraternal  greeting,  and  extend  to  them 
our  earnest  invitation  to  join  us  in  such  action  as  shall  tend  to  unite  our 
strength  in  forwarding  the  cause  we  love  so  well. 

The  committee  was  appointed  as  follows  :  Alonzo  Wardall,  Chairman ; 
George  Chrisman ;  W.  C.  Lightfoot. 

Resolution  by  Brother  Beverley  read  and  adopted,  instructing  commit- 
tee on  Constitution  to  consider  the  advisability  of  providing  for  congres- 
sional district  Alliances. 

Afternoon  Session. 

The  following  resolution  was  adopted  :  — 

Whereas,  The  President  of  the  United  States,  in  his  annual  message 
to  Congress,  recommends  and  urges  the  immediate  passage  of  a  meas- 
ure known  as  the  Lodge  election  bill ;  and  whereas,  the  said  bill  involves 
a  radical  revolution  in  the  elective  machinery  of  this  Union,  both  State 
and  national,  and  its  passage  will  be  fatal  to  the  autonomy  of  the  States 
and  to  the  cherished  liberties  of  the  citizens ;  and  whereas,  in  the  holy 
war  which  we  have  declared  against  sectionalism,  the  firesides  of  the 
farmers  of  the  North,  South,  East,  and  West  are  the  citadels  around 
which  the  heaviest  battles  are  being  fought,  and  to  the  end  that  victory 
may  crown  our  crusade,  let  fraternity  and  unity  reign  :  therefore,  be  it 

Resolved,  By  the  National  Farmers'  Alliance  and  Industrial  Union,  in 


154  AGRICULTURAL    ORGANIZATIONS. 

national  convention  assembled,  That  we  most  solemnly  protest  against 
the  passage  of  the  said  election  bill,  and  we  most  earnestly  petition  our 
senators  in  Congress  to  employ  all  fair  and  legal  means  to  defeat  this 
unpatriotic  measure,  which  can  result  in  nothing  but  evil  to  our  common 
and  beloved  country. 

The  following  telegram  was  received  and  read,  and  response  author- 
ized :  — 

"Philadelphia,  Pa.,  Dec.  2.  L.  L.  Polk,  President :  Our  fraternal  dele- 
gates will  convey  greeting  of  the  Knights  of  Labor  to  your  convention 
on  Friday,  at  any  hour  you  designate. 

"T.  V.  POWDERLY." 

Brother  Livingston  of  Georgia  arose  and  spoke  to  a  question  of  per- 
sonal privilege.  He  was  followed  by  C.  W.  Macune  and  L.  L.  Polk,  who 
spoke  to  the  same  question.  The  tenor  of  their  remarks  was  :  That 
newspapers  and  persons  had  circulated  reports  which  reflected  on  the 
character  and  official  acts  of  each.  Brother  Macune  stated  that  it  had 
been  generally  reported  that  charges  would  be  brought  against  him,  and 
he  defied  any  man  to  bring  any  charges  or  adduce  any  evidence  on  which 
charges  could  be  based.  He  was  not  on  the  defensive,  and  could  not  be 
put  on  the  defensive.  All  three  agreed  in  demanding  a  thorough  and 
complete  investigation,  by  a  committee  composed  of  one  from  each  State. 
This  was  granted,  and  the  following  committee  of  investigation  appointed  : 
McDowell  of  Tennessee,  Allen  of  New  York,  Demming  of  Pennsylvania, 
Mitchell  of  Maryland,  Beverley  of  Virginia,  Vance  of  North  Carolina, 
Latimer  of  South  Carolina,  Wright  of  Georgia,  Hine  of  Florida,  Bone  of 
Alabama,  Burkett  of  Mississippi,  Adams  of  Louisiana,  Jones  of  Texas, 
Barker  of  Arkansas,  McGrath  of  Kansas,  Hall  of  Missouri,  Winn  of 
Kentucky,  Crum  of  Illinois,  Force  of  Indiana,  Howe  of  Michigan,  Hous- 
ton of  West  Virginia,  Vestal  of  California,  Starr  of  Colorado,  Stewart  of 
Indian  Territory,  Sanford  of  North  Dakota,  Van  Doren  of  6outh  Dakota. 


THIRD   DAY. 

Report  of  State  business  agents  read  and  referred  to  a  special  com- 
mittee of  five. 

Resolution  by  Sister  B.  F.  Clover  of  Kansas  adopted  :  — 
In  view  of  the  mountain  of  mortgage  debt  heaped  upon  our  people 
through  the  unjust  financial  system  enacted  during  and  since  our  unfor- 
tunate civil  strife,  and  the  notorious  unreliability  of  the  United  States 
census  concerning  the  amount  of  that  indebtedness ;  be  it 


THE   NATIONAL   ALLIANCE,  155 

Resolved,  That  this  National  Council  of  the  Farmers'  Alliance  and 
Industrial  Union  recommend  to  all  County  Alliances  throughout  the 
Union  the  appointment  of  a  competent  committee  to  examine  the 
mortgage  records  of  each  county,  and  compile  accurate  statistics  upon 
this  subject,  for  information  of  the  people. 

Afternoon  Session.     • 

Brother  Pickler  of  South  Dakota  was  invited  to  address  the  meeting. 
He  said  he  visited  the  National  Council  to  ascertain  what  legislation  the 
farmers  would  urge  in  the  present  and  next  Congress,  and  that  he 
was  ready  to  serve  them.  He  stated  that  the  sub-treasury  plan  was 
in  the  hands  of  the  Ways  and  Means  Committee  of  the  House  and  of 
the  Finance  Committee  of  the  Senate,  and  he  believed  action  would 
be  taken  when  urged  by  this  body  or  legislative  committee.  The  sub- 
treasury  plan  was  the  best  for  the  distribution  of  money  yet  proposed. 

Resolution  unanimously  adopted  expressing  thanks  to  Brother  Rogers 
for  his  untiring  energy,  zeal,  and  success  in  providing  for  the  comfort 
and  happiness  of  the  delegates  and  visitors.  Also,  thanks  to  the  city 
of  Ocala  for  its  bounteous  hospitality  and  many  courtesies  so  freely  and 
fully  bestowed  on  this  large  assembly. 

FOURTH  DAY. 

Report  of  Committee  on  Confederation,  making  the  following  recom- 
mendations, was  adopted  :  — 

1.  A  confederation. 

2.  A  joint  committee  on  confederation,  of  five  from  each  organiza- 
tion, which  shall  represent  this  confederation. 

3.  Each  organization  shall  be  entitled  to  as  many  votes  as  it  has 
members  who  are  legal  voters  in  State  or  national  elections. 

4.  The  St.  Louis  platform  shall  be  the  basis. 

5.  Each  shall  stand  pledged  to  assist  when  possible  in  all  local 
efforts  to  better  the  condition  of  our  people. 

6.  Fraternal  delegates  or  correspondence  shall  never  be  denied  the 
one  by  the  other,  so  long  as  the  confederation  exists. 

7.  The  joint  committee  on  confederation  shall  have  the  power,  by  a 
majority  vote,  to  admit  other  organizations  with  similar  objects,  upon 
application. 

8.  When  plans  are  agreed, upon  by  the  joint  committee  on  confeder- 
ation for  mutual  co-operation,  each  organization  shall  be  bound  to 
support  saM  plans  fully  and  cheerfully. 


156  AGRICULTURAL    ORGANIZATIONS, 

9.  Expenses  accruing  on  account  of  the  joint  committee  on  confed- 
eration shall  be  defrayed  by  their  respective  organizations,  as  they  may 
be  incurred  by  each. 

10.  The  joint  committee  on  confederation  shall  have  power  to  adopt 
such  by-laws  for  the  government  of  the  joint  committee  as  they  deem 
best. 

L.  F.  Livingston  offered  a  resolution  indorsing  the  St.  Louis  platform, 
and  said  :  "  I  believe  the  people  can  stand  on  this  platform  forever. 
This  platform  is  a  declaration  of  our  Supreme  Council,  and  our  enemies 
are  stumping  the  States,  declaring  that  it  has  not  the  following  of  the 
Alliance  people,  and  I  desire  the  platform  read  and  a  vote  taken  by 
States,  so  there  will  be  no  mistake  as  to  how  we  stand." 

Mr.  Stelle,  of  the  Farmers'  Mutual  Benefit  Association,  said  :  "  I  wish 
to  state  that'the  Farmers'  Mutual  Benefit  Association  can  stand  squarely 
on  the  St.  Louis  platform." 

Following  are  the  resolutions  :  — 

1.  Resolved^  That  this  National  Convention  of  the  Farmers*  Alliance 
and  Industrial  Union  do  hereby  most  earnestly  and  emphatically  indorse 
the  St.  Louis  platform  adopted  last  December,  and  with  equal  sincerity 
and  persistency  demand  that  all  subordinate  bodies  connected  with  this 
organization  shall  not  only  align  themselves  therewith,  but  co-operate 
with  this  national  organization  and  sustain  the  same. 

The  vote  on  this  was  as  follows  :  — 

Alabama  voted  yes  ;  Arkansas  Alliance,  yes  ;  Arkansas  Farmers  and  La- 
borers' Union,  yes  ;  Colorado,  yes  ;  North  Carolina,  yes  ;  South  Carolina, 
yes  ;  North  Dakota,  yes ;  South  Dakota,  yes  ;  Florida,  yes  ;  Georgia,  yes  ; 
Illinois,  yes  ;  Indiana,  yes  ;  Kansas,  yes  ;  Kentucky,  yes  ;  Louisiana,  yes  ; 
Missouri,  yes ;  Mississippi,  yes ;  Maryland,  yes,  with  privilege  of  amend- 
ing if  colleague  dissents  ;  Michigan,  yes  ;  Pennsylvania,  yes  ;  Texas,  yes  ; 
Tennessee,  no,  because  the  Committee  on  Demands  are  now  considering 
this  question  ;  Virginia,  yes ;  West  Virginia,  yes  ;  California,  yes. 

2.  That  any  national  officer,  or  organ  either  State  or  national,  that 
shall  not  conform  fully  with  the  foregoing  resolution  shall  be  suspended 
by  the  national  president ;  and  furthermore,  we  advise  our  people  not 
to  vote  for  any  candidate  for  a  place  in  our  national  Congress  who  does 
not  pledge  himself  or  themselves  to  the  St.  Louis  platform. 

3.  That  we  demand  that  there  shall  be  a  rigid  and  just  national 
and  State  governmental  control  of  the  means  of  communication  and 
transportation.  And  if  this  does  not  cure  existing  abuses,  we  demand 
that  the  government  own  and  control  said  lines  of  communication 
and  transportation. 


i 


THE  NATIONAL  ALLIANCE.  1 57 

Report  of  the  Executive  Committee  read  by  the  chairman  :  — 

Brethren :  We,  your  Executive  Board,  hereby  submit  our  annual 
report  as  follows  :  — 

The  first  duty  of  your  board,  after  the  adjournment  of  the  Supreme 
Council  last  year,  was  to  secure  bonds  from  the  secretary  and  treas- 
urer, and  to  start  the  officers  in  the  execution  of  their  duties  in  the 
city  of  Washington.  The  secretary.  Brother  Turner,  made  bond  in 
the  sum  of  $10,000,  which  was  approved  as  good  and  deemed  suffi- 
cient under  the  rules  made  by  this  board ;  that  the  secretary  should 
promptly  every  day  deposit  all  money  received  in  the  Second  National 
Bank,  in  Washington,  District  of  Columbia,  which  bank  received  such 
money  under  instructions  not  to  pay  out  any  portion  of  it,  except  on 
warrants  signed  by  the  secretary,  approved  by  the  president,  and  bear- 
ing the  imprint  of  the  seal  of  the  order.  With  this  careful  method 
of  handling  the  funds,  a  bond  of  ;^  10,000  was  considered  amply  suffi- 
cient for  the  secretary  to  give. 

The  treasurer,  Brother  Hickman,  promptly  made  a  good  and  suffi- 
cient bond,  but  the  sureties  having  failed  to  make  oath  as  to  their 
solvency,  it  was  returned  to  him  for  correction,  and  owing  to  the 
satisfactory  working  as  to  the  present  system  of  keeping  the  funds  in 
bank,  this  board  has  not  insisted  on  the  bond  being  made  by  the  treas- 
urer. He  was  ready  to  give  all  the  bond  required,  but  the  money 
coming  in  during  the  year  has  not  exceeded  the  amounts  necessary 
to  meet  the  running  expenses,  and  it  would  have  been  both  troublesome 
and  expensive  to  pay  it  into  a  treasury  in  Missouri,  when  it  was  imme- 
diately necessary  to  pay  it  out  again  in  Washington.  For  these  reasons 
the  treasurer  has  not  been  required  to  perform  the  duties  of  his  office, 
but  the  Supreme  Council,  at  its  last  session,  voted  to  that  officer  a  sal- 
ary of  $500  per  year.  He  has  presented  no  claim  for  the  salary  and 
performed  none  of  the  duties.  Your  board  desires  instructions  as  to 
whether  the  salary  shall  be  allowed  him  or  not. 

The  gross  amount  of  salaries  voted  by  the  last  Supreme  Council  to 
the  officers  of  the  order,  aggregated  ;^  10,500.  The  expenditure  for 
delegates  to  the  St.  Louis  meeting  has  amounted  to  1^2687.94.  The 
sum  of  $1000  was  voted  to  the  officers  of  the  previous  year,  and  the 
president-elect  was  allowed  $900  for  a  stenographer  and  office  and 
travelling  expenses.  The  secretary  was  allowed  office  expenses ;  the 
lecturer,  travelling  expenses ;  the  members  of  the  Executive  Board, 
travelling  expenses ;  and  the  national  crop  statistician,  printing  and 
postage  expenses.     All  these  obligations  were  incurred  by  the  Supreme 


158   '  AGRICULTURAL    ORGANIZATIONS. 

Council,  and  no  provision  was  made  for  funds  with  which  to  discharge 
them  as  they  became  due.  In  this  emergency,  the  chairman  of  this 
Executive  Board  appHed  to  the  president  for  a  ruhng  as  to  whether  the 
per  capita  dues  were  payable  in  advance  or  not.  He  ruled  that  they 
were,  but  the  Judiciary  Committee  refused  to  concur  in  the  ruling,  and 
according  to  the  constitution  that  question  has  been  held  in  abeyance 
to  be  decided  at  this  session  of  the  Supreme  Council.  The  result  has 
been  great  confusion.  Eleven  States,  namely,  Kansas,  Virginia,  North 
Carolina,  Arkansas  Alliance,  Mississippi,  South  Carolina,  Georgia,  Ala- 
bama, Florida,  Louisiana,  and  Maryland,  reported  their  number  of  active 
members  according  to  their  strength  on  the  first  day  of  October,  1889, 
and  paid  on  them  for  the  year  ending  October  i,  1890.  These  pay- 
ments were  scattered  throughout  the  year,  and  ten  States,  namely,  Mis- 
sissippi, Alabama,  North  Carolina,  Kentucky,  Tennessee,  Missouri,  Texas, 
Arkansas  Farmers  and  Laborers'  Union,  Colorado,  and  New  Mexico, 
had  not  reported  and  paid  in  full  on  the  first  day  of  November,  as  the 
constitution  expressly  provides  shall  be  done.  Six  States,  namely, 
Texas,  Tennessee,  Kentucky,  Missouri,  Arkansas  Farmers  and  Laborers' 
Union,  and  New  Mexico,  had  not  reported  or  paid  anything  on  the  25th 
day  of  November,  at  which  date  this  board  examined  the  books  of  the 
secretary.  The  gross  expense  for  the  year,  including  every  item  author- 
ized by  the  Supreme  Council,  and  all  the  running  and  incidental  expenses 
necessary  to  carry  on  the  work,  has  been  ^19,55 1 .65.  The  gross  receipts 
from  the  per  capita  dues  for  the  year  ending  October  i,  1890,  have  been 
$11,231.27.  The  gain  upon  supplies  sold  by  the  national  secretary  was 
$1380.33,  and  the  amount  of  fees  and  dues  received  from  un(Ji-ganized 
States  was  $918.95  ;  making  the  gross  receipts  for  the  year  ending  Octo- 
ber I,  1890,  $13,530.55,  and  leaving  a  deficiency  of  $6021.10.  This 
deficiency  has  been  reduced  to  $2862.75  by  the  use  of  $3158.35,  which 
has  been  received  on  the  per  capita  dues  for  the  year  ending  October  i, 
1891.  The  net  deficiency,  therefore,  for  the  year,  as  shown  by  the  sec- 
retary's books  on  the  25th  day  of  November,  was  $2862.75.  In  view 
of  these  facts,  your  board  respectfully  makes  the  following  recom- 
mendations :  — 

1.  The  salaries  and  expenses  should  be  reduced  to  the  very  smallest 
possible  amount  on  which  the  business  can  be  conducted,  and  must  be 
reduced  until  the  expenditures  do  not  exceed  the  income. 

2.  There  exists  no  necessity  for  requiring  the  national  president  or 
the  chairman  of  the  Executive  Board  to  live  at  the  national  head- 
quarters, because  they  can  attend  to  the  business  just  as  well  and  live 
at  home,  where  they  will  require  less  salary  and  incur  less  expense. 


THE  NATIONAL  ALLIANCE.  159 

3.  The  salary  of  the  president  should  be  reduced  to  not  over  ^1000 
per  year,  and  he  should  not  be  allowed  an  assistant,  because  the  busi- 
ness of  the  office  does  not  require  it.  The  salaries  of  the  chairman  and 
members  of  the  Executive  Board  and  the  treasurer  should  be  abolished, 
and  for  such  time  and  travel  as  may  be  found  necessary  each  should 
be  allowed  mileage  and  per  diem. 

4.  The  Executive  Board  should  have  authority  to  curtail  the  expenses 
authorized  by  the  Supreme  Council,  whenever  the  condition  of  the  ex- 
chequer makes  such  curtailment  necessary.  With  such  a  system  of  rigid 
economy  inaugurated,  the  treasury  would  soon  be  in  possession  of  funds 
that  would  enable  effective  work  in  the  educational  field. 

5.  The  system  of  collecting  per  capita  dues  should  be  improved  by 
having  a  stated  time  of  year  in  which  all  State  organizations  should 
collect  same.  A  State  with  a  membership  of  40,000,  that  is  increasing 
at  the  rate  of  twenty-five  per  cent  per  year,  would  have  ;^2000  to  pay 
if  it  paid  in  advance ;  but  should  it  defer  the  payment  to  the  end  of 
the  year,  it  would  have  ^2500  to  pay  on  account  of  the  accessions  to 
membership ;  but  on  the  other  hand,  if  the  State  be  decreasing  in 
membership,  it  would  be  cheaper  for  them  to  pay  at  the  close  of  the 
year.  To  avoid  these  fluctuations  and  establish  the  fairest  and  most 
uniform  method,  would  be  for  all  States  to  enumerate  and  pay  at  the 
expiration  of  the  first  six  months  of  the  year.  To  do  this,  it  would  be 
necessary  for  the  subordinate  bodies  to  report  their  active  membership 
and  pay  five  cents  per  capita  dues  with  their  April  report  to  the  county 
secretary.  The  county  secretaries  would  have  it  all  in  and  make  their 
report  and  remittance  to  the  State  secretary  in  July,  accompanying  their 
regular  reports  to  the  State  secretary,  who  would  have  plenty  of  time 
to  receive  and  compile  same  by  the  first  day  of  September,  at  which 
date  the  report  and  remittance  from  the  State  secretaries  should  be 
due,  with  the  distinct  understanding  that  the  first  day  of  November 
would  be  the  last  day  of  grace,  and  that  all  States  which  violated  the 
constitution  by  not  having  made  both  report  and  remittance  on  or 
before  that  date,  would  have  no  right  to  demand  representation  in  the 
Supreme  Council. 

This  board  has  held  three  sessions  during  the  year,  the  first  in  Feb- 
ruary, at  the  beginning  of  the  year,  for  the  purpose  of  establishing  the 
work,  approving  bonds,  etc.  The  second  was  in  May,  immediately 
after  the  expiration  of  the  first  half  of  the  year.  This  meeting  was 
called  by  the  chairman,  for  the  purpose  of  examining  the  secretary's 
books,  and  to  see  if  the  expenses  could  not  be  curtailed  so  as  not  to 
exceed   the   receipts.     After  a  careful   examination   of  the   condition 


l6o  AGRICULTURAL    ORGANIZATIONS. 

of  affairs,  in  connection  with  the  president,  it  was  decided  that  this 
board  had  no  authority  to  curtail  expenses  expressly  prescribed  by 
the  Supreme  Council.  A  short  summary  of  the  condition  was  sent  to 
each  State  organization  then  about  to  convene,  showing  that  there 
would  probably  be  a  deficiency  of  nearly  $6000,  and  calling  their 
attention  to  the  constitutional  provisions  requiring  them  to  report  and 
pay  on  the  first  day  of  November,  in  order  to  be  entitled  to  representa- 
tion. The  prediction  then  made  as  to  a  probable  deficiency  has  been 
verified,  but  the  prompt  response  of  the  States  has  reduced  the  same 
very  materially,  and  should  the  balance  of  the  States  pay  their  indebted- 
ness, all  obligations  can  be  discharged,  the  expenses  of  this  session  met, 
and  funds  left  in  the  treasury  for  the  expenditures  of  the  coming  year 
on  the  economical  basis  herein  recommended  by  this  board ;  but  other- 
wise it  will  not  be  sufficient.  The  third  and  last  session  of  this  board 
was  held  on  the  25  th  of  November,  for  the  purpose  of  examining  the 
books  and  closing  up  the  business  of  the  year. 

The  secretary  has  made  a  very  ample  and  complete  report,  one  that 
reflects  credit  upon  himself,  and  will  be  appreciated  by  you  on  account 
of  its  simplicity  and  the  readiness  with  which  you  can  understand  it  and 
prove  its  correctness.  A  copy  of  the  same  is  submitted  with  this  report, 
and  your  attention  is  called  to  the  various  vouchers  for  the  expense 
account  of  the  secretary  and  other  officers,  by  which  you  will  see  that 
economy  has  been  the  rule,  and  that  no  display  or  luxury  has  been 
indulged ;  also  to  the  bill  of  printing,  and  supplies  of  books  sold  by 
the  secretary,  which  will  show  the  great  help  the  national  organ  has 
been,  by  having  facilities  which  enabled  it  to  do  the  printing  much 
cheaper  than  it  could  be  procured  elsewhere.  Much  credit  is  due 
your  secretary  for  the  efficient  manner  in  which  he  has  discharged  his 
duties,  and  the  economy  with  which  he  has  conducted  the  work.  Dur- 
ing a  large  part  of  the  time  his  wife  has  been  compelled  to  assist  him, 
and  they  have  performed  all  the  work  pertaining  to  the  office,  with  the 
help  of  a  boy,  made  necessary  by  the  large  amount  of  packing  and 
shipping  of  outfits  and  supplies.  The  gain  arising  from  the  sale  of 
supplies  has  more  than  paid  all  the  expenses  of  the  office,  except  the 
salary. 

C.  W.  Macune,  Chairman^ 

A.  WaRDALL,  J.  F.  TlLLM.\N. 

The  chairman  of  the  Executive  Board  then,  as  ex  officio  chairman  of  the 
Legislative  Committee,  continued  his  report,  saying  that  the  Legislative 
Committee  had,  at  the  beginning  of  the  year,  commenced  work  without 


THE  NATIONAL   ALLIANCE,  l6l 

instructions  and  without  a  precedent ;  that  they  had  been  cautious  and 
conservative ;  that  the  work  had  required  a  vast  amount  of  work  and 
expense,  all  of  which  had  been  paid  by  the  chairman  from  his  own 
salary ;  and  that  the  growth  of  sentiment  in  Congress  was  the  most 
forcible  testimonial  of  the  efficient  work  of  this  committee.  He 
cautioned  the  order  as  to  the  great  responsibility  resting  upon  this  body 
at  this  time,  as  to  what  action  it  takes  in  regard  to  the  political  situation. 
The  order  could  never  participate  in  any  partisan  political  effort,  and  in 
the  South  it  was  opposed  to  giving  its  sanction  to  any  independent  or 
third  party  move  on  the  part  of  the  members,  while  in  the  West  and 
Northwest  the  delegates  claim  that  the  order  will  retrograde  if  such 
sanction  is  not  given.  In  this  emergency  he  thought  he  had  a  compro- 
mise to  offer  that  would  meet  the  case  exactly,  and  that  was  for  this 
body  to  hereby  say  that  it  gives  its  sanction  and  call  for  a  meeting  to 
be  held  about  February,  1892,  to  be  composed  of  delegates  from  all 
organizations  of  producers,  upon  a  fair  basis  of  representation,  for  the 
purpose  of  a  general  and  thorough  conference  upon  the  demands  of 
each,  and  to  the  end  that  all  may  agree  upon  a  joint  set  of  demands 
just  prior  to  the  next  national  campaign,  and  agree  upon  the  proper 
methods  for  enforcing  such  demands.  If  the  people  by  delegates  com- 
ing direct  from  them  agree  that  a  third  party  move  is  necessary,  it  need 
not  be  feared ;  and  that  the  next  session  of  this  Supreme  Council  elect 
delegates  from  this  order  to  represent  it  in  said  national  conference  of 
productive  organizations,  for  political  purposes. 

Motion  of  Livingston  of  Georgia  duly  seconded  and  carried,  that  all 
of  the  above  report  be  adopted,  except  such  parts  as  modify  the  con- 
stitution, and  that  they  be  referred  to  Committee  on  Constitution. 

Afternoon  Session.    , 

On  motion,  special  order  was  suspended  to  hear  the  report  from  the 
Investigating  Committee,  which  was  made  by  the  chairman,  as  fol- 
lows :  — 

Your  committee  appointed  to  investigate  the  rumors  and  reports  pub- 
lished implicating  the  character,  integrity,  and  fidelity  to  duty  of  the 
president  of  this  organization,  the  chairman  of  the  Executive  Board,  and 
the  president  of  the  Georgia  State  AUiance,  and  this  at  the  earnest  solici- 
tude of  the  brethren  named,  state  that  they  have  discharged  the  duty 
assigned  them  to  the  fullest  of  their  abihty,  and  respectfully  report  — 

I.  That  they  have  been  unable  to  ascertain  a  single  fact  implicating 
in  any  way,  shape,  or  form,  the  high  character  and  standing  and  per- 


1 62  AGRICULTURAL   ORGANIZATIONS. 

sonal  and  official  reputation  of  our  worthy  president,  L.  L.  Polk ;  but  we 
regret  the  writing  of  the  Norwood  letter. 

2.  That  as  to  Brother  Livingston,  president  of  the  Georgia  State  Alli- 
ance, we  do  not  find  anything  derogatory  of  his  personal  or  official  high 
standing  or  integrity,  but  your  committee  is  not  quite  prepared  to  indorse 
the  course  of  Brother  Livingston  in  the  Georgia  senatorial  contest. 

3.  That  in  the  case  of  Brother  Macune  nothing  has  been  found,  after 
the  most  rigid  investigation,  to  lessen  our  confidence  in  his  personal 
integrity  and  loyalty  to  the  order ;  however,  we  regret  his  official  con- 
nection with  the  Georgia  senatorial  contest.     Adopted. 

Election  of  Officers. 

L.  L.  Polk  was  elected  President ;  B.  H.  Clover  was  elected  Vice- 
President  ;  J.  H.  Turner  was  elected  National  Secretaf^.  IVfoved  that 
the  election  of  Treasurer  be  deferred  until  a  report  from  the  Committee 
on  Constitution  is  received.  Carried.  J.  H.  Willits  of  Kansas  was 
elected  Lecturer;  J.  Fount.  Tillman  was  elected  to  fill  vacancy  on 
Executive  Board ;  A.  E.  Cole  of  Michigan  was  elected  member  of 
Judiciary  Board. 

The  following  were  elected  to  constitute  the  Committee  of  Confedera- 
tion with  the  Farmers'  Mutual  Benefit  Association,  and  other  organiza- 
tions :  Ben  Terrell,  L.  F.  Livingston,  R.  F.  Rogers,  H.  L.  Loucks,  W.  J. 
Talbert. 

FIFTH  DAY. 

Afternoon  Session. 

Various  amendments  to  the  constitution  were  offered  and  adopted. 

Resolved,  That  this  Supreme  Council  reindorse  the  National  Econ- 
omist, and  actions  of  Brother  C.  W.  Macune  and  his  associates  in  said 
paper,  and  will  do  all  we  can  to  urge  them  onward  in  the  good  work  of 
education. 

Adopted  unanimously,  by  rising  vote. 

Report  of  Committee  on  Salutation  and  Fraternal  Relations  between 
the  National  Farmers'  Alliance  and  Industrial  Union  and  Colored 
Farmers'  National  AUiance  and  Co-operative  Union  :  — 

Your  committee  on  above  beg  leave  to  report  that  we  visited  the 
Colored  Farmers'  National  Alliance  and  Co-operative  Union  committee, 
and  were  received  with  the  utmost  cordiality,  and  after  careful  consulta- 
tion it  was  mutually  and  unanimously  agreed  to  unite  our  orders  upon 
the  basis  adopted  December  5,  1890,  a  basis  between  the  National 


THE  NATIONAL  ALLIANCE.  163 

Farmers'  Alliance  and  Industrial  Union  and  the  Farmers'  Mutual  Benefit 
Association;  to  adopt  the  St.  Louis  platform  as  a  common  basis,  and 
pledge  our  orders  to  work  faithfully  and  earnestly  for  the  election  of 
legislators,  State  and  national,  who  will  enact  the  laws  to  carry  out  the 
demands  of  said  platform,  and  to  more  effectually  carry  it  into  effect, 
recommend  the  selection  of  five  men  from  each  national  body,  two  of 
whom  shall  be  the  president  and  secretary,  respectively,  who  shall,  with 
similar  committees  from  other  labor  organizations,  form  a  Supreme  Exec- 
utive Board,  who  shall  meet  as  often  as  may  be  deemed  necessary,  and 
upon  the  joint  call  of  a  majority  of  the  presidents  of  the  bodies  joining 
the  confederation,  and  when  so  assembled,  after  electing  a  chairman  and 
secretary,  shall  be  empowered  to  do  such  things  for  the  mutual  benefit 
of  the  various  orders  they  represent,  as  shall  be  deemed  expedient ;  and 
shall,  when  officialUy  promulgated  to  the  national  officers,  be  binding 
upon  their  bodies  until  reversed  by  the  action  of  the  national  assembUes 
themselves  —  political,  educational,  and  commercial ;  and  hereby  pledge 
ourselves  to  stand  faithfully  by  each  other  in  the  great  battle  for  the 
enfranchisement  of  labor  and  the  laborers,  from  the  control  of  corporate 
and  poUtical  rings.  Each  order  to  bear  its  own  members'  expense  on 
the  Supreme  Council,  and  be  entitled  to  as  many  votes  as  they  have  legal 
voters  in  their  organization.  We  recommend  and  urge  that  equal  facili- 
ties, educational,  commercial,  and  political,  be  demanded  for  colored 
and  white  Alliance  men  alike,  competency  considered,  and  that  a  free 
ballot  and  a  fair  count  will  be  insisted  upon  and  had  for  colored  and 
white  alike,  by  every  true  Alliance  man  in  America.  We  further  recom- 
mend that  a  plan  of  District  Alliances,  to  conform  to  District  Alliances 
provided  for  in  this  body,  be  adopted  by  every  order  in  confederation, 
with  a  district  lecturer  and  County  Alliances  organized  in  every  county 
possible,  and  that  the  lecturers  and  officers  of  said  district  and  counties 
co-operate  with  each  other  in  conventional,  business,  educational,  com- 
mercial, and  political  matters. 

Adopted,  with  understanding  that  joint  Committee  on  Confedera4ion 
should  act  for  this  order. 

SIXTH   DAY. 

Report  of  the  Committee  on  Demands  :  — 

Section  i.  We  demand  the  abolition  of  national  banks,  and  that  the 
government  shall  establish  sub-treasuries,  or  depositories,  in  the  several 
States  ;  which  sub-treasuries  shall  loan  money  to  the  people  on  approved 
security  at  a  low  rate  of  interest,  not  to  exceed  two  per  cent  per  annum  : 
Provided,  That  real  estate  and  non-perishable  farm  products  shall  be 


1 64 


AGRICULTURAL    ORGANIZATIONS. 


considered  approved  security;  and  that  the  circulating  medium  be 
increased  to  at  least  ^50  per  capita,  keeping  the  volume  equal  to  the 
demand. 

For  this  the  following  substitute  was  adopted,  to  which  Wade  of  Ten- 
nessee had  his  name  withdrawn  from  this  portion  of  the  report :  — 

\.a.  We  demand  the  abolition  of  national  banks. 

b.  We  demand  that  the  government  shall  establish  sub-treasuries  or 
depositories  in  the  several  States,  which  shall  loan  money  direct  to  the 
people  at  a  low  rate  of  interest,  not  to  exceed  two  per  cent  per  annum, 
on  non-perishable  farm  products,  and  also  upon  real  estate,  with  proper 
limitations  upon  the  quantity  of  land  and  amount  of  money. 

c.  We  demand  that  the  amount  of  the  circulating  medium  be  speedily 
increased  to  not  less  than  $50  per  capita. 

The  vote  by  States,  on  the  first  proposition,  was  as  follows  :  — 


Yes.    No. 

Alabama 4 

Arkansas  Alliance 2 

Arkansas  Union 2 

Indian  Territory 2 

Florida 3 

North  Dakota 2 

South  Dakota 3 

Kentucky 4 

Pennsylvania,  not  voting. 

Michigan 3 

Louisiana 4 

Mississippi 2        i 

Indiana 1.     .  2 

Illinois 2 

Missouri 2        4 

Georgia 7 

North  Carolina 4 


Yes.    No. 

Virginia 4 

West  Virginia 2 

New  York i 

Kansas 8 

South  Carolina 4 

Texas 4 

Colorado,  not  voting. 

Tennessee i        3 

Maryland 2 

California 2 

L.  L.  Polk,  President  ....  I 

B.  H.  Clover,  Vice-President      .  i 
J.  H.  Turner,  Secretary    .     .     .  i 

C.  W.  Macune,  Chr.  Ex.   ...  i 

E.  Jones,  Judiciary  Com.  .     .     .  Absent. 

A.  Wardall i 


Tennessee,  in  voting  i  aye  and  3  no,  explained  that  they  would  have 
voted  4  aye  on  the  section  as  it  came  from  the  committee  before  it  was 
amended. 

2.  That  we  demand  that  Congress  shall  pass  such  laws  as  will  effectu- 
ally prevent  the  dealing  in  futures  of  all  agricultural  and  mechanical 
productions ;  providing  a  stringent  system  of  procedure  in  trials  that 
will  secure  the  prompt  conviction,  and  imposing  such  penalties  as  shall 
secure  the  most  perfect  compliance  with  the  law.     Adopted. 

3.  We  condemn  the  silver  bill  recently  passed  by  Congress,  and 
demand  in  lieu  thereof  the  free  and  unlimited  coinage  of  silver. 
Adopted. 


THE  NATIONAL  ALLIANCE.  1 65 

4.  We  demand  the  passage  of  laws  prohibiting  alien  ownership  of 
land,  and  that  Congress  take  prompt  action  to  devise  some  plan  to 
obtain  all  lands  now  owned  by  aliens  and  foreign  syndicates ;  and  that 
all  lands  now  held  by  railroads  and  other  corporations,  in  excess  of  such 
as  is  actually  used  and  needed  by  them,  be  reclaimed  by  the  government, 
and  held  for  actual  settlers  only.     Adopted. 

5.  Believing  in 'the  doctrine  of  equal  rights  to  all,  and  special  privi- 
leges to  none,  weMemand  — 

a.  That  our  national  legislation  shall  be  so  framed  in  the  future  as  not 
to  build  up  one  industry  at  the  expense  of  another. 

b.  We  further  demand  a  removal  of  the  existing  heavy  tariff  tax  from 
the  necessities  of  life  that  the  poor  of  our  land  must  have. 

c.  We  further  demand  a  just  and  equitable  system  of  graduated  tax  on 
incomes. 

d.  We  believe  that  the  money  of  the  country  should  be  kept  as  much 
as  possible  in  the  hands  of  the  people,  and  hence  we  demand  that  all 
national  and  State  revenues  shall  be  limited  to  the  necessary  expenses  of 
the  government,  economically  and  honestly  administered.     Adopted. 

6.  We  demarKi  the  most  rigid,  honest,  and  just  State  and  national 
governmental  control  and  supervision  of  the  means  of  public  communi- 
cation and  transportation ;  and  if  this  control  and  supervision  does  not 
remove  the  abuse  now  existing,  we  demand  the  government  ownership 
of  such  means  of  communication  and  transportation.     Adopted. 

7.  We  demand  that  the  Congress  of  the  United  States  submit  an 
amendment  to  the  Constitution,  providing  for  the  election  of  United 
States  Senators  by  direct  vote  of  the  people  of  each  State.     Adopted. 

Moved  by  Brother  Livingston,  that  the  report  be  adopted  as  a  whole. 
Carried. 

By  Brother  Davie  of  Kentucky  :  — 

Whereas,  There  is  now  a  bill  known  as  the  sub-treasury  bill  in  the 
hands  of  the  Ways  and  Means  Committee  of  the  House  of  Representa- 
tives, which  should  have  been  reported  and  acted  upon  at  the  last  ses- 
sion, and  which  if  enacted  into  law  would  bring  the  financial  relief  so 
much  needed  by  all  classes  and  industries  :  therefore,  be  it 

Resolved,  That  this  national  convention  of  the  Farmers'  Alliance  and 
Industrial  Union  do  most  respectfully  and  earnestly  ask  that  said  bill  be 
enacted  into  law  as  soon  as  possible,  or  some  other  measure  that  will 
carry  out  these  principles  and  meet  the  necessities  of  the  toiling  masses. 

Adopted  by  a  rising  vote,  four  votes  being  cast  against  it. 


1 66  AGRICULTURAL    ORGANIZATIONS. 


Evening  Session. 

Resolution  of  Brother  Guice ;  referred  to  general  joint  Committee  on 
Confederation :  — 

Whereas,  We  have  already  adopted  the  report  of  the  chairman  of  the 
Executive  Board  in  part ;  and  whereas,  said  report  did  recommend  that 
this  body  authorize  a  call  for  a  convention  of  all  labor  organizations  to 
be  held  in  February,  1892  ;  now,  therefore,  be  it 

Resolved,  That  this  body  elect  a  committee  composed  of  one  from 
each  State  here  represented,  to  be  known  as  the  National  Executive  Com- 
mittee, for  the  special  purpose  of  conferring  with  like  committees  from 
other  organizations,  and  deciding  questions  as  to  time  and  place  of 
meeting,  basis  of  representation,  and  to  submit  to  their  respective  States 
the  demands  of  all  such  other  labor  organizations  as  will  probably  be 
represented  at  such  labor  conference,  each  member  to  be  ex  officio 
chairman  in  his  State,  and  to  have  authority  to  appoint  congressional 
district  chairmen,  who  in  turn  shall  appoint  county  chairmen,  for  the 
purpose  of  bringing  our  demands  and  those  of  the  other  labor  organiza- 
tions squarely  before  the  people  during  the  coming  year,  and  secure  an 
expression  from  them  as  to  what  concessions  they  will  make  in  order 
to  secure  general  co-operation,  and  what  methods  they  will  adopt  to 
secure  the  same. 

Resolution  of  Brother  Guice  ;  read  and  adopted  :  — 

Resolved,  That  a  committee  of  three  be  appointed  by  the  chair,  whose 
duty  it  shall  be  to  report  on  the  practicability  of  the  use  of  the  small  bale 
of  cotton  over  that  of  the  large  bale,  at  the  next  annual  meeting  of  this 
body. 

Resolution  of  Brother  Demming  on  summer  encampment ;  read  and 
unanimously  adopted :  — 

That  the  president  be  requested  to  appoint  a  committee  of  three,  with 
full  power  to  act,  to  take  into  consideration  the  holding  of  a  grand  sum- 
mer encampment :  Provided,  That  in  no  event  shall  this  organization  be 
liable  for  any  expense  connected  therewith. 

Committee  on  Summer  Encampment  appointed  as  follows :  H.  C. 
Demming,  Beverly  of  Virginia,  and  Mitchell  of  Maryland. 

Moved,  by  Brother  Wardall,  that  the  matter  of  fire  insurance  be 
referred  to  the  Executive  Board  for  the  purpose  of  formulating  a  mutual 
and  feasible  plan  of  fire  insurance,  and  have  it  ready  for  report  at  the 
next  meeting  of  the  Supreme  Council.     Adopted. 

Report  of  Committee  on  Insurance  :  — 

Your  Committee  on  Insurance  report  that  we  have  carefully  examined 


THR   NATIONAL   ALLIANCE. 


167 


the  life  plan  of  the  Alliance  Aid  Association  of  Huron,  South  Dakota, 
and  believe  it  will  be  a  benefit  to  the  order,  and  recommend  its  adop- 
tion. On  fire  insurance,  we  recommend  that  it  be  referred  to  the  Exec- 
utive Committee  to  prepare  a  feasible  plan  for  mutual  insurance,  publish 
it  in  our  official  papers,  and  present  it  at  our  next  annual  meeting. 

Laid  on  the  table. 

Resolution  by  Brother  Cole  ;  adopted  unanimously  :  — 

That,  in  connection  with  the  post-office,  the  government  should 
organize  financial  exchanges,  safe  deposits,  and  facilities  for  deposit  of 
savings  of  the  people  in  small  sums. 

Supreme  Council  then  adjourned. 

The  following  is  the  amended  constitution  of  the  order :  — 


CONSTITUTION. 


DECLARATION  OF  PURPOSES. 

Whereas^  The  general  condition  of  our  country  imperatively  demands 
unity  of  action  on  the  part  of  the  laboring  classes,  reformation  in  econ- 
omy, and  the  dissemination  of  principles  best  calculated  to  encourage 
and  foster  agricultural  and  mechanical  pursuits,  encouraging  the  toiling 
masses  —  leading  them  in  the  road  to  prosperity,  and  providing  a  just 
and  fair  remuneration  for  labor,  a  just  exchange  for  our  commodities, 
and  the  best  means  of  securing  to  the  laboring  classes  the  greatest 
amount  of  good ;  we  hold  to  the  principle  that  all  monopolies  are  dan- 
gerous to  the  best  interests  of  our  country,  tending  to  enslave  a  free 
people  and  subvert  and  finally  overthrow  the  great  principles  purchased 
to  the  fathers  of  American  liberty.  We  therefore  adopt  the  following 
as  our  declaration  of  principles  :  — 


1 68  AGRICULTURAL    ORGANIZATIONS. 

1.  To  labor  for  the  education  of  the  agricultural  classes  in  the  science 
of  economical  government,  in  a  strictly  non-partisan  spirit,  and  to  bring 
about  a  more  perfect  union  of  said  classes. 

2.  That  we  demand  equal  rights  to  all  and  special  favors  to  none. 

3.  To  indorse  the  motto,  "In  things  essential,  unity;  and  in  all 
things,  charity." 

4.  To  develop  a  better  state  mentally,  morally,  socially,  and  financially. 

5.  To  constantly  strive  to  secure  entire  harmony  and  good  will  to  all 
mankind  and  brotherly  love  among  ourselves. 

6.  To  suppress  personal,  local,  sectional,  and  national  prejudices  ;  all 
unhealthful  rivalry  and  all  selfish  ambition. 

7.  The  brightest  jewels  which  it  garners  are  the  tears  of  the  widows 
and  orphans,  and  its  imperative  commands  are  to  visit  the  homes  where 
lacerated  hearts  are  bleeding ;  to  assuage  the  sufferings  of  a  brother  or 
sister ;  bury  the  dead,  care  for  the  widows,  and  educate  the  orphans  ;  to 
exercise  charity  toward  offenders,  to  construe  words  and  deeds  in  their 
most  favorable  light,  granting  honesty  of  purpose  and  good  intentions 
to  others,  and  to  protect  the  principles  of  the  Farmers'  Alliance  and 
Industrial  Union  until  death.  Its  laws  are  reason  and  equity,  its  car- 
dinal doctrines  inspire  purity  of  thought  and  life,  its  intention  is,  "  On 
earth,  peace,  and  good  will  to  man." 

Article  I. 

NAME  AND   POWERS. 

Section  i.  This  organization  shall  be  known  as  the  National  Farmers' 
Alliance  and  Industrial  Union. 

Sec.  2.  This  organization  possesses  and  shall  exercise  such  powers  as 
are  delegated  to  it  by  charter  from  the  government  of  the  United  States, 
and  such  further  powers  as  are  herein  expressed. 

Article  II. 

DIVISION   OF   powers. 

Section  i.  The  powers  of  this  organization  shall  be  divided  into 
three  branches,  to  wit :  A  legislative,  an  executive,  and  a  judicial  depart- 
ment. 

Sec.  2.  The  Legislative  Department  shall  be  supreme  in  authority,  and 
its  sessions  shall  be  known  as  the  Supreme  Council  of  the  order. 

Sec.  3.  The  Executive  and  Judicial  Departments  shall  be  of  equal 
power  and  authority,  and  subordinate  only  to  the  legislative, 


THE  NATIONAL   ALLIANCE,  1 69 


Article  III. 


MEETINGS. 


The  regular  annual  meetings  of  the  Supreme  Council  shall  be  on  the 
third  Tuesday  in  November  in  each  year. 

Article  IV. 

LEGISLATIVE   DEPARTMENT. 

Section  i.  It  shall  be  the  duty  of  the  Supreme  Council  to  make  laws, 
rules,  and  regulations  to  govern  its  meetings  and  usages. 

Sec.  2.  The  Supreme  Council  shall  be  composed  of  the  officers  of 
the  organization  and  delegates  from  the  various  State  organizations 
elected  by  the  States  upon  such  basis  of  representation  as  the  Supreme 
Council  may  prescribe.  It  shall  be  the  duty  of  the  Supreme  Council  to 
adopt  rules  governing  such  representation  :  Provided,  That  the  delegates 
to  the  Supreme  Council  shall  not  be  less  than  twenty-one  years  of  age ; 
and  the  basis  of  representation  shall  not  allow  more  than  two  delegates 
from  each  State  and  one  additional  member  for  each  10,000  active 
members  or'  majority  fraction  thereof.  Active  members  under  this 
section  are  such  members  only  as  have  paid  the  regular- yearly  dues  of 
five  cents  each. 

Sec.  3.  The  Supreme  Council  shall  elect  at  each  regular  annual  ses- 
sion the  following  officers,  who  shall  hold  office  until  their  successors 
are  elected  and  qualified  :  A  president,  a  vice-president,  and  a  secretary- 
treasurer. 

Sec.  4.  The  president  shall  be  presiding  officer  of  the  Supreme 
Council  and  the  official  head  of  the  Executive  Department. 

Sec.  5 .  The  Supreme  Council  shall  provide  laws  and  rules  prescribing 
the  powers,  duties,  and  methods  of  the  officers,  and  may  Hmit  the  term 
of  office,  fix  salaries,  etc. 

Article  V. 

executive  department. 

Section  i.  The  president  shall  be  the  chief  executive  officer;  he 
shall  have  power  to  direct  and  instruct  all  executive  officers  and  all 
executive  work  in  this  department,  subject  to  the  laws  and  regulations 
made  by  the  Supreme  Council.  ^ 

Sec.  2.  The  president  shall  have  authority  to  interpret  and  construe 
the  meaning  of  the  laws  of  the  national  order  by  official  rulings,  and 
such  rulings  shall  have  the  force  and  effect  of  laws  until  the  next  meet- 


170  AGRICULTURAL    ORGANIZATIONS. 

ing  of  the  Supreme  Council :  Provided^  Appeals  may  be  taken  from  the 
interpretation  and  rulings  of  the  president  to  the  Judiciary  Department, 
whose  decisions  shall  be  final. 

Sec.  3.  The  president  shall  be  the  custodian  of  the  secret  work,  and 
shall  provide  for  its  exemplification  and  dissemination.  He  shall  be 
authorized  to  issue  special  dispensations  and  held  responsible  for  the 
same,  all  of  which  shall  be  matters  of  record. 

Article  VI. 

JUDICIARY. 

Section  i.  The  Judiciary  Department  shall  be  composed  of  three 
judges,  one  of  whom  shall  after  the  first  year  be  elected  annually  by  the 
Supreme  Council.  Three  judges  shall  be  elected  the  first  year,  one  of 
whom  shall  be  for  a  term  of  one  year,  one  for  two,  and  one  for  three 
years. 

Sec.  2.  The  regular  term  of  office  f(3r  the  judges  of  the  Judiciary 
Department  shall  be  three  years. 

Sec.  3.  No  person  shall  be  eligible  to  office  as  judge  in  the  Judiciary 
Department  who  is  under  thirty  years  of  age. 

Sec.  4.  The  senior  judge  shall  be  called  the  chairman,  and  shall  be 
the  presiding  officer  of  the  court. 

Sec.  5.  The  Judiciary  shall  have  authority  to  act  upon  the  rulings  of 
the  president ;  to  try  and  decide  grievances  and  appeals  affecting  the 
officers  or  members  of  the  Supreme  Council ;  to  try  appeals  from  the 
State  bodies. 

Sec.  6.  The  decisions  and  findings  of  the  Supreme  Judiciary  shall  be 
a  matter,  of  record,  and  shall  be  preserved  in  the  archives  of  the  order, 
a  careful  report  of  which  shall  be  made  to  the  regular  annual  sessions  of 
the  Supreme  Council. 

Sec.  7.  For  the  purpose  of  carrying  out  the  above  provisions  and 
rendering  the  workings  of  the  Judiciary  Department  effective,  the 
Supreme  Council  shall  provide  rules  and  regulations. 

Article  VII. 

Section  i.  The  Supreme  Council  shall  fix  such  salaries  for  officers  as 
may  be  a  fair  remuneration  for  services  required,  and  for  such  expen- 
ditures of  the  various  departments  as  may  be  consistent  with  strict 
economy. 

Sec.  2.  A  per  capita  tax  of  five  cents  shall  be  paid  for  each  male 
member  into  the  national  treasury  by  each  State  organization,  on  or 
before  the  first  day  of  November  of  each  year. 


THE  NATIONAL  ALLIANCE.  171 

Sec.  3.  The  Supreme  Council  shall  at  each  session  fix  the  mileage 
and  per  diem  to  be  paid  the  actual  delegates  to  the  body,  subject  to  a 
Umitation  of  not  over  three  cents  per  mile  each  way  by  the  nearest  and 
most  direct  travelled  route,  and  not  over  three  dollars  per  day  for  such 
days  as  are  spent  in  actual  attendance  at  the  session. 

Article  VIII. 

Section  i.  No  person  shall  be  admitted  as  a  member  of  this  order 
except  a  white  person,  over  sixteen  years  of  age,  who  is  a  behever  in 
the  existence  of  a  Supreme  Being,  and  has  resided  in  the  State  more 
than  six  months,  and  is,  either :  First,  a  farmer,  or  a  farm  laborer ; 
second,  a  country  mechanic,  a  country  preacher,  a  country  school 
teacher,  or  a  country  doctor ;  third,  an  editor  of  a  paper  which  supports 
all  national  demands,  and  the  demands  of  the  State  Alliance  under 
whose  jurisdiction  he  may  live  :  Provided,  That  no  Sub- Alliance  shall 
initiate  an  editor  until  the  county  president  and  secretary  shall  indorse 
and  the  State  president  approve  the  application.  Provided  further^  The 
State  president  may  suspend  any  editor  from  membership  for  using  or 
permitting  his  paper  to  be  used  against  the  Alliance  until  the  next 
meeting  of  the  State  Alliance,  when  said  Alliance  may  reinstate  or  expel 
him  from  the  order. 

Provided,  That  each  State  and  Territory  shall  have  the  right  to  pre- 
scribe the  eligibility  of  applicants  for  membership,  in  reference  to  color, 
within  the  Hmits  of  the  same.  Provided  further,  That  none  but  white 
men  shall  be  elected  as  delegates  to  the  Supreme  Council. 

Sec.  2.  It  shall  be  the  duty  of  the  Supreme  Council  to  enact  a 
uniform  eligibility  clause  for  the  various  State  constitutions ;  also,  to 
enact  laws  defining  the  eligibiHty  of  persons  of  mixed  or  unusual  occu- 
pations or  residence,  subject  to  all  the  limitations  of  this  article. 

Article  IX. 

STATE    BODIES. 

Section  i.  A  State  organization  may  be  chartered  by  the  president 
in  any  State  having  as  many  as  seven  county  organizations,  provided 
that  any  State  containing  less  than  seven  counties  may  be  chartered 
when  one-third  of  its  territory  is  organized. 

Sec.  2.  It  shall  be  the  duty  of  the  president  to  issue  a  charter  to  any 
State  organization  qualified  under  section  one  of  this  article,  when  they 
shall  file  evidence  that  they  have,  first,  adopted  a  constitution  that  does 
not  conflict  with  this  constitution ;  second,  that  they  adopt  the  secret 


ii 


172  AGRICULTURAL    ORGANIZATIONS. 

work,  and  acknowledge  the  supremacy  of  the  National  Farmers'  Alliance 
and  Industrial  Union. 

Article  X. 

RESERVATION   OF   POWERS. 

Section  i.  All  rights  and  powers,  not  herein  expressly  delegated,  are 
reserved  to  the  State  organizations  severally. 

Article  XI. 

AMENDMENTS. 

Section  i.  This  constitution  cannot  be  altered  or  amended,  except 
upon  a  written  resolution  clearly  setting  forth  the  changes  or  additions 
to  be  made,  which  must  be  read  in  open  session  on  at  least  two  separate 
days,  and  adopted  by  two-thirds  majority. 

Statutory  Laws. 

1.  The  basis  of  representation  of  the  State  organizations  in  the 
Supreme  Council  shall  be  as  follows  :  Two  delegates  from  each  State, 
and  one  additional  delegate  for  each  20,000  active  members,  or  majority 
fraction  thereof. 

2.  Delegates  to  the  Supreme  Council  will  not  be  entitled  to  seats  in 
the  body  unless  settlement  of  the  national  per  capita  dues  of  five  cents  for 
each  male  member  has  been  made  by  the  State  secretary,  accompanied 
by  the  proper  amount  of  money  to  the  national  secretary,  and  State 
secretaries  shall  make  such  remittance,  and  report  promptly  on  or 
before  the  first  day  of  November. 

3.  The  annual  election  of  officers  by  the  Supreme  Council  shall  be 
by  ballot. 

4.  The  president  shall  appoint  from  the  actual  delegates  to  the  ses- 
sion pf  the  Supreme  Council,  a  chaplain,  assistant  lecturer,  doorkeeper, 
assistant  doorkeeper,  sergeant-at-arms,  and  such  other  executive  officers 
as  the  business  of  the  session  may  require.  The  term  of  office  for  such 
officers  shall  expire  at  the  close  of  the  session ;  such  appointed  officers 
to  receive  nqthing  in  addition  to  mileage  and  per  diem  as  delegates. 

5.  The  president  shall  be  the  presiding  officer  of  the  Supreme  Coun- 
cil, and  shall  conduct  the  business  according  to  the  accepted  rules  of 
parliamentary  usage  and  the  requirements  of  the  ritual. 

6.  The  president  shall  have  authority  to  call  upon  any  executive 
officer  or  committee  to  make  report  and  showing  of  the  business 
intrusted  to  him,  at  such  time  as  in  his  judgment  it  seems  best. 


THE  NATIONAL  ALLIANCE.  1 73 

7.  The  president  may,  when  notified  of  any  dereUction  of  duty  or 
violation  of  the  rules  of  the  order,  suspend  any  officer  or  committee, 
and  summon  them  to  appear  before  the  judiciary  committee  to  make 
showing  to  the  chairman,  either  by  oral  or  written  evidence,  as  to  their 
guilt  or  innocence  of  the  charges. 

8.  The  president  shall  have  full  authority  to  enforce  order  and  deco- 
rum during  the  sessions  of  the  Supreme  Council. 

9.  The  president  shall  have  power  to  call  a  meeting  of  the  Supreme 
Council  at  such  time  and  place  as  in  his  judgment  is  for  the  benefit  of  the 
order.  When  petitioned  by  one-fourth  of  the  State  presidents  in  the 
jurisdiction  of  this  order,  he  shall  call  a  meeting  of  the  Supreme  Council. 
He  shall  state  in  the  call  specifically  for  what  purpose  the  meeting  is 
convened. 

10.  The  vice-president's  duties  shall  be  to  assist  the  president,  and  in 
his  absence  to  perform  his  duty. 

11.  The  order  of  succession  in  vacancy  shall  be  —  president  to  vice- 
president,  and  vice-president  to  chairman  of  the  Executive  Board. 

12.  The  secretary- treasurer's  duty  shall  be  to  keep  a  record  of  the 
proceedings  of  the  Supreme  Council,  conduct  its  correspondence,  to 
receive  all  money  of  the  Farmers'  Alliance  and  Industrial  Union,  and 
account  for  the  same,  to  read  all  communications,  reports,  and  petitions 
in  open  Supreme  Council  when  necessary,  to  affix  the  seal  of  the 
Farmers'  AUiance  and  Industrial  Union  to  all  documents  requiring  the 
same,  to  prepare  for  publication  a  copy  of  the  proceedings  of  each 
annual  or  called  session  immediately  after  adjournment.  He  shall  have 
charge  of  the  seal,  books,  and  papers  of  the  Farmers'  Alliance  and  Indus- 
trial Union.  His  books  shall  at  all  times  be  open  to  the  inspection  of 
the  president,  or  any  committee  appointed  by  the  president  to  inspect 
the  same,  to  keep  a  correct  account  between  each  State  and  the 
Farmers'  Alliance  and  Industrial  Union.  He  shall  furnish  the  secre- 
taries of  each  State  Farmers'  Alliance  and  Industrial  Union  with  a  blank 
book  properly  ruled,  with  suitable  column  heads  for  classifying  and 
recording  the  contents  of  the  reports  from  the  Farmers'  Alliance  and 
Industrial  Union.  Also  suitable  blanks  for  making  reports  to  his  office 
and  to  the  chairman  of  the  executive  committee.  He  shall  also  make 
a  list  of  all  the  officers,  standing  and  special  committees  of  the  Supreme 
Council,  with  name  and  post-office  address,  which  list  shall  be  a  part  of 
the  printed  proceedings  of  the  Supreme  Council. 

13.  It  shall  be  the  duty  of  the  lecturer  to  visit  each  State  in  the  juris- 
diction at  least  once  a  year,  and  to  hold  himself  in  readiness  at  all  times 
to  visit  such  locaUties  and  perform  such  duties  as  may  be  designated  by 
the  president. 


174  AGRICULTURAL    ORGANIZATIONS. 

14.  There  shall  be  elected  by  the  Supreme  Council  an  Executive 
Board  composed  of  three  members,  who  shall  be  an  advisory  board  of 
the  president,  and  shall  represent  the  Supreme  Council  during  recess. 
The  chairman  of  the  Executive  Board  shall  be  located  at  the  official 
headquarters  of  the  order  in  the  city  of  Washington. 

15.  It  shall  be  the  duty  of  the  Executive  Board  to  require  and  pass 
upon  the  bonds  of  the  secretary-treasurer,  to  audit  all  bills  and  accounts, 
to  examine  and  audit  the  secretary's  books,  and  in  a  general  way  per- 
form detail  of  executive  work. 

16.  The  regular  term  of  office  for  members  of  the  Executive  Board 
shall  be  three  years,  but  of  the  board  first  elected,  one  shall  be  for  one 
year,  one  for  two  years,  and  one  for  three  years,  and  thereafter  one  shall 
be  elected  each  year. 

1 7.  All  persons  who  are  ineligible  for  membership,  who  make  applica- 
tion, should  be  notified  of  the  facts  in  the  case,  and  no  ballot  or  action 
taken.  When  members  of  the  order  engage  in  an  occupation  that  would 
have  rendered  them  ineligible  before  initiation,  they  shall,  upon  sufficient 
evidence,  be  immediately  dismissed  by  motion  of  the  president  in  open 
lodge. 

18.  Each  Supreme  Council  shall,  when  convened,  fix  the  mileage  and 
per  diem  of  its  members,  subject  to  the  restrictions  of  the  constitution. 

19.  The  salary  of  the  president  of  this  organization  shall  be  $3000, 
office  and  travelling  expenses,  and  $900  dollars  for  a  clerk,  with  head- 
quarters at  Washington,  District  of  Columbia. 

20.  The  salary  of  the  secretary-treasurer  shall  be  ^2250  and  office 
expenses. 

21.  The  salary  of  the  lecturer  shall  be  ^2000  and  actual  travelling 
expenses. 

22.  The  remuneration  of  the  members  of  the  Executive  Board  shall 
be  three  cents  per  mile  each  way  for  actual  necessary  travel,  and  five 
dollars  per  day  for  actual  time  employed. 

23.  No  State  organization  or  members  of  this  order  shall  under  any 
circumstances  be  allowed  to  print  or  distribute  the  rituals  of  the  order, 
except  as  the  Executive  Board  shall  cause  them  to  be,  and  they  shall  be 
distributed  as  the  president  may  direct. 

24.  All  charters  for  State,  county,  or  subordinate  bodies  in  unorgan- 
ized States  must  emanate  from  and  contain  the  signature  of  the  national 
president,  and  those  for  bodies  under  State  jurisdiction  shall  be  issued 
by  the  president  and  secretary  of  the  State  body  having  jurisdiction 
over  them. 

25.  It  shall  be  the  duty  of  the  Executive  Board  to  secure  from  each 


THE  NATIONAL  ALLIANCE,  1 75 

of  the  States  copies  of  their  forms  of  reporting  from  sub,  county,  and 
State  secretaries,  and  endeavor  to  secure  a  uniform  system  of  quarterly 
reports  throughout  the  entire  order. 

26.  All  resolutions  that  shall  be  adopted  by  this  National  Council 
shall  be  laws  governing  the  membership  of  the  order,  and  shall  be  codi- 
fied and  added  to  the  existing  laws  of  the  order. 

27.  The  Executive  Board  shall  require  the  heads  of  the  various 
departments  to  give  them  an  estimate  of  their  expenses  for  the  ensuing 
year,  and  shall  allow  each  department  such  an  appropriation  as  they 
deem  just :  Provided,  That  at  least  one-fourth  of  the  annual  revenue 
shall  be  appropriated  to  the  lecture  department.  (The  chairman  of 
the  Committee  on  Constitution  reports  that  the  committee  intended  the 
above  clause  to  be  advisory,  and  not  mandatory.) 

28.  The  per  capita  dues  shall  be  five  cents,  due  annually  in  advance 
on  the  first  day  of  November,  with  the  last  day  of  grace  February  first 
following. 

29.  It  is  hereby  enacted  by  the  National  Supreme  Council  that, 
within  sixty  days  of  the  adjournment  of  the  Supreme  Council,  a  meeting 
of  all  presidents  of  States  composing  the  Supreme  Council,  together 
with  the  national  president,  who  shall  be  ex  officio  chairman,  and  shall  be 
held  at  such  time  and  place  as  may  be  designated  by  the  national  presi- 
dent, and  the  meeting  thus  constituted  shall  be  known  as  the  National 
Legislative  Council  of  the  National  Farmers'  Alliance  and  Industrial 
Union,  and  one-fourth  of  the  membership  shall  constitute  a  quorum. 

§  2.  That  it  shall  be  the  duty  of  the  said  National  Legislative  Coun- 
cil to  formulate  measures  and  devise  such  necessary  methods  in  con- 
formity with  the  principles,  purposes,  and  acts  of  the  Supreme  Council, 
as  may  secure  the  enactment  of  such  laws  as  may  be  indicated  by  the 
Supreme  Council. 

§  3.  It  shall  be  the  duty  of  the  president  of  the  National  Legislative 
Council  to  keep  in  substantial  form  a  correct  record  of  the  proceedings 
of  each  legislative  council,  to  be  presented  to  the  Supreme  Council  of  the 
National  Farmers'  Alliance  and  Industrial  Union  at  its  next  meeting. 

§  4.  It  shall  be  the  duty  of  the  Legislative  Council  to  cause  to  be 
printed  any  measures,  bills,  resolutions,  or  petitions  which  it  may  decide 
to  present  to  Congress,  and  cause  the  same  to  be  transmitted  by  the 
national  secretary -to  all  subordinate  bodies  in  each  of  the  States  under 
the  jurisdiction  of  the  order,  together  with  such  other  arguments  or 
other  information  as  in  the  judgment  of  the  council  should  be  given  to 
the  membership. 

§  5.   It  may  appoint  a  national  legislative  committee  consisting  of  not 


176  AGRICULTURAL    ORGANIZATIONS. 

more  than  three  members,  to  be  chosen  from  its  own  body,  and  require 
said  committee  to  give  such  personal  service  as  may  in  the  judgment 
of  the  council  be  necessary  to  a  proper  presentation  for  the  measures 
before  Congress.  Each  member  shall  receive  such  compensation  as 
may  be  provided  by  his  State  Alliance  out  of  its  treasury.  The  per 
diem  and  mileage  of  the  legislative  committee  shall  be  fixed  by  the 
National  Legislative  Council,  to  be  paid  out  of  the  national  treasury 
upon  the  warrant  of  the  national  president. 

30.  Delegates  from  a  majority  of  the  States  organized  shall  constitute 
a  quorum  of  the  Supreme  Council. 

31.  There  shall  be  a  standing  committee,  consisting  of  the  State 
business  agents  from  the  States  composing  the  National  Farmers'  AUi- 
ance  and  Industrial  Union,  provided  that  each  State  exchange  or  State 
Alliance  shall  defray  the  expenses  of  said  agent. 

32.  All  measures  presented  for  consideration  may  be  discussed  fairly, 
fully,  honestly,  and  thoroughly,  and  when  the  action  of  a  majority  has 
been  had,  all  who  participate  in  the  meeting  are  pledged  to  support 
such  action.  It  is  the  duty  of  every  member  where  the  body  has  spoken 
to  stand  as  a  unit  before  the  world. 

33.  No  officer  or  member  of  the  Supreme  Council  shall  absent  him- 
self from  the  meetings  unless  excused  by  the  president,  under  penalty  of 
the  forfeiture  of  all  his  mileage  and  per  diem. 

34.  The  following  rules  shall  govern  the  confederation  with  the 
/  Farmers'  Mutual  Benefit  Association,  the  National  Colored  Farmers' 
j  Alliance  and  Co-operative  Union,  and  such  other  organizations  as  may 
/    be  admitted  to  same  :  — 

/         §  I.   A  confederation. 

^         §  2.   A  joint  committee  on  confederation  of  five  from  each  organiza- 
tion, which  shall  represent  this  confederation. 

§  3.  Each  organization  shall  be  entitled  to  as  many  votes  as  it  has 
members  who  are  legal  voters  in  State  or  national  elections. 

§  4.   The  St.  Louis  platform  shall  be  the  basis. 

§  5.  Each  shall  stand  pledged  to  assist  when  possible  in  all  local 
efforts  to  better  the  condition  of  our  people. 

§  6.  Fraternal  delegates  or  correspondence  shall  never  be  denied  the 
one  by  the  other  so  long  as  the  confederation  exists. 

§  7.  The  joint  committee  on  confederation  shall  have  the  power  by 
a  majority  vote  to  admit  other  organizations  with  similar  objects,  upon 
application. 

§  8.  When  plans  are  agreed  upon  by  the  joint  committee  on  confed- 
eration for  mutual  co-operation,  each  organization  shall  be  bound  to 
support  said  plans  fully  and  cheerfully. 


THE  NATIONAL  ALLIANCE.  1 77 

§  9.  Expenses  accruing  on  account  of  the  joint  committee  on  con- 
federation shall  be  defrayed  by  their  respective  organizations  as  they 
may  be  incurred  by  each. 

§  10.  The  joint  committee  on  confederation  shall  have  power  to 
adopt  such  by-laws  for  the  government  of  the  joint  committee  as  they 
deem  best. 

35.  The  indebtedness  of  the  various  organizations  which  consolidated 
on  the  first  day  of  October,  1889,  to  form  the  National  Farmers'  Alliance 
and  Industrial  Union,  shall  in  no  case  be  a  debt  of  the  consoHdated 
order,  unless  by  special  act  of  the  Supreme  Council. 

Order  of  Business. 

1.  Calling  the  roll. 

2.  Reading  the  minutes. 

3.  Application  for  membership. 

4.  Report  of  investigating  committees. 

5 .  Balloting. 

6.  Initiations. 

7.  Is  there  any  member  sick  or  in  distress? 

8.  Reports  of  standing  committees. 

9.  Report  of  special  committees. 

10.  Unfinished  business. 

11.  New  members. 

12.  Business  with  the  County  Alliance. 

13.  Business  with  the  State  Alliance. 

14.  Lecturing. 

This  was  doubtless  one  of  the  most  important  gatherings,  in 
many  respects,  that  was  ever  held  on  American  soil.  Repre- 
sentatives from  thirty-one  State  and  Territorial  Alliances  were 
present,  besides  a  large  number  of  both  friends  and  enemies 
of  the  order.  Following,  as  it  did,  immediately  after  the  close 
of  a  political  campaign  of  remarkable  surprises,  it  was  compelled 
to  bear  a  burden  of  pressure  from  both  the  old  parties  —  one 
being  driven  by  disaster  to  the  verge  of  despair,  and  the  other 
elated  by  success  to  the  point  of  dictatorial  assumption.  The 
Republican  party  hoped  that  the  meeting  would  result  in  certain 
indiscretions  which  would  break  the  power  of  the  Alliance,  and 
permit  that  party  to  regain  its  waning  strength.  The  Demo- 
cratic party  was  anxious  to  have  the  Alliance  recede  from  its 


1 73  AGRICULTURAL    ORGANIZATIONS. 

advanced  position  on  economic  questions,  in  order  to  make 
co-operation  more  probable.  Again,  there  was  a  strong  element 
from  the  West  demanding  independent  action,  and  at  the  same 
time  showing,  as  the  result  of  such  a  movement,  the  fruits  of  the 
last  election.  This  was  met  by  a  conservative  force  largely  from 
the  South,  but  really  from  nearly  all  the  States  represented, 
which  considered  it  unwise  and  untimely.  The  wily  politician 
was  there  also,  and  as  usual  dangerous  to  all  honest  purposes ; 
the  traitor  and  breeder  of  discord  was  not  wanting ;  and  the 
coward  could  be  occasionally  met  with.  All  this  tended  to 
distract  the  brethren  and  destroy  that  continuity  of  action  with- 
out which  the  results  of  the  meeting  would  have  been  disastrous. 

Under  such  unfavorable  circumstances  the  delegates  began 
their  work.  For  weeks  and  months  certain  newspapers  and 
individuals  had  been  poisoning  the  minds  of  the  brotherhood 
with  slanderous  assaults  upon  certain  members  of  the  order, 
whose  downfall  would  best  serve  the  purposes  of  the  politicians 
of  either  party,  and  prepare  the  way  for  the  overthrow  of  the 
order,  if  possible.  These  attacks  were  so  bold  and  brutal  that 
an  investigation  was  at  once  demanded  by  some  of  the  victims. 
This  investigation  disclosed  the  viciousness  of  the  plot  and  the 
entire  innocence  of  the  accused. 

The  message  of  the  president  was  temperate,  well  considered, 
and  enthusiastically  received.  It  was  full  of  encouragement, 
and  seemed  to  crystallize  the  scattered  forces  and  bring  the 
delegates  together.  The  report  of  the  secretary  was  thorough 
and  complete,  and  inspired  confidence  in  that  officer.  The 
report  of  the  lecturer  disclosed  a  year  of  hard  work,  and  the 
addition  of  a  large  number  of  States  to  the  order  was  proof  of 
the  efficacy  of  his  labor.  The  report  of  the  Executive  Com- 
mittee was  thoughtful  and  logical,  and  contained  much  that  was 
worthy  of  consideration.  Taken  altogether,  the  national  officers 
made  a  splendid  showing  of  the  year's  work,  and  the  brethren 
were  highly  pleased.  The  real  labor  of  the  meeting  was  begun 
in  earnest,  and  with  the  determination  to  do  that  which  was 
best  for  the  interest  of  the  order,  honestly  and  fearlessly.  The 
old  officers  were  re-elected,  with  the  exception  of  Brother 
Willits  of  Kansas  being  chosen  national  lecturer  in  the  place 
of  Brother  Terrell,  who  had  held  that  position  for  the  past  four 


THE  NATIONAL   ALLIANCE.  I  79 

years,  and  Brother  Cole  of  Michigan  being  selected  as  a  mem- 
ber of  the  Judiciary  Committee.  The  salaries  were  changed  in 
some  particulars,  and  the  membership  confined  strictly  to  the 
country.  A  Legislative  Council  was  instituted,  consisting  of 
the  national  president  and  the  president  of  each  State  Alliance. 
An  understanding  was  arrived  at  concerning  the  duties  of 
Alliance  papers  in  the  discussion  of  Alliance  principles,  which 
will  no  doubt  be  of  great  benefit  to  the  order.  A  platform  or 
declaration  of  principles  was  adopted  that  will  stand  as  the 
crowning  glory  of  the  meeting.  It  will  warm  the  hearts  of  all 
true  Alliance  members,  inspire  them  with  confidence,  and  nerve 
them  to  renewed  action.  The  schemes  of  the  slanderer  failed, 
the  plans  of  the  traitors  were  destroyed,  and  the  plots  of  the 
politicians  disclosed,  and  the  Alliance  came  out  of  the  ordeal 
purified,  stronger  than  ever,  more  united  than  ever,  and  more 
determined  than  ever  to  push  on  the  work  so  grandly  and  ear- 
nestly begun. 

Such,  in  brief,  was  the  important  work  of  the  meeting.  To 
restrict  its  membership  in  future  to  the  country  was  wise,  and 
served  to  eliminate  many  annoying  conditions,  and  at  the  same 
time  made  room  for  other  fraternal  orders  to  work  without 
unpleasant  complications. 

The  declaration  of  demands  adopted  at  the  meeting  will 
challenge  the  admiration  of  every  candid,  thinking  man  through- 
out the  entire  nation.  Its  demands  are  simple,  plain,  practical, 
and  entirely  within  the  provisions  of  the  constitution.  There 
is  nothing  revolutionary  in  their  character,  and  they  could  be 
easily  and  cheaply  administered.  These  demands  are  limited 
almost  entirely  to  the  three  great  questions,  —  land,  transporta- 
tion, and  currency.  Upon  these  it  speaks  with  no  uncertain 
sound.  No  backward  step  has  been  taken,  but  a  long  stride  in 
advance  has  been  made.  The  sub-treasury  plan  has  been  reaf- 
firmed, with  the  addition  of  loans  upon  real  estate.  This  makes 
the  financial  proposition  complete,  and  will  tend  to  greatly 
strengthen  the  whole.  With  loans  direct  to  the  people,  upon 
land  as  the  basis  for  a  permanent  addition  to  the  circulation, 
and  loans  upon  products  to  furnish  that  flexibility  which  all  just 
systems  of  finance  should  possess,  the  Alliance  can  meet  any 
and  all  objections  with  the  most  convincing  arguments.     The 


i8o  AGRICULTURAL    ORGANIZATIONS. 

demands  in  regard  to  the  means  of  transportation  and  commu- 
nication have  been  strengthened  by  explicitly  stating,  in  terms 
not  to  be  misunderstood,  the  ultimatum.  It  is  a  platform  upon 
which  every  honest  man  can  stand.  It  is  a  demand  for  reforms 
that  all  candid  men  will  indorse,  and,  as  a  whole,  it  constitutes 
a  declaration  of  purposes  that  will  lead  the  people  out  of  their 
distress,  and  in  the  end  bring  peace  and  prosperity. 

Here  ends  the  history  of  the  Farmers'  Alliance  at  the  pres- 
ent time.  Upon  this  history  it  must  stand  or  fall.  What  its 
future  may  be,  God  alone  can  tell.  It  was  born  of  necessity, 
nurtured  amid  want  and  distress,  and  stands  to-day  as  the  cham- 
pion of  the  down-trodden  of  earth.  It  is  not  properly  an  organ- 
ization —  it  is  a  growth  ;  and  they  who  would  prophesy  of  its 
future  must  first  know  the  wants  and  woes  of  the  human  family. 
Such  a  beginning,  such  years  of  probation,  such  opportunities 
for  good,  and  such  triumphs  !  He  who  holds  the  destinies  of 
nations  in  his  keeping,  and  does  all  things  well,  will  never  suffer 
to  be  brought  to  naught. 

The  Farmers'  Alliance  has  a  mission  to  fulfil  that  even  those 
who  are  its  leaders  know  not  of.  It  has  battles  to  fight,  con- 
quests to  make,  and  victories  to  gain,  that  will  fill  the  earth. 
It  is  the  last,  grand,  peaceable  assault  by  labor  in  production 
upon  the  intrenchments  of  plutocracy.  It  is  the  last  appeal  for 
justice,  for  **  equal  rights  to  all,  and  special  privileges  to  none," 
that  will  be  made  through  education  and  the  ballot  box.  As 
well  might  we  undertake  to  blot  out  the  stars  of  heaven  as  to 
prevent  the  final  triumph  of  this  great  movement.  In  some 
manner,  and  in  the  immediate  future,  labor  in  production  is 
going  to  be  free.  The  shackles  it  has  worn  so  long  will  be 
stricken  off,  and  the  bands  that  have  bound  it  to  the  chariot 
wheels  of  the  oppressors  will  surely  be  loosened.  The  Alliance 
will  yet  prove  the  Moses  that  will  lead  the  people  out  of  their 
bondage  and  up  to  that  condition  which  a  kind  Providence  has 
v^ouchsafed  to  us  all.  It  is  sure  to  be  the  strong  man  who,  at 
the  appointed  time,  will  proclaim,  in  thunder  tones,  reaching 
from  ocean  to  ocean  :  "It  is  finished.     Let  the  people  go  free." 

The  methods  of  the  Alliance  are  based  upon  education,  and 
are  therefore  conservative.  They  appeal  to  an  intelligent  sense 
of  justice,  and  are  therefore  all  the  more  potent.     Every  de- 


THE  NATIONAL  ALLIANCE.  l8l 

mand  is  founded  upon  the  full  knowledge  of  an  outraged  equity, 
and  every  proposition  cemented  with  the  logic  that  comes 
through  practical  application.  It  is  the  conservative  element 
of  society,  the  long-suffering,  slowly  aroused  portion,  that  is 
now  in  rebellion  against  the  methods  of  plutocracy.  It  is  a 
protest  against  that  which  is  widening  the  gulf  between  Dives 
and  Lazarus,  which  in  the  end,  if  not  checked,  will  engulf 
the  liberties  of  the  people.  There  is  nothing  sensational  or 
emotional  about  it.  It  is  a  deliberate  conclusion,  based  upon 
study  and  reflection.  It  is  not  a  theory ;  it  is  a  condition,  and 
one  that  must  be  met  in  the  same  spirit  in  which  it  is  presented, 
or  the  end  of  the  rule  of  the  majority  has  been  reached. 

Let  no  one  be  deceived  in  this  matter.  Let  no  one  think  the 
Alliance  is  the  creature  of  a  moment.  It  is  here.  It  has  come 
to  stay,  until  the  armies  against  freedom  and  humanity  are 
driven  without  the  borders  of  this  fair  land.  It  is  the  uprising 
of  the  hosts  of  good  government.  Its  purposes  are  expressed 
in  the  words  of  Lincoln :  "  That  a  government  of  the  people, 
for  the  people,  and  by  the  people,  may  not  perish  from  off  the 
earth."  It  makes  war  on  no  one ;  it  demands  justice  and  not 
charity ;  equal  rights  instead  of  special  privileges ;  and  stands 
squarely  upon  the  doctrine  of  the  fatherhood  of  God  and  the 
brotherhood  of  man.     It  believes  with  the  poet,  who  said  :  — 

"  See  the  sole  bliss  Heaven  could  on  all  bestow  ! 
Which  who  but  feels  can  taste,  but  thinks  can  know : 
Yet  poor  with  fortune,  and  with  learning  blind. 
The  bad  must  miss  ;  the  good,  untaught,  will  find  ; 
Slave  to  no  sect,  who  takes  no  private  road, 
But  looks  through  nature  up  to  nature's  God ; 
Pursues  that  chain  which  links  the  immense  design, 
Joins  heaven  and  earth,  and  mortal  and  divine  ; 
Sees  that  no  being  any  bliss  can  know. 
But  touches  some  above,  and  some  below ; 
Learns  from  this  union  of  the  rising  whole, 
The  first,  last  purpose  of  the  human  soul ; 
And  knows  where  faith,  law,  morals,  all  began. 
All  end  in  Love  of  God  and  Love  of  Man." 

Founded  upon  such  principles,  and  grounded  in  such  belief, 
nothing  can  prevent  the  ultimate  accomplishment  of   its  pur- 


l82  AGRICULTURAL    ORGANIZATIONS. 

poses.  Here  are  represented  four  agricultural  organizations  in 
one.  This  fact  alone  points  to  it  as  a  factor  of  destiny.  About 
the  same  time,  in  different  localities,  four  organizations  were 
started  in  farming  communities, — the  Farmers'  Alliance,  in 
Texas ;  the  Farmers'  Union,  in  Louisiana ;  the  Brothers  of 
Freedom,  in  one  part  of  Arkansas,  and  the  Agricultural  Wheel 
in  another.  They  all  began  under  similar  conditions  and  be- 
cause of  similar  reasons,  and  undertook  to  accomplish  similar 
objects.  The  story  of  their  origin  and  final  consolidation  reads 
like  a  romance.  They  seem  to  have  been  actuated  by  one 
motive,  continued  for  one  purpose,  and  held  together  by  one 
common  desire.  We  see  the  Brothers  of  Freedom  uniting 
amicably  and  peacefully  with  the  Wheel,  and  thereby  increas- 
ing the  power  and  efficiency  of  both.  Then  the  Farmers' 
Union  consolidates  with  the  Alliance,  for  the  mutual  benefit 
of  both ;  and  last  we  find  the  two  great  organizations,  the 
Farmers'  Alliance  and  Co-operative  Union  and  the  Agricultural 
Wheel  combining  into  one  great  body,  under  one  name  and  one 
authority.  The  success  of  this  consolidation  effort  has  been 
phenomenal.  It  has  astonished  the  thinking  world,  and  is 
growing  in  wonder  daily.  The  cause  is  easily  found :  it  is  an 
honest  effort  to  accomplish  a  legitimate  purpose  through  busi- 
ness methods.  It  is  the  plain  result  of  intelligent  organization, 
based  upon  a  righteous  cause,  having  as  its  ultimate  result  the 
emancipation  from  the  power  of  corruption  and  vicious  laws  of 
all  those  who  contribute  to  the  production  of  the  wealth  of  the 
nation. 

The  farmers  are  the  only  class  who  have  not  availed  them- 
selves hitherto  of  the  benefits  of  organization.  There  seems  to 
be  among  them  a  disposition  to  keep  out  of  organizations  them- 
selves, and  find  fault  with  others  who  join.  This  comes  through 
a  lack  of  proper  education  upon  that  subject.  If  the  farmers 
of  America  would  organize  as  intelligently -and  solidly  as  the 
Standard  Oil  Company  has,  and  then  use  the  power  of  such 
organization  as  unscrupulously,  they  would  in  a  few  years 
become  the  dictators  of  the  world.  Nothing  could  withstand 
their  power.  Of  course  the  Alliance  and  other  similar  organ- 
izations are  doing  a  great  work  in  this  line  of  education,  but 
there  remains  so  much  yet  to  be  accomplished  that  the  attempt 


THE  NATIONAL   ALLIANCE.  1 83 

looks  almost  hopeless,  even  to  many  who  have  long  been  in  the 
movement.  But  the  absolute  necessity  for  organization  among 
farmers  is  apparent  to  all  thinking  people.  In  the  past  many 
attempts  have  been  made  to  accomplish  needed  results,  but  in 
the  main  they  have  all  been  preparatory.  Stern  necessity,  the 
great  educator  of  mankind,  reaches  the  farmer  last  of  all.  Be- 
sides this,  the  agricultural  portion  of  all  governments  are  their 
conservative  elements.  They  dislike  innovation,  deprecate  a 
change,  and  cling  to  old  customs  and  traditions.  But  when 
once  aroused,  when  thoroughly  convinced  that  their  rights  are 
being  invaded,  there  is  no  factor  of  society  more  determined, 
less  liable  to  make  mistakes,  and  better  acquainted  with  the 
source  of  difficiilty  and  the  needed  remedy,  than  the  farmer. 

Organization,  and  that  alone,  will  make  these  conditions  pos- 
sible, and  that  alone  will  save  the  farmer  and  his  vocation  from 
complete  destruction.  Is  it  not,  therefore,  the  duty  of  every 
farmer  to  at  once  become  identified  with  some  organization, 
and  make  common  cause  against  the  oppression  under  which 
he  is  now  suffering.?  Let  the  farmers  of  the  United  States 
organize,  stand  together,  demand  better  laws,  easier  conditions, 
and  more  liberty.  The  power  to  do  these  things  is  with  them. 
Let  them  do  it  wisely,  but  firmly. 

In  looking  back  over  the  history  of  the  order,  we  note  its 
first  rapid  growth  from  August,  1885,  to  August,  1886,  during 
which  time  the  order  in  Texas  grew  from  about  six  hundred 
Sub-Alliances  to  about  twenty-seven  hundred.  Perhaps  the 
most  potent  argument  used  by  the  lecturers  during  that  time 
was  that  there  were  too  many  merchants,  and  that  the  farmers 
could  organize  and  co-operate,  and  by  concentrating  their  trade 
on  one,  where  the  custom  was  to  have  five  or  six,  they  would 
save  the  expense  of  supporting  so  many.  During  the  rapid 
growth  of  the  order  that  year,  this  was  the  doctrine  taught  by 
the  lecturers,  and  at  the  end  of  the  year  it  was  discarded  as  a 
fallacy,  and  a  different  policy,  that  of  bulking  the  crops,  advo- 
cated for  the  next  year.  In  spite  of  this  complete  change  of 
base,  there  was  no  check  to  the  rapid  growth  of  the  order ;  it 
kept  on  growing  through  every  change  of  public  sentiment  as 
to  its  objects,  purposes,  and  methods.  Nor  is  this  all.  The 
men  who  founded  it  have  not  remained  in  the  lead  during  its 


l84  AGRICULTURAL    ORGANIZATIONS. 

wonderful  growth.  Officers  have  been  changed  almost  every 
year,  and  the  constitution,  the  organic  law  of  the  order,  has 
been  several  times  completely  changed. 

What  are  we  forced  to  conclude  from  all  this  ?  Evidently 
that  the  growth  of  this  great  order  does  not  depend  upon  the 
wisdom  and  forethought  of  the  men  who  founded  it,  or  of  those 
who  have  been  put  at  the  head  of  the  column  to  act  as  officers  ; 
neither  does  it  depend  upon  the  provisions  of  the  declaration  of 
purposes  or  the  constitution  ;  and,  as  we  have  seen  that  a  gen- 
eral popular  misconception  of  its  purposes,  attended  with  futile 
and  useless  action,  has  in  no  case  retarded  its  great  onward 
march,  we  must  conclude  that  it  is  a  higher  and  a  greater 
power  than  could  possibly  emanate  from  any  or  all  of  these 
sources.  The  Farmers'  Alliance  is  a  God-given  institution,  that 
ranks  above,  and  cannot  be  tied  down  to,  any  local  or  fleeting 
issue.  It  is  the  highest  development  of  material  progress,  an 
ever-present  and  all-powerful  influence  for  good.  It  is  the  farm- 
ers' sinking  fund,  or  savings  bank,  on  which  he  may  draw  for 
help  to  meet  the  evils  that  surround  him  now,  or  may  surround 
him  in  the  future.  If  it  could  be  tied  down  or  limited  to  the 
business  effort,  or  to  the  political  effort,  or  to  any  other  effort  of 
to-day,  it  would  only  last  until  that  effort  was  gained  or  lost,  for 
success  would  be  as  fatal  to  it  as  failure,  since  failure  would  dis- 
courage and  dishearten  its  followers,  and  success  would  obviate 
the  necessity  for  its  existence.  It  is,  however,  on  too  high  and 
too  broad  a  plane  for  that.  It  can  never  be  anchored  to  any 
special  effort ;  it  must  ever  remain  a  general  and  powerful 
influence  for  good,  calculated  to  meet  every  emergency;  and, 
as  such,  its  mission  will  never  be  accomplished  while  evil  exists 
or  unjust  conditions  confront  the  producers,  as  such  a  defeat  is 
local  and  cannot  injure,  and  a  victory  only  opens  the  way  for 
other  fields  to  conquer.  Under  this  broad,  this  grand  concep- 
tion of  the  mission  of  our  noble  order,  we  realize  that  it  is  here 
to  stay,  and  that  its  existence  is  not  fleeting,  that  it  is  worthy 
of  our  very  best  efforts  of  hand,  head,  and  heart. 

In  the  light  of  this  conception  of  our  order,  let  us  apply 
to  this  all-healing  fountain  for  the  crystal  drops  of  ultimate 
truth  and  justice,  that  shall  quench  the  fires  of  evil  and  discrim- 
ination that  surround  us  to-day.     A  comparison  of  the  condition 


f 


\jr     I  nc 


UNIVERSITY 


\  OF 


TB£  NATIONAL  ALLIANCE.  1 85 

of  the  farmers  of  America  to-day  with  that  twenty  to  twenty- 
five  years  ago,  will  forcibly  illustrate  the  fact  that  there  is  at 
this  time  a  depressed  condition  of  agriculture.  In  spite  of  the 
fact  that  it  has  been  an  era  of  great  productiveness  and  prosper- 
ity, farmers,  on  the  average,  are  much  poorer  now  than  they 
were  twenty  years  ago.  Improved  machinery  has  added  to  our 
power  to  produce,  and  the  railways  have  brought  the  markets 
of  the  world  to  our  very  doors,  and  yet  we  have  gone  down  in 
the  scale  of  financial  prosperity,  until  it  is  common  to  hear  men 
say  they  would  not  farm  if  they  could  make  a  living  any  other 
way.  Think  of  that !  The  noblest  calling  on  earth  made  the 
least  desirable  of  any !  It  is  time  we  examined  carefully  into 
the  causes  for  this  condition,  and  having  found  them,  stand 
shoulder  to  shoulder  as  a  unit  in  demanding  conditions  that 
shall  reverse  this  order  of  things. 

Production,  distribution,  consumption,  and  accumulation  con- 
stitute the  four  great  factors  in  business.  The  one  governing 
factor  is  distribution.  Production  will  take  care  of  itself.  It  is 
simply  an  expression  of  human  nature  through  a  common  desire 
to  do  something  to  promote  personal  gain  or  pleasure.  Natural 
wants  or  fancied  comforts,  together  with  human  frailties,  will 
furnish  ample  ways  and  means  for  consumption.  The  real  dan- 
ger to  be  avoided  is  an  excessive  accumulation  of  wealth  in  the 
hands  of  a  few  people,  through  an  unfair  distribution  of  the 
products  of  labor. 

"  We  demand  equal  rights  for  all,  and  special  favors  to  none," 
says  the  great  agricultural  and  labor  organization  of  America. 
Such  a  demand  implies  the  non-existence  of  these  conditions. 
Equal  rights  mean  an  equal  chance  in  the  struggle  of  life ;  that 
no  one  may  be  compelled  to  bear  the  burden  of  his  neighbor  in 
addition  to  his  own,  thereby  endangering  success  and  jeopard- 
izing escape  from  poverty  and  dependence.  President  Lincoln 
said :  "  I  am  here  to  make  of  myself  the  best  intellectual,  moral, 
and  physical  being  possible.  To  do  it,  I  am  entitled  to  generous 
food,  generous  clothing,  and  comfortable  shelter,  and  if  any  per- 
son or  set  of  persons  lays  upon  me  a  burden  whereby  I  am 
required  to  use  more  than  reasonable  effort  to  feed,  clothe,  and 
shelter  myself,  the  person  or  set  of  persons  so  unreasonably 
burdening  me  is  an  enemy  of  God,  and  my  murderer." 


1 86  AGRICULTURAL    ORGANIZATIONS, 

We  may  judge  both  the  future  and  the  present  by  the  past. 
Applying  this  rule,  we  at  once  discover  that  our  rights  have 
not  only  been  invaded,  but  in  many  cases  absolutely  taken  from 
us.  We  find,  on  all  sides,  monsters  in  the  guise  of  trusts,  cor- 
porations, and  monopolies,  that  not  only  despoil  us  of  our  rights, 
but  grimly  resist  all  efforts  to  regain  them.  The  conditions  of 
the  present  are  a  protest  against  the  laws  of  the  past,  and  a 
future  invasion  of  our  rights  may  be  justly  charged  as  a  crime 
of  the  present.  Thomas  Paine  said,  many  years  ago  :  **  When 
old  men  go  to  the  poor-house,  and  young  men  to  prison,  some- 
thing is  wrong  with  the  economic  system  of  the  nation."  So 
say  I.  When  one  man  dies  in  this  country  worth  one  hundred 
millions  of  dollars,  and  his  neighbor  is  buried  at  public  expense, 
something  is  wrong  with  the  doctrine  of  equality  before  just 
laws.  Nothing  but  a  perversion  of  our  rights  could  make  the 
vast  social  differences  of  the  present  time.  We  look  about  us 
and  find  poverty  and  distress  in  the  midst  of  plenty ;  hunger 
and  nakedness  amid  bursting  granaries  and  crowded  ware- 
houses. The  wails  of  the  starving  are  wafted  into  the  banquet 
halls  of  the  oppulent.  The  cry  of  the  unemployed  comes  up 
amid  the  unused  opportunities  of  God's  bounty ;  and  want  and 
wretchedness  confront  us  at  every  turn. 

Prior  to  the  war  there  were  but  two  millionnaires  in  this 
country  ;  at  the  present  time  31,100  persons  own  ;^36,25o,ooo,ooo 
of  the  wealth  of  the  nation.  Estimating  the  national  wealth  at 
sixty  billions,  we  find  that  these  31,100  persons  own  three- 
fifths.  Think  of  31,100  persons  in  this  republic  worth  more 
than  one  million  each,  on  the  average!  There  are  616,000 
miles  of  telegraph  lines  in  this  country,  and  one  man  controls  it 
all.  There  are  156,000  miles  of  railroad,  costing  nine  billions 
of  dollars,  yet  seven  men  dictate  its  profits.  We  mine  1 20,000,000 
tons  of  coal,  yet  five  men  determine  how  much  we  shall  pay  for 
it.  We  produce  6,000,000,000  gallons  of  coal  oil,  but  one 
man  establishes  the  price. 

The  above  is  but  a  partial  record  of  the  past  twenty  years. 
During  that  time  prices  have  declined  6/1  per  cent.  Debts 
have  increased  from  less  than  four  billions  in  1866  to  more  than 
thirty-six  billions  in  1890.  Crime  has  increased  46  per  cent; 
suicide,  97  per  cent ;  insanity,  145  per  cent ;  and  bankruptcies. 


THE  NATIONAL  ALLIANCE.  1 87 

from  520  to  12,340.  One-half  of  one  per  cent  of  our  population 
own  three-fourths  of  the  property  of  the  country,  and  less  than 
one  thousand  persons  dictate  a  line  of  action  to  more  than  sixty- 
three  millions.  One  firm  establishes  the  price  for  the  thousands 
of  millions  of  pounds  of  beef  and  pork  produced ;  and  the  board 
of  trade  gamblers  fix  the  price  on  our  500,000,CXX)  bushels  of 
wheat,  long  before  it  is  harvested. 

The  record  is  not  yet  complete.  The  public  domain  —  the/ 
last  hope  of  a  free  people  —  is  being  rapidly  taken  from  us. 
The  railroads  have  been  given  over  177,000,000  acres.  Pri- 
vate parties  and  corporations  own  fully  40,000,000  acres  more, 
and,  worst  of  all,  alien  syndicates  have  gained  possession  of 
63,000,000  acres  of  American  soil.  This  wholesale  appropria- 
tion of  public  lands  has  continued  until  there  are  now  remain- 
ing less  than  three  acres  each  per  capita  of  population.  These* 
are  the  economic  conditions  that  confront  us  at  the  present 
time.  These  are  the  results  of  a  public  policy  we  are  asked  to 
indorse,  and  are  expected  to  perpetuate.  In  view  of  the  above, 
is  it  necessary  to  ask  if  equal  rights  and  privileges  have  been 
granted  alike  to  all  t  Our  prisons  are  filled ;  our  almshouses 
are  running  over ;  our  streets  are  swarming  with  tramps ;  and 
three  millions  of  our  citizens  are  unable  to  obtain  work. 

Are  these  the  legitimate  fruits  of  over  a  century  of  freedom  } 
If  they  are,  the  blood  of  our  Revolutionary  fathers  was  shed  in 
vain,  the  patriotism  of  1776  was  ill-timed,  and  the  statesman- 
ship which  followed  a  cruel  farce.  That  these  conditions  are 
with  us,  no  one  will  have  the  temerity  to  deny.  The  reasons 
for  their  being  with  us  are  evidently  subjects  for  discussion. 
Various  theories  are  advanced  by  way  of  explanation  ;  mean- 
while the  work  of  depletion  goes  on.  One  popular  theory  is 
over-production  ;  that  our  economic  laws  are  too  perfect ;  that, 
as  a  nation,  we  are  suffering  from  a  surplus  of  success,  or  are 
the  victims  of  a  reckless  and  persistent  industry.  If  all  our 
people  were  comfortably  fed,  housed,  and  clothed,  there  would 
be  no  over-production.  Over-production  is  that  amount  of  any 
commodity  remaining  after  every  use  to  which  it  can  be  applied 
has  been  fully  satisfied.  A  surplus  is  that  which  remains 
unused  from  any  cause  whatever.  There  is  no  over-pro4uction 
of  wheat  or  meat  where  people  are  hungry ;  or  of  boots  and 


l88  AGRICULTURAL    ORGANlZATlom. 

shoes  where  they  are  barefoot ;  or  of  clothes  where  they  are 
ragged.  Neither  are  there  too  many  homes  where  people  are 
compelled  to  live  in  damp  cellars  or  cold  attics,  or  with  nothing 
but  the  blue  dome  of  heaven  for  a  shelter. 

Let  us  go  to  the  figures  and  amounts  themselves,  and  ascer- 
tain how  much  this  alleged  over-production  has  been.  Working 
from  the  rule  that  this  surplus  is  sent  abroad,  we  find  that,  in 
1888,  we  exported  in  all,  of  beef,  pork,  and  dairy  products, 
1,132,000,000  pounds,  120,000,000  bushels  of  wheat  and  flour 
(reduced  to  bushels),  and  that  our  whole  exports  amounted  to 
^683,000,000.  Had  the  65,000,000  of  our  people  consumed 
each  day  that  year  one  ounce  of  meat  more  than  they  did  con- 
sume, it  would  have  taken  1,470,000,000  pounds,  —  338,000,000 
pounds  more  than  was  exported. 

If  they  had  consumed  four  ounces  of  flour  each  day,  it  would 
have  required  148,280,000  bushels  of  wheat, —  28,280,000  bushels 
more  than  was  exported.  If  they  had  expended  three  cents  each 
day  for  products,  in  excess  of  what  they  did  expend,  they  would 
have  bought  1^711,750,000, — or  nearly  1^29,000,000  more  than 
was  expended.  Does  any  one  doubt  that  our  people  could  have 
consumed  one  ounce  of  meat  or  four  ounces  of  flour  each 
day  more  than  they  did }  Go  among  the  alleys,  the  by-ways, 
and  almshouses,  and  be  taught  better.  Could  we  not  have 
expended  three  cents  each  day  for  the  comforts  or  necessaries 
of  life,  more  than  we  did }  Stand  on  the  street  corner  and  notice 
the  crowds  as  they  pass  by,  and  receive  the  answer.  Where 
there  is  a  demand,  there  is  no  over-production. 

Extravagance  and  want  of  thrift  are  given  as  another  expla- 
nation of  the  diflficulty.  Need  I  insult  your  intelligence  by 
asking  if  you  ever  worked  harder  or  practised  economy  more 
closely }  I  venture  to  say  that  nine-tenths  of  the  people  have 
labored  more  hours,  and  economized  closer,  this  past  year  than 
ever  before.  The  environment  of  labor  in  production,  at  the 
present  time,  defeats  all  its  aims  at  financial  progress.  The 
fault  is  not  in  your  labor,  your  calculations,  or  your  saving.  It 
lies  in  the  system  under  which  your  efforts  are  directed.  Labor 
in  gross  production  was  never  better  repaid,  and  yet  in  net 
results  it  shows  a  loss. 

In  1867,  65,636,000  acres  in  cultivation  produced  1,329,729,000 


THE  NATIONAL  ALLIANCE,  1 89 

bushels  of  all  kinds  of  grain,  which  sold  for  ;^  1,284,000,000 ; 
while  in  1887,  twenty  years  subsequently,  141,821,000  acres 
produced  2,660,457,000  bushels,  which  sold  for  only  ;^  1,204, 289,- 
000.  That  is,  the  products  of  1867,  from  less  than  one-half  as 
many  acres  and  half  the  amount,  brought  the  farmer  ^79,71 1,000 
more.  Can  these  figures  be  explained  away  by  want  of  thrift 
or  extravagance  ? 

Labor,  the  architect  of  all  wealth  and  prosperity,  is  languish- 
ing to-day  from  similar  causes.  There  is  no  other  nation  on 
earth  where  labor  is  despoiled  as  easily  as  it  is  in  America.  In 
other  nations  it  requires  a  monarchy,  a  standing  army,  and  the 
traditions  of  a  brutal  past  to  effect  this  robbery ;  but  here  it  is 
accomplished  almost  by  common  consent.  All  economists  unite 
on  the  proposition  that  "labor  is  the  sole  creator  of  wealth." 
If  that  be  true,  what  agency  steps  in  between  the  producer  and 
the  wealth  he  creates  }  In  the  answer  to  this  question  lies  the 
whole  labor  problem.  In  the  discussion  of  this  point  it  is  nec- 
essary to  examine  at  least  two  others.  What  is  labor.-*  It  is 
mental  or  physical  exertion.  Capital  is  wealth  used  in  produc- 
tion, and  wealth  is  the  crystaUized  labor  of  the  past.  Again, 
while  all  capital  is  wealth,  all  wealth  is  not  necessarily  capital. 
Wealth  not  used  in  production  is  not  capital.  There  are  also 
two  kinds  of  capital,  visible  and  invisible.  The  first  consists  in 
money,  tools,  merchandise,  etc.  The  latter  lies  hidden  in  the 
brain  and  brawn  of  the  individual,  and  is  called  labor. 

It  would  seem  that  these  two  factors  ought  to  live  peaceably 
together,  and  many  kind-hearted  people  insist  that  they  do,  that 
their  interests  are  identical.  This,  however,  is  not  true ;  their 
interests  are  diametrically  opposed  to  each  other.  Instead  of 
living  in  peace,  they  are  at  war ;  they  have  been  in  the  past, 
and  will  be  in  the  future,  so  long  as  the  present  system  of  eco- 
nomics continues.  This  contest  began  with  the  introduction  of 
a  medium  of  exchange,  and  has  continued  ever  since.  In  the 
primitive  state  of  the  race,  men  labored  simply  for  personal  or 
family  wants,  and  there  was  neither  commerce  nor  exchanges. 
Each  produced  what  would  satisfy,  and  each  enjoyed  the  full 
benefits  of  his  labor.  A  few  conditions  of  barbarism  would  be 
appreciated  even  now.  If  a  man  made  a  coat,  it  was  his ;  he 
was  not  obliged  to  part  with  it  to  pay  interest,  or  hide  it  from 


I90  AGRICULTURAL    ORGANIZATIONS, 

the  tax-gatherer.  If  he  planted  a  field,  he  was  not  compelled 
to  eat  the  refuse  and  sell  the  best  to  pay  rent  or  to  make 
a  payment  on  the  mortgage.  If  they  were  without  schools, 
churches,  and  railroads,  it  is  no  less  a  fact  they  were  wanting 
in  prisons,  poor-houses,  and  tramps. 

Soon  barter,  an  exchange  of  commodities,  began  to  take  place 
between  individuals  and  tribes.  The  fish  of  one  section  were 
exchanged  for  the  fur  of  another  section.  It  often  became  diffi- 
cult to  make  these  exchanges  exactly  balance.  One  class  of 
products  would  possess  more  labor  value  than  the  other.  For 
example,  ten  pieces  of  fur  would  have  more  labor  value  than  ten 
fish,  but  not  enough  for  eleven.  This  made  the  bargain  unequal 
and  entailed  a  loss.  After  a  time  they  began  to  use  shells  and 
beads  to  represent  this  difference  in  labor  value.  These  shells 
and  beads  had  no  value  of  themselves,  but  by  common  consent 
represented  labor  value.  By  and  by  some  one  hoarded  up 
enough  of  these  representatives  of  value  to  exchange  entire 
for  some  of  the  fish  or  fur.  Then  the  war  between  capital  and 
labor  began,  and  has  continued  until  the  present  time.  The 
man  with  the  beads  and  shells  wanted  all  the  fur  and  fish  he 
could  obtain  for  them,  while  the  hunters  and  fishermen  wanted 
to  give  him  as  little  as  possible.  The  self-same  struggle  is 
with  us  to-day.  The  shells  and  beads  of  barbarism  are  the  pro- 
totypes of  the  gold  and  silver  of  civilization.  The  owners  of 
these  shells  and  beads  of  barbarism  are  identical  with  the 
banker  and  bond-owner  of  civilization.  The  form  and  material 
have  changed.  The  conditions  and  circumstances  of  exchanges 
have  differed  since  that  time.  But  the  old  idea  of  barbarism, 
the  relationship  which  these  representatives  of  value  bear  to 
each  other  and  to  all  created  wealth,  has  remained  the  same, 
has  obeyed  all  these  years  the  same  general  laws,  and  has  been 
guided  by  the  same  unvarying  rules.  The  same  general  laws 
govern  the  production  and  distribution  of  wealth  to-day  that 
did  when  production  and  distribution  began.  With  an  increase 
of  these  representatives  of  value,  products  are  more  justly  dis- 
tributed, labor  is  paid  better,  and  prosperity  makes  its  appear- 
ance. With  a  decrease,  exactly  the  reverse  of  this  is  effected. 
This  has  proven  true  in  all  ages  of  the  world,  and  is  proving 
true  at  the  present  time. 


THE  NATIONAL  ALLIANCE.  1(^1 

As  long  as  this  tool  of  exchange  remains  the  mstniment  or 
incident^  it  is  in  every  sense  a  blessing ;  but  the  moment  it 
becomes  the  object  of  exchange,  then  it  becomes  the  oppressor,  as 
it  now  is.  At  this  point  I  desire  to  direct  your  attention  to  two 
propositions  :  first,  the  price  or  commercial  value  of  products  is 
fixed  by  the  amount  of  circulating  medium.  More  money,  higher 
price,  and  better  times ;  less  money,  lower  price,  and  harder  times. 
As  proof  of  this  I  desire  to  submit  a  few  statistics. 

While  every  demand  made  by  the  Alliance  is  founded  upon 
ultimate  truth,  the  necessity  and  correctness  of  the  one  asking 
for  an  increase  of  currency  among  the  people  can  be  at  once 
demonstrated  to  the  entire  satisfaction  of  all  candid-thinking 
individuals.  The  statistics  of  the  past  quarter  of  a  century 
prove  the  following  propositions  beyond  a  question  of  doubt :  — 

1.  That  the  per  capita  volume  of  currency  has  been  con- 
stantly and  materially  lessened. 

2.  That  bankruptcy  and  failures  have  rapidly  multiplied  in 
consequence. 

3.  That  the  national  debt,  during  this  period,  has  increased 
instead  of  being  diminished. 

It  now  remains  for  me  to  substantiate  the  above  statements, 
which  I  will  undertake  to  do  as  briefly  and  plainly  as  the  facts 
and  space  will  permit.  The  question  of  the  amount  of  currency 
in  circulation  is  one  that  necessarily  involves  a  resort  to  certain 
estimates,  which  should  be  fairly  and  carefully  considered.  It 
has  recently,  however,  become  a  prime  factor  in  partisan  politics 
and  financial  duplicity,  which  subjects  it  to  all  the  misleading 
statements  and  false  assumptions  that  usually  accompany  a  dis- 
cussion of  financial  propositions  under  such  conditions.  The 
ordinary  reader  is  many  times  led  to  mistake  high-sounding 
phrases  and  uncommon  words  for  good  argument,  and,  as  a 
result,  becomes  settled  in  an  opinion  without  being  able  to  give 
the  shadow  of  an  intelligent  reason  therefor.  Another  mistake  is 
frequently  made  in  always  considering  the  deductions  drawn  by 
government  officials  from  government  statistics  as  absolutely 
correct,  because  the  exact  reverse  has  been  proven  in  many 
instances.  If  the  farmer  would  apply  the  same  kind  of  logic 
when  considering  the  volume  of  currency  that  he  does  to  his 
corn-crib  or  pork-barrel,  approximately  correct  conclusions  would 


192 


AGRICULTURAL    ORGANIZATIONS. 


be  easily  obtained.  If  it  was  desirable  to  know  how  much  had 
been  fed  to  the  stock  or  consumed  by  the  family,  it  would  be 
hardly  fair  to  ascertain  what  remained  in  the  crib  or  barrel,  and 
assume  that  the  difference  had  been  used  by  the  stock  or  family, 
especially  when  more  or  less  had  been  loaned  or  sold  to  others. 
Just  so  with  the  government ;  it  manufactures  under  fiat  of  law 
certain  amounts  of  money,  and  when  asked  to  give  that  portion 
which  is  circulating  among  the  people,  it  subtracts  the  amount 
on  hand  from  the  quantity  manufactured,  and  declares  the  differ- 
ence to  be  in  circulation.  The  plain  fact  is  either  overlooked  or 
ignored,  that  certain  stringent  laws  are  on  the  statute  books, 
which  specifically  demand  that  certain  other  portions  of  this  cur- 
rency shall  be  locked  up  and  held  as  reserves,  and  consequently 
not  in  any  sense  in  circulation ;  that  other  portions  have  been 
lost,  destroyed,  sent  out  of  the  country,  or  used  for  other  pur- 
poses. When  proper  deductions  are  made  to  conform  to  the  law, 
and  reasonable  allowances  given  for  other  factors  which  conspire 
to  reduce  the  amount,  the  following  table,  with  a  brief  explana- 
tion, will  be  found  substantially  correct:  — 

.  Circulation  Per  Capita. 


Year. 


1866 
1867 
1868 
1869 
1870 
1871 
1872 

1873 
1874 
1875 
1876 
1877 
1878 
1879 
1880 
1881 
1882 
1883 
1884 
1885 
1886 
1887 
1888 
l88q 


Population. 

CiRCUI-ATION. 

Per  Capita. 

35,819,281 

^1,863,409,216 

$52.01 

36,269,502 

1,350,949.218 

37-51 

37,016,949 

794,756,112 

21.47 

37,779,800 

730,705,638 

19-34 

38,558.371 

691,028,377 

18.70 

39,750.073 

670,344,147 

16.89 

40,978,607 

661,641,363 

16.14 

42,245,110 

652,896,762 

1545 

43.550,756 

632,032,773 

14-51 

44,896,705 

630,427,609 

14.04 

46,284,344 

620,316,970 

1340 

47,714,829 

586,328,074 

12.28 

48,955.306 

549,540,087 

11.23 

50,155.783 

534,424,248 

10.65 

51,660,456 

528,524,267 

10.23 

52,693,665 

610,632,433 

II.51 

53,747.538 

657,404,084 

12.23 

54,812,488 

648,205,895 

11.82 

55.908,737 

591,476,978 

10.58 

57,016,911 

533.405,001 

I'^l 

58,157,249 

470,574,361 

8.08 

59.320,393 

423,452,221 

713 

60,506,800 

398,719,212 

6.58 

61,717,936 

306,999,982 

4-97 

THE  NATIONAL  ALLIANCE, 


i93 


The  above  table  is  corrected  to  conform  to  the  population 
given  by  the  recent  census.  I  carefully  prepared  and  published 
in  my  book,  "The  Philosophy  of  Price,"  a  table  from  1866  to 
1885.  I  also  made  calculations  from  1885  to  1889,  based  upon 
the  increase  of  the  census  of  1880.  I  overestimated  the  popu- 
lation, as  shown  by  the  late  census.  This  gives  a  small  percent- 
age of  increase  in  the  per  capita  amount  over  previous  tables. 

These  tables  will  stand  the  most  searching  criticism.  As  a 
logical  result  of  such  rapid  per  capita  contraction  of  the  circu- 
lating medium,  the  following  table  of  business  failures  is  given. 
While  these  figures  are  appalling,  they  do  not  give  more  than 
one-half  or  one-third  of  the  actual  number  or  amount.  The  real 
estate  mortgage  failures,  the  chattel  mortgage  failures,  and  the 
deed  of  trust  failures,  cannot  be  given  with  any  degree  of  accu- 
racy, yet  they  are  numbered  by  tens  if  not  hundreds  of  thou- 
sands. Besides  these,  there  are  the  railroad  and  corporation 
receiverships ;  the  vast  amount  of  compromised  indebtedness, 
and  other  forms  of  liquidation  which  are  but  different  terms  for 
business  failures.  By  comparing  this  table  with  the  one  above, 
it  will  be  seen  that  the  failures  have  kept  pace  with  the  reduction 
in  the  volume  of  currency,  excepting  the  years  which  followed 
1873  and  1878.  At  this  last  date,  the  year  which  immediately 
preceded  specie  resumption,  all  values  were  nearly  eliminated 
and  left  no  room  for  failures  for  some  time. 

The  failures  in  the  United  States  from  1865  to  1889  were:  — 


V^EAR. 

Number. 

Liabilities. 

1865    •   .   .       520 

;gi  7,625,000 

1866   . 

632 

47,333,000 

1867 

2,780 

96,666,000 

1868 

2,608 

63,694,000 

1869 

2,799 

75,054,000 

1870 

3.551 

88,242,000 

I87I 

2,915 

85,252,000 

1872 

4,069 

121,036,000 

1873 

5»i83 

228,599,000 

1874 

5.830 

155,239,000 

1875 

7.740 

201,000,000 

1876 

9,092 

191,117,000 

1877 

.   8,872 

190,669,000 

1878 

10,478 

234,483,132 

Year. 
1879 
1880 
1881 
1882 
1883 
1884 
1885 
1886 
1887 
1888 
1889 


Number. 

Liabilities. 

6,658 

$98,149,053 

4,735 

65,752,000 

5.582 

81,155.932 

6,738 

102,000,000 

9,184 

172,874,172 

10,968 

226,343,427 

11,211 

267,340,264 

12,292 

229,288,238 

12,042 

335.121,888 

13,348 

247,659,956 

13.277 

312,496,742 

Total  .  .  161,332  $3,919,394,824 


194  AGRICULTURAL    ORGANIZATIONS. 

This  table  will  not  agree  with  Bradstreet's,  because  a  certain 
per  cent  is  added  for  failures  of  a  smaller  amount  than  that 
agency  recognizes. 

After  a  careful  examination  of  these  tables,  the  question 
must  naturally  present  itself  to  every  honest  man :  Was  it 
necessary  for  162,000  business  men  to  pass  through  the  horrors 
of  bankruptcy,  and  suffer  the  torture  which  always  waits  upon 
such  conditions,  or  that  ;^4, 000, 000, 000  of  hard-earned  property 
should  be  unnaturally  and  wrongfully  transferred,  because  of 
the  power  of  an  inadequate  volume  of  money  to  oppress  ?  Has 
the  experiment  been  a  success,  and  is  the  nation  greater  or 
stronger  for  having  passed  through  this  trying  ordeal  in  order 
to  make  United  States  bonds  bear  a  premium  of  twenty-five  per 
cent  ?  Human  nature  and  honest  convictions  revolt  at  the  plain 
facts  contained  in  this  statement,  and  the  universal  verdict  must 
be  that  conditions  which  conspire  to  bring  about  such  results 
must  be  unwise  and  unjust.  While  the  first  table  given  dis- 
closes "the  power  of  money  to  oppress,"  the  second  table  fur- 
nishes ample  proof  of  its  existence. 

But  there  is  other  and  stronger  evidence  of  the  destructive 
forces  contained  in  the  first  table,  that  cannot  be  disproved. 
It  is  as  plain  as  the  noon-day  sun,  and  is  found  in  the  increase 
of  the  national  debt,  notwithstanding  the  vast  sums  that  have 
been  paid  as  principal,  interest,  and  premium.  A  careful  and 
thorough  analysis  of  the  following  statement  and  table  is 
requested  of  the  reader :  — 

The  national  debt  in  1866  amounted  to  ;?2, 783,000,000.  We 
have  paid  on  the  principal  of  the  public  debt  1^1,599,665,312; 
and  as  interest  on  same,  ;^2, 540, 726,049 ;  and  a  further  sum  of 
^58,540,000  as  premiums  on  bonds  purchased;  amounting  in  all 
to  ^4,198,931,361.  Yet  we  find  the  debt  of  the  nation  has 
actually  increased,  if  paid  in  the  labor  and  products  of  the  peo- 
ple, (any  person  of  ordinary  intelligence  knows  it  cannot  be 
paid  in  anything  else) ;  that  is  to  say,  it  will  take  more  labor 
products  to  pay  what  we  now  owe,  at  present  prices,  than  it 
would  have  taken  to  pay  the  entire  indebtedness  in  1866,  at  the 
prices  then.  As  proof  of  this,  the  table  below  is  given.  In 
regard  to  its  correctness,  reference  is  called  to  any  authentic 
price  lists  of  products  for  the  years  named. 


THE  NATIONAL  ALLIANCE. 


195 


Tjtcrease  of  the  National  Debt,  if  Paid  in  Farm  Products. 
Debt  in  1866,  ^2,783,000,000.  Debt  in  1890,  ^i,i83,334,( 


Products  Necessary. 

Amount,  1866. 

Amount,  1890. 

Actual  Increase, 

Beef  (barrels) .     .     .     . 

I29,CX50,000 

236,666,937 

107,666,937 

Pork  (barrels).     .     .     . 

87,000,000 

147,916,836 

60,916,836 

Wheat  (bushels)  .     .     . 

1,007,000,000 

1,972,222,448 

965,222,448 

Oats  (bushels).     .     .     . 

3,262,350,000 

5.917.773.340 

2,755.423,340 

Corn  (bushels)     .     .     . 

2,218,000,000 

3,944,448,893 

1,726,448,893 

Cotton  (pounds)  .     .     . 

1 7,092,000,000 

13,148,162,755 

6,056,162,755 

Wool  (pounds)     .     .     . 

4,281,538,451 

4,733.338,752 

551,800,301 

This  table  clearly  shows  that,  notwithstanding  the  national 
debt  has  been  nearly  twice  paid  in  principal  and  interest,  the 
portion  which  yet  remains  is  larger  than  the  original.  This 
statement  will  not  hold  good  when  mere  dollars  and  cents  are 
considered,  but  is  absolutely  true  as  regards  the  amount  of  the 
products  of  labor  that  is  necessary  to  purchase  these  different 
sums  of  money.  Thus,  had  the  debt  been  contracted  to  be  paid 
in  wheat,  it  would  have  taken,  in  1866,  i,cx)7,0CX),C)00  bushels. 

Bushels. 

We  have  paid  on  the  principal 1,786,460,000 

As  interest 2,823,328,000 

As  premium  on  bonds 62,770,000 

Total  paid 4,652,558,000 

We  yet  owe 1,958,389,084 

Had  the  debt  been  contracted  to  be  paid  in  cotton,  it  would 
have  taken,  in  1867,  7,092,000,000  pounds. 

Pounds. 

We  have  paid  on  the  principal 16,077,683,000* 

As  interest 25,407,260,000 

As  premiums  on  bonds 565,000,000 

Total  paid 42,049,943,000 

We  yet  owe 11,752,316,000 

When  it  is  remembered  that  all  private  indebtedness  has 
gone  through  the  same  process  ;  that  a  mortgage  which  was 
given  prior  to   1872,   and  remains  half  unpaid,  is  larger   and 

1  Prices  in  1867. 


196  AGRICULTURAL    ORGANIZATIONS. 

more  burdensome  than  when  first  given  ;  that  the  man  who 
has  worked  hard  and  economized  closely  during  all  these  years 
to  pay  one-half  or  two-thirds  of  his  indebtedness  is  no  better 
off,  and  in  nearly  every  case  more  in  debt  than  when  he  first 
began,  measured  by  the  remuneration  received  for  his  own 
efforts,  —  is  there  any  wonder  that  wide-spread  distress  and 
discontent  obtain  among  the  wealth-producers  of  the  country  ? 

In  order  to  show  that  money  has  become  dear  and  the  prod- 
ucts of  labor  cheap  during  the  past  twenty-five  years,  attention 
is  called  to  the  following  statement.  Two  neighbors  had  each 
;^iooo  in  1866,  which  they  desired  to  invest  in  some  kind  of 
speculation.  The  one  bought  wheat  and  stored  it,  while  the 
other  locked  up  his  money  and  let  it  remain  idle.  Each  allowed 
his  investment  to  remain  until  1890,  when  the  matter  would  be 
about  as  follows  :  — 
1866. 

Mr.  A,  cash $1000 

Mr.  B,  wheat bushels      500 

1890. 
Mr.  A,  with  his  $1000,  can  buy,  at  60  cents  per  bushel,      bushels    1666 
Mr.  B,  with  500  bushels  of  wheat,  can  buy  only ;$300 

These  two  statements  present  a  subject  for  consideration  well 
worthy  the  attention  of  every  American  citizen.  If  idle  money 
can  increase  so  alarmingly  in  its  power  over  the  products  of 
labor,  what  may  not  money  loaned  at  ruinous  rates  of  interest 
bring  about }  Something  must  be  done  to  even  up  the  condi- 
tions between  those  who  can  command  the  use  of  money  and 
those  who  cannot. 

This  can  be  done  only  by  unity  of  action,  unity  of  purposes, 
and  an.  unselfish  desire  to  promote  the  general  good.  To  this 
end,  the  Alliance  is  doing  its  perfect  work.  The  people  are 
thinking,  studying,  and  investigating.  This  will  soon  lead  to 
action,  and  then,  the  end.     The  people  are  saying  :  — 

"  Swing  outward,  oh,  gates  of  the  morning  ! 
Swing  inward,  ye  doors  of  the  past. 
A  giant  is  rousing  from  slumber ; 
The  people  are  waking  at  last." 


DIVISION    II. 


HISTORICAL   AND  POLITICAL. 


CHAPTER   I. 

KINDRED    ORGANIZATIONS. 

The  Agricultural  Wheel.  —The  origin  of  the  Wheel  is  a 
matter  of  plain  record,  and  has  been  written  many  times.  It 
was  founded  in  the  distress  of  the  people  and  made  rapid  growth, 
both  in  numbers  and  importance,  because  the  farmers  believed 
that  its  teachings  were  wise  and  just.  The  date  of  its  organ- 
ization, in  1882,  was  simultaneous  with  that  of  the  Brothers  of 
Freedom,  with  which  it  consolidated  a  few  years  later. 

The  Wheel  was  purely  an  agricultural  organization,  with  defi-  , 
nite  aims  and  a  proper  conception  of  the  rights  and  privileges  ; 
of  that  class  of  American  citizens.  On  the  15th  day  of  Febru- 
ary, 1882,  at  McBee's  School-house,  in  the  town  of  Des  Arc, 
Prairie  County,  Arkansas,  was  held  the  preliminary  meeting  that 
led  to  its  formation.  The  following  persons  were  present : 
W.  A.  Suit,  W.  T.  McBee,  J.  W.  McBee,  H.  B.  Lakey,  J.  T. 
Thrasher,  J.  W.  Walls,  and  W.  W.  Tedford.  These  men  were 
all  farmers,  unused  to  anything  save  hard  labor ;  but  all  united 
in  the  belief  that  their  condition  might  be  improved  through 
some  sort  of  concerted  action.  A  determination  was  soon 
formed  to  make  an  attempt  in  that  direction.  A  secret  organi- 
zation was  decided  upon,  and  a  committee  was  appointed  to 
draft  the  constitution,  by-laws,  and  secret  work.  Their  report 
was  presented  and  adopted  at  the  next  meeting. 

The  Original  Constitution. 

1.  This  organization  shall  be  known  as  the  Wattensas  Farmers'  Club. 

2.  Its  objects  shall  be  the  improvement  of  its  members  in  the  theory 

197 


198  HISTORICAL   AND  POLITICAL. 

and  practice  of  agriculture,  and  the  dissemination  of  knowledge  relative 
to  rural  and  farming  affairs. 

3.  The  members  shall  consist  of  such  persons  as  will  sign  the  consti- 
tution and  by-laws,  and  who  are  engaged  in  farming. 

4.  Its  officers  shall  consist  of  a  President,  two  Vice-Presidents,  Secre- 
tary, Chaplain,  and  Treasurer,  who  shall  jointly  constitute  the  Executive 
Committee,  —  also  the  Sentinels,  —  and  shall  be  elected  annually. 

5.  Its  meetings  shall  be  held  on  the  first  and  third  Saturday  nights  in 
each  month,  at  McBee's  School-house. 

The  secret  work  was  adopted  in  part  at  this  meeting,  and 
perfected  soon  afterwards.  A  ritual  was  soon  added,  and  the 
usual  secret  work  of  such  orders,  changed  or  amended  as  cir- 
cumstances and  experience  demanded. 

The  following  preamble  to  the  constitution  of  the  Wheel  was 
adopted  by  Wheel  No.  i,  sometime  during  the  spring  or  summer 
of  1882:  — 

Whereas^  The  general  condition  of  our  country  imperatively  demands 
unity  of  action  on  the  part  of  the  laboring  classes,  reformation  in  econ- 
omy, and  the  dissemination  of  principles  best  calculated  to  encourage 
and  foster  agricultural  and  mechanical  pursuits,  encouraging  the  toiling 
masses,  leading  them  in  the  road  to  prosperity,  and  providing  a  just  and 
fair  remuneration  for  labor,  a  just  exchange  of  our  commodities,  and 
best  mode  and  means  of  securing  to  the  laboring  classes  the  greatest 
amount  of  good ; 

We  hold  to  the  principle^  That  all  farmers  should  save  their  own  meat 
and  bread,  raise  more  com,  wheat,  oats,  and  the  grasses,  and  less  cotton, 
so  as  to  increase  the  demand  far  beyond  the  actual  supply,  securing  bet- 
ter prices,  and  holding  the  stock  of  provisions  from  the  greedy  paws  of 
merciless  speculators. 

We  hold  to  the  principle^  That  all  monopolies  are  dangerous  to  the 
best  interests  of  our  country,  tending  to  enslave  a  free  people,  and  sub- 
vert and  finally  overthrow  the  great  principles  purchased  by  Washington 
and  his  glorious  compatriots.  » 

We  hold  to  the  principle,  That  the  laboring  classes  have  an  inherent 
right  to  sell  and  buy  when  and  wherever  their  best  interests  are  served, 
and  patronize  none  who  dare,  by  word  or  action,  oppose  a  just,  fair,  and 
equitable  exchange  of  the  products  of  labor. 

We  denounce,  As  unfair  and  unjust  any  set  of  men  who  sell  at  large 
profits,  and  gain  the  advantage  over  the  laboring  classes,  and  obtain  the 


THE   AGRICULTURAL    WHEEL,  199 

product  of  their  labor  at  greatly  reduced  prices,  thus  forcing  patronage 
and  constituting  a  hateful  monopoly,  making  free  and  independent  men 
slaves. 

Objects  of  the  Order. 

1.  The  objects  of  this  order  shall  be  to  unite  fraternally  all  accept-1 
able  white  males  who  are  engaged  in  the  occupation  of  farming,  also- 
mechanics  who  are  actually  engaged  in  farming. 

2.  To  give  all  possible  moral  and  material  aid  in  its  power  to  its 
members,  by  holding  instructive  lectures,  by  encouraging  each  other  in 
business,  and  by  assis^ting  each  other  in  obtaining  employment. 

3.  The  improvement  of  its  members  in  the  theory  and  practice  of 
agriculture,  and  the  dissemination  of  knowledge  relative  to  rural  and 
farming  affairs. 

4.  To  ameliorate  the  condition  of  farmers  in  every  possible  manner. 

Preamble  as  Amended. 

We  believe^  There  is  a  God,  the  great  Creator  of  all  things,  and  that 
He  created  all  men  free  and  equal,  and  endowed  them  with  certain 
inalienable  rights,  such  as  life,  liberty,  and  the  pursuit  of  happiness,  and 
that  these  rights  are  a  common  inheritance,  and  should  be  respected  by 
all  mankind. 

We  further  believe  ^  That  any  power  or  influence  that  tends  to  restrict 
or  circumscribe  any  class  of  our  citizens  in  the  free  exercise  of  these 
God-given  rights  and  privileges,  is  detrimental  to  the  best  interests  of  a 
free  people. 

While  it  is  an  established  fact  that  the  laboring  classes  of  mankind  are 
the  real  producers  of  wealth,  we  find  that  they  are  gradually  becoming 
oppressed  by  combination  of  capital,  and  the  fruits  of  their  toil  absorbed 
by  a  class  who  propose,  not  only  to  live  on  the  labor  of  others,  but  to 
speedily  amass  fortunes  at  their  expense. 

This  constitution  and  declaration  of  principles,  together  v^^ith 
the  usual  by-laws,  constituted  the  working  plan  of  the  initial 
member  of  this  organization.  Little  did  these  men  know  the 
solid  foundation  upon  which  they  built.  Little  did  they  realize 
that  their  efforts  in  the  line  of  reform,  joined  with  others,  would 
in  so  short  a  space  of  time  bring  about  the  greatest  organization 
in  the  interest  of  agricultural  freedom  that  the  world  has  ever 
seen.     It  is  both  just  and  proper  to  hand  down  to  posterity  their 


200  HISTORICAL   AND  POLITICAL. 

names  and  deeds,  and  point  to  them  as  worthy  efforts  for  emu- 
lation. 

There  has  been  considerable  speculation  as  to  the  real  cause 
for  the  selection  of  such  a  peculiar  name  for  the  organization.  It 
is  said  that  several  other  names  were  presented,  but  through  some 
means  and  for  some  purpose  now  unknown,  the  name  "  Agri- 
cultural Wheel "  was  selected.  It  has  served  its  purpose  well, 
and  no  one  who  has  ever  been  connected  with  the  order  need 
disown  it.  The  officers  of  the  parent  Wheel  were  :  W.  W.  Ted- 
ford,  President ;  J.  W.  Walls  and  B.  F.  Slater,  Vice-Presidents  ; 
W.  C.  Hammond,  Secretary ;  W.  T.  McBee,  Treasurer ;  H.  B. 
Lakey  and  J.  B.  Thrasher,  Sentinels ;  N.  B.  Massey,  Chaplain. 

Other  Wheels  were  soon  formed,  and  the  idea  of  such  organ- 
izations found  ready  converts  among  the  farmers.  Articles  of 
incorporation  were  drawn  up  and  numerously  signed,  and  a 
charter,  or  certificate  of  incorporation,  was  granted  from  the 
State,  in  August,  1882.  In  April,  1883,  or  within  about  one 
year  from  the  first  meeting,  a  State  organization  was  formed, 
with  over  500  members.  This  State  Wheel  was  perfected  at 
the  home  of  W.  T.  McBee,  one  of  the  original  founders,  with 
E.  R.  McPherson,  President,  and  W.  C.  Hammond,  Secretary. 

The  success  of  the  movement  was  apparent  to  all  who  attended 
this  meeting,  and  a  common  desire  was  manifested  to  push  the 
work  of  organization  in  other  parts  of  the  State.  This  deter- 
mination was  carried  out  with  vigor  and  success.  The  State 
Wheel  met  semi-annually  for  a  time,  or  until  it  became  so  large 
that  such  frequent  meetings  were  considered  impracticable.  In 
July,  1883,  the  State  Wheel  met  at  Goff' s  Cove,  with  a  little 
over  forty  sub-organizations.  The  old  officers  were  re-elected. 
At  this  meeting  a  move  was  made  in  the  right  direction,  and 
the  membership  taken  from  the  villages  and  cities,  and  relegated 
strictly  to  the  country. 

The  next  meeting  was  held  at  Stony  Point,  January  9,  1884. 
The  order  still  showed  a  rapid  increase,  there  being  at  this 
meeting  representatives  from  about  1 14  sub-organizations,  with 
a  membership  of  fully  5000.  At  this  meeting  provision  was 
made  for  the  formation  of  County  Wheels,  and  the  meeting  of 
the  State  Wheel  was  changed  from  semi-annual  to  annual. 
A  National   Wheel  was   also  the   subject   of   some  discussion, 


THE  AGRICULTURAL    WHEEL.  20I 

A  resolution  was  passed,  condemning  the  system  of  mortgaging 
stock  and  growing  crops ;  also  petitioning  Congress  to  prohibit, 
by  statute  law,  the  dealing  in  futures,  and  demanding  that  the 
State  Legislature  should  enact  laws,  "granting  equal  rights  to 
all,  without  burdening  any."  It  was  a  grand  meeting,  and 
showed  the  power  and  judgment  that  might  be  brought  to  bear 
through  an  organization  of  farmers. 

The  next  meeting  of  the  State  body  was  held  at  Sulphur 
Springs,  in  July,  1884.  Much  work  of  a  general  character  was 
done  at  this  meeting,  including  an  attempt  to  formulate  some 
plan  to  nationalize  the  movement  and  extend  the  organization  into 
other  States.  The  subject  of  consolidating  with  the  Brothers  of 
Freedom  was  discussed.  John  R.  Johnson  was  elected  president 
of  the  Grand  Wheel. 

The  State  Wheel  met  next  at  Mount  Carmel,  in  July,  1885. 
This  proved  to  be  a  very  enthusiastic  meeting.  Many  were 
there  from  other  States,  and  a  general  feeling  obtained  that 
great  things  were  in  store  for  the  order.  J.  R.  Johnson  was 
re-elected  President,  and  R.  H.  Morehead,  Secretary.  A  thor- 
ough revision  of  the  secret  work,  constitution,  and  by-laws  was 
made  at  this  meeting. 

A  called  session  of  the  State  Wheel,  for  the  purpose  of  con- 
solidating with  the  Brothers  of  Freedom,  was  held  at  Greenbrier, 
October  15,  1885.  After  considerable  discussion,  the  two  orders 
combined,  with  Isaac  McCracken,  President,  and  R.  H.  More- 
head,  Secretary,  the  Brothers  of  Freedom  patriotically  consent- 
ing to  drop  their  name.  At  that  time  there  were  462  Subordinate 
Wheels,  and  about  650  organizations  of  the  Brothers  of  Freedom, 
making  a  joint  membership  of  over  40,000.  New  constitutions, 
by-laws,  and  secret  work  were  adopted ;  organizations  sprang 
up  rapidly  throughout  the  State ;  and  other  States,  becoming 
interested,  began  to  call  for  organizers  also. 

The  organization  had  now  reached  the  danger  line.  Educa- 
tion had  done  and  was  doing  its  perfect  work.  The  member- 
ship could  not  refrain  from  giving  expression  to  their  views. 
And  this  resulted  in  the  usual  abuse  and  misrepresentation  from 
the  partisan  press,  which  had  the  result  of  advertising  the  order, 
so  that  it  prospered  and  increased  rapidly  in  numbers,  as  a  con- 
sequence.    At  its  next  meeting,  at   Litchfield,  in  July,   1886, 


202  HISTORICAL   AND  POLITICAL. 

much  work  of  a  solid  nature  was  perfected.  Some  changes  in 
the  constitution  were  made,  one  of  which,  the  dropping  of  the 
word  "  white  "  from  the  eligibihty  clause,  caused  a  spirited  debate. 
A  committee  was  appointed  to  confer  with  delegates  from  other 
States,  to  take  into  consideration  the  formation  of  a  National 
Wheel.  Regularly  chosen  delegations  were  present  from  the 
States  of  Tennessee  and  Kentucky,  who,  in  connection  with 
the  delegates  from  Arkansas,  met  in  convention,  drafted  a  con- 
stitution and  by-laws  for  a  National  Wheel,  and  elected  Isaac 
McCracken,  National  President,  A.  E.  Gardner,  Secretary-Treas- 
urer, and  Isom  P.  Langley,  Lecturer. 

The  question  of  eligibility  was  settled  by  making  provision 
for  separate  organizations  for  the  colored  members.  This  action 
was  immediately  ratified  by  the  State  Wheel  of  Arkansas,  and 
subsequently  by  the  States  of  Kentucky  and  Tennessee.  Isaac 
McCracken  was  also  chosen  president  of  the  State,  with  R.  H. 
Morehead  as  secretary.  The  formation  of  the  National  Wheel 
gave  renewed  impetus  to  the  growth  of  the  order.  Soon  the 
States  of  Missouri,  Mississippi,  Alabama,  Texas,  and  the  Indian 
Territory  were  added  to  the  list,  while  the  work  had  been  begun 
in  several  others. 

The  first  meeting  of  the  National  Wheel  was  held  at  McKen- 
zie,  Tennessee,  on  November  8,  1887.  It  was  disclosed  at  this 
meeting  that  the  membership  numbered  fully  500,000,  and  was 
increasing  with  wonderful  rapidity.  President  Isaac  McCracken 
delivered  the  following  address  :  — 

Brother  Wheelers  of  the  National  Organization,  and  Visiting  Brethren  : 

This  is  indeed  an  occasion  of  great  pleasure  to  me,  to  meet  with  as 
large  and  intelligent  a  body  of  Wheelers  as  I  see  before  me,  coming  as 
you  do  from  different  States,  and  representing  exclusively  an  agricultural 
constituency. 

I  feel  and  recognize  the  importance  of  a  gathering  together  of  farmers 
from  the  different  parts  of  these  United  States,  with  a  view  to  the 
amelioration  of  the  condition  of  those  following  the  oldest  vocation  in 
the  world,  and  the  only  one  of  divine  origin.  Justly  may  we  feel  proud 
of  the  rapid  strides  Wheelerism  "has  made  since  the  formation  of  this 
national  organization,  less  than  sixteen  months  ago.  We  had,  at  the 
organization  of  the  National  Agricultural  Wheel,  but  three  State  Wheels, 


THE  AGRICULTURAL    WHEEL,  203 

We  now  have  seven  States  organized,  and  a  Territorial  Wheel ;  and,  as 
president  of  the  national  organization,  I  have  appointed  and  have 
deputy  organizers  in  the  States  of  Wisconsin,  Virginia,  Kansas,  and  also 
Idaho  Territory. 

And  I  have  appointed  others  as  national  organizers,  upon  the  recom- 
mendation of  the  presidents  of  the  different  State  Wheels. 

I  will  now  attempt  to  give  you  a  very  brief  history  of  the  origin  of 
our  organization.  The  Wheel  was  organized  on  the  15  th  day  of  February, 
1882,  in  an  old  log  school-house,  eight  miles  southwest  of  Des  Arc,  in 
Prairie  County,  Arkansas.  The  causes  for  organization  were  monopoly 
and  oppression.  At  about  the  same  time  an  organization  known  as  the 
Brothers  of  Freedom  sprang  into  existence  in  the  northwest  portion  of 
the  same  State;  and  in  the  year  1885  the  two  organizations  were  con- 
solidated, retaining  the  name  of  the  Agricultural  Wheel. 

Brother  W.  W.  Tedford,  one  of  the  charter  members  of  Wheel  No.  i, 
gives  the  numerical  strength  of-  the  Agricultural  Wheel  as  follows :  On 
February  7,  1882,  there  were  7  members;  in  1883,  500  members;  in 
1884,  5000  members;  in  1885,  10,000  members;  in  1^86,  50,000 
members;  in  1887,  500,000  members. 

I  will  now  enumerate  some  few  of  the  many  causes  for  the  formation 
of  the  numerous  organizations  of  farmers,  since  the  financial  crisis  of 
1873.  One  cause  is  the  chartering  of  so  many  corporations,  which 
have  no  souls,  and  never  die,  and  that  have  received  and  are  receiving, 
from  both  the  State  and  national  governments,  privileges  which  indi- 
viduals do  not  receive.  The  Standard  Oil  Company  of  the  East,  and 
the  Cotton  Seed  Oil  Company  of  the  South  and  West,  and  other 
institutions  of  like  nature,  are  examples. 

It  has  been  claimed  that  competition  is  the  life  of  trade.  Competi- 
tion is  the  greatest  enemy  that  the  American  wage-worker  has  to  contend 
with ;  not  only  competition  among  themselves,  but  they  have  had  to 
compete  with  foreign  labor,  the  laborers  having  been  landed  here  by 
shiploads  under  contract.  And  we  see  the  results  in  some  of  our  large 
trade-centres,  —  Chicago,  for  instance.  All  honor  to  those  whose  in- 
fluence has  put  a  stop  to  this  pernicious  system  !  It  was  supposed,  in 
an  early  day,  that  competition  would  regulate  the  value  of  transporta- 
tion ;  but  no  sooner  is  the  country  spanned  by  railroads,  from  the 
Atlantic  to  the  Pacific,  and  from  the  Lakes  on  the  north  to  the  Gulf  on 
the  south,  than  we  next  behold  the  vast  system,  commonly  called 
pooling,  by  railroad  magnates.  Competition  has  ceased  to  be  a  factor 
with  the  moneyed  men  of  our  land ;  but  it  still  continues  in  full  force 
with  the  agriculturists  and  wage-workers. 


204  HISTORICAL  AND  POLITICAL. 

In  order  to  make  a  success  of  farming,  we  must  necessarily  sell  more 
than  we  buy.  The  individual,  the  State,  or  the  nation  that  buys  more 
than  it  sells  is  on  the  high  road  to  bankruptcy  \  or,  in  other  words,  if 
the  balance  of  trade  is  in  our  favor,  there  is  no  danger  of  failure.  But 
when  one  class  of  our  citizens,  and  that  class  the  largest  numerically, 
produce  a  commodity,  and  the  surplus  of  that  commodity,  which  regu- 
lates the  price  of  the  whole  amount,  is  sold  in  a  free-trade  country,  while 
the  same  class  of  citizens  have  to  buy  in  a  high  protectional  tariff  coun- 
try, it  would  seem  to  me,  to  say  the  least,  that  there  is  something  wrong 
in  our  laws.  The  necessaries  of  life  should  be  placed  on  the  free  list. 
The  value  of  the  cotton  alone  that  was  exported  in  the  year  1883, 
wliich  is  the  last  report  I  had  to  refer  to,  was  the  sum  of  ^247,328,721, 
heading  the  Hst  of  all  farm  products  exported. 

The  next  was  bread  and  breadstuff,  $208,040,850  ;  provisions  of  other 
sorts,  $107,388,287;  the  next  is  tobacco,  which  will  interest  you  Ken- 
tucky brethren,  $22,095,229.  The  sum  total  of  all  agricultural  prod- 
ucts was  $619,269,449.  The  value  of  all  exports,  other  than  products 
of  domestic  agriculture,  was  $184,954,183,  showing  that  the  exports  are 
the  products  of  the  farm,  to  the  extent  of  77  per  cent. 

These  figures,  taken  from  Report  No.  12,  of  the  48th  Congress,  show 
that  farm  products  exceed  all  other  exports  by  $434,223,632.  Who 
dare  say,  in  the  face  of  these  figures,  that  we  as  farmers  are  not  a  work- 
ing people  ?  And  as  cotton  is  much  the  largest  of  any  one  farm  product 
exported,  and  the  one  the  Agricultural  Wheelers  raise  the  largest  amount 
of,  it  would  seem  to  me  that  there  might  be  some  plan  devised  by  our 
organization,  with  the  assistance  and  co-operation  of  other  organizations 
in  the  South,  whereby  we  might  reduce  the  acreage  of  cotton,  and  by 
so  doing  receive  as  much  for  4,500,000  bales  as  we  now  do  for  the 
6,500,000.  Supply  and  demand  in  a  measure  regulate  the  value  of  a 
commodity.  We  find,  by  referring  to  a  report  of  the  Commissioners  of 
Agriculture,  that  wheat  declined  in  price  from  $1.05  to  77  cents  per 
bushel,  as  the  acreage  increased ;  and  we  find  that  trust  companies, 
which  are  a  corporation  of  corporations,  will  allow  very  valuable  plants 
worth,  in  some  cases,  thousands  upon  thousands  of  dollars,  to  remain 
idle,  in  order  to  reduce  the  output  of  their  product,  that  the  supply 
should  not  exceed  the  demand.  We  have  an  illustration  of  this  in  the 
Cotton  Seed  Oil  Trust  Company  in  Arkansas.  And  instead  of  increasing 
the  cotton  area,  as  the  farmers  of  the  cotton  belt  did  in  1885,  about  5  per 
cent,  if  they  would  reduce  it  about  30  per  cent,-  there  would  be  fewer 
mortgages  given,  and  it  would  then  be  raised  as  a  surplus  crop,  and  we 
should  be  independent,  as  we  by  right  should  be. 


THE  AGRICULTURAL    WHEEL.  205 

Brother  Wheelers,  we  are  debarred,  by  our  organic  law,  from  taking 
any  steps  politically  as  an  organization ;  and  I  thank  the  Giver  of  all 
good  and  perfect  gifts  that  we  are,  as  I  firmly  believe  that,  if  we  were 
to  take  any  steps  as  a  political  organization,  our  order  would  soon  cease 
to  exist. 

But  it  is  a  self-evident  fact  to  me  that  the  farmers  of  this  broad  land 
have  been  and  are  being  unjustly  dealt  with  by  the  law-makers,  both 
State  and  national.  If  it  were  possible  for  the  farmers  to  get  represen- 
tation according  to  their  numerical  strength,  I  feel  satisfied  that  there 
would  be  but  very  Httle  class  legislation. 

With  your  permission,  brethren,  I  will  quote  a  little  from  the  address 
of  President  Macune  to  the  Farmers'  Alliance  held  at  Shreveport,  Louisi- 
ana. He  says  :  "  We  have  the  two  great  principles  and  conceptions  as 
contended  for  by  John  Adams  and  Thomas  Jefferson,  as  a  basis  for  a 
division  into  two  great  political  parties.  These  should  suffice."  I 
would  infer  that  Brother  Macune  was  opposed  to  a  third  party  move- 
ment. 

Now,  Brother  Wheelers,  I  am  not  going  to  advocate  the  third  party 
movement ;  neither  will  I  tell  you  that  you  can  have  all  your  wrongs 
redressed  by  remaining  in  either  of  the  two  old  parties.  No  man 
holding  the  position  that  I  do  at  this  time,  and  under  our  laws,  has  a 
right  to  advise  or  suggest  in  his  annual  message  anything  pertaining  to 
partisan  politics.  But  as  politics  is  the  science  of  government,  and  it 
is  necessary  that  every  citizen  should  be  well  informed  upon  the  eco- 
nomic questions  of  the  day,  in  order  to  vote  intelligently,  I  think  it  is  the 
duty  of  this  body  to  elect  a  committee,  to  consist  of  one  delegate  from 
each  State  Wheel,  the  said  committee  to  be  a  Committee  on  Demands ; 
and,  if  you  elect,  I  would  recommend  that  you  make  it  their  duty  to 
formulate  and  submit  to  this  body,  before  its  adjournment,  such  changes 
in  the  national  laws,  if  any,  as  they  in  their  wisdom  would  deem  to  the 
interest  of  the  agriculturists  and  wage-workers.  And  if  two-thirds  of 
this  body  can  agree  upon  the  said  demands,  I  would  most  earnestly 
recommend  that  it  be  made  the  duty  of  the  Executive  Committee  of 
each  State  Wheel  to  submit  the  same  to  the  candidates  for  congres- 
sional honors  in  their  respective  States,  whether  they  be  Democrats, 
RepubHcans,  Union  Labor,  or  Prohibitionists. 

I  have  come  to  this  conclusion,  that  the  time  has  arrived  for  the 
agriculturists  to  make  their  demands,  and  use  every  honorable  effort  to 
have  those  demands  inserted  as  a  plank  in  all  of  the  national  platforms, 
if  possible.  A  law  that  will  benefit  a  Republican  farmer  will  not  injure 
his  neighbor  farmer,  though  he  be  a  Democrat  or  a  Union  Labor  man. 


2o6  HISTORICAL   AND  POLITICAL. 

And  I  woiild  most  earnestly  enjoin  upon  you  the  necessity,  regardless 
of  what  party  you  may  belong  to,  of  sending  more  farmers  to  your  legis- 
lative halls,  as  their  interests  are  your  interests. 

In  conclusion,  I  would  recommend  some  changes  in  our  organic  law. 

Considerable  important  business  was  transacted  at  this  meet- 
ing. The  constitution  was  amended,  the  Wheel  perfected,  and 
the  national  machinery  in  a  general  way  prepared  for  active 
work.  Considerable  attention  was  paid  to  the  question  of  busi- 
ness agencies,  and  the  whole  field  of  aggressive  work  and  sure 
defence  was  carefully  and  candidly  considered.  The  National 
Farmers'  Alliance  and  Co-operative  Union  had  held  its  annual 
meeting  at  Shreveport,  Louisiana,  in  October,  —  just  a  month 
previous,  —  at  which  meeting  delegates  from  the  different  State 
Wheels  were  present.  Consultation  among  the  delegates  of  the 
two  organizations  showed  that  their  aims  and  purposes  were  the 
same,  and  that  their  methods  were  almost  identical.  The  neces- 
sity for  a  union  impressed  every  one,  and  steps  were  taken  look- 
ing toward  that  end.  The  Alliance  system  of  co-operative  trade 
was  examined  and  approved,  and  shortly  afterward  adopted. 
The  report  of  these  delegates  was  received  by  the  National 
Wheel  with  much  favor,  and  after  due  consideration  and  con- 
siderable discussion  a  resolution  was  passed,  calling  the  next 
annual  meeting  at  Meridian,  Mississippi,  for  the  purpose  of 
meeting  with  the  Farmers*  Alliance  and  Co-operative  Union  of 
America,  with  a  view  to  consolidation.  This  project  was  ob- 
jected to  by  some,  but  the  great  bulk  of  the  members  heartily 
approved  of  it. 

The  following  demands  were  adopted  by  the  meeting:  — 

We,  the  members  of  the  National  Agricultural  Wheel,  in  convention 
assembled,  at  McKenzie,  Tennessee,  November,  1887,  do  hereby  demand 
of  our  national  government  such  legislation  as  shall  secure  to  our  people 
freedom  from  the  shameful  abuses  that  the  farmers  and  mechanics  are 
now  suffering  at  the  hands  of  arrogant  capitalists,  powerful  corporations, 
and  the  seemingly  insatiable  greed  of  Shylocks.     We  demand  :  — 

I.  That  the  public  land,  the  heritage  of  the  people,  be  reserved  for 
actual  settlers  only,  —  not  another  acre  to  railroads  or  speculators, — 
and  that  all  lands  now  held  for  speculative  purposes  shall  be  taxed  at 
their  full  value. 


THE  AGRICULTURAL    WHEEL.  207 

2.  That  measures  be  taken  to  prevent  aliens  from  acquiring  titles  to 
lands  in  the  United  States  and  Territories  of  America,  and  to  force 
titles,  already  acquired  by  aliens,  to  be  relinquished  to  the  national 
government  by  purchase,  and  retain  said  domain  for  the  use  of  actual 
settlers  and  citizens  of  the  national  States,  and  that  the  law  be  rigidly 
enforced  against  all  railroad  corporations  which  have  not  complied  with 
the  terms  of  their  contract,  by  which  they  have  received  large  grants  of 
land. 

3.  That  we  demand  the  rapid  payment  of  the  public  debt  of  the 
"United  States,  by  operating  the  mints  of  the  government  to  their  full 

capacity  in  coining  gold  and  silver,  and  the  tendering  the  same  without 
discrimination  to  the  public  creditors  of  the  nation,  according  to  con- 
tract, thus  saving  the  interest  on  the  public  debt  to  the  industrial 
masses. 

4.  That  we  demand  the  abolition  of  national  banks,  the  substitution 
of  legal  tender  treasury  notes  in  lieu  of  national  bank  notes,  issued  in 
sufficient  volume  to  do  the  business  of  the  country  on  a  cash  system ; 
regulating  the  amount  needed  on  a  per  capita  basis  as  the  business 
interests  of  the  country  expand,  and  that  all  money  issued  by  the  gov- 
ernment shall  be  a  legal  tender  in  payment  of  all  debts,  both  public  and 
private. 

5.  That  we  demand  that  Congress  shall  pass  such  laws  as  shall  effect- 
ually prevent  the  (pealing  in  futures  in  all  agricultural  and  mechanical 
productions,  preserving  a  stringent  system  of  procedure  in  trial  that  will 
secure  prompt  conviction,  and  imposing  such  penalties  as  shall  secure 
the  most  perfect  compliance  with  the  law. 

6.  That  we  demand  a  graduated  income  tax,  as  we  believe  it  is  the 
most  equitable  system  of  taxation,  placing  the  burden  of  the  government 
on  those  who  can  best  afford  to  pay,  instead  of  laying  it  on  the  farmers 
and  mechanics,  and  exempting  millionnaires,  bondholders,  and  corpora- 
tions. 

7.  That  we  demand  the  strict  enforcement  of  all  laws  prohibiting  the 
importation  of  foreign  labor  under  the  contract  system,  and  that  all  con- 
victs be  confined  within  the  prison  walls,  and  that  all  contract  systems 
be  abolished. 

8.  That  we  demand  the  election  of  all  officers  of  the  national  govern- 
ment by  a  direct  vote  of  the  people,  and  that  all  wilful  violations  of  the 
election  laws  be  declared  a  felony,  and  a  part  of  the  punishment  be  the 
prohibition  of  the  party  convicted  from  voting  in  all  future  elections. 

9.  That  we  demand  the  repeal  of  all  laws  that  do  not  bear  equally 
upon  capital  and  labor,  the  strict  enforcement  of  all  laws,  the  removal 


2o8  HISTORICAL  AND  POLITICAL. 

of  all  unjust  technicalities,  delays,  and  discriminations,  in  the  administra- 
tion of  justice. 

10.  That  we  demand  the  tariff  laws  be  so  amended  as  to  remove  all 
import  duties  on  articles  entering  into  our  manufactures,  and  that  the 
duties  be  levied  mainly  upon  articles  of  luxuries,  not  above  the  import- 
ing point. 

11.  That  we  demand  that  the  government  shall  protect  the  Chicka- 
saws  and  Choctaws,  and  other  civilized  Indians  of  the  Indian  Territory, 
in  all  their  inalienable  rights,  and  shall  prevent  railroads  and  other 
wealthy  syndicates  from  overriding  the  law  and  treaties  now  in  existence 
for  their  protection. 

12.  That  we  are  unqualifiedly  in  favor  of  the  education  of  the  masses 
by  a  well  regulated  system  of  free  schools. 

13.  That  we  demand  that  no  patents  be  renewed  after  the  expiration 
of  the  time  for  which  they  were  originally  patented. 

14.  Resolve dy  That  this  body  will  not  support  any  man  for  Congress, 
of  any  political  party,  who  will  not  pledge  himself,  in  writing,  to  use  all 
his  influence  for  the  formation  of  these  demands  into  laws. 

The  following  preamble  and  constitution  were  adopted :  — 

Whereas,  The  general  condition  of  our  country  imperatively  demands 
unity  of  action  on  the  part  of  the  laboring  classes,  reformation  in  econ- 
omy, and  the  dissemination  of  principles  best  calculated  to  encourage 
and  foster  agricultural  and  mechanical  pursuits,  encouraging  the  toiling 
masses,  leading  them  in  the  road  to  prosperity,  and  providing  a  just  and 
fair  remuneration  for  labor,  a  just  exchange  of  our  commodities,  and  the 
best  mode  and  means  of  securing  to  the  laboring  classes  the  greatest 
amount  of  good ; 

We  hold  to  the  principle  that  all  monopolies  are  dangerous  to  the 
best  interests  of  our  country,  tending  to  enslave  a  free  people  and  sub- 
vert and  finally  overthrow  the  great  principles  purchased  by  Washington 
and  his  glorious  compatriots  ; 

We  hold  to  the  principle  that  the  laboring  classes  have  an  inherent 
right  to  buy  and  sell  when  and  wherever  their  interests  are  best  served, 
and  patronize  none  who  dare,  by  word  or  action,  oppose  a  just,  fair,  and 
equitable  exchange  of  the  products  of  our  labor ; 

We  denounce  as  unjust  and  unfair  any  set  of  men  who  sell  at  large 
profits  to  gain  the  advantage  over  the  laboring  classes,  and  obtain  the 
product  of  their  labor  at  greatly  reduced  prices,  thus  forcing  patronage 
and  constituting  a  hateful  monopoly,  making  free  and  independent  men 
slaves ; 


THE  AGRICULTURAL    WHEEL.  209 

Therefore,  we  have  formed  the  National  Agricultural  Wheel  of  the 
United  States  of  America  for  the  purpose  of  organizing  and  directing 
the  powers  of  the  industrial  masses,  but  not  as  a  political  party.  In 
this  organization  are  sentiments  and  measures  for  the  benefit  of  the 
whole  people,  yet  it  should  be  borne  in  mind,  when  exercising  the  right 
of  suffrage,  that  many  of  the  objects  herein  set  forth  can  only  be  obtained 
through  legislation. 

Article  I. 

NAMES   AND   POWERS. 

Section  i.  This  organization  shall  be  known  as  the  National  Agricul- 
tural Wheel  of  the  United  States  of  America. 

Sec.  2.  It  shall  be  the  body  to  which  all  appeals  shall  be  made,  ema- 
nating from  the  State  Agricultural  Wheels. 


Article  II. 

OBJECTS    OF    the   ORDER. 

Section  i.  The  objects  of  the  order  shall  be  to  unite  fraternally  all 
acceptable  citizens,  male  and  female,  over  the  age  of  eighteen  years, 
who  are  actually  engaged  in  the  occupation  of  farming ;  also  all  mechan- 
ics who  are  engaged  in  the  pursuit  of  their  respective  trades ;  provided 
that  no  lawyer,  merchant,  banker,  nor  the  proprietor  of  any  manufactur- 
ing establishment  who  employs  more  than  three  hands,  shall  be  eligible 
to  membership  :  and  provided  further,  that  there  shall  be  separate  organ- 
izations for  white  and  colored. 

Sec.  2.  To  give  all  possible  moral  and  material  aid  in  its  power  to  its 
members,  and  those  depending  on  its  members,  by  holding  instructive 
lectures,  by  encouraging  each  other  in  business,  and  by  assisting  each 
other  to  obtain  employment. 

Sec.  3.  The  improvement  of  its  members  in  the  theory  and  practice 
of  agriculture,  and  the  dissemination  of  knowledge  relating  to  rural  and 
farming  affairs. 

Sec.  4.  To  ameliorate  the  condition  of  farmers,  in  every  possible 
manner. 

Article  III. 

time  and  place  of  meeting. 

Section  i.  Its  meetings  shall  be  held  annually,  on  the  second  Wednes- 
day of  October,  and  at  such  place  as  shall  be  determined  by  a  majority 
of  all  of  the  representatives  present  in  the  National  Agricultural  Wheel. 


2IO  HISTORICAL  AND   POLITICAL. 

Article  IV. 

MEMBERSHIP. 

Section  i.   This  national  Agricultural  Wheel  shall  be  composed  of  the 

officers  of  this  body  and  five  representatives  from  each  State  Agricultural 

Wheel,  and   one  additional    representative   for   each   fifteen  thousand 

members  and  majority  fraction  thereof,  to  be  elected  or  appointed  by 

each  State  Agricultural  Wheel  under  the  jurisdiction  of  this  body,  whose 

term  of  office  shall  expire  at  the  close  of  the  term  for  which  they  were 

elected. 

Article  V. 

OFFICERS. 

Section  i.  The  officers  shall  be  a  President,  a  first  Vice-President,  a 
second  Vice-President,  a  Secretary-Treasurer,  a  Chaplain,  one  Steward, 
one  Conductor,  one  Lecturer,  one  Sentinel ;  and  the  President  shall  ap- 
point three  Trustees  annually. 

Article  VI. 

ELECTIONS   AND   INSTALLATIONS. 

Section  i.  The  officers  shall  be  elected  and  installed  at  each  annual 
meeting  in  each  year. 

Sec.  2.  All  elections  shall  be  by  ballot,  where  more  than  one  name  is 
ptit  in  nomination,  and  a  majority  of  all  votes  cast  shall  elect. 

Article  VII. 
revenue. 

Section  i.  The  fee  for  a  State  charter  shall  be  ^lo. 

Sec.  2.   A  per  capita  tax  of  five  cents  shall  be  paid  into  the  National 

Agricultural  Wheel  treasury,  by  each  State  Agricultural  Wheel,  on  or 

before  the  first  day  of  each  annual  meeting,  to  be  paid  out  by  direction 

of  the  executive  board  of  this  body  for  actual  expenses  of  the  National 

Agricultural  Wheel. 

Article  VIII. 

quorum. 

Section  i.   Seven  representatives  shall  constitute  a  quorum. 

Article  IX. 

VACANCIES. 

Section  i.  All  vacancies  that  may  occur  by  death  or  otherwise  shall 
be  filled  by  the  executive  "board. 


THE  AGRICULTURAL    WHEEL.  21 1 

Article  X. 

PRINTING. 

Section  i.  The  printing  of  all  State  charters,  rituals,  odes,  cards, 
official  receipts,  funeral  rituals,  by-laws,  and  all  other  printed  matter 
for  the  National  Agricultural  Wheel,  belongs  exclusively  to  said  body, 
but  the  constitution  of  all  State,  County,  and  Subordinate  Agricultural 
Wheels,  secret  work,  and  rituals,  shall  conform  to  the  constitution  and 
laws  of  the  National  Agricultural  Wheel. 

Article  XI. 

AMENDMENTS. 

Section  i.  The  National  Agricultural  Wheel  only  has  power  to 
change  or  amend  its  constitution  and  by-laws. 

Sec.  2.  This  constitution  may  be  amended  at  any  regular  meeting 
of  the  National  Agricultural  Wheel  by  a  vote  of  two-thirds  of  all  the 
members  present,  but  all  amendments  must  be  presented  in  writing,  and 
signed  by  three  or  more  members. 

Article  XII. 

executive  board. 

Section  i.  The  President  and  first  and  second  Vice-Presidents  shall 
constitute  the  Executive  Board  of  the  National  Agricultural  Wheel. 

Article  XIII. 

expenses  of  officers  and  representatives. 

Section  i.  The  legally  elected  officers  and  representatives  to  the 
National  Agricultural  Wheel  shall  receive  as  a  compensation  for  their 
services  all  actual  necessary  travelling  expenses,  to  be  paid  out  of  the 
National  Agricultural  Wheel  Treasury  at  the  close  of  each  session. 

Isaac  McCracken  was  re-elected  President,  and  A.  E.  Gardner 
Secretary-Treasurer.  The  meeting  adjourned  amid  good  feeling 
"and  great  enthusiasm. 

The  National  Wheel  met  the  next  term  at  Meridian,  Missis- 
sippi, December  5,  1888.  This  meeting  was  composed  of  dele- 
gates from  the  States  of  Arkansas,  Missouri,  Texas,  Tennessee, 
Mississippi,  Alabama,  Kentucky,  Wisconsin,  and  the  Indian 
Territory.     According  to  previous  arrangements,  the  National 


2  12  HISTORICAL  AND  POLITICAL. 

Farmers'  Alliance  and  Co-operative  Union  met  there  at  the 
same  time.  The  order  had  prospered  satisfactorily  during  the 
year,  and  the  members  everywhere  were  working  earnestly  for 
its  further  success.  President  McCracken  addressed  the  meet- 
ing as  follows :  — 

Brethren  of  the  National  Organization : 

Again  we  have  convened  for  the  purpose  of  devising  ways  and,  if 
possible,  providing  means  to  assist  our  brother  farmers  throughout  the 
land.  I  fully  believe  that  one  great  step  in  that  direction  will  have  been 
taken  when  we  shall  consolidate  the  farmers'  organizations  into  one 
grand  body,  representing,  as  it  will,  millions  of  toilers.  United  we  will 
be  able  to  wield  an  influence,  as  farmers,  never  before  known  in  the  his- 
tory of  the  world.  One  of  the  objects  of  this  meeting  is  to  unite  in  still 
closer  bonds  the  different  national  organizations  that  have  the  same 
objects  in  view,  and  it  will  be  necessary  for  all  to  make  some  concessions, 
that  the  greatest  good  may  be  done  to  the  greatest  number ;  and  I  be- 
Heve  that  I  voice  the  sentiments  of  the  Wheel  delegates  in  saying  that  it 
will  not  be  our  fault  if  the  consolidation  is  not  consummated.  A  har- 
monious, organic  union  of  all  farmers'  organizations  is  now  the  watch- 
word, as  union  and  harmony  of  purpose  on  all  great  questions  are  of 
vital  importance  to  the  agriculturists  of  the  nation. 

The  moral,  industrial,  and  mtellectual  education  of  the  farmers  will 
make  co-operation  a  success.  There  is  now  a  greater  necessity  for  or- 
ganized effort  on  the  part  of  the  farmers  than  ever  before,  as  monopoly 
in  all  its  various  forms  is  arrayed  against  the  producer.  And  as  Uriah 
A.  Stevens  so  aptly  said,  nineteen  years  ago,  at  the  formation  of  that 
noble  order,  the  Knights  of  Labor,  "  When  bad  men  combine  the  good 
must  unite,  or  else  they  will  fall  one  by  one,  a  pitiful  sacrifice,  by  the 
wayside." 

I  will  now  give  you,  brethren,  a  brief  statement  of  my  stewardship  for 
the  past  year :  I  have  issued  commissions  to  nine  deputies  as  national 
organizers ;  two  in  Georgia,  one  in  Virginia,  one  in  Michigan,  three  in 
Illinois,  and  two  in  Missouri,  and  have  suspended  one  indefinitely. 

*  Ik  41:  ^  *  *  * 

My  correspondence  has  more  than  doubled.  I  have  had  applications 
from  several  States  for  organizers  to  visit  and  aid  in  establishing  our 
order  among  them,  and  have  been  unable  to  comply,  for  lack  of  an  ap- 
propriation for  that  purpose.  But  it  affords  me  pleasure  to  be  able  to 
state  that  the  organization  is  in  a  growing  and  healthy  condition.  We 
have  passed  through  another  political  year,  a  period  which  I  have  found 


THE  AGRICULTURAL    WHEEL.  213 

to  be  very  trying  upon  labor  organizations ;  and  will  say  that,  in  com- 
pliance with  the  instructions  of  the  National  Agricultural  Wheel  at  its 
last  meeting,  I  forwarded  to  Brother  CarLee  a  communication  with  the 
National  Wheel  demands  attached  thereto  (he  being  then  in  St.  Louis), 
with  the  request  that  he  have  a  sufficient  number  printed  to  supply  the 
delegates  to  both  the  Democratic  and  Republican  national  conventions, 
the  one  in  St.  Louis,  and  the  other  at  Chicago. 

Brothers,  I  feel  the  importance  of  all  organized  labor  making  de- 
mands upon  our  law- makers, 'bdth  State  and  national.  The  farmers  as 
a  class  have  neglected  this  very  important  matter.  We  have  submitted 
to  us,  once  in  every  four  years,  by  the  different  political  parties,  their 
respective  platforms ;  and  they  contain  measures  that  the  formulators  of 
the  same  promise  to  have  enacted  into  law.  Sometimes  they  are  unable 
to  fulfil  their  promises,  and  I  think  it  would  be  money  well  spent,  on  the 
part  of  this  organization,  to  have  a  committee  whose  business  it  would  be 
to  take  up  their  residence  in  the  city  of  Washington,  and  remain  there 
during  the  session  of  our  National  Congress,  or  as  long  as  the  executive 
board  of  this  body  deemed  advantageous,  the  said  committee  to  devote 
their  whole  time  and  energy  to  the  promotion  of  the  interests  of  the 
tillers  of  the  soil,  and  work  in  conjunction  with  like  committees  from 
other  labor  organizations,  where  the  same  would  be  to  the  interest  of 
both  parties. 

I  feel  that  the  farmers  are  being  discriminated  against  by  both  our  \ 
State  and  national  law- makers,  and  if  we  don't  look  well  after  our  own  ; 
interest  you  may  rest  assured  others  will  not  do  it  for  us.  There  will  be 
three  great  questions  discussed  by  the  people  during  the  next  four  years, 
land,  money,  and  transportation,  and  I  think  that  we,  as  farmers,  should 
give  forth  no  uncertain  sound  as  to  our  position  on  these  very  impor- 
tant subjects.  We,  as  farmers,  should  oppose  any  monopoly  of  the  land, 
and  more  especially  the  holding  of  vast  bodies  of  it,  by  foreign  syndi- 
cates, for  speculative  purposes.  I  think  it  is  full  time  that  large  repre- 
sentative bodies  of  farmers,  such  as  I  see  before  me,  should  make  an 
effort  to  mould  public  sentiment,  because,  in  a  democratic  form  of  gov- 
ernment, we  can  accomplish  nothing  in  the  way  of  a  reform  movement 
without  public  sentiment  on  our  side. 

You  are  all  aware  of  the  fact  that,  though  a  law  be  enacted  by  a  State 
legislature,  and  signed  by  the  proper  officers,  if  the  same  be  not  sus- 
tained by  the  public  it  becomes  a  dead  letter  on  our  statutes.  Hence 
the  necessity  for  us,  as  an  organization  of  producers,  to  agitate  such 
changes  as  will  be  of  benefit  to  us.  And,  in  conclusion,  I  wish  to  re- 
turn my  sincere  thanks  to  the  officers  of  the  National  Agricultural  Wheel 


2  14  HISTORICAL  AND  POLITICAL. 

for  the  very  able  manner  in  which  they  have  assisted  me  during  the  past 
year  in  the  performance  of  my  duties  as  president. 

Below  is  printed  the  communication  addressed  to  the  differ- 
ent conventions,  to  which  were  attached  the  demands  of  the 
McKenzie  meeting  :  — 

June  4th,  1888. 
To  the  Chairman^  Officers,  and  Delegates  of  the  National  Democratic 

Convention.  ^if^. 

Gentlemen  :  We  respectfully  call  your  attention  to  the  demands 
made,  and  resolution  adopted  by  the  National  Agricultural  Wheel,  in 
Convention  assembled,  delegations  being  present  from  the  States  of 
Alabama,  Arkansas,  Mississippi,  Missouri,  Kentucky,  Tennessee,  Texas, 
and  Indian  Territory,  and  they  recognizing  the  fact  that  our  interests 
have  been  practically  ignored  in  the  formation  of  your  party  platforms 
in  the  past,  and  also  by  our  representatives  in  Congress  in  their  law- 
making capacity,  and  although  as  a  class  we  produce  over  eighty  per 
cent  of  our  exports,  yet  we  are  growing  poorer  yearly,  and  are  plun- 
dered by  trusts  and  combinations  of  capital  on  every  side.  We  desire  a 
straightout  approval  of  the  demands ;  the  ignoring  of  them  will  be  con- 
sidered as  a  rejection. 

As  an  agricultural  organization,  we  are  non-partisan  in  politics,  hence 
we  make  our  demands  from  a  non-partisan  standpoint. 

Hoping  that  severally  as  delegates,  and  collectively  as  a  convention, 
you  will  give  our  demands  your  most  careful  consideration,  we  are, 

Your  obedient  servants, 

Isaac  McCracken, 
Pres't  N.  A.  W.  of  America. 
R.  B.  CarLee, 
Sec'y  Executive  Comitiittee^  Ark.  S.  A.  W. 

The  principal  work  of  this  meeting  was  to  formulate,  in  con- 
junction with  the  Alliance,  a  basis  for  consolidation.  Differ- 
ences of  opinions  had  to  be  adjusted,  personal  pride  and  am- 
bition had  to  be  satisfied,  and  many  other  matters  had  to  be 
reconciled,  in  order  to  bring  about  the  much  desired  consolida- 
tion. After  a  number  of  days  spent  in  earnest  deliberation,  a 
plan  was  adopted  upon  which  both  organizations  agreed  to  act. 
This  plan  and  its  details  have  been  given  in  the  history  of  the 
Alliance,  found  in  another  part  of  this  work.  After  re-electing 
the  same  national  officers  the  meeting  adjourned. 


THE  AGRICULTURAL    WHEEL.  215 

The  result  was  as  had  been  expected.  The  consolidation 
was  effected  and  the  name  of  the  National  Agricultural  Wheel 
was  eliminated.  To  drop  the  name  was  an  act  of  patriotism, 
and  should  ever  be  held  as  such.  It  will  be  remembered  by 
those  who  were  present  at  its  birth  or  assisted  in  its  develop- 
ment, with  loving  kindness,  and  this  short  history  of  its  rise  and 
progress  will  no  doubt  be  read  with  pleasure  by  its  members 
and  friends.  It  was  a  grand  order,  admirably  equipped,  strong 
in  principles,  and  effective  in  its  efforts.  Hail  and  farewell  to 
the  National  Agricultural.  Wheel ! 


CHAPTER    II. 

KINDRED    ORGANIZATIONS continued. 

The  Brothers  of  Freedom. — This  organization  originated  in 
Arkansas  in  the  year  1882,  as  the  joint  production  of  Isaac 
McCracken  and  Marion  Farris.  The  name  was  suggested  by 
an  old  revolutionary  organization,  known  as  the  '*  Sons  of  Free- 
dom." These  two  men  began  the  formation  of  secret  organiza- 
tions among  the  farmers,  for  the  avowed  purpose  of  enabling 
them  to  obtain  a  just  reward  for  their  hard  labor,  and  to  incite 
a  proper  rivalry  among  merchants  and  dealers.  The  methods 
adopted  were  simple  and  effective.  They  first  organized  the 
farmers  into  subordinate  bodies.  These  sent  representatives  to 
the  common  council.  The  common  councils  in  turn  sent  dele- 
gates to  the  county  council,  and  this  county  council  would  make 
contracts  with  merchants  and  dealers,  in  the  benefits  of  which 
all  members  participated.  A  large  reduction  in  the  price  of 
goods  and  merchandise  was  usually  the  result. 

The  success  of  the  organization  was  assured  from  the  start, 
as  it  promised  aid  and  protection  to  a  class  of  producers  that 
was  wanting  in  both  friends  and  advisers.  A  Grand  Council 
was  soon  formed,  with  Isaac  McCracken,  President,  and  Dr. 
James  Gray,  Secretary.  This  organization  continued  to  increase 
in  numbers  and  popularity,  until  October,  1885,  when  it  consoli- 
dated with  the  Agricultural  Wheel,  another  organization  having 
fewer  members  but  working  for  similar  objects.  At  the  time  of 
consolidation,  there  were  643  subordinate  organizations  of  the 
Brothers  of  Freedom  that  lost  their  identity  and  gave  up  their 
name  in  order  to  secure  harmonious  co-operation,  and  thereby 
push  forward  more  rapidly  the  great  work  of  reform. 

Brother  McCracken  remained  president  during  the  existence  of 

the  order.    But  Brother  A.  J.  Nichols  served  as  secretary  after  the 

two  years  in  which  Dr.  Gray  acted  in  that  capacity.     In  this 

manner  has  been  lost  to  sight  one  of  the  pioneer  efforts  in  the 

216 


BROTHERS   OF  FREEDOM.  217 

building  up  of  this  grand  agricultural  reform  movement.  One 
of  the  old  members,  in  writing  upon  this  point,  feelingly  said : 
"  But  they  who  laid  the  foundation  for  these  vast  agricultural 
organizations  knew  at  the  time  that  they  were  unfit  to  adorn 
the  upper  stratum.  They  knew  full  well  that  other  and  abler 
men  would  be  found  to  take  up  the  grand  work  when  they  were 
unable  to  carry  it  farther,  and  guide  it  to  ultimate  success ;  but 
they  also  believed  that  the  sturdy  workmen  who  break  the  soil 
and  lay  the  foundation  stones  are  just  as  necessary  as  those 
who  beautify  and  adorn  the  completed  structure."  It  is  out  of 
just  such  pioneer  organizations  as  this  that  the  great  Farmers' 
Alliance  of  the  present  has  been  evolved. 

The  following  is  the  declaration  of  principles  and  constitution 
of  the  order,  which  will  be  read  with  interest  by  all,  as  being 
among  the  first  of  its  kind. 

This  constitution  was  framed  by  a  few  men  before  there  was 
any  organization  of  Brothers  of  Freedom  ;  it  was  read  to  each 
applicant  for  membership,  and  he  ratified  the  same  upon  becom- 
ing a  member. 

Declaration  of  Principles. 

We  believe  there  is  a  God,  the  great  Creator  of  all  things,  and  that 
he  created  all  men  free  and  equal,  and  endowed  them  with  certain 
inalienable  rights,  such  as  life,  liberty,  and  the  pursuit  of  happiness,  and 
that  these  rights  are  a  common  inheritance  and  should  be  respected  by 
all  mankind. 

We  further  believe  that  any  power  or  influence  that  tends  to  restrict 
or  circumscribe  any  class  of  our  citizens  in  the  free  exercise  of  these 
God-given  rights  and  privileges,  is  detrimental  to  the  best  interests  of 
a  free  people. 

While  it  is  an  established  fact  that  the  laboring  classes  of  mankind 
are  the  real  producers  of  wealth,  we  find  that  they  are  gradually  becom- 
ing oppressed  by  combinations  of  capital,  and  the  fruits  of  their  toil 
absorbed  by  a  class  who  propose  not  only  to  live  on  the  labors  of  others, 
but  to  speedily  amass  fortunes  at  their  expense.  Therefore,  in  order  to 
protect  ourselves  from  the  oppression  of  said  combinations  of  capital, 
and  to  secure  the  co-operation  of  the  laboring  classes  in  obtaining  a 
just  reward  for  the  fruits  of  honest  labor,  we  ordain  the  following  consti- 
tution, by-laws,  and  rules  of  order  :  — 


2l8  HISTORICAL  AND  POLITICAL, 

CONSTITUTION. 

Article  I. 

Section  i  .  This  lodge  shall  be  constituted  by  at  least  six  members, 
including  a  president  or  vice-president,  and  shall  be  known  as  "The 
Brothers  of  Freedom." 

Sec.  2.  The  legislative  powers  of  this  society  shall  be  vested  in  a 
representative  body,  styled  "  The  Grand  Council  of  Brothers  of  Free- 
dom." 

Sec.  3.  The  Grand  Council  shall  be  composed  of  delegates  from  each 
County  Council,  to  be  elected  and  qualified  as  hereinafter  provided. 
When  deemed  prudent,  and  for  the  good  of  the  order,  one  delegate,  or 
a  minority  of  any  committee,  may  be  elected  from  among  the  brother- 
hood. 

The  articles  which  follow  are  in  the  usual  form,  and  may  be 
omitted  here,  for  the  sake  of  brevity. 

The  Farmers'  Union.  —  One  of  the  four  agricultural  organ- 
izations that  formed  what  is  known  as  the  National  Farmers' 
Alliance  and  Industrial  Union,  was  the  Farmers'  Co-operative 
Union  of  Louisiana.  The  history  of  this  union  becomes  inter- 
esting, as  showing  the  condition  of  the  farmers  and  the  methods 
adopted  in  their  efforts  to  obtain  relief.  It  also  discloses  a 
patriotic  willingness  to  join  others  in  an  effort  of  similar  char- 
acter, even  at  the  sacrifice  of  relinquishing  independent  action. 
It  is  not  only  just,  but  the  author  considers  it  a  duty,  to  record 
for  future  reference  the  efforts  made  by  these  and  other  pio- 
neers in  the  movement  for  agricultural  reform.  The  time  will 
certainly  come  when  these  men  will  be  honored  and  their  labors 
duly  appreciated. 

Brother  J.  A.  Tetts  of  Alexandria,  Louisiana,  one  of  the  orig- 
inators of  the  order,  gives  the  following  interesting  account  of 
its  inception  :  — 

To  get  an  idea  of  the  causes  and  incidents  that  brought  about  the 
formation  of  the  Farmers'  Union,  it  will  be  necessary  to  give  a  brief 
sketch  of  an  attempt  that  was  made  to  form  such  an  organization  as 
early  as  the  year  1880.  Some  time  during  the  spring  of  1880  there  was 
a  meeting  held  at  D'Arbonne  Church  in  Lincoln  Parish,  Louisiana,  for 


THE  FARMERS'    UNION,  219 

the  purpose  of  cleaning  up  the  graveyard.  At  this  gathering  the  ques- 
tion of  an  organization  among  the  farmers  was  discussed  at  some  length, 
in  a  conversational  manner,  and,  as  a  result,  ten  or  twelve  of  those  pres- 
ent agreed  to  meet  in  a  short  time  and  form  what  was  to  be  known  as  a 
farmers'  club. 

It  was  the  intention  at  first  to  make  it  a  secret  organization,  but 
there  were  several  who  had  agreed  to  come  in  that  were  members  of  the 
Primitive  Baptist  Church,  which  did  not  permit  its  members  to  join 
secret  organizations.  In  view  of  this,  and  with  a  strong  desire  to  retain 
them  as  members,  the  idea  of  secrecy  connected  with  the  organization 
was  given  up.  The  club  grew  rapidly,  until  it  numbered  forty  or  more 
members.  It  met  twice  each  month,  and  discussed  poHtical,  social,  and 
agricultural  questions.  At  these  meetings  the  condition  of  the  farmers 
and  the  best  method  of  bettering  their  condition  was  a  topic  of  frequent 
and  earnest  debate.  That  something  was  wrong,  and  an  immediate 
change  necessary,  all  were  compelled  to  admit ;  but  as  to  the  best  and 
surest  manner  of  bringing  about  these  needed  reforms,  there  was,  as  is 
usually  the  case,  a  diversity  of  opinion.  After  a  time,  a  want  of  inter- 
est in  the  meetings,  or  personal  business,  or  some  other  reasons,  caused 
one  member  after  another  to  drop  out,  until  the  club  virtually  disbanded, 
after  somewhat  over  a  year's  existence." 

I  give  [says  Brother  Tetts]  the  history  of  this  farmers'  club  because, 
from  the  experience  gained  during  its  brief  existence,  the  foundation 
was  laid  for  the  Farmers'  Union.  Some  of  the  same  men  who  formed 
this  club  and  remained  with  it  to  the  end  were  foremost  in  the  organi- 
zation of  the  Farmers'  Union.  In  the  fall  of  1884  I  met  Brother 
Samuel  Skinner  in  the  streets  of  Ruston,  Louisiana.  He  had  just  sold 
his  short  crop  of  cotton  for  a  short  price,  and  was  feeling  none  the  best 
over  the  prospect  for  another  year.  I  had  also  disposed  of  my  crop, 
and  found  that  my  receipts  did  not  meet  my  expenses.  Brother  Skin- 
ner and  I  had,  on  several  occasions  before,  talked  over  the  situatioft, 
the  causes  and  remedies,  and  our  views  as  a  rule  coincided.  On  this 
occasion,  under  such  circumstances,  we  talked  of  the  matter  more  ear- 
nestly than  ever,  and  decided  to  take  some  steps  toward  organizing  the 
farmers  for  mutual  protection  and  assistance. 

After  further  discussion,  it  was  agreed  to  make  an  effort  to  organize 
in  Lincoln  Parish.  Brother  Skinner  promised  to  come  to  my  home  on 
Christmas  eve,  so  we  could  consider  carefully  all  the  details  and  call  a 
meeting  for  the  first  of  January.  For  some  reason  he  failed  to  keep  his 
engagement,  and  it  was  not  until  March  following  that  we  met  for  that 
purpose.     When  he  came,  I  furnished  him  a  copy  of  the  constitution 


2  20  HISTORICAL  AND  POLITICAL. 

and  by-laws  of  our  old  farmers'  club,  of  which  I  had  been  secretary. 
These  we  changed  in  some  respects  to  better  serve  the  purpose  of  the 
proposed  new  organization.  After  further  consultation  a  meeting  was 
called  for  the  loth  of  March,  1885,  at  Antioch  Church,  Lincoln  Parish. 
At  this  meeting  there  were  nine  who  subscribed  to  the  obligation. 
Later  on  the  secret  work  was  added  to  the  first,  which  was  simply  a 
few  signs,  with  no  ritual. 

The  first  organization  took  in  members  from  a  wide  territory,  and  it 
was  not  long  before  we  found  it  necessary  to  divide  up  and  make  our 
unions  more  convenient.  I  rode  fifteen  miles  to  attend,  until  I  could 
work  up  a  favorable  sentiment  in  my  own  neighborhood,  into  which  I 
had  only  lately  moved.  Our  unions  began  to  spring  up  all  over  the 
parish  of  Lincoln,  owing  to  the  enthusiasm  of  the  members  and  the 
undoubted  necessity  for  some  relief.  The  first  parish  mass  meeting  was 
held  at  Vienna  in  July,  and  there  we  organized  a  central  parish  organi- 
zation, with  the  following  officers  :  J.  M.  StalHngs,  President ;  J.  A.  Tetts, 
Secretary ;  W.  J.  Spinks,  Treasurer ;  W.  J.  Smith,  Lecturer ;  Samuel 
Skinner,  Assistant  Lecturer ;  Jesse  Gooden,  Doorkeeper ;  J.  W.  Simon- 
ton,  Assistant  Doorkeeper ;  Sim  Nobles,  Sergeant-at-Arms. 

At  this  meeting  J.  A.  Tetts,  W.  T.  Smith,  and  W.  J.  Mitchell  were 
appointed  to  draft  a  ritual  and  present  it  to  a  meeting  to  be  held  again 
in  Vienna,  the  second  week  in  August,  1885.  J.  W.  Gooden  and  J.  A. 
Simmons  had  also  been  authorized  to  have  a  thousand  copies  of  our  con- 
stitution printed.  Up  to  this  time  each  union  that  had  been  formed 
organized  under  a  constitution  written  with  a  pen.  There  had  been  a 
copy  of  the  Alliance  constitution  sent  t^  our  neighborhood  by  a  Texas 
friend,  and  we  adopted  that  with  but  little  change,  as  it  provided  for 
some  of  the  minutice  better  than  the  one  we  had  previously  been  work- 
ing under.  The  committee  on  ritual  took  the  defunct  Grange  ritual, 
and  so  curtailed  it  as  to  adapt  it  to  initiation  by  one  degree.  This  ritual 
was  very  impressive,  and  did  much  to  keep  our  meetings  interesting. 

At  the  meeting  in  August,  for  the  reason  that  we  wanted  to  more 
swiftly  extend  the  organization,  we  formed  the  first  organization  of  the 
State  Union  by  voting  the  officers  of  the  Parish  Union  to  be  the  officers 
of  the  State  Union.  This  was  done  with  only  one  exception.  J.  A. 
Tetts,  who  was  secretary  of  his  subordinate  union  and  secretary  of  the 
parish  union,  claimed  that  he  had  already  too  much  of  the  honor  and 
too  much  work,  considering  that  he  was  a  farmer  and  had  a  large  family 
to  support.  He  resigned,  and  asked  that  O.  M.  Wright,  who  was  teach- 
ing school,  be  appointed  in  his  place.  This  was  done.  At  this  meeting 
the  offered  ritual  was  accepted  and  ordered  printed.     For  a  system  of 


THE  FARMERS'    UNION.  221 

organization,  every  president  of  a  subordinate  union  was  an  authorized 
organizing  officer.  To  faster  extend  the  organization,  the  office  of  cor- 
responding secretary  was  created,  with  authority  to  distribute  the  consti- 
tutions as  widely  as  possible,  and  to  correspond  with  such  agricultural 
papers  as  would  insert  his  communications.  J.  A.  Tetts  was  elected  to 
fill  this  office.  No  officer  was  allowed  any  salary,  and  only  actual  ex- 
penses incurred  were  paid.  Even  the  organizing  of  sub-unions  was  done 
free  of  charge  and  as  a  labor  of  love.  This  first  band  of  union  men 
worked  for  their  love  of  humanity  and  the  cause  they  were  in,  without 
pay  and  cheerfully. 

The  State  Union  adjourned  to  meet  again  in  October,  1885.  At  this 
meeting  there  were  four  parishes  represented.  I  had  made  good  use  of 
my  pen ;  had  written  communications  to  Home  and  Farm,  and  hun- 
dreds of  private  letters  to  parties  inquiring  about  the  order.  At  the 
October  meeting  I  presented  letters  from  many  who  had  taken  an  inter- 
est in  our  order,  and  among  others  one  from  Brother  Isaac  McCracken, 
President  of  the  Agricultural  Wheel.  At  the  close  of  my  report,  I  was, 
by  resolution,  authorized  to  correspond  with  other  agricultural  societies, 
and  try  to  bring  about  a  consolidation.  I  had  copies  of  the  Alliance 
constitution  of  Texas,  and  on  these  were  printed  the  names  of  the  offi- 
cers. I  enclosed  to  Brother  Andrew  Dunlap  a  copy  of  our  constitution, 
and  stated  the  nature  of  my  authority.  Some  time  afterward  I  received 
a  letter  from  Brother  C.  W.  Macune,  stating  that  Brother  Dunlap  and 
the  vice-president  of  the  Alliance  of  Texas  had  resigned,  and  that  the 
correspondence  for  the  president's  office  had  fallen  into  his  hands ;  that 
he  saw  no  reason  why  the  two  bodies  should  not  unite  and  form  a 
national,  as  I  had  proposed  to  Brother  Dunlap ;  that  he  had  issued  a 
call  for  the  State  Alliance  to  meet  at  Waco,  on  the  17th  of  January, 
1 886.  I  wrote  him,  asking  him  to  send  a  delegate  to  meet  with  us  on 
(I  think)  the  6th  day  of  the  same  month,  for  the  purpose  of  explaining 
the  nature  of  the  Alliance,  and  assisting  us  in  arriving  at  a  basis  of  union. 
Brother  Macune  requested  Brother  Evan  Jones  to  meet  us.  He  did  so, 
and  to  him  I  proposed  a  plan  I  had  previously  submitted  to  our  State 
Union.  (Brother  Jones  did  not  reach  Ruston  on  the  first  day  of  our 
meeting.)  Brother  Jones  gave  us  an  idea  of  the  condition  of  affairs  in 
Texas,  and  informed  us  that,  as  his  State  Alliance  had  not  met,  he  was 
unable  to  act  upon  the  part  of  the  Texas  State  Alliance.  Brother  Jones' 
visit  gave  the  union  great  encouragement,  and  it  immediately  elected 
me  to  go  to  the  Waco  meeting,  on  the  1 7th  of  January,  and  act  for  our 
State  organization  in  the  formation  of  a  national  organization. 

At  the  Waco  meeting  the  State  Alliance  elected  one  member  from 


2  22  HISTORICAL  AND  POLITICAL. 

each  congressional  district  (or  perhaps  two),  to  meet  with  me  on  the 
-part  of  Louisiana,  and  form  a  constitution  to  be  submitted  to  that  same 
meeting  for  ratification.  This  constitution,  in  its  general  principles,  was 
strictly  democratic,  guarding  and  protecting  the  rights  of  States  to  con- 
trol their  own  affairs.  It  also  embodied  a  system  of  organizing,  and, 
when  submitted,  was  unanimously  ratified.  Just  here  set  in  a  boom  for 
the  Alliance.  It  was  but  a  short  time  until  the  whole  South  was  organ- 
ized. Brother  Macune  was  chosen  president,  being  put  in  nomination 
by  myself.  His  energy  and  ability  pressed  the  work,  with  what  result 
you  must  be  familiar. 

It  will  be  useless  for  me  to  follow  the  subject  further,  as  it  is  already 
history.  I  will  only  add  that  the  Farmers'  Union  dropped  its  own 
ritual  and  secret  work  and  adopted  that  of  the  Texas  Alliance.  The 
Alliance  work  became  the  secret  work  of  the  National  Farmers'  Alliance 
and  Co-operative  Order  Union.  The  officers  and  members  of  that 
body  honored  me  with  positions  of  confidence  and  trust.  They  elected 
me  first  Vice-President  at  the  organization  meeting.  At  the  first 
annual  meeting  I  was  placed  on  the  Committee  on  Secret  Work.  At 
the  second,  when  the  Farmers  and  Laborers'  Union  was  formed,  I  was 
made  chairman  of  the  Committee  on  Secret  Work,  and  together  with 
the  balance  of  the  committee  helped  form  the  present  secret  work  of 
the  order. 

The  complete  details  of  the  consolidation  of  the  Union  and  the 
Alliance  will  be  found  in  the  history  of  the  Alliance,  in  another 
part  of  this  book.  In  this  simple,  plain  statement  of  Brother 
Tetts  is  found  the  clearest  evidence  of  devotion  to  the  cause  of 
distressed  agriculture,  and  an  earnest  desire  to  promote  its 
interest.  This  conscientious  discharge  of  duty  on  the  part  of 
the  pioneers  of  this  movement  is  the  bulwark  of  its  power,  and 
the  unwritten  source  of  its  success.  The  members  of  this  Union 
have  always  proved  true ;  ready  at  any  and  all  times  to  battle 
for  the  right  as  they  saw  it.  Too  much  credit  cannot  be  given 
them  for  their  fidelity  to  the  cause  of  agriculture.  The  follow- 
ing is  a  copy  of  the  declaration  of  principles  and  constitution  of 
the  State  Farmers'  Union  of  Louisiana :  — 

Constitution  and  By-Laws  of  Lincoln  Parish  Farmers'  Club,  No.  i, 
Organized  in  i88i. 

Art.  I.  This  club  shall  be  constituted  of  at  least  ten  members,  who 
shall  be  practical  farmers,  whose  chief  interest  and  dependence  for  sup- 


THE  FARMERS'    UNION.  223 

port  is  in  farming,  and  shall  be  called  Lincoln  Parish  Farmers'  Club, 
No.  I. 

Art.  2.  This  club  shall  hold  regular  meetings,  at  least  once  a  month, 
and  not  oftener  than  once  a  week.  Extra  meetings  may  be  called  by 
the  president  at  any  time,  to  attend  to  important  business. 

Art.  3.  AppHcations  for  membership  shall  be  made  through  a  mem- 
ber of  this  club,  who  shall  personally  vouch  for  the  applicant  as  being  a 
farmer  and  of  good  moral  character.  The  application  for  membership 
shall  be  referred  to  a  committee  of  three  members,  which  shall  report  at 
the  next  regular  meeting,  unless  further  time  is  requested.  If  the  com- 
mittee report  favorably  or  unfavorably,  a  ballot  shall  be  taken,  which 
shall  be  by  depositing  a  slip  of  paper  bearing  the  word  "  yes  "  or  bear- 
ing the  word  "  no,"  the  former  for  admitting  to  membership,  the  latter 
for  rejecting.  If  two-thirds  of  the  members  shall  vote  for  reception,  the 
applicant  shall  be  declared  elected,  otherwise  rejected.  If  elected  he 
shall  become  a  member  by  signing  this  constitution. 

Art.  4.  The  officers  of  this  club  shall  be  a  President,  a  Vice-Presi- 
dent, a  Secretary  and  Treasurer.  The  officers  shall  be  elected  at  the 
first  regular  meetings  in  January  and  July. 

Art.  5.  At  the  first  regular  meeting  after  election,  the  president  shall 
appoint  the  following  standing  committees,  and  require  them  to  report 
whenever  their  several  duties  require  :  First,  a  finance  committee,  com- 
posed of  three  members,  who  shall  attend  to  the  financial  affairs  of  the 
club  and  devise  means  for  bearing  its  expenses,  their  plans  to  be  subject 
to  ratification  by  the  club.  Second,  a  query  committee,  composed  of 
three  members,  whose  duty  it  shall  be  to  originate  and  select  questions 
of  interest  to  be  discussed  by  the  club.  They  shall  receive  and  examine 
all  questions  presented  for  their  consideration,  and  if  found  worthy,  they 
shall  be  reported  and  be  subjects  for  discussion  by  the  club.  All  tem- 
porary committees  shall  be  appointed  as  needed,  and  discharged  when 
they  have  performed  their  duties. 

Art.  6.  The  objects  of  this  club  are  :  First,  to  work  for  the  elevation 
of  agriculture  to  its  true  position  among  the  industries  of  our  country, 
by  the  mental,  moral,  social,  and  financial  improvement  of  its  members, 
which  can  be  best  effected  by  frequent  meetings  and  free  discussions, 
cultivating  and  developing  their  best  talent  for  business ;  by  experi- 
ments, adopting  a  more  rational  system  of  farming,  —  one  guided  by  the 
use  of  more  brains,  —  thereby  commanding  better  returns  for  the  labor 
expended ;  to  encourage  the  practice  of  the  cash  system  in  buying  and 
selling ;  to  oppose  special  and  class  legislation  and  rebuke  misguided 
and  corrupt   legislation ;    to    endeavor  to   secure   the  nomination  and 


^24  HISTORICAL  AND  POLITICAL. 

election  of  good  men  to  office,  and  spurn,  as  dangerous  to  liberty  and 
economy,  all  professional  politicians ;  to  denounce  and  destroy,  wher- 
ever possible,  all  political  rings  and  defeat  all  machine  candidates.  In 
this  club  the  largest  liberty  shall  be  allowed*  for  the  discussion  of  all 
questions,  political,  financial,  and  domestic,  which  can  possibly  interest 
the  real  farmers  of  our  country. 

Art.  7.  This  club  shall  work  for  more  favorable  agricultural  legisla- 
tion, more  equitable  taxation,  equal  rights  in  transportation,  lower  rates 
of  interest,  cheaper  administration  of  the  laws,  more  respect  for  the  true 
wants  of  the  people,  and  especially  more  thorough  representation  in  the 
halls  of  legislation. 

Art.  8.  By-laws  not  conflicting  with  this  constitution  may  be  made, 
and  any  article  of  this  constitution  may  be  amended  upon  three-fourths 
of  the  members  voting  for  the  same. 

Art.  9.  Any  club  or  organization  of  farmers  in  our  parish  or  State, 
having  a  constitution  similar  to  ours,  and  enforcing  the  same  restrictions 
in  receiving  members,  will  be  fraternally  recognized  by  us,  and  we 
request  their  co-operation  in  the  pursuit  of  all  the  objects  of  our  or- 
ganization, and  we  offer  them  ours.  We  also  request  them  to  unite 
with  us  and  assist  us  to  spread  and  make  permanent  this  organization 
throughout  our  State. 


GRAND    CARON    OF    COLORADO    RIVER,    ARIZONA. 


CHAPTER    III. 
KINDRED  ORGANIZATIONS  —  Continued. 

The  Northwestern  Alliance.  —  The  Northwestern  Alliance, 
so  called  to  distinguish  it  from  the  Alliance  which  originated  in 
the  South,  was  the  result  of  considerable  agitation  among  the 
farmers  of  that  section  regarding  the  depressed  condition  of 
agriculture.  This  agitation  was  forced  upon  the  people  by  the 
teachings  of  the  Greenback  party,  then  in  its  prime,  and  the 
hard  times  which  followed  specie  resumption  and  the  contrac- 
tion of  the  currency.  This  feeling  of  unrest  among  the  farmers 
rapidly  intensified  during  the  years  succeeding  1876,  and  hast- 
ened the  formation  of  the  organization  which  is  the  subjett  of 
this  paper.  The  first  Alliance  in  the  West  was  organized  in 
the  office  of  the  Western  Rural,  Chicago,  Illinois,  April  15,  1880, 
and  named  Cook  County  Alliance,  No.  i,  with  G.  A.  Hauf,  Pres- 
ident ;  C.  E.  Tuerk,  Vice-President ;  James  W.  Wilson,  Secre- 
tary ;  and  Milton  George,  Treasurer. 

The  national  meeting  at  St.  Louis  in  1882  was  not  a  success, 
and  the  one  held  in  Chicago  the  year  following  was  almost  a 
failure.  At  this  meeting  it  was  determined  that  the  officers 
elected  should  hold  their  positions  until  their  successors  were 
elected,  and  that  the  board  of  officers  be  empowered  to  act  in 
the  place  of  the  National  Alliance,  according  to  its  best  judg- 
ment. In  1884  an  attempt  was  made  to  hold  a  national  meeting, 
but  it  failed.  In  1885  no  effort  was  made  ;  but  in  November, 
1886,  a  meeting  was  called  at  Chicago,  which  was  fairly  well 
attended.  Hon.  A.  J.  Streeter  was  elected  President;  J.  J. 
Burrows,  Vice-President ;  Milton  George,  Secretary ;  A.  A. 
Arnold,  Treasurer.  Minneapolis  was  selected  as  the  next  place 
of  meeting.  Strong  resolutions  were  adopted  and  the  meeting 
adjourned. 

The  seventh  annual  meeting  convened  at  Minneapolis,  Min- 
nesota, October,  1887.  Six  States  were  represented.  Although 
the   attendance  was  small,  a  feeling  obtained  that  important 

225 


226  HISTORICAL  AND  POLITICAL. 

questions  of  public  policy,  as  connected  with  agriculture,  would 
soon  arouse  the  farmers  to  greater  activity. 

Since  1887  the  order  has  grown  considerably  in  certain  locali- 
ties. It  is  not  definitely  known  just  how  many  members  it  has. 
A  safe  estimate  would  be  from  125,000  to  175,000.  At  the. 
present  time  its  largest  membership  is  in  the  States  of  Iowa, 
Nebraska,  and  Minnesota.  This  order  is  not  necessarily  secret, 
but  confines  its  membership  to  the  agricultural  classes. 

Declaration  of  Principles  of  the  Northwestern  Farmers' 
Alliance. 

1.  The  free  and  unlimited  coinage  of  silver. 

2.  The  abolition  of  national  banks  and  the  substitution  for  their  notes 
of  legal  treasury  notes,  and  the  increase  of  currency  to  $^0  per  capita. 

3.  Government  ownership  of  all  railroads  and  telegraphs. 

4.  The  prohibition  of  alien  ownership  of  land,  and  of  gambling  in 
stocks,  options,  and  futures. 

5.  The  adoption  of  a  constitutional  amendment  requiring  the  election 
of  President  and  Vice-President,  and  United  States  Senators,  by  direct 
vote  of  the  people. 

6.  The  Australian  ballot  system. 

The  Farmers'  Mutual  Benefit  Association.  —  The  order 
originated,  it  seems,  in  this  way:  In  the  fall  of  1882  or  1883 
(some  give  one  date  and  some  the  other),  five  neighboring  farm- 
ers of  Johnson  County,  Illinois,  of  more  than  ordinary  deter- 
mination and  independence  of  character,  happened  on  the  same 
day  at  their  local  wheat  market,  each  with  a  load  of  wheat. 
The  local  buyers  refused  to  take  it,  claiming  that  the  market 
was  so  unsettled  they  dare  not  make  figures.  The  farmers 
believed  this  was  a  method  agreed  upon  between  the  buyers, 
for  the  sole  purpose  of  depressing  the  market  and  plucking 
them.  After  a  brief  consultation,  a  committee  was  quietly  sent 
to  the  telegraph  office,  and  wired  for  the  city  market.  The 
answer  came,  highly  satisfactory,  showing  the  market  not  only 
firm  but  actually  rising.  They  then  telegraphed  to  the  railroad 
authorities  to  know  if  they  could  get  a  car.  There  happened 
to  be  a  car  already  upon  the  track,  which  was  not  just  then  to 
be  used,  as  the  regular  buyers  had  stopped  buying  for  the  time. 


THE  F.   M.   B.   ASSOCIATION.  227 

This  the  farmers  were  kindly  given  the  refusal  of.  Returning 
to  the  buyers,  the  farmers  again  offered  to  sell  their  wheat  at 
the  price  that  had  been  paid  the  day  before,  and  were  again 
refused.  They  then  told  the  buyers  that  if  they  (the  buyers) 
would  not  take  it,  the  farmers  would  ship  it  themselves. 

This  incident,  of  course,  became  the  talk  of  the  neighborhood, 
and  set  all  the  farmers  to  thinking  of  shipping  their  own  prod- 
uce. It  was  at  once  seen  that,  in  order  to  do  so,  co-opera- 
tion was  necessary,  as  different  persons  must  necessarily  ship 
together.  This  led  to  the  formation  of  clubs.  Five  such  clubs 
were  organized  during  the  winter,  very  much  on  the  style  of  the 
ordinary  neighborhood  debating  society.  It  very  soon  became 
apparent  that,  if  they  devised  any  plans  for  their  mutual  benefit, 
secrecy  was  an  absolute  necessity,  as  they  found  themselves  at 
once  surrounded  by  prying  enemies  of  their  plans.  A  meeting 
of  the  five  clubs,  or  lodges,  was  called  at  New  Burnside,  John- 
son County,  Illinois.  At  this  meeting  a  constitution  and  by- 
laws were  adopted,  a  secret  work  formulated,  the  meeting  was 
termed  a  General  Assembly,  and  the  name  Farmers'  Mutual 
Benefit  Association  was  chosen  for  the  organization.  The  five 
lodges  then  organized  drew  lots  for  the  numbers  they  should 
bear,  from  one  to  five.  The  General  Assembly  was  to  meet 
every  three  months,  and  each  lodge  was  made  an  organizer  to 
organize  other  lodges,  on  petition  from  a  sufficient  number  to 
form  a  new  lodge.  These  new  lodges  were  to  be  branches 
of  the  lodges  organizing  them,  until  the  General  Assembly 
should  meet,  when  they  could  send  their  representatives  and  be 
admitted  as  regular  lodges.  The  branch  lodges,  however,  as 
soon  as  organized,  could  proceed  to  organize  new  lodges.  No 
other  method  of  organization  was  provided  for. 

July  4,  1887,  the  General  Assembly  met  at  Mt.  Vernon,  Illi- 
nois. This  may  be  set  down  as  the  turning-point  in  the  success 
and  growth  of  the  organization.  A  committee  was  appointed 
to  secure  a  legal  incorporation,  to  revise  the  constitution  and 
laws,  and  otherwise  place  the  order  on  a  firm  basis,  and  give 
it  a  legal  standing  and  rights  in  the  courts. 

In  October,  1887,  the  General  Assembly  met  at  DuQuoin, 
Illinois.  The  Committee  on  Incorporation  reported  a  general 
charter,  granted  under  the  corporation  laws  of  Illinois,  with 


228  HISTORICAL  AND  POLITICAL. 

authority  to  work  and  charter  subordinate  lodges  in  any  State 
or  Territory  in  the  United  States.  The  next  meeting  of  the 
General  Assembly  was  held  at  Fairfield,  Illinois,  in  December, 
1887. 

The  next  General  Assembly  was  held  at  Murphysborough  in 
October,  1888.  Several  important  measures  were  discussed. 
■  A  Farmers'  Mutual  Benefit  Association  Printing  Company  was 
formed,  and  general  satisfaction  seemed  to  prevail  over  what 
had  been  done  in  the  past,  and  what  might  be  done  in  the 
future. 

The  next  General  Assembly  met  at  Mt.  Vernon,  Illinois,  in 
November,  1889.  Again  a  rapid  and  permanent  growth  was 
apparent  on  every  side.  The  order  had  passed  the  turning 
point,  and  was  now  on  the  highway  of  prosperity. 

The  last  meeting  of  the  General  Assembly  was  held  at  Spring- 
field, Illinois,  November,  1 890.  This  order  sent  fraternal  dele- 
gates to  the  National  Farmers'  Alliance  and  Industrial  Union  at 
Ocala,  in  December,  1890. 

Such,  briefly,  are  the  history,  aims,  and  purposes  of  an 
organization  that  has  done,  and  is  doing,  good  and  earnest  work 
in  the  line  of  reform. 

The  Farmers'  Political  League.  —  This  organization  origi- 
nated among  the  farmers  of  Massachusetts,  during  their  contest 
with  the  manufacturers  of  oleomargarine.  For  a  number  of 
years  the  farmers  h,ad  petitioned  the  legislature  for  a  law  to 
prohibit  the  coloring  of  oleo  like  butter,  and,  as  is  usual  in 
such  cases,  these  demands  were  entirely  ignored.  Early  in  the 
fall  of  1889  it  was  suggested  that  a  Farmers'  Political  League  be 
organized  to  carry  these  reforms  squarely  into  politics,  and  make 
them  the  issue  in  all  primaries,  caucuses,  and  conventions,  of  all 
parties.  The  idea  met  with  instant  favor.  The  Farmers'  League 
of  Massachusetts  was  temporarily  organized  in  October,  and 
there  not  being  time  enough  to  perfect  permanent  organizations 
in  every  township,  in  season  for  elections,  the  plan  was  adopted 
of  circulating  a  pledge  among  the  voters  in  agricultural  districts, 
irrespective  of  party,  whereby  they  bound  themselves  "  to  vote 
only  for  such  candidates  for  governor  and  for  the  state  legisla- 
ture, as  shall  pledge  themselves  to  work  and  vote  for  a  bill 
to  prohibit  the  coloring  of  oleo  like  butter."     A  State  League 


OF   TH--  \ 

OF  / 

THE  FARMERS'   POLITICAL  LEAGUE.  229 

was  formed  temporarily  in  October,  and  permanently  some 
time  later,  with  the  following  officers :  F.  A.  Putnam  of  Dudley, 
President ;  G.  M.  Whitaker  of  43  Merchants'  Row,  Boston, 
Secretary ;  J.  C.  Poor  of  North  Andover,  Treasurer. 

The  League  is  not  a  secret  organization.  It  has  no  ritual, 
signs,  grips,  or  passwords.  It  is  confined  to  farmers  alone. 
The  method  of  organization  is  simple  in  the  extreme. 

The  membership  of  the  League  is  confined  almost  exclusively 
to  the  States  of  Maine,  Massachusetts,  Connecticut,  Pennsyl- 
vania, and  New  York,  numbering  in  all  something  less  than  fifty 
thousand.  At  present  its  efforts  are  directed  to  the  better  pro- 
tection of  dairy  products  against  fraudulent  imitations.  While 
it  may  accomplish  beneficial  results  in  that  line,  it  is  hardly 
organized  with  a  continuity  of  purpose,  or  fixed  limits  of  action, 
to  become  either  large  in  numbers  or  effective  in  national 
affairs.  However,  it  is  a  move  in  the  right  direction,  and  should 
be  encouraged  rather  than  depreciated  in  its  work  among  the 
farmers.  Any  organization  that  will  assist  in  bringing  the 
farmer  to  a  sense  of  duty  in  regard  to  his  own  relations  to 
society  will  do  good,  no  matter  in  what  form  it  may  appear. 


CHAPTER    IV. 

KINDRED    ORGANIZATIONS COHcluded. 

The  Alliance  in  the  State  of  New  York.  —  After  much 
trouble,  I  have  succeeded  in  obtaining  the  following  statement 
regarding  the  origin  of  the  Alliance  in  New  York.  It  seems 
rather  strange  that  the  name  should  have  been  selected  by 
an  organization  in  Texas  in  1873,  and  in  New  York  in  1875, 
without  one  knowing  of  the  existence  of  the  other;  yet  this 
appears  to  have  been  the  case.  The  history  of  the  Alliance  of 
New  York  is  more  interesting  when  it  is  known  to  have  been 
the  origin  of  what  is  now  known  as  the  Northwestern  National 
Alliance,  and  clears  up  the  early  history  of  that  organization. 
The  following  statement  is  kindly  given  me  by  Mr.  F.  P.  Root 
of  Brockport,  New  York  :  — 

N.  A.  Dunning,  Esq, 

Dear  Sir,  —  Your  communication  of  the*  5th  inst.  came  duly  to  hand. 
In  reply  to  your  inquiries  in  relation  to  the  early  formation  of  a  Farmers' 
Alliance,  I  will  say :  I  have  not  the  minutes  of  the  first  organization 
before  me,  but  the  proceedings  are  quite  fresh  in  my  memory.  You 
may  have  noticed  an  article  I  communicated  to  the  Albany  Culti- 
vator and  Country  Gentleman  on  the  subject,  published  a  few  weeks 
since,  in  which  the  chief  points  of  the  early  organization  were  given. 

The  only  published  notice  I  find,  is  the  call  for  the  meeting  to  organ- 
ize, which  was  in  February,  1875.  In  pursuance  of  that  call,  the  meet- 
ing of  farmers  assembled,  and  the  organization  was  effected.  Since  the 
publication  of  the  article  in  the  Cultivator  at  Albany,  I  have  received  a 
note  from  Rev.  B.  T.  Roberts  of  North  Chili,  this  county,  saying  that 
he  claimed  to  be  the  originator  of  the  Alliance ;  that  he  circulated  the 
call  for  the  first  meeting,  and  that  he  framed  the  constitution  and  by- 
laws adopted.  He  says  he  presented  the  call  to  me,  which  I  signed, 
but  not  without  some  objections,  that  such  an  effort  might  interfere  with 
the  Grange  work,  which  I  thought  was  already  organizing  farmers  with 
much  promise  of  good.  Mr.  Roberts  says  he  replied  that  it  would  not 
be  so,  for  he  only  proposed  to  take  up  their  cause  where  the  Grange  left 
230 


THE  ALLIANCE  IN  NEW   YORK.  23 1 

it ;  that  the  Grange  forbade  all  interference  in  pohtics,  and  this  should 
be  strictly  political  work,  but  not  party. 

Our  meeting  organized  at  the  court-house  in  Rochester,  and  a  com- 
mittee was  appointed  to  consider  and  report  name,  constitution,  and 
by-laws  for  a  farmers'  organization.  That  committee  consisted  of  the 
following  men  :  Rev.  B.  T.  Roberts,  Prof.  A.  A.  Hopkins,  F.  P.  Root, 
John  R.  Garretson,  and  Jesse  Deney. 

That  committee,  after  considerable  discussion,  reported  the  name  of 
Farmers'  Alliance,  and  constitution  and  by-laws,  which  were  adopted  by 
the  meeting.  I  have  not  now  a  copy  of  the  constitution  at  hand,  but  know 
that  none  but  farmers  were  eligible ;  but  all  who  were  engaged  in  any 
branch  of  husbandry  could  become  members,  by  the  payment  of  an 
annual  fee.  The  officers  then  elected,  were  :  F.  P.  Root  of  Brockport, 
President ;  Mr.  Ely  of  Rochester,  Vice-President ;  and  A.  A.  Hopkins  of 
Rochester,  Secretary  and  Treasurer. 

This  organization  was  in  February,  or  the  first  of  March,  1875.  I^ 
embraced  only  the  county  of  Monroe,  but  soon  after  a  call  was  issued 
for  a  State  meeting  at  Rochester,  to  organize  a  State  Alliance.  The  call 
was  responded  to  by  representative  farmers  throughout  Western  New 
York,  and  an  organization  was  effected  to  be  known  as  the  New  York 
Farmers'  Alliance.  The  constitution  adopted  by  the  Monroe  County 
Alliance  was  also  adopted  by  the  State  Alliance.  The  objects  of  this 
organization,  as  set  forth,  were  to  work  out  reforms  in  the  State  laws 
affecting  the  farming  interest,  and  to  urge  an  equal  representation  from 
our  class  in  the  legislation  of  the  State.  The  course  as*  most  approved, 
and  to  which  members  were  pledged,  was  to  attend  primary  meetings  of 
each  political  party,  to  which  they  were  severally  connected,  and  to  urge 
the  nomination  of  such  men  as  were  favorable  to  our  interests ;  and  when 
each  party  could  succeed  in  their  aim,  each  would  vote  their  own  ticket ; 
but  if  one  failed  and  the  other  succeeded,  all  should  turn  in  and  elect  the 
candidate  who  favored  us ;  otherwise,  if  neither  candidate  favored  our 
views,  an  independent  candidate  should  be  nominated.  The  officers 
elected  for  the  State  Alliance  were  :  President,  F.  P.  Root  of  Brock- 
port  ;  Secretary  and  Treasurer,  Prof.  A.  Dan  of  Wyoming  County.  The 
name  of  the  Vice-President  I  have  lost. 

The  next  annual  meeting  was  appointed  at  Syracuse,  New  York,  which 
meeting  was  well  attended,  and  an  address  was  given  by  the  president, 
and  the  objects  and  reforms  most  sought  for  were  discussed  during  two 
days  of  the  session.  An  election  of  officers  for  the  ensuing  year  resulted 
as  follows  :  President,  Hon.  Harris  Lewis  of  Herkimer  County ;  Prof. 
A.  Dan  was  re-elected  Secretary  and  Treasurer.     The  next  annual  meet- 


2  32  HISTORICAL  AND  POLITICAL. 

ing  was  held  at  Utica,  New  York.  At  this  meeting  a  delegation  from 
the  Board  of  Trade  and  Transportation  of  New  York  City  was  sent,  and 
was  accepted  in  consultation.  The  officers  of  the  previous  year  were 
re-elected.  The  next  annual  meeting  was  held  in  the  city  of  Rochester, 
at  which  Gen.  A.  Diven  of  Elmira,  Chemung  County,  was  elected  Presi- 
dent, and  W.  J.  Fowler  of  Monroe  County  was  elected  Secretary  and 
Treasurer. 

General  Diven  was  a  man  of  considerable  note,  being  ex-member  of 
Congress,  also  ex- vice-president  of  the  Erie  Railroad,  but  he  could  not 
afford  the  time  necessary  to  advance  the  interests  of  the  Farmers'  AUi- 
ance,  though  heartily  approving  its  work.  He  was  twice  elected  Presi- 
dent, with  W.  J.  Fowler  Secretary  and  Treasurer,  but  did  not  maintain 
the  organization  after  the  expiration  of  their  official  terms.  I  did  not 
attend  the  last  two  meetings  of  the  Alliance. 

An  organization  of  farmers,  under  the  name  of  Farmers'  League,  was 
soon  after  effected,  which  is  still  in  operation.  Some  time  in  the  winter 
of  1880,  a  notice  was  issued  for  a  meeting  at  Chicago  for  the  formation 
of  a  National  Farmers'  Alliance.  The  purpose  was  carried  out,  and  the 
Secretary  of  our  Alliance,  W.  J.  Fowler  of  Monroe  County,  New  York, 
was  elected  President.  Whether  there  were  organizations  under  the 
head  of  Farmers'  AUiance  prior  to  the  Chicago  meeting,  in  any  of  the 
Western  or  Southern  States,  I  am  not  informed ;  or  whether  the  Alliance 
was  anywhere  known  prior  to  our  movement  at  Rochester,  I  do  not 
know ;  but  the  organization  was  original  with  us.  It  was  reported  that 
an  organization,  copied  after  ours,  was  inaugurated  in  Germany,  and 
also  in  England,  previous  to  the  Chicago  meeting  in  1880 ;  but  I  have 
no  positive  knowledge  of  the  fact. 

This  organization  died  almost,  if  not  completely,  out  in  the 
State,  and  is  just  at  the  present  time  being  revived.  It  was 
never  a  secret  organization,  and  did  not  reach  a  very  high 
position  either  in  effectiveness  or  utility  ;  but  it  did,  v^^ithout 
doubt,  lead  to  the  formation  of  other  and  stronger  organizations, 
and  in  this  manner  became  the  pioneer  in  the  agricultural 
alliances  of  the  North. 

The  Grange,  or  Order  of  the  Patrons  of  Husbandry. — 
This  order  w^as  founded  in  the  city  of  Washington,  District 
of  Columbia,  on  the  4th  day  of  December,  1867.  The  cir- 
cumstances virhich  led  to  its  formation  are  as  follov^s  :  In  Jan- 
uary, 1866,  Mr.  O.  H.  Kelley,  in  the  Department  of  Agriculture, 
was  sent  on  a  mission  of  some  sort  through  the  South,  by  Mr. 


THE    GRANGE,  233 

Newton,  the  then  Commissioner  of  Agriculture.  Kelley  went 
as  far  south  as  Charleston,  South  Carolina  ;  thence  to  Savannah, 
Mobile,  New  Orleans,  up  the  Mississippi  to  Memphis,  across 
the  country  to  Atlanta,  and  back  again  to  Washington  City,  by 
the  2 1  St  day  of  April  following. 

Impressed  with  the  disorganization  of  that  peculiarly  agri- 
cultural section,  and  grieved  at  the  utter  demoralization  of  its 
people,  whom  he  found  to  be  intelligent  and  trustworthy,  Mr. 
Kelley  conceived  the  idea  that  organization  was  necessary  for 
the  resuscitation  of  the  country,  and  the  recuperation  of  the 
farmers,  whose  wealth  and  resources  had  been  swept  away  by 
the  cruel  hand  of  war.  This,  however,  was  but  a  transient 
thought,  as  applied  to  the  farmers  of  the  South  ;  for  a  moment's 
reflection  convinced  him  that  there  was  vital  need  of  organiza- 
tion among  the  farmers  of  the  entire  Union,  North  as  well  as 
South.  In  his  soliloquy  he  asked  himself  why  farmers  should 
not  join  in  a  league  peculiar  to  themselves,  to  which  others 
should  not  be  admitted.  Such  a  union  would  be  partisan ;  and, 
if  partisan,  it  should  be  secret ;  and,  if  secret,  it  must  have  a 
ritual  to  make  it  effective  and  attractive. 

This  process  of  reasoning  rapidly  brought  him  to  a  conclusion, 
and  forthwith  he  undertook  to  execute  the  ritualistic  framework 
of  such  an  organization.  The  task  was,  however,  beyond  his 
capacity,  and  he  soon  found  himself  sounding  in  deep  water. 
But  Kelley  was  a  man  not  easily  baffled ;  so,  with  ardor  una- 
bated, he  resorted  to  the  expedient  of  advising  with  counsellors. 
Mr.  J.  R.  Thompson,  an  officer  in  the  Treasury  Department, 
and  Mr.  William  M.  Ireland,  chief  clerk  in  the  Finance  Division 
of  the  Post  Office  Department,  to  which  bureau  Kelley  had 
been  transferred  in  the  fall  of  1866,  were  two  congenial  com- 
panions, whose  acquaintance  he  had  made  after  his  return  from 
the  South. 

Mr.  William  Saunders,  superintendent  of  the  garden  and 
grounds  of  the  Department  of  Agriculture,  was  invited  to  join 
them,  which  he  did.  This  quartet,  unwilling  to  pass  judgment 
upon  the  work  of  their  own  minds,  invited  the  Rev.  John  Trim- 
ble, then  an  officer  in  the  Treasury  Department,  to  exercise  the 
privilege  of  criticising  their  labors  as  they  progressed.  After  a 
season,  the  Rev.  A.  B.  Grosh,  then  a  clerk  in  the  Agricultural 


2  34  HISTORICAL  AND  POLITICAL. 

Department,  and  Mr.  F.  M,  McDowell,  a  vineyardist  of  Wayne, 
New  York,  were  induced  to  labor  with  the  five,  and  these  seven 
constituted  the  founders  of  the  Order  of  the  Patrons  of  Hus- 
bandry, though  several  mutual  friends,  now  unknown  to  the 
order,  were  at  sundry  times  consulted.  For  nearly  two  years 
these  seven  men  wrought,  until  they  completed  a  well-devised 
scheme  of  organization,  based  upon  a  ritual  of  four  degrees  for 
men,  and  four  for  women.  Having  framed  a  constitution, 
adapted  to  this  ritual,  to  govern  them,  these  men  met  on  the 
4th  day  of  December,  1867,  in  the  little  brown  building  now 
standing  embowered  in  the  trees  of  Four  and  a  Half  Street 
and  Missouri  Avenue,  in  the  city  of  Washington,  and  then  and 
there  constituted  themselves  the  National  Grange  of  the  Patrons 
of  Husbandry,  with  Saunders  as  Master,  Thompson  as  Lecturer, 
Ireland  as  Treasurer,  and  Kelley  as  Secretary.  The  remaining 
offices  were  left  vacant. 

The  constitution  of  the  order  required  that  every  subordinate 
grange  should  be  composed  of  at  least  nine  men  and  four  women, 
and  that  fifteen  such  granges  might  apply  for  the  organization 
of  a  State  Grange.  In  accordance  with  these  provisions,  a  State 
Grange  was  organized  in  Minnesota,  on  the  23d  day  of  Febru- 
ary, 1869,  and  another  in  Iowa,  on  the  12th  day  of  January,  1871. 
On  the  3d  day  of  January,  1872,  the  National  Grange  met  in  its 
fifth  annual  session,  and,  as  an  accession  to  its  members,  hailed 
with  a  welcome  the  presence  of  Dudley  W.  Adams,  the  master 
of  the  State  Grange  of  Iowa,  and  the  first  member  of  the  order 
who  had  ever  met  with  the  original  seven. 

Anterior  to  the  fifth  session  of  the  National  Grange,  there 
had  been  organized,  in  the  several  States,  about  two  hundred 
granges,  whose  charter  fees  had  partially  reimbursed  the 
founders  for  the  money  advanced  in  the  cause  ;  but  annual  sala- 
ries had  been  promised  to  the  master,  the  secretary,  and  the 
treasurer,  not  a  dollar  of  which  could  now  be  paid,  for  there 
was,  as  yet,  not  a  surplus  penny  in  the  treasury.  During  the 
year  1872,  new  life  was  infused  into  the  order,  and  before  its 
close  1074  granges  had  been  organized,  scattered  over  more  than 
half  the  States  of  the  Union.  The  founders  continued  to  work 
most  assiduously,  and  framed  a  degree  peculiarly  suited  to  the 
State  Grange,  and  another  higher  one  for  the  National  Grange, 


THE   GRANGE.  235 

and  still  another  for  those  patrons  who  had  served  twelve  months 
or  longer  in  the  National  Grange.  They  also  appointed  deputies 
to  do  work  in  the  Grange  field. 

In  the  fall  of  1872  the  secretary  mailed  to  all  the  masters  of 
the  State  Granges,  to  the  deputies,  and  to  others  who  had 
labored  for  the  cause,  a  letter  of  invitation  to  convene  in  George- 
town, District  of  Columbia,  on  the  8th  day  of  January,  1873,  in 
the  sixth  annual  session  of  the  National  Grange.  Seventeen 
delegates,  in  addition  to  six  of  the  founders  of  the  order  (Brother 
Ireland  was  absent),  representing  eleven  States,  assembled  on 
that  day,  at  the  place  designated,  six  of  whom  were  masters  of 
State  Granges,  and  the  remainder  deputies  in  the  order.  In 
addition  to  these,  four  ladies  honored  the  body  with  their  pres- 
ence ;  and  now,  for  the  first  time  in  its  history,  the  National 
Grange  began  to  assume  the  proportions  of  a  national  organiza- 
tion. 

Thus  the  foundation  was  laid  for  active,  enei^etic,  progres- 
sive work  during  the  succeeding  year.  The  enthusiasm  of  the 
founders  was  imbibed  by  every  delegate  present,  and  each 
avowed  himself  a  propagandist  on  his  return  home.  To  date 
(January  12,  1873),  there  had  been  organized  nearly  fourteen 
hundred  granges,  more  than  one-half  of  which  were  in  the  two 
States  of  Iowa  and  South  Carohna.  The  years  1873  and  1874 
were  marvellously  prosperous  years  for  the  Grange.  In  the 
former,  ^66%  subordinate  granges  were  organized,  and  in  the 
latter,  11,941.  "Then  it  was,"  says  a  member,  "that  in  our 
strength  we  exposed  our  weakness.  Our  debts  had  been  paid, 
and  our  coffers  were  full.  But  we  had  grown  suddenly  too  rich 
and  powerful.  We  had  leaped  from  poverty  into  affluence. 
From  a  struggling  brotherhood  of  seven  we  had  developed,  with 
magic  growth,  into  a  fraternity  of  over  twenty  thousand  sub- 
ordinate granges,  averaging  a  membership  of  forty,  all  adults, 
or  well-grown  male  and  female  youths,  and  our  members  were 
increasing  at  the  rate  of  thousands  a  month.  But  our  ranks 
lacked  discipline.  Our  leaders  were  afraid  of  the  multitude, 
and  chaos  prevailed  to  a  considerable  extent  throughout  the 
order." 

The  Grange  has  been  a  great  educator,  and  being  the  pioneer 
agricultural  association,  it  has  been  compelled  to  stand  the  criti- 


236  HISTORICAL   AND  POLITICAL, 

cism  which  always  waits  upon  preparatory  efforts.  It  has  had 
its  seasons  of  great  prosperity,  and  also  its  full  term  of  adversity, 
and  is  again  making  headway  in  its  endeavors  to  benefit  the 
farmer.  It  is  increasing  in  numbers,  and  promises  to  take  a 
prominent  part  in  the  reforms  which  await  the  future. 


BUNKER    HILL    MONUMENT. 


CHAPTER   V. 

HISTORY    OF    STATE    ALLIANCES. 

Official  Directory  of  the  National  Farmers'  Alliance  and 
Industrial  Union.  —  President,  L.  L.  Polk,  North  Carolina ; 
Vice-President,  B.  H.  Clover,  Kansas ;  Secretary-Treasurer, 
J.  H.  Turner,  Georgia ;  Lecturer,  J.  F.  Willetts,  Kansas. 
Executive  Board :  Chairman,  C.  W.  Macune ;  A.  Wardall, 
J.  F.  Tillman.  Judiciary  Department :  Chairman,  H.  C.  Dem- 
ming;  Isaac  McCracken,  A.  E.  Cole.  Committee  on  Confed- 
eration of  National  Farmers'  Alliance  and  Industrial  Union  : 
Chairman,  Ben  Terrell,  239  North  Capitol  Street,  Washington, 
District  of  Columbia ;  L.  F.  Livingston  of  Georgia ;  B.  F. 
Rogers  of  Florida  ;  W.  J.  Talbert  of  South  Carolina ;  H.  L. 
Loucks  of  South  Dakota. 

Alabama.  —  A.  T.  Jacobs,  a  member  of  the  Texas  Alliance, 
organized  the  first  Alliance  at  Beech  Grove,  Madison  County, 
in  March,  1887.  Other  Alliances  were  rapidly  formed  in  Lime- 
stone, Jackson,  and  Marshall  counties.  A  State  organization 
was  formed,  with  W.  J.  McKelvey,  President,  and  G.  W.  Jones, 
Secretary.  Regular  organizers  had  been  sent  into  another  part 
of  the  State  by  President  Macune,  and  had  done  effective  work. 
At  the  second  meeting  of  the  State  Alliance,  in  August,  1887, 
all  were  united  under  one  State  organization,  with  S.  M.  Adams, 
President,  and  J.  W.  Brown,  Secretary.  Delegates  to  the 
National  Meeting  to  be  held  at  Shreveport,  Louisiana,  in  October, 
1887,  were  elected  and  instructed  to  apply  for  admission  into 
the  national  order,  which  was  granted.  The  union  of  the 
Wheel  and  Alliance  was  perfected  October  15,  1889.  The 
organization  in  this  State  is  strong,  well  organized,  and  increas- 
ing in  number.     It  is  one  of  the  banner  States. 

Arkansas.  —  I.  W.  Baker,  William  Davenport,  and  D.  B. 
Hall  were  commissioned  as  national  organizers  for  this  State, 
by  President  Macune,  in  the  spring  of  1887.  As  the  Brothers 
of  Freedom  and  the  Agricultural  Wheel  originated  here,  and 

237  • 


238  HISTORICAL  AND  POLITICAL, 

both  had  strong  organizations,  the  Alliance  made  but  slow 
progress.  Several  Sub-Alliances  were  organized,  however, 
during  that  year.  The  complications  which  have  followed  an 
effort  to  consolidate  are  numerous  and  difficult  to  explain.  At 
one  time  there  were  three  separate  organizations,  each  oper- 
ating independently.  After  much  trouble  and  discussion,  the 
different  State  bodies  met  at  Little  Rock,  February  12,  1891, 
and  consolidated  into  one  State  organization. 

California.  —  In  the  early  part  of  1890,  Joe  S.  Barbee  was 
commissioned  national  organizer  for  the  State  of  California,  and 
on  April  11,  1890,  the  first  Sub- Alliance  was  organized  at  Sum- 
merland,  Santa  Barbara  County,  with  sixteen  members  and  the 
following  officers  :  President,  H.  L.  Williams  ;  Vice-President, 
Mrs.  Agnes  S.  Williams  ;  Secretary,  C.  T.  Norcross  ;  Treasurer, 
William  Wales ;  Chaplain,  A.  C.  Doane.  The  first  County 
Alliance  was  organized  at  Santa  Barbara,  in  Santa  Barbara 
County,  on  May  3,  1890,  with  President,  H.  L.  Williams,  Sum- 
merland ;  Vice-President,  S.  K.  Shilling,  Lompoc ;  Secretary, 
H.  F.  Cook,  Cathedral  Oak ;  Treasurer,  H.  A.  Nelson,  Dos 
Pueblas ;  Chaplain,  Henry  Douglas,  Goleta.  The  State  Alli- 
ance was  formed  at  San  Jose,  November  21,  1890. 

Colorado.  —  The  first  Alliances  were  organized  in  this  State 
in  1888,  by  R.  S.  W.  Overstreet.  On  account  of  the  sparsely 
settled  counties,  hard  times,  and  land  troubles,  it  was  found 
difficult  to  push  the  work.  In  1889  the  organization  took  a 
fresh  start.  The  Northern  or  Open  Alliance  had  been  at  work 
in  the  State  and  had  secured  quite  a  membership.  After  care- 
fully considering  the  matter,  the  two  Alliances  met  together  in 
joint  convention  in  December,  1889,  and  perfected  a  State 
organization. 

The  Dakotas.  —  The  Farmers'  Alliance  was  introduced  into 
the  Territory  of  Dakota  in  the  fall  of  1884.  A  number  of  farm- 
ers met  at  Huron,  now  in  South  Dakota,  on  December  19,  1884, 
and  after  adopting  a  series  of  resolutions  adjourned  until  the 
4th  of  February  succeeding.  Several  Sub-Alliances  had  been 
organized  prior  to  this  meeting,  under  a  charter  from  the  North- 
ern or  Open  Alliance.  At  the  meeting  in  February,  a  Ter- 
ritorial organization  was  perfected,  and  the  following  officers 
selected  :  President,  J.  L.  Carlisle ;  Vice-President,  A.  R.  Mon- 


STATE  ALLIANCES.  239 

tague ;  Secretary,  W.  F.  T.  Bushnell ;  and  Treasurer,  A.  D. 
Chase.  The  last  meeting  of  the  Territorial  organization  was 
held  at  Aberdeen,  South  Dakota,  November  28,  1889.  About 
nine  hundred  Sub-Alliances  were  represented.  The  Territory- 
having  been  divided  into  two  States,  the  Alliance  of  South 
Dakota  was  organized,  with  H.  L.  Loucks,  of  Clear  Lake,  Pres- 
ident ;  First  Vice-President,  C.  V.  Gardner,  Postville ;  Second 
Vice-President,  C.  A.  Soderberg,  Hartford;  Secretary-Treas- 
urer, Mrs.  Sophia  M.  Harden,  Woonsocket.  North  Dakota 
elected  President,  Walter  Muir,  Hunter ;  First  Vice-President, 
Andrew  Slotten,  Wahpeton ;  Second  Vice-Presrdent,  James 
Dobie,  Tyner ;  Treasurer,  S.  W.  Unkenholz,  Mandan  ;  Lecturer, 
Ira  S.  Lampman,  Valley  City ;  Secretary,  M.  D.  Williams, 
Jamestown.  At  the  national  meeting,  at  St.  Louis,  in  1889, 
both  of  these  States  joined  the  National  Farmers'  Alliance  and 
Industrial  Union.  Since  that  time  they  have  increased  in  num- 
bers rapidly.     The  same  officers  have  been  retained. 

Delaware.  —  The  Alliance  was  introduced  into  this  State  in 
the  summer  of  1889,  by  Rev.  H.  G.  Cowan.  Considerable  time 
was  spent  in  making  a  start.  The  first  Sub-Alliance  was  organ- 
ized in  Kent  County,  in  August,  1889,  with  President,  William 
Johnson,  and  Secretary,  J.  W.  Mix.  Kent  was  the  first  county 
organized,  by  J.  P.  Kelley,  January  29,  1891,  with  the  following 
officers :  President,  J.  M.  Eisinburg ;  Vice-President,  Alexander 
Simpson  ;  Secretary,  F.  J.  Prettyman  ;  Treasurer,  Robert 
Raughley;  Chaplain,  I.  W.  Poole.  A  State  organization  will 
be  formed  during  the  summer  of  1891,  as  the  order  is  spreading 
rapidly. 

Florida.  —  The  State  Alliance  of  Florida  was  organized  in 
August,  1887.  Oswald  Wilson  was  sent  there  by  President  C. 
W.  Macune,  as  national  organizer,  and  did  his  work  so  thor- 
oughly that  the  State  was  organized  at  a  rapid  rate.  The  first 
officers  were :  President,  Oswald  Wilson ;  Vice-President,  Wil- 
liam Gomne ;  Secretary,  Thomas  A.  Hall ;  Treasurer,  I.  W. 
Pooser ;  Chaplain,  W.  A.  Bryan ;  Lecturer,  I.  B.  Young ;  Assis- 
tant-Lecturer, W.  B.  Shephard ;  Doorkeeper,  W.  G.  Coxwell. 
The  order  has  prospered  since  its  organization,  and  is  doing  well 
at  this  time. 

Georgia.  —  In  the  spring  of  1887,  three  national  organizers 


240  HISTORICAL  AND  POLITICAL. 

were  commissioned  by  the  National  Farmers'  Alliance  and 
Co-operative  Union  of  America,  and  sent  to  this  State.  J.  B. 
Wilkes  commenced  the  work  of  organization  in  the  Fourth  Con- 
gressional District  in  March ;  and  about  the  same  time  Brother 
Bairfield,  in  the  Second  Congressional  District,  and  Brother 
Turner  in  the  Third,  began  the  work.  All  three  of  these  or- 
ganizers were  from  the  State  of  Texas.  In  March,  1887, 
Farmers'  Alliance  No.  i  was  organized  by  J.  B.  Wilkes,  at 
Antioch,  Troup  County,  with  W.  B.  Whately,  President,  and 
Dr.  W.  G.  Floyd,  Secretary.  The  first  County  Alliance  was 
organized  at  Franklin,  in  Heard  County,  August  6,  1887,  with 
T.  M.  Awbrey,  President,  and  J.  H,  Turner,  Secretary. 

About  the  first  of  October,  the  national  President,  C.  W. 
Macune,  issued  his  proclamation  calling  a  meeting  of  delegates 
of  all  the  organized  counties  in  the  State,  to  convene  in  the  city 
of  Fort  Valley,  December  20,  to  organize  a  State  Alliance. 
Fourteen  counties  were  represented,  and  the  following  officers 
were  elected  :  President,  R.  H.  Jackson,  Heard  County ;  Vice- 
President,  W.  C.  Glenn,  Schley  County ;  Secretary,  R.  L. 
Burks,  Harris  County;  Treasurer,  W.  B.  Daniel,  Sumter  County; 
Lecturer,  J.  T.  Green,  Carroll  County  ;  and  State  Organizer, 
J.  H.  Turner,  Troup  County.  The  order  in  the  State  has 
prospered  wonderfully,  and  is  to-day  among  the  first. 

Idaho.  —  The  Alliance  came  to  this  State  in  the  latter  part 
of  1890.  The  first  Sub- Alliance  was  organized  at  Silver  Creek, 
Logan  County,  February  7,  1891,  by  B.  T.  Templeton.  The 
following  officers  were  elected :  President,  L.  E.  Gannett ; 
Vice-President,  John  L.  Freeman ;  Secretary,  B.  T.  Templeton ; 
Treasurer,  C.  W.  Catte ;  Chaplain,  W.  H.  Loving. 

There  is  no  County  Alliance  as  yet,  but  a  number  of  organ- 
izers have  just  been  started.  They  report  good  prospects  for 
future  work. 

Illinois.  —  The  first  Sub- Alliance  was  organized  at  Noble, 
Richland  County,  December  27,  1889  ;  F.  G.  Blood,  organizer. 
The  first  County  Alliance  was  organized  at  Clayton,  Adams 
County,  April  5,  1890.  The  State  Alliance  was  organized  at 
Morrison,  Whiteside  County,  July  15,  1890,  with  a  membership 
of  about  3000 ;  President,  M.  L.  Crum  ;  Vice-President,  M.  H. 
Gilbert ;    Secretary,    F.   G.    Blood ;   Treasurer,    Geo.    H.    Lee ; 


STATE  ALLIANCES.  241 

Lecturer,  C.  W.  Stevenson.  The  same  officers  are  serving 
now.  The  Alliance  in  this  State  is  growing  rapidly,  and 
promises  to  be  one  of  the  best  in  the  Union. 

Indiana.  —  W.  W.  Wilson  began  the  work  of  organization  in 
this  State  in  May,  1889.  The  order  of  the  Farmers'  Mutual 
Benefit  Association  had  been  quite  extensively  organized  in  the 
State  previous  to  this  time.  The  Open  Alliance  also  claimed  a 
considerable  membership.  The  work  progressed  slowly,  and  it 
was  not  until  April,  1890,  that  a  State  Alliance  was  perfected, 
at  the  city  of  Indianapolis.  Seven  County  and  about  one  hun- 
dred and  twenty  Sub-Alliances  were  represented.  T.  W.  Force 
was  elected  President,  and  W.  W.  Frigg,  Secretary.  The  order 
is  now  rapidly  increasing  in  numbers,  and  the  prospects  are 
good  for  a  splendid  organization. 

Indian  Territory.  —  The  Alliance  was  introduced  into  this 
Territory  in  1886.  The  organizer  went  from  Texas,  but  I  have 
been  unable  to  obtain  his  name.  The  Alliances  formed  were 
chartered  under  the  jurisdiction  of  Texas.  Representatives  of 
the  various  Alliances  met  at  Brickhouse,  in  Tishomingo,  April 
12,  1887,  and  organized  a  Territorial  AlHance,  selecting  Z.  Gard- 
ner, President,  and  M.  E.  Gough,  Secretary.  The  membership 
increased  rapidly  during  the  succeeding  year.  At  the  next 
meeting  of  the  Territorial  Alliance,  at  Armstrong  Academy,  in 
August,  1888,  W.  Hatchkins  was  chosen  President,  and  M.  E. 
Gough  was  again  chosen  Secretary.  At  the  next  meeting  of 
the  Territorial  body,  at  Stonewall,  in  August,  1889,  H.  C.  Ran- 
dolph was  selected  as  President,  and  Lyman  Friend,  Secretary. 

Iowa.  —  On  the- 26th  day  of  July,  1890,  George  B.  Lang  or- 
ganized South  Fork  Farmers'  Alliance  No.  i,  in  Wayne  County, 
Iowa,  with  seven  members,  and  officers  as  follows :  President, 
J.  A.  Duer ;  Vice-President,  Warren  Easley ;  Secretary,  D.  D. 
Southard ;  Treasurer,  C.  H.  Lord ;  Chaplain,  John  Lord. 

The  first  County  Alliance  was  organized  by  Geo.  B.  Lang,  in 
Wayne  County,  December  13,  1890,  with  the  following  officers  : 
President,  Charles  Heckthorn;  Vice-President,  Theodore  Wade; 
Secretary,  Robert  E.  Gwinn;  Treasurer,  Ellis  Shriver;  Chap- 
lain, C.  N.  Haworth 

The  State  Alliance  of  Iowa  was  organized  at  Creston,  March 
20,   1891. 


242  HISTORICAL   AND  POLITICAL. 

Kansas.  —  Some  time  during  the  year  1887,  a  number  of  Sub- 
Alliances  were  formed  in  Cowley  County,  through  the  efforts  of 
a  visiting  friend  from  Texas,  who  was  stopping  with  a  farmer 
in  that  county.  It  is  from  this  beginning  that  the  Alliance  in 
Kansas  took  its  start.  Later,  W.  Shires,  a  regular  organizer, 
came  into  the  State,  and  started  a  few  more  Sub-Alliances. 
About  this  time  Brother  W.  P.  Brush  went  to  Cowley  County, 
and  succeeded  in  organizing  the  first  County  Alliance.  Authority 
was  given  Brother  Brush  to  organize  the  State.  A  meeting  was 
called  for  that  purpose  in  December,  1888,  and  an  organization 
was  perfected  by  electing  B.  H.  Clover  of  Cambridge,  President, 
and  J.  B.  French,  Hutchinson,  Secretary. 

The  growth  of  the  Alliance  in  this  State  has  been  phenomenal. 

Kentucky.  —  The  first  Farmers'  Alliance  was  organized  in 
Trigg  County,  by  F.  T.  Rogers,  in  December,  1886.  At  first 
the  work  progressed  very  slowly,  and  was  abandoned  by  some  of 
the  first  who  made  the  attempt.  In  February,  1888,  Brother 
B.  F.  Davis  was  commissioned  for  the  work,  and  began  in  ear- 
nest the  difficult  task.  He  succeeded  so  well  that  a  State  organ- 
ization was  completed  at  Ezel,  Morgan  County,  June  7,  1888. 
J.  E.  Quicksall  was  chosen  President ;  J.  M.  Raney,  Vice-Presi- 
dent ;  B.  F.  Davis,  Secretary  ;  Charles  Pack,  Treasurer ;  and 
Sherman  Pack,  Lecturer.  August  29,  1889,  the  Alliance  and 
Wheel  consolidated,  with  S.  B.  Irwin,  President ;  J.  E.  Quicksall, 
Vice-President ;  B.  F.  Davis,  Secretary ;  Charles  Pack,  Treas- 
urer ;  and  J.  F.  Gale,  Lecturer.  The  order  has  grown  rapidly 
since  that  date. 

Louisiana. — The  Farmers'  Union  of  this  State  had  been 
quite  extensively  organized  before  the  Alliance  was  introduced. 
The  first  Alliance  was  organized  by  J.  W.  DeSpain  and  J.  Groves, 
in  one  of  the  parishes  west  of  Red  River.  The  second  Alliance 
was  organized  in  De  Soto  Parish,  October  8,  1886.  After  this  it 
spread  rapidly  throughout  this  portion  of  the  State.  In  May, 
1887,  the  Union  and  the  Alliance  united,  forming  the  State 
Union,  the  Alliances  surrendering  their  charters  and  taking  out 
others  from  the  Union.  From  this  time  on  the  order  has  grown 
rapidly.  The  first  officers  of  the  Consolidated  Union  were : 
President,  J.  M.  Stallings,  Venice ;  Secretary,  O.  W.  Wright, 
Munnville ;  Treasurer,   W.  J.  Spinks  ;  Lecturer,  W.  J.   Smith  ; 


STATE  ALLIANCES.  243 

Assistant  Lecturer,  Samuel  Skinner ;  Corresponding  Secretary, 
J.  A.  Tetts. 

Maryland.  —  The  Alliance  was  introduced  into  this  State  in 
1889,  by  Dr.  Joseph  A.  Mudd. 

The  first  Alliance  was  organized  at  Piscataway,  Prince  George's 
County,  February  26,  1889,  with  the  following  officers:  Presi- 
dent, Dr.  A.  L.  Middleton ;  Vice-President,  Dr.  J.  H.  Blanford ; 
Secretary,  James  P.  Elder. 

The  first  County  Alliance  was  organized  by  Dr.  Joseph  A. 
Mudd,  at  Upper  Marlboro,  Prince  George's  County,  August  28, 
1889,  with  the  following  officers:  President,  Dr.  W.  W.  War- 
ing ;  Vice-President,  Dr.  J.  B.  Langford ;  Secretary,  A.  T. 
Brooke  ;  Treasurer,  Geo.  W.  Brooke ;  Lecturer,  W.  B.  (Raggett ; 
Chaplain,  J.  B.  Perrie. 

The  State  was  organized  September  25,  1889,  by  Dr.  Joseph 

A,  Mudd  of  Washington,  State  Organizer,  at  Upper  Marlboro. 
Michigan.  —  The   Alliance  was   introdoiced   into  this  State 

under  peculiar  circumstances.  The  Alliance  Seittinel  v^2i's,  started 
at  least  three  months  before  there  was  a  member  of  an  Alliance 
in  the  State.  Even  the  editor.  Brother  J.  M.  Potter,  was  not 
a  member  of  the  order.  Brother  N.  A.  Dunning  of  Washing- 
ton, District  of  Columbia,  came  to  the  State  for  the  purpose  of 
introducing  the  order.  The  very  first  night  —  February  19, 
1890 — he  organized  an  AlHance  at  Pine  Lake,  Ingham  County, 
with  the  following  officers  :  President,  George  Northrop  ;  Vice- 
President,  Hiram  W.  Baker;  Secretary,  Daniel  B.  Potter; 
Treasurer,  Joseph  L  Burtraw  ;  Chaplain,  William  R.  Norton. 

Every  person  attending  the  meeting  joined  the  Alliance,  and 
all  expressed  entire  satisfaction  in  regard  to  the  aims,  objects, 
and  methods  of  the  order  as  explained. 

The  State  was  organized  at  Lansing,  September  17,  1890. 
The  following  officers  were  chosen :  President,  A.  E.  Cole,  of 
Fowlerville  ;  Vice-President,  T.  C.  Anthony  of  Marengo  ;  Treas- 
urer, John  D.  Carlton  of  Dimondale ;  State  Lecturer,  Luther 
Ripley  of  Port  Hope ;  Chaplain,  Mrs.  Emma  Moore  of  Delta ; 
Steward,  H.  W.  Cobb  of  Perry ;  Doorkeeper,  A.  McKelvey  of 
Delta  ;  Executive  Committee :  Chairman,  George  S.  Wilson  of 
Horton  ;  Thomas  Nichols  of  Sanilac;  Martin  Smith  of  Okemos; 

B.  F.  McKellim  of  Bad  Axe ;  J.  W.  Ewing  of  Grand  Lodge. 


244  HISTORICAL  AND  POLITICAL. 

Minnesota.  —  The  Alliance  first  appeared  in  this  State  in  the 
summer  of  1890.  The  first  Sub-Alliance  was  organized  about 
July  I,  1890,  by  A.  D.  Ferres,  at  Pipe  Stone,  Pipe  Stone  County, 
with  the  following  officers :  President,  H.  D.  Sanford ;  Vice- 
President,  John  Clark ;  Secretary,  J.  A.  Bigelow ;  Treasurer, 
C.  C.  Goodnow  ;  Chaplain,  W.  C.  Barber. 

Pipe  Stone  County  Alliance  was  organized  in  January,  1891. 
Names  of  officers  are  not  at  hand.  The  order  will  be  pushed 
during  the  summer  of  1891. 

Mississippi.  —  In  February,  1887,  President  C.  W.  Macune 
commissioned  S.  O.  Daws  and  W.  F.  Price  to  begin  the  work 
of  organizing  the  State  of  Mississippi.  The  first  Alliance  was 
organized  March  3,  1887,  at  Oak  Hall,  Carroll  County.  Others 
followed  rapidly.  The  State  Alliance  was  organized  August 
24,  1887.  R.  T.  Love  was  chosen  President,  and  C.  T.  Smith- 
son,  Secretary.  Since  that  time  the  order  has  grown  steadily, 
and  is  now  among  the  best. 

Missouri.  —  The  AlKance  appeared  in  this  State  in  the  spring 
of  1887.  President  Macune  sent  a  number  of  organizers  into 
the  State,  at  the  urgent  request  of  many  of  its  people.  In  May 
following  the  first  Sub-Alliance  was  organized  in  Butler  County. 
The  order  spread  with  great  rapidity  that  summer,  so  that  a 
State  Alliance  was  perfected  October  4,  1887,  at  Poplar  Bluff, 
with  the  following  officers :  President,  A.  B.  Johnson,  Ritchey, 
Newton  County ;  Vice-President,  W.  B.  Anthony ;  Secretary, 
Frank  Farrell,  Mill  Spring ;  Treasurer,  J.  N.  Tatem ;  Chaplain, 
J.  A.  Gross ;  Lecturer,  M.  V.  B.  Page.  Since  that  time  the 
order  has  grown  rapidly. 

Montana.  —  The  Alliance  made  its  appearance  in  this  State 
in  the  latter  part  of  1890.  The  first  Sub- Alliance  was  organized 
at  Augusta,  Lewis  and  Clarke  County,  January  10,  1891.  The 
officers  chosen  were :  President,  D.  J.  Hogan ;  Vice-President, 
J.  K.  Smith ;  Secretary,  T.  G.  Woods ;  Treasurer,  W.  H.  War- 
den ;  Chaplain,  R.  Anchard.  Organized  by  T.  G.  Wood,  tem- 
porarily, and  granted  a  dispensation  until  a  regular  organizer 
could  be  obtained. 

New  Jersey.  — The  first  Alliance  was  organized  in  this  State 
September  23,  1889,  at  Centreton,  Salem  County,  with  the 
following   officers ;   President,  W.   W.   Gilder ;   Vice-President, 


STATE  ALLIANCES.  245 

Samuel  Golder  ;  Secretary,  Jarvis  Pedrick ;  Treasurer,  John  B, 
Cooper ;  Lecturer,  C.  P.  Atkinson. 

The  first  County  AlUance  was  organized  March  13,  1890,  at 
Cohansey,  Salem  County,  by  Dr.  C.  P.  Atkinson,  with  the  fol- 
lowing officers :  President,  J.  M.  Hitchman ;  Vice-President, 
E.  F.  Cook ;  Secretary,  A.  R.  Thaup ;  Treasurer,  L.  M.  Gar- 
ram.     The  prospects  are  good  for  an  increase  of  membership. 

New  Mexico.  —  The  first  Alliance  in  this  Territory  was 
organized  in  Lincoln  County,  in  April,  1887,  by  A.  D.  Wallace. 
A  few  months  after,  this  county  was  organized,  being  the  first 
county  organization  in  the  Territory.  For  various  reasons  the 
work  dragged.  One  great  obstacle  was  the  scattered  situation 
of  the  settlements,  and  the  difficulty  of  getting  the  farmers 
together.  After  a  hard  struggle,  a  Territorial  Alliance  was  per- 
fected, at  Santa  Fe,  in  July,  1889.  J.  N.  Coe  was  chosen  Presi- 
dent, and  W.  L.  Bruce,  Secretary.  The  order  is  doing  fairly 
well. 

New  York.  —  Early  in  1890  D.  F.  Allen,  a  farmer  from  near 
Allentown,  Allegany  County,  came  to  Washington  City,  and 
was  initiated  into  the  Farmers'  Alliance.  He  was  at  once  given 
a  national  organizer's  commission  for  New  York.  April  3,  he 
organized  Wirt  Farmers'  Alliance,  No.  i,  in  Allegany  County, 
with  sixteen  members  and  the  following  officers :  President, 
DeWitt  Willis  ;  Vice-President,  Marion  Keller  ;  Secretary,  Rufus 
Harwood ;  Treasurer,  William  Saunders ;  Chaplain,  Chauncy 
Griffin.  The  first  County  Alliance  was  organized  in  Allegany 
County,  June  3,  1890,  with  the  following  officers  :  President,  M. 
Spencer ;  Vice-President,  J.  D.  Rogers ;  Secretary,  George  A. 
Scott ;  Treasurer,  D.  C.  Willis ;  Chaplain,  N.  R.  Miller.  The 
State  Alliance  was  organized  at  Hornellsville,  April  22. 

North  Carolina.  —  The  Alliance  in  this  State  has  had  a 
wonderful  growth.  Having  had  a  paper,  The  Progressive  Farmer^ 
advocating  a  doctrine  similar  to  that  taught  by  the  Alliance,  it 
was  easy  to  organize  the  State.  Colonel  L.  L.  Polk,  editor  of  The 
Progressive  Farmer,  entered  into  the  work  with  earnestness  and 
energy.  The  first  Alliance  was  organized  by  M.  T.  Seely, 
April  20,  1887.  In  May  J.  B.  Barry  of  Texas  joined  in  the 
work.  A  State  Alliance  was  formed  October  4,  1887,  at  Rocking- 
ham, Richmond  County,  consisting  of  eight  counties  and  one 


246  HISTORICAL   AND  POLITICAL. 

hundred  and  thirty-two  Sub-AlUances.  S.  B.  Alexander  was 
elected  President,  and  L.  L.  Polk,  Secretary. 

Ohio. — The  first  Alliance  was  organized  in  Gallia  County, 
June  5,  1890,  by  J.  T.  Jones,  with  eleven  members  and  the  fol- 
lowing officers  :  President,  S.  H.  Shaffer ;  Vice-President,  M.  B. 
Mala;  Secretary,  James  R.  Vires;  Treasurer,  William  H.  Van- 
den;  Chaplain,  John  Leonard. 

The  first  County  Alliance  was  organized  in  Franklin  County, 
near  Columbus,  October  4,  1890,  by  J.  M.  Richardson,  with 
the  following  officers  :  President,  H.  S.  Harris ;  Vice-President, 
W.  R.  Parsons ;  Secretary,  H.  M.  Evans  ;  Treasurer,  Thomas 
Carpenter ;  Chaplain,  Fred  L.  Johnson.  The  State  Alliance 
was  organized  at  Columbus,  April  16,  1891. 

Oklahoma.  —  January  10,  1890,  the  first  Alliance  was  organ- 
ized in  this  Territory,  by  George  W.  Gardenhire,  at  Stillwater, 
with  eighteen  members,  and  officers  as  follows ;  President, 
G.  W.  Puckett ;  Secretary,  Irvin  Whittaker. 

The  first  County  Alliance  was  organized  by  W.  H.  Barton, 
in  Payne  County,  on  the  20th  day  of  March,  1890,  with  the  fol- 
lowing officers :  President,  D.  Skinner ;  Vice-President,  W.  H. 
Hayden ;  Secretary,  M.  A.  Hickcox ;  Treasurer,  L.  Gilges ; 
Chaplain,  M.  B.  Andrews.  The  Territorial  Alliance  was  organ- 
ized July  8,  1890,  at  Guthrie. 

Oregon.  —  The  Alliance  was  introduced  into  this  State  dur- 
ing the  winter  of  1890.  There  was  no  organizer,  and  a  meet- 
ing was  held  at  Independence,  Polk  County.  A  temporary 
organization  was  effected,  and  a  dispensation  was  granted  to 
them  until  they  could  obtain  the  secret  work  from  the  regular 
source.  The  following  were  the  officers :  President,  Abram 
Nelson;  Vice-President,  J.  Dorusife  ;  Secretary,  George  Roges ; 
Treasurer,  J.  W.  Haley ;  Chaplain,  J.  Craven.  Organized  by 
Thomas  C.  Wilkin.     There  is  no  County  Alliance  at  present. 

Pennsylvania.  —  The  Alliance  was  introduced  into  this  State 
in  the  spring  of  1890,  by  H.  C.  Demming,  who  came  to  Wash- 
ington, took  the  secret  work,  and  organized  the  first  Alliance  in 
his  own  county  of  Dauphin.  In  April  following,  after  meeting 
with  many  obstacles.  Brother  Demming  succeeded  in  organiz- 
ing a  State  Alliance  at  Harrisburg,  November  26,  1890.  The 
officers  elected  were :  President,  Henry  C.  Suavely,  Lebanon  ; 


STATE   ALLIANCES,  247 

Vice-President,  Curtis  S.  Clark,  Crawford  ;  Lecturer,  J.  S.  Potts, 
Indiana  County ;  Secretary,  Henry  C.  Demming,  Dauphin 
County ;  Treasurer,  Valentine  Hay,  Somerset  County. 

South  Carolina. — The  first  Sub- Alliance  in  this  State  was 
organized  by  M.  T.  Seely,  an  organizer  from  Texas,  in  October, 
1887.  The  order  grew  rapidly,  so  that,  in  July,  1888,  a  State 
Alliance  was  perfected,  with  over  one  hundred  and  fifty  Sub- 
Alliances  and  a  membership  exceeding  three  thousand.  E.  T. 
Stackhouse  was  elected  President,  and  J.  W.  Reid,  Secretary. 
The  order  has  had  a  substantial  and  steady  increase  up  to  the 
present  time,  and  its  success  is  assured. 

Tennessee.  —  J.  T.  Alsup,  a  national  organizer  of  the  Farmers' 
Alliance,  began  work  in  this  State  in  the  winter  of  1887.  The 
first  Sub-Alliance  was  organized  in  Wilson  County,  in  March 
following.  At  that  time  the  Agricidtural  Wheel  was  also  seek- 
ing to  establish  itself  in  the  State  ;  but  by  hard  work  and  perse- 
verance, a  State  Alliance  was  organized  in  March,  1888,  with 
I.  P.  Buchanan,  President.  Both  orders  continued  to  grow,  and 
at  a  joint  meeting  at  Nashville,  in  July,  1889,  the  two  organiza- 
tions consolidated  under  the  name  of  National  Farmers  and 
Laborers'  Union,  with  L  P.  Buchanan,  President,  and  E.  B. 
Wade,  Secretary.  Since  then  the  order  has  grown  rapidly,  and 
is  now  reckoned  among  the  best. 

Texas.  —  The  history  of  this  State  will  be  found  in  the  general 
history  of  the  Alliance.  The  first  Alliance  having  been  formed 
in  Texas,  a  detailed  statement  of  the  organization  must  contain 
a  full  history  of  the  Alliance  in  the  State. 

Utah  and  Arizona.  —  Organizers  have  been  sent  into  these 
Territories  during  the  present  month  (March,  1891),  who  report 
that  success  is  absolutely  certain ;  that  the  people  are  ready  for 
organization,  and  eager  to  join  the  Alliance  movement. 

Vermont.  —  One  organizer  has  been  sent  to  this  State,  who 
reports  the  farmers  anxious  to  organize  for  common  defence. 
Applications  have  been  received  for  organizers  in  the  States  of 
Maine,  Massachusetts,  and  New  Hampshire,  which  will  doubtless 
be  met  during  the  present  year  (1891).  The  growth  of  the  order 
has  been,  and  doubtless  will  be,  slow  in  the  New  England  States. 
Yet  the  spirit  of  agricultural  unrest  is  felt  there,  as  in  other 
parts  of  the  country,  and  the  time  is  "  close  at  hand  when  every 


248  HISTORICAL  AND  POLITICAL. 

State  and  Territory  of  the  nation  "  will  become  members  of  this 
great  agricultural  organization. 

Virginia.  —  The  first  Sub-Alliance  was  organized  at  Ottobine, 
Rockingham  County,  in  September,  1887,  by  J.  S.  Barbee.  The 
following  officers  were  elected :  President,  L.  T.  Beall ;  Vice- 
President,  William  Ervine ;  Secretary,  St.  Andrew  Myers ; 
Treasurer,  Mrs.  N.  E.  Ervine ;  Chaplain,  G.  W.  Skelton ; 
Lecturer,  Dr.  J.  P.  Coyner.  The  first  County  Alliance  was 
organized  November  26,  1 887,  with  the  following  officers : 
President,  Thomas  Bradley  ;  Vice-President,  Isaiah  Printz  ;  Sec- 
retary, William  M.  Rosser ;  Treasurer,  Warfield  Yates ;  Lec- 
turer, H.  A.  W.  Holmes. 

Washington.  —  Early  in  1891  Brother  Ahiva  Mannering 
went  from  the  State  of  Missouri  to  Washington  as  a  national 
organizer.  The  first  Sub-Alliance  was  organized  at  Garfield, 
Whitman  County,  February  14,  1891,  with  the  following  offi- 
cers :  President,  A.  J.  Irwin  ;  Vice-President,  Alvin  Manning ; 
Secretary,  L.  C.  Love ;  Treasurer,  William  Lemon ;  Chaplain, 
E.  F.  Mason.  The  work  is  being  pushed  with  vigor,  and  is 
increasing  rapidly. 

West  Virginia.  —  The  Alliance  was  introduced  into  this  State 
in  the  summer  of  1887,  by  Joe  S.  Barbee.  The  first  Sub- 
Alliance  was  organized  by  him  at  Franklin,  Pendleton  County, 
October  29,  1887,  with  the  following  officers:  President,  S.  P. 
Priest ;  Vice-President,  John  A.  Marshall ;  Secretary,  J.  H. 
Daugherty ;  Treasurer,  J.  T.  Harold.  The  first  County  Alliance 
was  organized  at  Franklin,  Pendleton  County,  July  18,  1889,  by 
G.  T.  Barber.  The  following  officers  were  chosen  :  President, 
Jacob  Henkle ;  Vice-President,  W.  C.  Miller ;  Secretary,  J.  H. 
Daugherty ;  Treasurer,  Solomon  Cunningham ;  Chaplain,  W. 
C.  Keyser.  The  State  Alliance  was  organized  at  Charleston, 
West  Virginia,  August  17,  1890. 

Wisconsin.  — The  Alliance  appeared  in  this  State  during  the 
fall  of  1890.  The  first  Sub- Alliance  was  organized  under  dis- 
pensation, December  29,  1890,  by  Haybert  Holmes,  at  River 
Side,  Shawano  County,  with  the  following  officers  :  President, 
Israel  L.  Pues ;  Vice-President,  Joseph  H.  Hillister ;  Secre- 
tary, Lewis  Peterson ;  Treasurer,  John  Westgord.  There  is 
no  County  Alliance  as  yet. 


COLONEL    L    L    POLK, 

Pres.    N.    F.    A.    and    1.    U. 


CHAPTER   VI. 

SECTIONALISM    AND    THE    ALLIANCE. 

By  Colonel  L.  L.  Polk,  President  National  Farmers'  Alliance  and  Indus- 
trial Union,  AND  Editor  Progressive  Farmer^  Raleigh,  North  Carolina. 

The  year  1865  witnessed  the  culmination  of  the  mightiest  contest  of 
modern  times.  The  brave  and  heroic  men  of  the  two  armies,  worn  and 
wearied  with  war,  returned  to  their  homes,  and  beating  "  their  spears 
into  pruning-hooks,  and  their  swords  into  ploughshares,"  addressed 
themselves,  with  a  faith  and  a  devotion  that  were  sublime,  to  the  solution 
of  problems  which  would  have  appalled  the  hearts  of  any  but  those 
who  had  been  educated  in  the  terrible  ordeal  through  which  they  had 
passed.  The  happy  greetings  of  welcome  of  the  loved  ones  at  the 
threshold  were  more  thrilling  and  inspiriting  than  were  the  wild  shouts 
of  triumph  in  victorious  battle. 

As  a  rule,  the  soldiers  of  the  North  and  the  South  were  willing  and 
anxious  to  accept  and  abide  by  the  result,  in  good  faith.  They  knew 
they  had  fought  like  men,  and  they  were  willing  to  accept  the  result  like 
men.  Slavery  was  gone,  and  all  true  patriots  fondly  hoped  that  the 
prejudices,  animosities,  and  divisions  which  were  born  of  its  existence 
would  go  with  it. 

But  the  selfish,  sectional  agitator  again  appeared  upon  the  scene,  and, 
with  unholy  purpose,  spared  not  even  the  sacred  dust  of  the  heroic 
dead  that  he  might  inflame  and  keep  alive  the  bitter  recollections  and 
animosities  of  the  past.  Social  and  financial  chaos  was  abroad  in  the 
land,  and  he  gloated  in  the  opportunity  thus  afforded  to  prosecute  his 
wicked  designs.  Ordinarily  he  was  the  man.  North  and  South,  who 
had  failed  to  see,  in  four  years  of  war,  any  opportunity  to  prove  his 
devotion  to  his  section.  Ordinarily  he  was  the  man,  North  and  South, 
who  was  "  invisible  in  war,  and  had  become  invincible  in  peace." 

The  liberation  and  enfranchisement  of  four  millions  of  human  beings, 
the  confusion  incident  to  a  long-protracted  and  terrible  struggle,  pre- 
sented conditions  peculiarly  favorable  to  the  propagation  and  perpet- 
uation of  sectionalism.  Even  our  industrial  development  and  expansion 
evolved  conditions  which  were  made  to  contribute  to  this  unnatural  and 
unfortunate  estrangement  between  the   sections.     The   rich,  powerful, 

249 


h 


250  HISTORICAL  AND  POLITICAL. 

and  densely  populated  East  must  needs  have  an  outlet  for  its  aggres- 
sive enterprise,  its  rapidly  accumulating  wealth,  and  its  growing  popula- 
tion. The  dense  forests  and  fertile  plains  of  the  magnificent  and 
inviting  West  were  transformed  into  rich  and  powerful  States.  Lines 
of  immigration  and  enterprise,  of  wealth  and  of  general  development, 
were  pushed  forward  with  marvellous  rapidity  and  success  to  the  shores 
of  the  Pacific.  Along  these  lines  were  transplanted  from  the  East  the 
prejudices  and  animosities  engendered  for  a  half-century.  The  South,  — 
traversed  by  no  transcontinental  hne  of  communication,  —  sullen  and 
humiliated  in  her  great  and  crushing  losses,  and  by  defeat  in  war,  most 
naturally  nursed  the  sectional  animosities  and  prejudices  of  the  past. 

Their  fields  weire  devastated,  their  homes  desolate,  their  household 
goods  destroyed ;  without  money,  without  food,  without  implements 
with  which  to  work ;  their  credit  gone,  their  labor  utterly  destroyed, 
their  industrial  systems  wiped  out,  the  accumulated  wealth  of  genera- 
tions swept  away  as  by  a  breath ;  in  the  shadow  of  drear  desolation  and 
the  blackened  ruins  of  once  happy  homes,  they  were  left  friendless  and 
unaided,  to  depend  on  those  qualities  of  true  manhood  which  are 
always  evolved  by  terrible  emergencies.  Theirs  was  the  noble  and 
heroic  task  to  remove  the  ghastly  wreck  which  marked  the  feast  of  war- 
gods,  who  had  revelled  in  their  high  carnival  of  blood,  of  carnage,  and 
of  death. 

What  an  inviting  condition  was  thus  presented  for  wicked  sectional 
agitators,  and  how  assiduously  they  utilized  it,  let  the  shameful  sec- 
tionalism of  the  past  quarter  of  a  century,  with  its  baneful  fruits,  tell. 
Whatever  may  be  said  of  chattel  slavery,  with  all  it^  acknowledged 
evils,  history  nowhere  records  that  it  ever  made  a  millionnaire.  What- 
ever may  have  been  its  effect  upon  our  society  and  civilization,  it  pro- 
duced no  tramps.  But  we  have  developed  another  system  of  slavery, 
—  the  slavery  of  honest  labor,  —  a  slavery  of  sweat,  and  brawn,  and 
brain, —  a  slavery  more  terrible  and  degrading  in  its  effects  than  the 
African  ever  knew,  and  the  legitimate  outgrowth  of  which  has 
cursed  our  country  with  an  army  of  three  millions  of  tramps,  and  has 
placed  the  greater  part  of  the  wealth  of  this  great  nation  in  the  hands 
of  one  two-thousandth  part  of  its  population.  It  has  made  the  eight 
millions  of  American  farmers  —  once  the  proud  possessors  of  the  most 
princely  heritage  that  God  ever  gave  to  man  —  virtually  a  nation  of 
tenants,  whose  every  possession,  and  whose  every  day  of  toil  and  labor,  is 
forced  to  pay  tribute  to  exacting,  domineering,  legalized  monopoly.  In 
all  the  discriminating  partisan  legislation  which  has  disgraced  the  annals 
of  the  nation  for  the  last  quarter  of  a  century,  and  in  all  the  machinations 


SE  CTIONALISM.  2  5 1 

and  intrigues  which  have  conspired  to  destroy  that  essential  equipoise 
between  the  great  industries  of  the  country,  and  which  has  robbed  the 
many  to  enrich  the  few,  and  thus  placed  our  republic  and  its  institutions 
in  imminent  peril,  no  factor  has  been  more  potential  than  the  wicked 
spirit  of  sectionalism. 

We  have  thus  been  brought  to  confront  forces,  social,  industrial, 
moral,  and  political,  which  are  dangerous  alike  to  the  liberty  of  the 
citizen  and  to  the  life  of  the  republic;  and  we  stand  to-day  in  the 
crucial  era  of  our  free  institutions,  of  our  repubUcan  form  of  government, 
and  of  our  Christian  civilization.  Mighty  problems  confront  us,  and 
they  must  be  met  in  a  spirit  of  fairness,  of  manliness,  of  justice,  and  of 
equity. 

The  evils  under  which  the  great  laboring  millions  of  America  are 
suffering  are  national  in  their  character,  and  can  never  be  corrected  by 
sectional  effort  or  sectional  remedies.  In  all  the  broad  field  of  our 
noble  endeavor  as  an  order,  there  is  no  purpose  grander  in  its  design, 
more  patriotic  in  its  conception,  or  more  beneficent  in  its  possible  results/ 
to  the  whole  country  and  to  posterity,  than  the  one  in  which  we  declare 
to  the  world  that  henceforth  there  shall  be  no  sectional  lines  acro^ 
Alliance  territory.  Failing  in  all  else  we  may  undertake  as  an  organiza- 
tion, if  we  shall  accomplish  only  a  restoration  of  fraternity  and  unity, 
and  obliterate  the  unnatural  estrangement  which  has  unfortunately  so 
long  divided  the  people  of  this  country,  the  Alliance  will  have  won  for 
itself  immortal  glory  and  honor.  In  the  spirit  of  a  broad  and  liberal 
patriotism,  it  recognizes  but  one  flag  and  one  country.  Confronted  by 
a  common  danger,  afflicted  with  a  common  evil,  impelled  by  a  common 
hope,  the  people  of  Kansas  and  Virginia,  of  Pennsylvania  and  Texas, 
of  Michigan  and  South  Carolina,  make  common  cause  in  a  common 
interest.  The  order  recognizes  the  fact  that  the  war  ended  in  1865, 
that  chattel  slavery  is  gone,  and  that  the  prejudices  and  divisions,  born 
of  its  existence,  should  go  with  it. 

Happily  for  the  country  and  posterity,  the  great  mass  of  the'  people 
have  become  aroused  to  this  truth,  and  they  have  severed  sectional 
lines  in  twain.  The  ex-slave  holder  of  the  South,  who  beHeved  that  he 
held  the  slaves  not  only  by  constitutional  but  by  divine  right,  and  who 
bravely  imperilled  his  life  to  defend  the  institution,  to-day  stands  hand- 
in-hand  with  him  who  was  born  and  reared  an  abolitionist,  and  who 
regarded  slavery  as  an  unmitigated  evil  and  curse ;  and  disregarding 
sectional  folly  and  madness,  they  have  solemnly  pledged  their  aUiance 
in  a  common  cause  —  the  cause  of  a  common  country. 

We  cannot  fail  to  see  the  opportunity  of  the  hour ;  and,  recognizing 


252  HISTORICAL  AND  POLITICAL. 

that  opportunity,  we  must  not  forget  that  it  carries  with  it  corresponding 
responsibilities.  The  opportunity  is  for  the  great,  conservative,  law- 
abiding,  patriotic  masses  to  assert  and  establish  a  perpetual  union 
between  the  people.  The  sequent  obligation  is,  that  these  great  masses 
must  discourage,  discountenance,  and  discard  from  their  councils  the 
wicked,  demagogical  agitators,  who  for  the  last  twenty-five  years  have 
sought  to  foster  discord  and  dissension,  that  they  themselves  might 
thrive. 

We  are  told  in  sacred  history,  that,  in  the  olden  time,  one  Jeroboam 
was  crowned  a  king  in  Israel.  He  conceived  the  absurd  idea  that  to 
strengthen  his  people  he  should  divide  them ;  that  to  fraternize  them  he 
should  destroy  their  unity ;  and  he  forbade  and  abolished  their  annual 
national  meeting  at  the  city  of  Jerusalem.  He  erected  a  golden  calf  at 
a  place  in  the  north,  and  one  at  a  place  in  the  south,  and  directed  that 
the  people  of  the  two  sections  should  hold  their  annual  meetings  at 
these  places,  respectively.  We  are  told  that  even  in  that  remote  age 
Jeroboam  adopted  some  of  the  methods  of  modern  politics,  in  that  "  he 
made  high  priests  of  the  lowest  people."  The  avenging  hand  of  out- 
raged justice  was  laid  upon  him.  Does  history  repeat  itself?  Sectional- 
ism, for  purposes  of  greed  and  gain,  decreed  that  the  people  of  these 
United  States  should  be  divided ;  and  to  perpetuate  that  division  it 
directed  that  idols  should  be  erected  for  the  people  of  the  North,  and  for 
the  people  of  the  South.  And  has  it  not  "  made  high  priests  of  the  low- 
est people  "  ?     And  shall  it  not  be  rebuked  and  destroyed? 

Divided,  we  stand  as  a  Samson  shorn  of  his  locks ;  united,  we  stand 
a  power  that  is  invincible.  Cato  fired  and  thrilled  the  Roman  Senate 
with  the  fierce  cry,  "  Carthage  must  be  destroyed."  Must  we,  as  citi- 
zens of  this  great  republic,  emulate  such  avengeful  spirit?  Hannibal, 
while  yet  a  tender  youth,  was  placed  by  his  father  on  his  knees,  and 
made  to  swear  eternal  vengeance  against  the  Romans.  Must  we,  as 
Christian  parents,  entail  upon  our  children  the  bitter  legacy  of  hate? 
Hundreds  of  thousands  of  noble,  aspiring,  and  patriotic  young  men,  all 
over  the  land,  are  manfully  undertaking  the  responsible  duties  of  Ameri- 
can citizenship.  Born  since  the  war  —  thank  God  !  —  their  infant  vision 
was  first  greeted  by  the  light  of  heaven,  unobscured  by  the  smoke  of 
battle,  and  their  infant  ear  first  caught  the  sweet  sound  of  hallowed 
peace,  unmingled  with  the  hoarse  thundering  of  hostile  cannon.  Shall 
they  be  taught  to  cherish,  foster,  and  perpetuate  that  prejudice  and 
animosity,  whose  fruits  are  evil,  and  only  evil? 

"  Let  the  dead  past  bury  its  dead,"  and  let  us,  with  new  hope,  new 
aspirations,  hew  zeal,  new  energy,  and  new  life,  turn  our  faces  toward 


Itp?' 


HONORABLE    B.    H.    CLOVER, 


M.  C,   Third   District,    Kansas. 


SECTIONALISM.  253 

the  rising  sun  of  an  auspicious  and  inviting  future,  and  reconsecrate  our- 
selves to  the  holy  purpose  of  transmitting  to  our  posterity  a  government 
"of  the  people,  by  the  people,  and  for  the  people,"  and  which  shall  be 
unto  all  generations  the  citadel  of  refuge  for  civil  and  religious  liberty. 


SECTIONALISM. 

By  Hon.  B.  H.  Clover,  Vice-President   National   Farmers'  Alliance  and 
Industrial  Union,  and  Member  of  Congress  from  the  Third  District  of 

Kansas. 

"  In  peace  there  is  nothing  so  much  becomes  a  man  as  modest  stillness  and  humility.'' 

—  RiENZI. 

Following  the  thought  of  the  famous  Roman  orator,  I  would  fain 
maintain  a  "modest  stillness";  but  I  see  in  our  country  a  condition 
that  never  could  have  existed  but  for  the  false  and  pernicious  teachings 
of -those  who  stir  up  strife  and  keep  alive  the  fires  of  sectional  hate. 

Do  you  ask  for  what  purpose  is  this  ceaseless  arraignment  of  the 
North  against  the  South,  and  the  South  against  the  North,  kept  up? 
One  who  has  been  chief  in  the  strife,  and  loudest  in  his  demands  for  "a 
solid  North  against  a  solid  South,"  says  that  they  have  been  "alienated 
by  those  who  sought  to  prey  upon  them." 

This  is  surely  a  frank  admission.  He  further  says  that  "invidious 
discriminations  have  robbed  them  of  their  substance,  and  unjust  tariffs  / 
have  repressed  their  industries."  The  objects  of  sectional  agitators  can 
not  be  more  fully  and  tersely  stated.  Some  of  them,  possibly  by  reason 
of  their  ignorance,  were  honest  in  their  belief;  but  with  the  great  major- 
ity self-aggrandizement,  and  the  service  of  an  oppressive  and  unscrupu- 
lous combination  of  public  robbers,  was  the  sole  end  in  view. 

So  successful  have  been  their  efforts  that  the  money  power  of  the  world 
has  laid  tribute  upon  honest  industry,  and  the  laborer,  once  king,  finds 
himself  a  pauper,  a  wanderer,  a  homeless,  nameless  stranger  in  the  land 
of  his  fathers.  Samson,  while  listening  to  the  siren  song  of  the  party 
Delilah,  was  shorn  of  his  locks,  of  his  strength,  of  his  manhood,  and 
virtually  of  his  freedom.  But  some  may  say.  Has  sectionalism  done 
all  this  ?  Gentle  reader,  let  me  ask.  Could  any  other  thing  have  kept  the 
people  so  blinded  to  their  interest,  that,  having  the  ballot  in  their  hands, 
they  would  have  allowed  the  soul-and-body-destroying,  monopolistic 
influences  to  wrap  their  slimy  folds  around  each  and  every  industry,  and 
send  the  honest  toiler  shivering  to  a  hovel,  and  elegant  idleness  to  a 
palace  ? 


254  HISTORICAL  AND  POLITICAL. 

Sectional  hate  and  its  other  self,  party  prejudice,  have  been  the 
means  by  which  monopoly  has  been  enabled  to  bind  the  people  ;  and  a 
blind  subserviency  to  party  and  designing  party  leaders  has  been  the 
means  by  which  it  has  accomplished  what  in  other  countries  it  obtained 
by  violence,  bloodshed,  conquest,  and  other  forms  of  oppression. 

The  favorite  method  of  those  who  "  toil  not  neither  do  they  spin,"  is 
to  array  those  whom  they  wish  to  rob  against  each  other.  This  once 
accomplished,  the  rest  is  easy.  Nor  is  the  robbery  of  industry  and  a 
virtual  enslavement  of  the  laboring  people  all  the  harm  that  has  come 
from  this  the  most  blighting  curse  that  ever  came  upon  the  people  of 
free  America.  It  has  arrayed  bnother  against  brother,  and  made 
enemies  of  those  who,  by  every  tie  that  binds  men's  hearts  together, 
should  have  been  friends. 

Neither  time  nor  space  will  allow  a  detail  of  methods  resorted  to  by 
those  who  "  alienate  the  people  only  to  prey  upon  them."  It  is  through 
false  politics,  and  politicians  more  false  and  designing,  that  they  seek  to 
accomplish  their  ends,  and  they  have  so  far  succeeded.  All  have  heard 
the  cry  of  the  campaign  howler.  I  shall  not  attempt  to  describe  him. 
He  is  the  bane  of  civilization,  the  enemy  of  liberty  and  humanity.  His 
mission  is  to  stir  up  old  animosities,  engender  new  strifes,  fight  over 
dead  issues,  and  write  platforms  to  be  read  before  election  and  dis- 
regarded and  forgotten  afterwards.  He  is  an  "  oily  "  fellow.  He  has 
been  selected  for  his  fitness  for  the  work  he  is  to  perform.  With  him 
"  it  is  lawful  to'  deceive,  to  hire  Hessians,  to  purchase  mercenaries,  to 
kill,  to  mutilate,  to  destroy,"  —  anything  for  success.  It  makes  him 
exceedingly  "  weary  "  should  any  one  suggest  that  the  politics  of  our 
country  be  placed  upon  a  higher  plane.  He  worships  no  god  but  his 
own  ambition,  and  that  ambition  is  to  be  the  "cutest"  trickster  and 
slyest  deceiver  of  his  party ;  for  well  he  knows  that  those  who  prey  upon 
the  people  and  wealth  producers  will  see  his  "  transcendent  ability"  and 
pay  well  for  his  treason  to  the  interests  he  is  supposed  to  represent,  and 
heap  "honors"  upon  him. 

There  is  no  sympathy  in  his  heart  for  the  miseries  of  the  millions  who, 
by  reason  of  his  infamous  schemes,  are  robbed  of  home,  happiness,  and 
all  hope  of  the  future.  There  is  no  tear  in  his  eye  as  the  hapless  family 
—  the  heartbroken  father,  the  sad-faced  and  weeping  mother,  and  the 
sorrowing  children  —  find  themselves  driven  from  their  home  to  become 
helpless  wanderers  up  and  down  the  earth.  He  has  never  heard  the 
sigh  come  up  from  the  bosom  of  his  wife  as  she  listens  to  the  reading 
of  the  foreclosure  summons.  Little  cares  he  though  tears  may  fall  like 
rain,  though  hearts  may  break,  though  hope  may  go  out  forever  from 


SECTIONALISM.  255 

the  hearts  and  homes  of  his  victims.  In  his  mad  rush  for  office  and 
spoils  he  has  forgotten  that  there  is  a  just  God,  who  has  said  :  "  Ven- 
geance is  mine,  I  will  repay." 

It  is  indeed  a  gloomy  picture  that  the  past  thirty  years  present,  in 
this  so-called  free  land  of  America.  Designing  demagogues,  sustained 
by  the  money  and  monopolistic  power  of  the  world,  have  so  far  suc- 
ceeded in  deceiving  the  people,  and  arraying  them  against  one  another, 
and  despoiUng  them  of  their  homes,  the  fruits  of  their  labor,  and  their 
hope  of  the  future.  Liberty,  with  the  great  mass,  has  become  an 
empty  farce,  and  American  independence  an  *' iridescent  dream." 

This  for  the  past ;  but  what  of  the  future  ?  The  early  fathers  told  us 
that  "  eternal  vigilance  is  the  price  of  liberty."  Have  we  been  vigilant? 
Do  not  political  sins  bring  political  death,  as  surely  as  moral  sins  bring 
moral  death,  or  a  violation  of  the  laws  of  health  brings  on  physical  dis- 
ease and  death  ?  The  fathers  taught  us  that  in  unity  is  strength.  Have 
we  as  a  people  obeyed  their  injunction  ?  Sectionalism,  with  its  agitators, 
has  stood  guard  over  the  bursting  vaults  of  the  public  plunderer,  and  if 
any  one  raised  his  voice  in  protest  against  the  infamous  robbery,  the 
"bloody  shirt "  was  brought  out  on  one  side,  and  the  "  Yankee  hireling  " 
howlers  split  the  air  on  the  other ;  and  the  robbery  of  the  people  went  on. 

But  I  wanted  to  take  a  peep  into  the  future ;  I  wanted  to  write  of  the 
time  when  sectionalism  shall  be  buried  deep.  Its  grave  is  being  dug 
now.  The  "  great  common  people  "  of  the  South  and  of  the  North  are 
realizing  their  condition  and  its  cause,  and  they  are  meeting  together, 
becoming  acquainted,  and  wondering  why  they  ever  should  have  been 
enemies. 

The  stock  in  trade  of  the  sectional  agitator  is  going  below  par.  He 
will  soon  be  a  thing  of  the  past.  He  is  now  in  his  dying  throes,  and 
while  some  of  them  are  bowing  to  the  inevitable,  others  are  nerving 
themselves  for  a  last  supreme  effort.  But  their  time  has  come.  The 
people  are  awaking  from  their  lethargy,  and  th^fy  find  themselves  made 
beggars  while  they  slept.  They  are  fast  learning  the  truth.  The  "  alien- 
ator "  is  out  of  a  job.  The  "  white  rose  of  peace  "  is  being  planted  over 
the  grave  of  sectionalism.  It  is  being  watered  by  the  repentant  tears  of 
the  victims  of  this  hideous  monster  —  sectional  strife. 

The  old  leaders,  who  have  been  responsible  for  the  sectional  hate  of 
the  past,  are  being  sent  into  retirement.  New  blood  and  new  ideas  are 
coming.  The  people  are  looking  to  the  future  instead  of  brooding  over 
the  past.  They  know  that  they  have  been  robbed  by  infamous  legisla- 
tion, and  that  righteous  legislation  will  give  them  back  their  homes  and 
happiness  again.     They  are  refusing  to  be  mere  hewers  of  wood  and 


256  HISTORICAL  AND  POLITICAL, 

drawers  of  water  for  a  favored  class  of  money-changers.  When  the 
happy  time  comes  that  sectionaHsm  is  dead  and  buried  out  of  sight, 
and  is  remembered  only  as  a  hideous  nightmare ;  when  the  toiling 
masses  of  both  North  and  South  shall  join  hands  and  remember  only 
that  they  are  brothers,  children  of  a  common  father,  citizens  of  a 
common  country,  with  one  Hag,  one  destiny,  and  that  they  are  "  Ameri- 
cans all "  ;  and  when  patriots  and  not  partisans  shall  rule  in  legislation, 
then  shall  the  brotherhood  of  man  be  acknowledged,  and  fraternity, 
peace,  and  good-will  will  come  among  the  people. 

When  I  think  of  the  past,  and  contemplate  the  present,  and  anticipate 
what  may  be  in  store  for  the  common  people  in  the  future,  if  they  will 
be  friends  and  act  wisely  and  contend  for,  instead  of  against,  each  other, 
I  am  constrained  to  quote  again  from  the  grand  Roman,  who,  when  he 
found  his  beloved  country  ruined  and  desolate,  and  his  fellow-citizens 
ground  down  by  the  heel  of  oppression,  cried  out :  "  Rouse  ye,  Romans  !  • 
rouse  ye,  slaves  !  our  country  yet  remains." 

Then  he  told  them  of  that  "  elder  day,"  when  to  be  a  "  Roman  was 
greater  than  to  be  a  king."  Shall  not  we  look  back  with  a  patriotic 
longing  to  that  elder  day,  when  to  be  an  American  was  greater  than  to 
be  a  king  ? 

Though  poor,  though  crouching  at  the  feet  of  as  arrogant  and  un- 
scrupulous oppressors  as  ever  robbed  a  widow  or  starved  an  orphan,  let 
us  remember  that  our  country  yet  remains. 

Brothers  of  'the  sunny  South,  after  thirty  years,  is  it  not  time  that  the 
past  should  be  buried?  Grant  is  dead.  Lee  is  no  more.  Stonewall 
Jackson  and  William  McPherson  gave  up  their  lives  on  the  field  of 
battle,  and  fill  soldiers'  graves.  Almost -the  last  one  of  the  great  com- 
manders, and  a  majority  of  their  followers,  have  gone  where  war  is  not 
known ;  and  why  should  not  we,  in  our  memories,  let  them  lie  side  by 
side,  and  over  their  graves  clasp  hands  and  say  to  each  of  them,  — 

"Soldier  rest,  thy  warfare's  o'er; 

Sleep  the  sleep  that  knows  not  breaking; 
Dream  of  battle-fields  no  more : 

Days  of  danger,  nights  of  waking  "? 

Will  not  the  proudest  monument  we  can  build  to  their  memory  be  a 
just  and  righteous  government,  that  will  protect  the  weak,  do  justice  to 
all,  and  be  of,  for,  and  by  the  people  ?  Shall  we  not  build  a  temple  of 
liberty  wherein  the  poorest  and  humblest  shall  have  a  seat,  as  well  as 
the  rich  and  arrogant,  and  where  he  can  feel  that  he  is  heir  to  all  the 
glories  which  the  wisdom  of  the  fathers  and  the  unselfish  patriotism  of 
our  country  can  give  us?     "  Let  us  have  peace." 


DR.    C.    W.    MACUNE. 


CHAPTER   VII. 

THE    PURPOSES   OF   THE    FARMERS'    ALLIANCE. 

By  Dr.  C.  W.  Macune,  Ex-President  National  Farmers'  Alliance  and  Co- 
operative Union,  and  Editor  of  the  National  Economist. 

This  is  a  very  broacj  subject,  and  deep  as  broad.  A  superficial  observer 
may  state,  in  a  very  few  words,  his  conception  of  the  objects  and  pur- 
poses of  the  Farmers'  AlHance,  but  all  such  statements  will  be  found 
very  unsatisfactory  and  imperfect ;  in  fact,  the  most  elaborate  essay  from 
the  most  logical  mind  will  not  be  perfect,  because  it  is  impossible  for 
human  mind  to  conceive  in  detail  the  objective  development  of  a  great 
moral  and  ethical  force,  evolved  and  perpetuated  by  conditions  that  will 
exist  in  the  future.  No  man,  therefore,  can  give  a  perfect  definition  of 
the  purposes  of  the  Farmers'  Alliance ;  and  he  who  attempts  a  defini- 
tion simply  gives  his  own  personal  conception  of  the  subject,  which  may 
be  more  or  less  valuable,  according  as  his  field  of  observation  and  his 
accuracy  of  judgment  are  good  or  otherwise. 

In  a  broad  sense,  the  purposes  of  the  Farmers'  Alliance  are  —  written 
or  expressed  and  implied  —  present  and  future ;  they  cover  to-day  a 
remedy  for  every  evil  known  to  exist  and  afflict  farmers  and  other  pro- 
ducers, and  in  the  future  should  cover  every  contingency  that  may  arise, 
presenting  evil  to  be  combatted  by  means  of  organization ;  they  are 
accumulative  and  ever  changing,  as  the  enemy  assumes  a  new  guise. 

They  are  written  or  expressed  in  the  organic  and  statutory  laws  of  the 
order,  as  they  have  from  time  to  time  been  enacted  and  pubhshed,  and 
briefly  summarized  in  the  declarations  of  purposes. 

They  are  to  be  implied  from  the  various  positions  the  order  has  taken 
on  the  issues  that  it  has  from  time  to  time  met,  both  local  and  general, 
and  from  the  position  it  may  be  fairly  assumed  it  will  take  upon  new 
issues  as  they  may  arise  in  the  development  of  the  commercial  and  edu- 
cational growth  of  the  country. 

To  attempt  to  describe  in  detail  the  objects  and  purposes  of  the 
Farmers'  Alliance,  as  shown  by  the  written  or  expressed  laws  of  the  order, 
and  affecting  the  past  and  present  issues  presented,  is  peculiarly  the  work 
of  the  historian.  The  object  of  the  present  paper  must  necessarily  be 
confined  to  such  deductions  as  may  be  fairly  drawn  from  the  history 
made,  and  to  point  out,  in  a  general  way,  the  principles  that  must  under- 

257 


258  HISTORICAL  AND  POLITICAL. 

lie  its  action  if  it  shall  perpetuate  itself  as  a  permanent  factor  in  the 
development  of  this  great  nation.  An  examination  of  the  past  purposes 
of  the  order  will  show  that  the  earliest  record  we  have  of  a  fixed  pur- 
pose, was  that  of  banding  men  together  to  resist  the  encroachments  of 
land  thieves.  This  seems  to  have. been,  at  that  time,  the  sole  purpose 
of  the  order,  and  was  united  in  with  all  the  vigor  possible  by  the  entire 
membership.  In  a  very  shoct  time  the  whole  object  seems  to  have 
changed,  and  all  the  energy  of  the  order  was  directed  towards  co-opera- 
tion to  secure  lower  prices  in  the  purchase  of  commodities  from  mer- 
chants, and  to  this  end  all  the  lecturers  were  teaching  the  policy  of 
concentrating  their  trade  into  channels,  which  by  increasing  the  amount 
of  trade  given  to  special  firms  or  individuals  would  decrease  the  profits, 
and  thereby  save  money  for  themselves  as  purchasers.  It  should  be 
noticed  that,  accompanying  this  change  of  purpose,  there  was  no  dimi- 
nution in  the  growth  or  strength  of  the  order.  In  another  year,  the 
object  seems  to  have  undergone  almost  as  great  a  change,  for  that  sys- 
tem of  contracts  with  merchants  was  entirely  discarded,  and  the  whole 
energy  of  the  order  was  directed  towards  establishing  a  strong  business 
head,  conducting  its  buying  and  selling,  not  for  profit,  but  as  an  auxiliary 
to  the  farming  effort.  Orators,  lecturers,  and  writers  were  all  advocating 
this  with  as  much  zeal  as  the  former  object,  and  the  people  with  one 
accord  were  co-operating  to  secure  a  new  end.  And  even  this  change, 
as  shown  by  the  history  of  the  time,  was  attended  with  a  greater  growth 
than  in  any  preceding  period  ;  a  growth  at  that  time  without  a  parallel, 
and  an  enthusiasm  that  was  all  the  most  ardent  advocates  could  desire. 

The  history  progresses,  and  in  a  year  or  two  more  this,  the  most  im- 
portant object,  seems  in  turn  to  have  been  set  aside,  and  public  atten- 
tion seems  to  have  crystallized  upon  the  belief  that  the  greatest  benefits 
of  the  order  can  only  be  secured  by  co-operating  to  secure  the  enact- 
ment of  laws  that  will  stop  discrimination  against  agriculturists  as  a  class. 
This  new  departure  in  the  objects  of  the  order,  as  it  is  sometimes  called, 
but  really  this  higher  development  of  our  conception  of  the  objects  of 
the  order,  was  also  attended  with  the  most  remarkable  growth,  far 
excelling  any  growth  of  a  like  period  prior  to  that  time.  The  conclu- 
sion to  be  drawn  from  this  change  in  the  public  conception  of  the 
purposes  of  the  order,  without  any  abatement  in  the  growth  and  devel- 
opment of  the  movement,  must  inevitably  be,  that  the  growth  of  the 
order  does  not  depend  upon  the  conception  of  those  who  are  filling  the 
offices  and  acting  as  leaders  in  the  effort.  It  does  not  depend  upon 
the  wisdom  of  any  man  or  set  of  men ;  it  does  not  depend,  in  turn,  on 
the  constitution ;  the  peculiar  provisions  of  the  organic  or  statutory  laws. 


PURPOSES   OF  THE  ALLIANCE.  259 

This  is  evidenced  by  the  fact  that  the  organic  law  has  from  time  to  time 
been  changed,  and  very  materially  changed.  The  statutory  law  has, 
at  every  meeting,  been  more  or  less  modified  and  changed  to  meet  new 
conditions  as  they  arose.  There  is  no  way  to  avoid  the  conclusion  that 
this  great,  movement  does  not  depend  upon  the  wisdom  of  those  who 
started  it,  upon  the  peculiar  features  of  the  organic  or  statutory  law  first 
enacted,  or  since  modified  and  changed  ;  neither  does  it  depend  in  any 
great  degree  upon  the  intelligence,  energy,  wisdom,  foresight,  or  capacity 
of  its  officers.  The  greatest  mistakes  have  failed  to  retard  its  growth  or 
development.  The  most  serious  misconception  of  its  objects  and  pur- 
poses, by  those  acting  in  the  most  responsible  positions,  has  in  hke 
manner  failed  to  interfere  with  its  grand  onward  march.  The  fact  must 
therefore  be  recognized,  that  it  is  the  highest  evolution  of  modern 
development ;  that  it  is  one  of  a  series  of  steps  in  the  evolution  of  mate- 
rial progress,  in  which  the  power,  force,  and  benign  influences  of  organ- 
ization shall  reach  their  height.  This  must  evidently  be  true,  because 
this  organization  contemplates  securing  the  co-operation  of  far  the  most 
numerous  and  most  conservative  and  most  intelligent  class  in  the 
universe. 

This  view  of  the  genesis  of  the  Farmers'  Alliance  is  also  calculated 
to  give  a  correct  and  acceptable  conception  of  what  may  be  expgrcted 
of  the  movement  as  it  reaches  higher  stages  of  development.  If  this  is 
a  correct  conception  of  what  the  Farmers'  Alliance  is,  then  it  follows  of 
necessity  that  it  will,  as  time  progresses,  be  recognized  by  the  farmers  of 
this  country  as  a  great  reserve  force  for  good,  a  sinking  fund  of  power, 
a  savings  bank  of  force  and  energy,  a  great,  a  powerful,  and  yet  an 
invisible  and  ever-present  something  to  which  they  can  apply  for  power 
to  overcome  unjust  conditions  that  may  arise  at  every  emergency.  The 
co-operation  of  the  conservative,  the  good,  the  honest,  and  the  deter- 
mined, must  mean,  when  properly  carried  out,  the  enforcement  of 
justice,  equity,  and  equality. 

This  conception  of  the  purposes  of  the  order  places  it  above  any 
local  or  fleeting  issue  that  may  be  presented,  no  matter  how  fierce  the 
conflict  may  become.  It  is  a  co-operation  by  agriculturists  for  good 
and  right,  for  equality  and  justice.  Business  contests  or  political  fights 
may  be  incidental  to  these  great  ends,  but  they  can  never  supplant  them 
as  the  objects  of  the  order ;  and  herein  Ues  the  certainty  of  perpetuity, 
since  good  and  right,  equality  and  justice,  are  everlasting  principles,  and 
present  a  perpetual  issue  with  error,  vice,  oppression,  and  discrimination. 
It  is  the  old  issue  in  which  the  Divine  Master  gave  up  his  life  as  an 
example  of  the  devotion  due  to  pfinciple,  and  on  this  issue  the  Alliance 


26o  HISTORICAL  AND  POLITICAL. 

can  certainly  be  made  by  the  farmers  of  America  the  great  reserve  force 
of  the  future,  which  shall,  by  wise  and  conservative  methods,  meet  error 
and  injustice  in  every  shape  and  form.  As  such,  the  order  is  worthy 
the  most  sincere  devotion  and  vigorous  support  of  every  member.  It  is 
a  cause  upon  which  every  true  philanthropist,  as  well  as  every  member 
of  the  order,  should  ask  the  blessing  of  the  Divine  Ruler  of  the  universe. 
It  is  a  living,  active,  practical,  and  present  embodiment  of  the  cause  of 
Jesus  Christ.  Every  man  should  work  for  the  cause.  No  man  has  yet 
taken  the  field  and  worked  actively  for  the  Farmers*  Alliance  who  has 
not  himself  grown  spiritually  and  morally.  It  improves  every  man  to 
work  for  the  right. 

This  view  of  the  purposes  of  the  Farmers'  Alliance  shows  it  worthy 
the  best  effort  of  head,  heart,  and  hand,  of  every  member,  and  enables 
us  to  comprehend  the  expression  often  made,  that  "  it  is  a  great  educa- 
tional movement,"  because  it  must  depend  upon  education.  Agitation 
and  revolution  are  both  calculated  to  defeat  its  development,  as  both 
must  be  entirely  devoted  to  a  temporary,  a  local,  or  a  fleeting  object 
that  can  be  obtained,  —  it  would  be  impossible  to  agitate  or  fight  for  an 
object  that  could  not  be  obtained;  —  but  we  educate  to  contend  for 
universal  right  and  justice,  which  can  never  be  obtained,  and  still  the 
most  good  can  be  secured  by  striving  for  it.  Hence,  methods  that5  con- 
tain the  elements  of  agitation  or  revolution  are  not  in  accord  with  true 
Alliance  methods.  This  shows  that  defeat  in  any  direction  will  only 
tend  to  strengthen  and  stimulate  the  Alliance  to  greater  efforts,  and 
success  will  not  intoxicate  to  indiscretion.  If  it  depended  upon  agita- 
tion, defeat  would  discourage,  and  success  would  destroy  it,  because  it 
would  obviate  the  necessity  for  its  existence. 

No  business  effort  could  possibly  be  attended  with  emoluments  enough 
to  compensate  for  the  time  and  energy  employed  in  this  great  move- 
ment. The  temporary  agitation,  therefore,  of  any  business  method  as 
an  object  of  the  order,  while  it  may  for  a  time  be  very  popular,  must  be 
followed  by  a  reaction,  because  when  it  fails  to  satisfy  it  will  discourage. 
The  business  effort  is  a  method^  and  not  an  object.  The  lesson  to  be 
taught  is,  to  battle  for  truth  for  truth's  sake,  and  then  the  failure  or 
success  of  methods  will  not  interfere  with  the  grand  onward  march  of 
the  order.  The  same  may  be  said  of  the  political  efforts  of  the  order ; 
they  cannot  be  its  object,  but  they  may  be  methods.  This  distinction 
should  be  carefully  considered  and  thoroughly  understood  by  every 
member,  in  order  that  each  may  be  able  to  meet  and  combat  the 
sophistry  of  the  opposition  that  is  always  predicting  the  speedy  disso- 
lution of  the  order,  when  it  incidentally  takes  a  hand  in  poUtics,  as  it  is 


PURPOSES    OF  THE  ALLIANCE.  261 

often  found  necessary  to  do.     All  such  action  is  incidental  to  the  great 
and  grand  objects  of  the  order. 

In  conclusion,  the  above  taken  together  gives  a  fair  idea  of  my  con- 
ception of  the  objects  and  purposes  of  the  Farmers'  Alliance ;  and  it  is 
one  in  which  there  is  great  satisfaction  and  consolation.  It  will  justify 
the  greatest  sacrifices  for  the  good  of  the  order,  whether  they  are 
appreciated  at  the  time  or  not.  It  will  stimulate  to  renewed  exertion 
in  the  face  of  defeat,  and  it  will  insure  caution  and  conservatism  when 
flushed  with  success.  It  bids  us  use  business,  politics,  or  any  other 
laudable  and  effective  agency  necessary  to  secure  the  triumph  of  right 
and  justice,  and  it  heeds  not  the  silly  cries  that  prejudice  may  bring 
from  the  teachings  of  the  doctrine  of  sectional  hatred.  Ponder  it  well, 
and  let  us  remember  that  the  last  sentence  in  the  declaration  of  pur- 
poses is  a  reiteration  of  the  song  of  the  heavenly  hosts  that  praised  God 
in  the  presence  of  the  shepherds  for  the  birth  of  Jesus  Christ,  saying, 
"On  earth  peace,  good-will  toward  men." 


CHAPTER  VIII. 

GOVERNMENT  CONTROL  OF  MONEY. 

By  Judge  W.  A.  Peffer,  United  States  Senator,  and  Editor  of  the 
Kansas  Farmer,  Topeka,  Kansas. 

A  CAREFUL  consideration  of  the  working  people,  farmers,  and  all  others 
whose  livelihood  depends  upon  their  labor,  has  satisfied  the  writer  that 
this  general  prostration  of  trade  is  the  fruit  of  our  financial  legislation ; 
that  the  laws  are  based  on  a  system  wholly  wrong  and  dreadfully  vicious; 
and  that  the  only  wise,  safe,  and  permanent  remedy  lies  in  the  people 
taking  charge  of  the  finances  of  the  country,  making  their  own  money 
in  their  own  way,  and  issuing  it  through  agencies  established  by  the  gen- 
eral government. 

Is  there  anything  unreasonable  or  dangerous  in  the  request  that 
money  be  issued  by  the  government  directly  to  the  people  ?  It  must 
be  remembered  that  the  money  of  every  nation  is  issued  by  the  govern- 
ing power.  In  this  country  Congress  is  authorized  to  ''  coin  money  and 
regulate  the  value  thereof,"  and  no  other  body  is  so  empowered.  Every 
American  coin,  every  piece  of  money,  whether  of  metal  or  of  paper, 
which  has  been  given  to  the  people  as  money,  was  made  and  issued 
to  them  by  authority  and  direction  of  Congress.  Four  hundred  million 
dollars  in  treasury  notes  were  so  made  and  issued  in  1862,  and  the 
national  banking  law  was  enacted  one  year  later  for  the  express  purpose 
of  giving  more  money  to  the  people.  At  one  time  the  aggregate 
amount  of  treasury  notes  (greenbacks)  and  national  bank  notes  in  use 
as  money,  was  more  than  $700,000,000  dollars.  Besides  these,  some  of 
the  bonds  were  used  as  money.  The  government  issuing  money  to  the 
people  is  not  a  new  or  untried  proceeding.  But  what  the  farmers  object 
to  is,  that  the  government  unnecessarily  uses  a  very  costly  channel 
through  which  to  effect  the  distribution,  and  the  people  are  charged 
with  the  expense ;  that  is  to  say,  the  money  is  passed  to  the  people 
through  banks,  and  they  —  the  banks  —  charge  anywhere  from  ten  per 
cent  to  twenty-four  per  cent  per  annum  for  making  the  transfer; 
whereas,  if  it  were  issued  to  the  people  directly,  without  the  intervention 
of  the  banks  or  any  other  private  agency  demanding  profit  on  the  work, 
the  expense  would  not  exceed  one  to  three  per  cent.  If  the  money  is 
intended  for  the  people  (and  it  is),  why  not  give  it  to  them  at  once 
262 


HONOIUBLE   W.   A.    PEFFER, 

Senator  from   Kansas. 


GOVERNMENT  CONTROL    OF  MONEY.  263 

through  government  hands,  as  postage  stamps,  for  example,  are  given? 
In  the  first  place,  money  belongs  to  the  people;  the  people's  general 
agent,  the  government,  makes  the  money,  every  dollar  of  it,  by  authority 
of  the  people  and  for  them ;  why,  then,  should  banks  or  any  trafficking 
agency  be  permitted  to  trade  in  it  before  it  reaches  the  people  to  whom 
it  belongs,  and  for  whose  use  it  is  intended?  That  practice  is  not 
adopted  with  respect  to  anything  else  which  the  government  does  for 
the  people.  Whatever  else  it  delivers  to  them  passes  through  govern- 
ment hands  only.  What  reason  can  be  assigned  for  delivering  treasury 
notes  to  the  people  through  banks,  that  would  not  apply  with  equal  force 
to  the  issuing  and  delivering  to  them  of  patents  to  public  lands,  or  postage 
stamps?  The  object  in  making  and  issuing  money  is,  that  the  people 
shall  have  it  to  use  in  their  business  affairs.  It  would  reach  them  quite 
as  easily  and  early  if  sent  out  through  direct  channels  from  the  treasury 
as  it  does  by  passing  through  banks,  and  it  would  not  cost  the  people 
more  than  from  one-tenth  to  one-eighth  as  much  as  the  banks  and  loan 
agencies  compel  them  to  pay.  It  is  believed  that  this  exorbitant  charge 
for  the  use  of  money,  more  than  any  other  one  thing,  is  responsible  for 
the  general  depression  of  agriculture. 

A  change  must  come.  It  is  inevitable.-  Farmers  cannot  pay  the 
principal  of  their  indebtedness  if  present  rates  of  interest  are  continued. 
To  pay  interest  and  taxes  absorbs  all  their  profits  and  more.  The  inter- 
est on  the  indebtedness  secured  by  farm  mortgages  in  ten  of  the  North- 
western States,  — Ohio,  Indiana,  Michigan,  Wisconsin,  Minnesota,  Illinois, 
Iowa,  Missouri,  Kansas,  and  Nebraska,  —  it  is  estimated,  is  equal  to 
a  tax  of  three  per  cent  on  the  assessed  valuation  of  all  the  farms  in 
those  States.  The  estimate  is  based  upon  the  assumption  that  one-fourth 
of  the  farms  are  mortgaged  for  one-third  of  their  value.  A  large  propor- 
tion of  the  farms  are  not  mortgaged,  and  that  makes  it  harder  on  the 
owners  of  the  farms  which  are  mortgaged.  The  average  rate  on  loans 
in  these  States  is  eight  per  cent.  The  owner  of  the  money  loaned  does 
not  receive  more  than  six  to  seven  per  cent  perhaps,  but  the  borrower 
pays  at  least  eight ;  the  difference  goes  to  the  loan  agents.  The  average 
rate  of  taxation  for  all  purposes  is  three  per  cent.  To  this  add  the  in- 
terest tax,  and  it  is  plainly  impossible  for  a  two  per  cent  business  to  pay 
out.  The  average  net  profit  in  western  and  southern  agriculture,  the 
last  six  years,  has  not  exceeded  two  per  cent.  Some  remedy  is  abso- 
lutely necessary,  and  one  proposition  is  to  reduce  the  interest  rates  to 
what  farmers  can  afford  to  pay. 

But  there  is  a  deeper  foundation  for  the  doctrine  than  this,  a  broader 
view  of  the  subject,  and  there  is  a  good  affirmative  reason  for  the  de- 


264  HISTORICAL   AND  POLITICAL. 

mand.  The  making  and  issuing  of  money  is  the  exercise  of  a  sovereign 
power,  in  the  common  interest  of  the  people.  All  money  so  made  and 
issued  is  intended  for  the  use  of  the  people  of  the  particular  country, 
and  not  for  the  use  of  the  people  of  other  countries.  The  first  money- 
changers supplied  coins  of  different  tribes  or  nations  to  persons  who 
needed  them,  charging  for  the  service,  and  from  that  came  banks,  used 
as  channels  through  which  money  was  sent  to  the  people,  retaining  part 
of  it  as  compensation.  The  proper  function  of  money  is  to  serve  a  public 
use.  The  principle  involved  in  its  issuance  operates  in  the  opening  and 
maintaining  of  common  highways,  the  erecting  of  public  buildings,  estab- 
lishing water-works,  ferries,  mills,  and  schools.  All  these  things  are  for 
the  use  of  the  people  in  common,  and  on  equal  terms.  A  postage  stamp 
or  a  money  order  is  issued  through  government  agents  to  the  people  at 
cost,  and  without  discrimination.  People  use  the  highway  freely,  but 
may  not  obstruct  it  or  monopolize  its  use.  And  its  use  is  given  to  them 
at  cost.  So  it  is  in  every  matter  which  the  government  manages  for  the 
people,  except  only  in  the  matter  of  money.  It  appropriates  land  of 
citizens  for  public  use,  and  permits  corporations  to  build  and  operate 
railroads  on  it  for  the  public  convenience,  permitting  them  to  charge  a 
reasonable  compensation,  serving  all  alike  and  charging  all  alike.  The 
object  of  the  Interstate  Commerce  Law  is  to  prevent  discriminations, 
and  give  service  to  the  people  as  nearly  as  practicable  at  cost. 

Money  is  in  no  proper  sense  a  commodity.  It  is  a  device  which  the 
people  have  made  for  their  own  convenience  in  trade.  A  merchant 
doing  a  cash  business  uses  money  just  as  he  uses  the  street  or  the  rail- 
road, and  he  ought  to  be  subjected  to  no  more  anxiety  about  a  panic  in 
the  money  market  than  he  is  about  the  closing  of  the  highway.  But  it 
is  claimed  that  banks  are  necessary  for  this  very  purpose  of  getting 
money  to  the  people.  Then  the  present  banking  system  is  a  stupendous 
failure ;  for,  while  the  number  of  banks  is  increasing  yearly,  which 
shows  that  more  money  is  needed,  the  circulation  of  bank  notes  is  con- 
stantly and  steadily  diminishing.  The  average  annual  increase  in  the 
number  of  banks  during  eleven  years  ending  with  1890,  is  159,  and  the 
bank  circulation  was  decreased  ;? 2 25,000,000  between  1882  and  1890. 
The  number  of  national  banks  in  existence  October  31,  1889,  was 
3319,  the  greatest  number  since  the  inauguration  of  the  system,  fhe 
Secretary  of  the  Treasury  said.  The  amount  of  national  bank  notes 
out  on  the  30th  day  of  June,  1882,  was  ^358,742,034,  and  the  amount 
in  circulation  September  30,  1889,  was  ;^i3i,383,334.  This  was  the 
amount  secured  by  bonds.  There  were  $72,279,398  in  process  of  retire- 
ment, "represented  by  deposit  of  lawful  money  in  the  treasury,"  so  that 


GOVERNMENT  CONTROL    OE  MONEY.  265 

this  amount  was  actually  retired  permanently.  The  amount  reported  as 
in  circulation  was  $203,662,732,  but  the  $72,279,398  represented  in  the 
treasury,  by  "lawful  money,"  must  be  deducted,  leaving  $131,383,334. 
This  is  conclusive  evidence  that  the  banks  are  consulting  their  own 
interests,  not  those  of  the  government  or  the  people,  in  the  work  they 
do.  A  retirement  of  $225,000,000  in  seven  years  is  not  a  satisfactory 
way  of  getting  money  to  the  people.  These  banks  not  only  charge  high 
rates  of  compensation  for  transferring  money  from  the  government  to 
the  people,  but  as  soon  as  bonds  became  more  valuable  than  their  own 
notes,  they  called  in  the  notes  and  took  up  the  bonds. 

It  is  conceded  by  all  that  some  change  must  be  made.  The  Treas- 
urer of  the  United  States,  the  Secretary  of  the  Treasury,  and  the  Presi- 
dent, all  call  attention  to  this  subject  as  one  of  very  great  importance, 
and  more  than  twenty  bills  relating  to  the  same  matter  have  been  intro- 
duced in  the  present  Congress.  The  Treasurer,  in  his  report  for  1889, 
says  :  "  In  becoming  practically  the  sole  issuer  of  currency,  the  govern- 
ment has  assumed  the  duty  of  supplying  the  needs  of  the  public  for  a 
circulating  medium."  Precisely.  That  is  what  the  farmers  say  —  that 
the  government  has  assumed  the  duty  of  supplying  the  needs  of  the 
public,  not  the  banks,  for  a  circulating  medium.  It  is  the  public,  and 
not  the  banks,  that  need  a  circulating  medium,  and  the  reason  of  it  is, 
that  the  use  of  money  is  a  public  necessity.  The  proper  use  of  money 
is  not  to  be  dealt  in  as  an  article  of  merchandise,  like  wheat,  or  coffee, 
or  cloth,  but  to  supply  a  public  need.  Then  let  banks  be  relieved  from 
the  duty  of  transferring  money  to  the  public,  unless  they  are  willing  to 
do  the  work  as  government  agents,  and  for  actual  cost.  Let  them  be 
shorn  of  their  power  to  expand  or  contract  the  "  circulating  medium  "  at 
pleasure,  and  let  their  operations  be  confined  to  the  legitimate  functions 
of  banking  under  rules  prescribed  by  Congress,  so  that  charges  shall  not 
only  be  reasonable,  but  equal  for  similar  service.  Let  them  deliver 
government  money  to  the  people  at  cost,  or  let  some  other  agency  be 
established.  And  money,  being  prepared  for  a  public  use,  ought  to  be 
free  from  taxation,  just  as  a  public  road  is. 

The  objection  which  is  urged  against  the  banks  is  not  that  they  are 
banks,  but  that  they  are  unnecessarily  put  between  the  government  and 
the  people  at  an  enormous  expense,  which  the  people  are  compelled  to 
bear.  Let  the  banks  become  government  agents,  that  part  of  their 
business  being  directed  from  one  bureau  at  Washington  instead  of  by  a 
corps  of  expensive  officers  at  every  bank.  If  that  be  done,  there  need 
be  no  further  objection.  The  people  will  then  receive  money  at  cost, 
and  that  is  what  they  ask  for,     The  way  to  ascertain  when  and  where 


266  HISTORICAL  AND  POLITICAL, 

the  people  need  money,  and  how  much  of  it  they  need,  is  to  let  them 
tell  it  themselves  to  persons  who  are  authorized  to  furnish  the  money. 
When  postage  stamps  or  money  orders  are  needed,  the  post-office,  not 
a  bank  or  a  loan  agency,  is  sought.  The  post-office  is  established  ex- 
pressly to  do  that  class  of  business,  and  all  persons  fare  exactly  alike. 
There  is  no  discrimination  in  the  post-office,  and  there  is  no  change 
when  the  "  money  market  "  is  agitated.  There  are  no  "  Black  Fridays  " 
in  the  postal  business.  The  amount  of  money  needed  is  not  regulated 
by  rates  of  interest,  but  the  amount  asked  for  or  actually  used  depends 
largely  upon  what  it  costs.  If  it  commands  six  to  ten  per  cent  in  the 
market,  much  less  will  be  used  than  if  the  rate  were  two  per  cent  or  one 
per  cent,  though  the  amount  needed  is  the  same.  This  rule  is  well 
understood,  and  as  applied  here  it  answers  a  question  which  is  often 
asked  :  "How  shall  we  get  government  money  into  circulation?"  The 
way  is  easy,  the  method  simple.  Establish  agencies  to  supply  the  peo- 
ple with  money,  leaving  them  to  say  how  much  they  need,  just  as  they 
do  now ;  but  let  money  go  out  at  cost ;  then  a  great  deal  more  of  it  will 
be  used,  and  its  effect  will  soon  be  seen  in  better  prices  and  greater 
thrift  among  producers. 

There  are  two  classes  of  people  needing  money  on  loans,  —  those  who 
want  the  use  of  it  a  long  time,  and  those  who  want  it  but  a  short  time. 
This  distinction  renders  necessary  two  different  classes  of  agencies  for 
distribution,  —  one  for  short-time  loans  on  personal  security,  the  other 
for  long-time  loans  on  real  estate  securities.  For  the  former  purpose 
national  banks,  under  proper  regulation,  will  do  as  well  as  any  other 
agency  which  could  be  devised,  and  probably  better  than  any  one  of 
some  which  may  be  suggested.  But  for  the  latter  something  altogether 
different  must  be  provided.  For  long-time  loans  let  a  loan  bureau  be 
established  in  the  Treasury  Department  (under  direction  of  the  comp- 
troller of  the  currency,  who  now  has  supervision  of  the  banks),  con- 
sisting of  three  commissioners,  and  agencies  in  the  several  States  and 
Territories,  with  such  clerical  assistance  as  may  be  needed,  the  com- 
missioners to  apportion  the  work  and  superintend  its  execution.  A 
central  agency,  located  at  the  capital  of  a  State,  might  be  made  the 
distributing  point  for  that  State  ;  operating,  through  local  agencies,  at 
such  convenient  places  as  would  best  accommodate  the  people,  not 
exceeding  say  five  or  seven  in  a  State  like  Kansas,  and  twice  as  many  in 
Texas,  five  in  Pennsylvania,  three  in  Massachusetts,  and  so  on,  extent 
of  territory  as  well  as  population  being  considered  in  the  apportion- 
ment. The  persons  in  charge  of  these  agencies  would  enter  into  bonds, 
as  postmasters  and  other  financial  officers  do.      Long  and  abundant 


GOVERNMENT  CONTROL    OF  MONEY.  267 

experience  proves  that  government  money  is  perfectly  secured  by  bonds 
which  citizens  can  give.  The  mode  of  operation  might  be  about  the 
same  as  that  now  in  practice  by  the  most  rehable  and  successful  real 
estate  and  loan  agencies,  except,  chiefly,  that  charges  to  the  borrower 
shall  not  exceed  what  it  actually  costs  to  perform  the  work,  —  which  is 
about  one  per  cent  per  annum  on  the  amount  borrowed.  The  ex- 
perience of  the  best  loan  companies  shows  that  when  considerable 
amounts  are  handled,  one  per  cent  is  ample  to  pay  all  expenses.  One 
example  may  be  cited :  A  well-organized,  well-managed  Western  loan 
agency  has  been  doing  an  average  business  of  ^2,000,000  annually  for 
some  years,  with  an  average  force  of  twenty  persons,  whose  salaries  do 
not  exceed  ^1,000  a  year.  This  is  equal  to  one  per  cent  on  the  amount 
of  business  transacted.  A  considerable  part  of  the  work  done  by  a 
private  company  would  not  be  required  in  a  government  agency.  No 
outside  agents,  except  examiners,  would  be  required ;  and  if  one 
examiner  were  kept  in  every  county,  to  be  transported  from  place  to 
place  by  applicants  for  loans,  the  expense  of  that  department  might  be 
materially  lessened.  One  per  cent  will  pay  all  e^enses  of  the  pro- 
posed plan  as  an  entirety.  The  persons  in  charge  of  the  agency  should 
be  stricdy  business  men,  —  not  politicians,  —  and  appointed  on  recom- 
mendation of  business  men.  The  superintendent  of  the  central  agency 
might  be  appointed  by  the  President,  and  he  (the  superintendent) 
should  appoint  all  the  local  officers,  who  in  turn  would  employ  such 
assistants  as  might  be  needed,  subject  to  approval  of  the  general 
superintendent. 

This  scheme  has  all  been  thought  out  in  detail,  but  there  is  not  room 
here  to  give  more  than  a  general  outline  of  it.  It  is  altogether  practical, 
simply  applying  existing  methods  in  an  improved  plan.  Even  in  the 
matter  of  foreclosing  a  mortgage,  the  government  would  be  doing  no 
more  than  it  has  done  a  thousand  times  in  the  same  courts  which  would 
have  jurisdiction  in  cases  arising  under  the  proposed  plan,  the  difference 
being  only  that  in  one  case  the  parties  were  both  citizens ;  in  the  other, 
one  of  them  would  be  the  government.  Land  sold  in  favor  of  the  gov- 
ernment would  become  government  land  subject  to  public  sale  to  the 
highest  bidder. 

For  loans  on  personal  security  and  for  short  time,  this  plan  may  be 
adopted  :  amend  the  national  banking  law  so  that  lawful  money,  instead 
of  bonds,  may  be  deposited  as  security  for  circulation ;  let  banks  with 
small  capital  be  established  in  small  places,  say  as  low  as  ^15,000  to 
^20,000,  limiting  loans  to  small  amounts.  No  loan  shall  be  made  for 
more  than  ninety  days,  charges  not  to  exceed  what  would  be  equal  to 


2  68  HISTORICAL  AND  POLITICAL. 

one-fourth  of  one  per  cent  for  thirty  days ;  five-twelfths  of  one  per  cent 
for  sixty  days ;  and  one-half  of  one  per  cent  for  ninety  days.  Permit 
increase  of  circulation  according  to  public  needs.  The  withdrawal  of 
bank  notes  from  circulation  would  not  affect  the  volume  of  currency, 
because  the  notes  are  secured  by  lawful  money,  on  deposit,  and  as  fast 
as  notes  are  retired,  an  equal  amount  of  lawful  money  is  put  out  in  their 
place ;  for  this  reason  no  restriction  as  to  retirement  of  bank  notes  need 
be  placed  upon  the  banks. 

From  and  after  the  inauguration  of  the  proposed  system,  all  moneys 
shall  be  non-taxable.  If  bonds  are  not  taxed,  —  and  they  ought  not  to 
be,  —  then  the  money  of  the  people  ought  not  to  be  taxed  in  anybody's 
hands,  except  it  be  in  cases  where  it  is  hoarded  in  large  amounts,  and 
thus  kept  out  of  circulation.  Lands  used  for  a  public  highway  are  not 
taxed,  though  lands  adjoining  are.  Money  used  by  the  people  in  the 
transaction  of  their  ordinary  business,  in  facilitating  exchanges  of  the 
value  of  commodities,  ought  not  to  be  taxed,  and  the  use  of  money  as  a 
commodity  ought  to  be  prohibited.  No  man  has  any  more  moral  right 
to  monopolize  the  use  of  money  than  he  has  to  exact  tribute  from  persons 
who  travel  on  the  highway,  and  the  legal  right  ought  to  be  taken  away. 
Money  is  not  to  be  used  for  purposes  of  private  speculation,  because  it 
is  made  for  the  common  use  of  the  people  as  they  need  it.  It  is  not 
proposed  to  keep  money  on  tap  for  persons  to  draw  at  will,  as  they 
would  draw  water  from  a  public  fountain ;  but  for  those  only  who  are 
willing  to  pay  the  cost  of  delivery,  as  is  done  in  obtaining  the  service  of 
a  railway  or  ferry  company.  The  fare  must  be  paid,  or  the  service  will 
not  be  rendered.  So  in  this  case,  money  will  not  be  delivered  to  per- 
sons who  are  not  willing  to  pay  the  cost  of  handling  it  and  secure  the 
return  of  an  equivalent  at  the  time  agreed  upon.  It  is  proposed  only  to 
issue  money  directly  to  the  people  as  they  need  it,  and  as  nearly  as 
practicable  at  cost,  on  condition  that  they  pay  the  expense  and  return  a 
sum  equal  to  that  received.  The  only  change  from  present  methods  in 
this  respect  consists  in  the  lower  rate  of  charges,  and  in  the  money  being 
non-taxable.  Working  people  will  earn  money  just  as  they  do  now ; 
but  this  scheme,  if  put  in  operation,  will  force  money  into  productive 
industry  instead  of  into  mortgages,  as  now,  thus  creating  new  and  perma- 
nent demand  for  labor ;  it  will  increase  the  value  of  products  of  labor, 
and  that  will  be  good  cause  for  demanding  advance  in  wages.  Nothing 
is  proposed  which  is  not  now  being  done  in  all  parts  of  the  country. 
The  changes  would  be  only  two:  (i)  the  government  would  take 
charge  of  the  work,  and  (2)  the  people  would  get  the  use  of  their 
money  at  rates  which  they  can  afford  to  pay.     It  would  not  require  a 


GOVERNMENT  CONTROL   OF  MONEY.  269 

force  of  more  than  about  three  or  four  thousand  persons  to  operate  all 
the  agencies  required  in  the  whole  country,  and  they  would  do  as  much 
work  as  is  now  done  by  nearly  a  hundred  times  that  number,  all  living 
off  of  commissions  which  borrowers  must  pay.  Three  hundred  agencies, 
with  an  average  force  of  ten  persons  each,  would  be  enough  for  some 
years  to  come,  and  one  per  cent  would  pay  all  the  expenses  of  the  loan 
bureau. 

Money  put  out  on  short  time  and  on  personal  security  requires 
more  time  and  closer  attention,  with  some  personal  risk  to  the  agent ; 
the  expense  is  necessarily  greater,  and  for  that  reason  the  charges  are 
higher.  The  banks  would  go  right  along  as  they  are  now  doing,  with 
the  changes  before  suggested.  If  it  be  objected  that  there  are  too  many 
details  for  the  government  to  look  after,  compare  it  with  the  Post-Office 
Department,  which  consists  of  a  central  establishment  at  Washington, 
with  59,000  branches  in  different  parts  of  the  country,  in  charge  of 
150,000  persons,  all  looking  ^fter  details,  and  doing  a  business  amount- 
ing to  more  than  ^1,000,000,000  annually. 

Where  will  the  money  come  from  to  start  this  scheme  ?  As  before 
stated,  the  national  banks  have  withdrawn  from  circulation,  since  1882, 
;^225,ooo,ooo  of  their  notes.  The  steady  increase  in  the  number  of 
banks  (average  159  yearly  the  last  eleven  years,  as  before  shown)  is 
evidence  conclusive  that,  judged  from  the  banks'  own  standpoint,  the 
business  of  the  country  is  increasing,  needing  additional  banking  facifi- 
ties,  and  it  would  seem  reasonable  that  a  larger  circulation  would  be 
needed  as  much  as  more  banks.  But  the  circulation  was  contracted  by 
the  banks  to  the  amount  stated,  and  this  contraction  covers  precisely  the 
same  period  in  which  farming  has  become  discouragingly  unprofitable. 
With  the  retirement  of  national  bank  circulation,  prices  of  wheat,  corn, 
cattle,  cotton,  and  other  farm  products,  and  manufactured  articles,  except 
sugar,  fell  about  thirty  per  cent.  Let  us  restore  that  circulation,  and  add 
to  it  as  much  as  would  have  been  a  reasonable  expansion,  —  say  ^8,500,- 
000  annually,  —  and  issue  treasury  notes  for  the  whole  amount,  —  ^300,- 
000,000.  On  the  first  day  of  March,  1878,  the  national  bank  circulation 
was  $313,888,740;  and  on  the  first  day  of  October,  1882,  it  was  $356,- 
060,348,  showing  an  average  annual  increase  of  $8,434,321  during  the 
period  of  five*  years.  A  like  increase  during  the  next  seven  years,  to  1889, 
would  have  increased  the  volume  of  currency  $59,040,247.  To  this  add 
the  $100,000,000  held  as  reserve  for  the  redemption  of  treasury  notes, 
and  the  cash  balance,  whatever  it  be,  —  say  $50,000,000,  —  and  we  have 
about  $450,000,000  available  money  to  begin  with.  Repeal  the  resump- 
tion law  so  far  as  it  requires  the  holding  of  a  redemption  fund ;  establish 


2  70  HISTORICAL  AND  POLITICAL 

free  and  unlimited  coinage  or  use  of  silver,  at  present  weight  and  fineness, 
using  the  coin  or  bullion  as  basis  for  the  circulation  of  paper  certificates. 
This  fresh  money  could  be  used  for  the  immediate  reUef  of  persons  whose 
homes  are  mortgaged  —  to  secure  debts  which  are  due.  They  would 
pay  their  debts,  and  the  money  would  at  once  begin  to  circulate  where 
it  is  most  needed,  —  among  the  toilers.  Instead  of  being  used  for  spec- 
ulation, it  would  be  used  in  building,  in  manufacturing,  in  mining,  in 
transportation,  in  making  homes,  in  erecting  permanent  improvements, 
and  in  every  legitimate  way,  where  poor  as  well  as  rich  would  receive 
equal  benefit  from  its  use.  Being  worth  less  as  a  commodity  to  traffic 
in,  because  production  and  traffic  yield  a  profit  greater  than  one  per 
cent  per  annum,  there  will  be  no  temptation  to  deal  exclusively  in 
money.  And  the  banks  will  receive  as  much  profit  on  the  same  amount 
of  business  as  they  do  now,  because  relieved  from  all  taxation  on  their 
notes  and  other  moneys,  and  without  risk  of  loss  from  "  corners  "  and 
"runs"  —  the  work  of  gamblers.  Money  not  being  taxable,  the  banks 
would  enjoy  an  advantage  from  that  source  equal  to  an  average  of  about 
three  per  cent  per  annum  —  in  the  new  States  a  little  more,  in  the  old 
ones  a  little  less. 

This  particular  scheme  is  not  presented  as  that  of  the  farmers  or  of 
any  association.  It  is  an  individual  contribution  to  the  discussion  of 
the  question,  —  how  to  get  money  from  the  government  directly  to  the 
people,  and  at  cost.  As  before  intimated,  the  details  have  all  been 
thought  out,  but  it  is  not  possible  to  give  more  than  a  skeleton  of  the 
plan  in  this  place. 

It  may  be  objected  that  a  sudden  reduction  of  interest  would  be 
equivalent  to  the  confiscation  of  a  large  amount  of  property  now  invested 
in  money.  That,  too,  has  been  considered.  Did  those  who  thus  object 
estimate  in  advance  the  effect  of  contracting  the  currency  to  resume 
specie  payments,  increasing  the  value  of  money  and  reducing  the  value 
of  everything  else  ?  Did  they  think  about  how  much  farmers  would  lose 
by  the  operation  of  that  dreadful  process  ?  And  if  they  did  think  of  it, 
did  they  care  ?  When  they  now  look  out  over  the  four  and  a  half  million 
farms  of  the  country,  and  see  that  everything  there  is  depressed  by 
reason  of  low  prices,  and  when  they  learn  that  this  condition  has  been 
present  some  half-dozen  years,  are  their  hearts  troubled,  and  do  they 
feel  that  the  debtor  has  been  wronged  and  that  they  are  responsible  ? 
Millions  of  dollars  have  been  sunk  by  this  heartless  forcing  down  of 
prices,  adding  to  the  gains  of  the  already  rich.  The  government  is  not 
under  obligations  to  furnish  investments  for  its  citizens,  but  it  is  bound 
to  supply  them  with  money.  The  poor  have  lost  enough.  Let  them 
have  some  benefit  now  from  the  just  protection  of  the  government. 


Government  control  of  money.       271 

What  are  the  special  advantages  of  the  proposed  plan  ? 

Firsts  It  would  dethrone  the  money  power  and  make  panics  impos- 
sible. 

Second,  It  would  add  twenty-five  per  cent  to  the  value  of  all  com- 
modities in  general  use,  —  farm  products  and  manufactured  goods  more 
particularly. 

Third,  It  would  save  to  their  owners  the  homes  of  a  million  families 
within  ten  years. 

Fourth,  It  would  afford  a  good  investment  for  persons  of  small  means. 

Fifth,  It  would  force  money  into  circulation  and  keep  it  there. 

Sixth,  It  would  aid  poor  people  to  obtain  homes  on  the  public  lands. 

Seventh,  It  would  encourage  the  organization  of  building  associations, 
securing  homes  for  mechanics  and  other  persons  of  Umited  means  in 
cities. 

Eighth,  It  would  bring  banking  privileges  close  to  the  people. 

Ninth,  It  would  afford  a  ready  means  of  relief  to  farmers  who  wish 
to  hold  their  crops  a  few  months;  elevator  and  warehouse  receipts 
would  secure  money  at  low  rates  on  short  time. 

Te7ith,  A  complete  record  of  private  mortgages  would  be  kept. 

Eleventh,  It  would  establish  a  monetary  system  that  with  little 
change,  and  that  to  simplify  it  and  lessen  the  cost,  would  be  perma- 
nently satisfactory  to  the  people. 


CHAPTER    IX. 


THE   RACE    PROBLEM. 


By  J.  H.  Turner,  National  Secretary-Treasurer  of  the  National  Farmers' 
Alliance  and  Industrial  Union. 

Since  President  Lincoln  issued  his  emancipation  proclamation,  Janu- 
ary I,  1863,  no  question  has  provoked  more  discussion  and  serious 
consideration  than  this  one,  and  after  twenty-eight  years  of  discussion 
and  legislation,  until  recently  the  question  seemed  no  nearer  solution 
than  it  did  when  the  famous  proclamation  was  issued.  Writers  of  every 
character,  both  white  and  black,  have  taken  a  turn  at  its  discussion,  and 
have  widely  differed  as  to  the  means  to  be  employed  in  its  solution. 

In  writing  this  short  article,  I  fully  realize  the  gravity  of  the  subject  I 
have  in  hand,  and  will  therefore  remain  near  the  shore.  It  is  not  my 
purpose  to  solve  this  question,  but  simply  to  give  my  experience  with 
the  negro  in  the  South,  coupled  with  such  facts  and  suggestions  as  will 
enable  those  who  know  but  very  little  of  the  real  conditions  that  exist  in 
the  South,  to  form  correct  ideas  in  regard  to  the  true  conditions  that 
exist  between  the  great  masses  of  the  white  and  colored  people  of  the 
South.  I  shall  be  perfecdy  satisfied  with  my  effort,  if  I  am  able  to  elicit 
one  thought,  word,  or  deed  that  will  help  to  bring  about  a  better  under- 
standing all  over  this  country,  that  will  bring  peace  and  prosperity  to 
the  great  common  people,  both  white  and  black. 

I  hope  the  reader  will  pardon  me  for  alluding  to  myself  in  this  con- 
nection just  enough  to  state  that  I  was  born  on  a  farm  in  middle 
Georgia.  At  the  time  I  was  born  my  father  was  a  slave-owner.  I  have 
been  intimately  associated  with  the  negro  on  the  farm,  alt  my  life,  and 
know  something  of  the  relation  of  the  two  races  from  actual  experience. 
What  I  have  to  say  on  this  subject  shall  be  entirely  free  from  all  party 
spirit,  and  solely  in  the  interest  of  truth. 

After  the  war,  when  the  negro  found  himself  a  citizen  of  the  United 
States,  he  was  besieged  by  a  class  of  pretended  friends  (I  allude  to  the 
v/ carpet-baggers  from  the  North)  who  have  proven  to  be  his  worst  enemies. 
To  control  them  pohtically,  these  same  carpet-baggers  promised  each 
head  of  a  family  forty  acres  of  land  and  a  mule,  if  he  would  vote  right ; 
that  is,  for  the  carpet-baggers.  The  poor  negro  was  not  only  promised 
this,  but  social  equaHty  with  the  whites,  and  a  great  many  other  things 
272 


J.    H.   TURNER, 

Secty.-Treas.    N.    F.    A.    and    I.    U 


THE  RACE  PROBLEM,  273 

which,  since  he  has  found  out  better,  he  neither  needs  nor  wants.  The 
negro  at  that  time  followed  willingly  the  lead  of  these  fellows,  because 
he  had  no  one  else  to  follow,  politically.  The  white  people  of  the  South 
ignored  him  poHtically,  and  hated  him,  because  he  followed  those  whom  '  I 
they  knew  to  be  enemies  of  good  government.  Under  such  circum-// 
stances,  the  negro  was  easily  led  to  believe  that  his  old  master  was  his 
worst  enemy,  and  would  again  enslave  him  if  he  could,  though  when  he 
would  get  into  trouble  or  business  complications  of  any  kind,  the  first 
man  to  whom  he  would  apply  for  advice  and  counsel  would  be  his  old 
master,  who  would  almost  invariably  give  him  the  best  advice,  and  very 
often  protect  and  defend  him  in  his  business  affairs. 

Thus  the  two  races  lived  for  several  years  after  the  war.  As  years 
passed  on,  the  negro  found  that  the  promises  of  the  politician  were 
made  only  to  be  broken.  When  this  dawned  upon  him,  he  at  once 
began  to  rely  upon  himself,  and  from  that  day  he  began  to  make  prog- 
ress. He  realized  the  fact  that,  if  he  was  ever  independent  and  happy, 
he  would  have  to  educate  himself  and  acquire  property. 

All  the  Southern  States  have  public  school  systems.  The  whites  and 
blacks  are  required  to  attend  separate  schools,  though  the  black  child 
receives  the  same  amount  of  public  school  fund  that  the  white  child  does. 
In  my  own  State  —  Georgia  —  the  colored  children  receive  more  money, 
in  the  way  of  public  school  funds,  than  the  whole  colored  population  in 
that  State  pays  taxes  of  every  kind ;  therefore  they  do  not  contribute 
anything  toward  supporting  the  State  government.  This  statement  will 
doubtless  appear  strange  to  those  who  are  unacquainted  with  the  facts, 
and  have  only  heard  the  demagogue's  side  of  the  question.  However, 
an  honest  investigation  among  the  white  and  colored  farmers  (and  they 
constitute  a  large  majority  of  the  population)  will  reveal  many  such 
facts. 

The  negroes  are  making  a  heroic  effort  to  educate  the  rising  genera- 
tion, and  will  send  their  children  to  school,  when  the  public  schools  are 
opened,  whether  they  have  anything  to  eat  and  wear  or  not.  They  will 
make  any  kind  of  sacrifice  to  send  their  children  to  school. 

A  great  mistake  has  been  made,  and  doubtless  thousands  of  honest 
people  have  formed  erroneous  opinions  in  regard  to  the  relations  of  the 
great  masses  of  the  two  races  in  the  South,  basing  their  opinions  upon 
the  reports  of  riots  and  other  disturbances  in  the  towns  and  cities,  in 
which,  nine  times  out  of  ten,  no  one  took  any  part  except  a  few  worth- 
less negroes,  who  generally  work  by  the  day  at  some  public  work,  and  a 
few  drunken  white  men,  who  lounge  around  the  saloons  and  street 
comers,  and  whittle  goods  boxes.     I  have  never  heard  of  a  race  riot  or 


2  74  HISTORICAL  AND  POLITICAL. 

disturbance  of  any  kind  in  the  rural  districts  of  the  South,  except  two 
or  three  instances  that  occurred  soon  after  the  war,  in  what  is  called  the 
Black  Belt  of  South  Carolina,  Mississippi,  and  Louisiana. 

For  partisan  poUtical  purposes,  these  riots  among  the  worthless  whites 
and  blacks  about  the  towns  have  been  paraded  in  the  partisan  press  of 
the  .country  for  the  purpose  of  keeping  the  old  fire  of  sectional  hate 
fanned  into  a  flame.  Such  things  have  been  used  in  the  North  by  the 
politician,  in  the  press  and  on  the  stump,  to  continue  a  solid  Republi- 
can North,  pretendedly  that  the  Southern  brigadier  might  be  kepi 
under;  while  the  same  class  of  politicians  in  the  South  has  used  the 
same  thing  to  keep  a  solid  Democratic  South,  pretendedly  that  negro 
supremacy  might  be  kept  down.  The  people  of  the  North  and  South 
have  listened  to  these  politicians,  while  plutocracy  has  done  its  perfect 
work  in  robbing  both. 

The  poHtician  in  the  South  has  seemingly  been  in  mortal  fear  of  the 
negro  in  politics,  all  the  while,  but  has  so  managed  as  to  keep  the  negro 
in  a  solid  political  phalanx.  If  the  negro  was  such  a  menace  to  good 
government,  and  the  inferior  race  mentally,  morally,  socially,  and  natu- 
rally, why  have  such  tactics  always  been  used  as  would  keep  them  in  one 
solid  political  party? 

The  true  answer  to  this  question  will  perhaps  shed  more  light  upon 
this  subject  than  a  great  many  are  willing  to  admit  is  true.  It  is  admit- 
ting a  thing  that  the  evidence  will  not  sustain,  if  we  should  claim  that  a 
superior  race,  that  has  enjoyed  the  blessings  of  civilization,  education, 
and  culture  for  ages,  is  unable  to  persuade  an  inferior  race ;  and  if  per- 
suasion were  not  the  thing  to  use,  there  were  various  other  expedients  to 
which  easy  access  could  have  been  had,  to  divide  their  vote  so  that 
negro  supremacy  would  have  forever  been  out  of  the  question. 

To  convince  the  reader  that  the  negro  vote  could  have  been  divided 
long  ago,  and  will  be  divided  in  the  near  future,  I  will  make  a  short 
quotation  from  a  newspaper  article,  written  last  February,  by  Rev.  J.  L. 
Moore,  a  colored  Methodist  minister  of  Crescent  City,  Florida,  who  was 
a  delegate  to  the  meeting  of  the  Colored  National  Farmers'  Alliance  and 
Co-operative  Union,  which  met  at  Ocala,  Florida,  at  the  same  time  the 
National  Farmers'  AUiance  and  Industrial  Union  met  there.  The  arti- 
cle quoted  from  was  written  in  reply  to  an  editorial  that  appeared  in  one 
of  the  partisan  newspapers  of  Jacksonville,  Florida,  on  the  race  question. 
It  is  as  follows  :  — 

"  According  to  our  privileges,  I  think  we  have  helped  the  white  men  all  they 
could  expect  under  our  condition;  and  we  are  not  clamoring  for  social  relations 
with  the  whites  either.     We  do  not  want  to  eat  at  their  tables,  sleep  in  their  beds, 


THE  RACE  PROBLEM,  275 

neither  ride  in  the  cars  with  them;  but  we  do  want  as  good  fare  as  the  whites 
receive  for  the  same  consideration.  As  to  the  Alliance,  in  the  language  of  Hon.  R. 
M.  Hawley  of  Missouri,  we  believe  this  to  be  its  mission :  — 

"*No  protection  to  party  favorites;  ho  force  bills  to  keep  up  party  and  sectional 
prejudices;  no  secret  caucuses  by  members  of  Congress  or  members  of  the  legisla- 
tures, to  consider  matters  of  legislation.  Let  these  be  abolished  by  law.  Also 
abolish  all  party  primary  elections  and  party  conventions  for  nominating  candidates, 
and  provide  for  a  people's  primary  election,  where  every  voter  can  write  on  his 
ticket  the  name  of  any  person  he  prefers  for  any  office,  from  President  down  to  con- 
stable. Let  the  proper  county.  State,  and  national  officers,  who  shall  be  designated 
by  law,  receive  the  returns,  count  up  and  authorize  the  result,  which  shall  be  that  the 
candidate  receiving  the  highest  number  of  votes,  and  the  one  receiving  the  next 
highest  number  for  each  office  shall  be  declared  the  contending  candidates  for  final 
election.  This  would  empty  politics  of  party  strife  and  all  its  concomitant  evils,  and 
lead  to  the  representation  of  the  leading  industry  of  each  district  in  Congress,  and 
county  in  the  State  legislatures.  Party  bhndness  would  be  removed,  and  let  in  the 
clear  light  of  the  science  of  economical  government.  I  believe  that  non-partisanism 
will  not  reach  its  full  and  natural  results  till  these  things  are  accomplished;  and  this 
I  believe  to  be  the  mission  of  the  Alliance.' 

"  But,  Mr.  Editor,  can  we  do  anything  while  the  present  parties  have  control  of  the 
ballot-box,  and  we  (the  Alliance)  have  no  protection?  The  greatest  mistake,  I  see, 
the  farmers  are  now  making,  is  this :  The  wily  politicians  see  and  know  that  they 
have  to  do  something,  therefore  they  are  slipping  into  the  Alliance,  and  the  farmrers, 
in  many  instances,  are  accepting  them  as  leaders;  and  if  we  are  to  have  the  same 
leaders,  we  need  not  expect  anything  else  but  the  same  results.  The  action  of  the 
Alliance  in  this  reminds  me  of  the  man  who  first  put  his  hand  in  the  lion's  mouth, 
and  the  lion  finally  bit  it  off;  and  then  he  changed,  to  make  the  matter  better,  and 
put  his  head  in  the  lion's  mouth,  and  therefore  lost  his  head.  Now,  the  farmers  and 
laboring  men  know  in  what  manner  they  were  standing  before  they  organized;  they 
lost  their  hands,  so  to  speak;  now,  organized  in  one  body  or  head,  if  they  give  them- 
selves over  to  the  same  power  that  took  their  hand,  it  will  likewise  take  their  head. 

"Now,  Mr.  Editor,  I  wish  to  say,  if  the  laboring  men  of  the  United  States  will  lay 
down  party  issues  and  combine  to  enact  laws  for  the  benefit  of  the  laboring  man,  I, 
as  County  Superintendent  of  Putman  County  Colored  Farmers'  Alliance,  and  member 
of  the  National  Colored  Farmers,  know  that  I  voice  the  sentiment  of  that  body,  rep- 
resenting, as  we  did,  750,000  votes,  when  I  say  we  are  willing  and  ready  to  lay  down 
the  past,  take  hold  with  them  irrespective  of  party,  race,  or  creed,  until  the  cry  shall 
be  heard  from  the  Heights  of  Abraham  of  the  North  to  the  Everglades  of  Florida, 
and  from  the  rock- bound  coast  of  the  East  to  the  golden  Eldorado  of  the  West,  that 
we  can  heartily  indorse  the  motto,  *  Equal  rights  to  all,  and  special  privileges  to  none.'  " 

It  is  a  pretty  general  custom  with  the  Democratic  party  in  the  South, 
that  when  the  county  executive  committee  meets  to  arrange  for  and  call 
a  primary  election,  to  nominate  candidates  for  any  office,  it  passes  a 
resolution  setting  forth  that  no  one  except  white  Democrats  will  be 
allowed  to  vote  in  that  election.  This  county  executive  committee  is 
generally  made  up  of  the  political  bosses  of  the  county,  —  the  ones  who 
are  looking  forward  to  the  loaves  and  fishes.    Why  not  let  colored  Dem- 


276  HISTORICAL   AND  POLITICAL. 

ocrats  vote  in  a  primary  election?  The  politician  says  to  himself: 
"  That  would  never  do ;  for  then  we  would  soon  have  the  negro  vote 
divided,  and  the  bugaboo  of  negro  supremacy  would  vanish  like  the 
mist  before  the  sunshine,  and  my  occupation,  like  Othello's,  would  be 
forever  gone." 

Judging  from  the  signs  of  the  times,  the  professional  partisan 
politicians,  both  South  and  North,  have  had  their  day,  and  honest, 
good  men  will  soon  rise  up  and  administer  the  affairs  of  this  nation 
in  the  interest  of  right  and  justice.  Henry  W.  Grady  uttered  the  true 
sentiments  of  the  great  mass  of  the  Southern  people,  especially  the 
farmers,  when,  in  his  speech  before  the  New  England  Society  of  New 
York,  he  gave  utterance  to  the  following  eloquent  extract  taken  from 
that  speech :  — 

"  But  what  of  the  negro?  Have  we  solved  the  problem  he  presents,  or  progressed 
in  honor  and  equity  toward  solution?  Let  the  record  speak  to  the  point.  No  section 
shows  a  more  prosperous  laboring  population  than  the  negroes  of  the  South;  none 
in  fuller  sympathy  with  the  employing  and  landowning  class..  He  shares  our  school 
fund,  has  the  fullest  protection  of  our  laws  and  the  friendship  of  our  people.  Self- 
interest,  as  well  as  honor,  demands  that  he  should  have  this.  Our  future,  our  very 
existence,  depends  upon  our  working  out  this  problem  in  full  and  exact  justice.  We 
understand  that,  when  Lincoln  signed  the  emancipation  proclamation,  your  victory 
was  assured,  for  he  then  committed  you  to  the  cause  of  human  liberty,  against  which 
the  arms  of  man  cannot  prevail  [applause]  —  while  those  of  our  statesmen  who 
trusted  to  make  slavery  the  corner-stone  of  the  Confederacy  doomed  us  to  defeat  as 
far  as  they  could,  committing  us  to  a  cause  that  reason  could  not  defend  or  the  sword 
maintain  in  the  sight  of  advancing  civilization.     [Renewed  applause.] 

"  Had  Mr.  Toombs  said,  which  he  did  not  say,  '  that  he  would  call  the  roll  of  his 
slaves  at  the  foot  of  Bunker  Hill,'  he  would  have  been  foolish,  for  he  might  have 
known  that  whenever  slavery  became  entangled  in  war  it  must  perish,  and  that  the 
chattel  in  human  flesh  ended  "forever  in  New  England  when  your  fathers  —  not  to  be 
blamed  for  parting  with  what  didn't  pay  —  sold  their  slaves  to  our  fathers  —  not  to 
be  praised  for  knowing  a  paying  thing  when  they  saw  it.  [Laughter.]  The  rela- 
tions of  the  Southern  people  with  the  negro  are  close  and  cordial.  We  remember 
with  what  fidelity  for  four  years  he  guarded  our  defenceless  women  and  children, 
whose  husbands  and  fathers  were  fighting  against  his  freedom.  To  his  eternal  credit 
be  it  said  that,  whenever  he  struck  a  blow  for  his  own  liberty  he  fought  in  open  battle, 
and  when  at  last  he  raised  his  black  and  humble  hands  that  the  shackles  might  be 
struck  off,  those  hands  were  innocent  of  wrong  against  his  helpless  charges,  and 
worthy  to  be  taken  in  loving  grasp  by  every  man  who  honors  loyalty  and  devotion. 
[Applause.]  Ruffians  have  maltreated  him,  rascals  have  misled  him,  philanthropists 
established  a  bank  for  him,  but  the  South,  with  the  North,  protests  against  injustice 
to  this  simple  and  sincere  people.  To  liberty  and  enfranchisement  is  as  far  as  law 
can  carry  the  negro.  The  rest  must  be  left  to  conscience  and  common  sense.  It 
must  be  left  to  those  among  whom  his  lot  is  cast,  with  whom  he  is  indissolubly  con- 
nected, and  whose  prosperity  depends  upon  their  possessing  his  intelligent  sympathy 
aud  confidence.     Faith  has  been  kept  with  him  in  spite  of  calumnious  assertions  to 


THE   RACE   PROBLEM.  277 

the  contrary,  by  those  who  assume  to  speak  for  us,  or  by  frank  opponents.  Faith 
will  be  kept  with  him  in  the  future,  if  the  South  holds  her  reason  and  integrity. 
[Applause.]  " 

The  above  was  delivered  before  a  Northern  audience ;  and  to  show 
that  Mr.  Grady  was  perfectly  sincere  in  every  word  he  said  on  this 
subject,  I  will  now  give  an  extract  from  a  speech  delivered  by  him  at 
the  Augusta,  Georgia,  Exposition,  in  1889,  which  is  as  follows :  — 

"  As  for  the  negro,  let  us  impress  upon  him  what  he  already  knows,  that  his  best 
friends  are  the  people  among  whom  he  lives,  whose  interests  are  one  with  his,  and 
whose  prosperity  depends  on  his  perfect  contentment.  Let  us  give  him  his  uttermost 
rights,  and  measure  out  justice  to  him  in  that  fulness  the  strong  should  always  give 
to  the  weak.  Let  us  educate  him  that  he  may  be  a  better,  a  broader,  and  more 
enlightened  man.  Let  us  lead  him  in  steadfast  ways  of  citizenship,  that  he  may  not 
longer  be  the  sport  of  the  thoughtless,  and  the  prey  of  the  unscrupulous.  Let  us 
inspire  him  to  follow  the  example  of  the  worthy  and  upright  of  his  race,  who  may 
be  found  in  every  community,  and  who  increase  steadily  in  numbers  and  influence. 
Let  us  strike  hands  with  him  as  friends  —  and  as  in  slavery  we  led  him  to  heights 
which  his  race  in  Africa  had  never  reached,  so  in  freedom  let  us  lead  him  to  a  pros- 
perity of  which  his  friends  in  the  North  have  not  dreamed.  Let  us  make  him  know 
that  he,  depending  more  than  any  other  on  the  protection  and  bounty  of  govern- 
ment, shall  find  in  alliance  with  the  best  elements  of  the  whites,  the  pledge  of  safe 
and  impartial  administration.  And  let  us  remember  this — that  whatever  wrong  we 
put  on  him  shall  return  to  punish  us.  Whatever  we  take  from  him  in  violence,  that 
is  unworthy  and  shall  not  endure.  What  we  steal  from  him  in  fraud,  that  is  worse. 
But  what  we  win  from  him  in  sympathy  and  affection,  what  we  gain  in  his  confiding 
alliance,  and  confirm  in  his  awakening  judgment,  that  is  precious  and  shall  endure  — 
and  out  of  it  shall  come  healing  and  peace.     [Applause.]  " 

Every  time  the  partisan  politician  speaks  on  this  subject  he  purposely 
complicates  and  makes  it  worse ;  but  thanks  to  an  all-wise  Providence 
for  the  power  that  now  rests  in  the  hands  of  the  Farmers'  Alliance, 
which  has  taken  up  this  great  question  where  the  noble  Grady  laid  it 
down.  Until  the  advent  of  the  Farmers'  AlHance  and  Industrial  Union 
and  the  Colored  Farmers,  the  negroes,  as  a  class,  have  taken  but  very 
little  interest  in  politics  for  several  years.  They  lost  their  former  faith 
in  politics  and  politicians,  which  was  very  natural  to  one  acquainted 
with  the  fact  that  they  had  always  been  loyal  partisans,  and  for  their 
devotion  and  zeal  they  had  been  paid  off  with  a  few  appointments  as 
postmasters  in,  most  generally,  third  or  fourth-class  post-offices. 

Since  the  negroes  have  been  organized  into  the  Farmers'  Alliance, 
they  have  made  considerable  progress  in  the  study  of  economic  ques- 
tions, and,  judging  from  the  utterances  of  their  leaders,  they  are  willing 
and  anxious  to  sever  all  past  party  affiliations,  and  join  hands  with  the 
white  farmers  of  the  South  and  West  in  any  movement  looking  to  a 


278  HISTORICAL  AND  POLITICAL. 

betterment  of  their  condition.  The  white  farmers  of  the  South,  while 
they  are  more  reluctant  to  cut  loose  from  party,  are  perfectly  willing  and 
ready  to  take  the  negro  by  the  hand  and  say  to  him  :  We  are  citizens 
of  the  same  great  country  ;  we  have  the  same  foes  to  face,  the  same  ills 
to  bear ;  therefore  our  interests  as  agriculturists  are  one,  and  we  will 
co-operate  with  you,  and  defend  and  protect  you  in  all  your  rights. 

In  proof  of  the  above,  I  will  simply  submit  the  agreement  entered 
into  by  the  National  Farmers'  Alliance  and  Industrial  Union  and  the 
Colored  National  Farmers'  Alliance  and  Co-operative  Union,  at  their 
meetings  in  the  city  of  Ocala,  Florida,  on  the  second  day  of  December, 
1890,  which  is  as  follows  :  — 

"  Your  committee  on  above  beg  leave  to  report  that  vv^e  visited  the  Colored  Farm- 
ers' National  Alliance  and  Co-operative  Union  Committee,  and  were  received  with  the 
utmost  cordiality,  and  after  careful  consultation  it  was  mutually  and  unanimously 
agreed  to  unite  our  orders  upon  the  basis  adopted  December  5,  1890,  a  basis  between 
the  National  Farmers'  Alliance  and  Industrial  Union  and  the  Farmers'  Mutual  Benefit 
Association  ;  to  adopt  the  St.  Louis  platform  as  a  common  basis,  and  pledge  our 
orders  to  work  faithfully  and  earnestly  for  the  election  of  legislators,  State  and 
national,  who  will  enact  the  laws  to  carry  out  the  demands  of  said  platform  ;  and  to 
more  effectually  carry  it  into  effect  recommend  the  selection  of  five  men  from  each 
national  body,  two  of  whom  shall  be  the  president  and  secretary,  respectively,  who 
shall,  with  similar  committees  from  other  labor  organizations,  form  a  Supreme  Execu- 
tive Board,  who  shall  meet  as  often  as  may  be  deemed  necessary,  and  upon  the  joint 
call  of  a  majority  of  the  presidents  of  the  bodies  joining  the  confederation;  and  when 
so  assembled,  after  electing  a  chairman  and  secretary,  shall  be  empowered  to  do  such 
things  for  the  mutual  benefit  of  the  various  orders  they  represent  as  shall  be  deemed 
expedient;  and  shall,  when  officially  promulgated  to  the  national  officers,  be  binding 
upon  their  bodies  until  reversed  by  the  action  of  the  national  assemblies  themselves 
—  political,  educational,  and  commercial;  and  hereby  pledge  ourselves  to  stand 
faithfully  by  each  other  in  the  great  battle  for  the  enfranchisement  of  labor  and  the 
laborers  from  the  control  of  corporate  and  political  rings  ;  each  order  to  bear  its 
own  members'  expense  on  the  Supreme  Council,  and  be  entitled  to  as  many  votes  as 
they  have  legal  voters  in  their  organization.  We  recommend  and  urge  that  equal 
facilities,  educational,  commercial,  and  political,  be  demanded  for  colored  and  white 
Alliance  men  alike,  competency  considered,  and  that  a  free  ballot  and  a  fair  count 
will  be  insisted  upon  and  had,  for  colored  and  white  alike,  by  every  true  Alliance 
man  in  America.  We  further  recommend  that  a  plan  of  district  Alliances,  to  con- 
form to  district  Alliances  provided  for  in  this  body,  be  adopted  by  every  order  in 
confederation,  with  a  district  lecturer,  and  county  Alliances  organized  in  every  county 
possible,  and  that  the  lecturers  and  officers  of  said  district  and  counties  co-operate 
with  each  other  in  conventional,  business,  educational,  commercial,  and  political 
matters." 

After  the  above  agreement  was  entered  into,  the  following  communi- 
cation was  received  from  the  Colored  National  Farmers'  Alliance  and 
Co-operative  Union :  — 


THE   RACE   PROBLEM.  279 


"  To  the  National  Farmers^  Alliance  and  Industrial  Union,  convened  at  Ocala 
December  3,  1890:  Alliance  and  Co-operative  Union  recognizes  your  fraternal  greet- 
ing ;  gladly  do  we  accept  your  right  hand,  and  pledge  ourselves  to  the  fullest  co-oper- 
ation and  confederation  in  all  essential  things." 

To  one  who  feels  a  deep  interest  in  this  matter,  this  looks  more  like 
a  step  in  the  direction  of  settling  this  question  in  the  South  than  any- 
thing that  has  ever  been  done  since  the  question  existed. 

"  God  moves  in  a  mysterious  way,  his  wonders  to  perform,"  and  who 
knows  but  that  he  has  raised  up  a  Moses,  in  the  person  of  these  farmers* 
organizations,  to  lead  us  out  of  these  our  troubles  ?    So  mote  it  be. 


CHAPTER   X. 

THE    POLITICAL    REBELLION    IN    KANSAS. 

By  Hon.  Jerry  Simpson,  Member  of  Congress   from   the  Seventh  District 

OF  Kansas. 

In  the  campaign  of  the  fall  of  1890,  in  Kansas,  a  new  party  sprang 
into  power,  which  gained  strength  with  a  rapidity  never  before  equalled. 
What  was  the  cause  that  produced  this  sudden  rebellion  against  the 
Republican  party  ?  What  was  the  cause  of  the  uprising  of  the  farmers, 
and  what  is  the  remedy  for  the  evils  of  which  they  complain?  All 
these  are  questions  pressing  for  answers ;  in  fact,  they  must  be  answered 
correctly,  and  the  remedy  be  applied,  if  this  government  is  to  continue 
to  be  a  free  government  by  the  people.  It  is  not  always  safe,  perhaps, 
to  trust  a  sick  man  to  diagnose  his  own  case  ;  neither  can  you  trust  to 
quacks  who  profess  to  cure  all  ills  to  which  flesh  is  heir  with  one  quack 
remedy. 

We  seem  to  have  once  again  entered  one  of  those  periods  in  which 
nations  have  been  confronted  with  these  same  questions :  like  the  riddle 
of  the  Sphynx,  not  to  answer  was  to  be  destroyed.  Never  before  in  the 
history  of  the  world  were  there  such  momentous  questions ;  never 
before  in  .the  history  of  the  world  was  the  welfare  of  the  human  race  so 
bound  up  in  the  solving  of  these  problems.  We  must  now  and  here 
settle  whether  or  not  we  are  capable  of  self  government.  We  must 
grapple  with,  and  master,  this  monster  which  has  eaten  up  the  substance 
of  the  producers  of  wealth  in  every  land.  The  voters  of  Kansas  are  the 
best  representatives  of  the  agricultural  class  of  a  half-dozen  of  the  best 
agricultural  States  in  the  Union ;  they  have  come  West  to  better  their 
condition ;  they  are  a  part  of  that  great  throng  which  is  always  pressing 
ahead  into  new  countries,  trying  to  escape  the  oppression  of  the  men 
who  live  off  their  labor ;  but  they  find  that  in  Kansas,  as  in  other  States, 
it  is  impossible  to  get  from  under  the  load  which  is  continually  being 
shifted  upon  their  shoulders,  and  which  grows  heavier  from  year  to  year. 
They  have  found  that,  in  the  last  twenty-five  years,  the  country,  under 
the  control  of  the  great  Republican  party,  has  passed  into  the  hands  of 
the  money  power,  the  capitalists  of  the  country,  who  have  doubled  the 
oppression  of  the  agricultural  classes.  Having  cried  in  vain  for  relief 
through  the  Republican  and  Democratic  parties,  they  are  at  last  driven 
280 


HONORABLE  JERRY   SIMPSON. 


M.  C,  Seventh   District  of  Kansas. 


i 


POLITICAL   REBELLION  IN  KANSAS.  281 

to  desperation,  and  have  resolved  to  take  the  political  management  of 
the  State  into  their  own  hands.  Out  of  the  necessity  to  adjust  these 
questions  grew  up  the  Alliance  movement  in  Kansas. 

They  began  to  inquire  how  it  is  that  in  this  new  State,  with  its  bound- 
less resources,  improved  machinery,  skilled  labor,  and  its  improved 
means  of  transportation,  the  farmers  are  getting  deeper  in  debt  each 
year ;  that  this  new  State,  that  twenty-five  years  ago  was  without  debt, 
is  now  so  hopelessly  encumbered  that  it  would  not  sell  for  enough  to 
pay  its  debts.  This  certainly  is  not  caused  by  the  failure  of  crops,  for 
the  crop  of  Kansas  will  average  with  that  of  any  other  State  in  the 
Union ;  and  Kansas  has  each  year  a  surplus  of  wheat,  corn,  hogs,  and 
cattle. 

Some  of  our  public  men  have  said  that  it  was  over-production,  that 
we  have  been  raising  too  much  wheat,  corn,  hogs,  and  cattle  for  the 
world's'use.  Others  have  said  that  it  is  because  the  farmers  are  too 
extravagant.  Others  that  they  are  idle  and  spend  their  time  in  talking 
politics.  Others  that  the  farmers  do  not  employ  the  best  methods  of 
farming,  and  do  not  understand  how  to  make  the  soil  produce  the  most 
with  the  smallest  amount  of  land  and  labor.  All  of  which  is  contra- 
dictory and  unsatisfactory,  and  we  must  look  further  for  the  true  cause. 
They  made  the  discovery  after  they  had  lighted  the  lights  in  school- 
houses  and  began  to  study  and  discuss  these  economic  questions. 
They  learned  that  what  a  farmer  wants  when  he  raises  a  crop  of  com 
and  wheat  and  other  products  of  the  farm,  is  to  trade  his  surplus  of  such 
products  for  the  things  which  he  needs ;  that  he  must  produce  on  his 
farm  what  he  must  exchange  for  the  products  of  the  manufacturer,  and 
turn  them  into  money  value,  which  represents  the  value  of  all  articles. 
He  found  that,  under  the  present  system  of  trade,  he  was  prevented 
from  making  this  exchange  with  the  men  who  would  give  him  the  best 
bargain  ;  that  he  would  be  fined,  in  fact,  from  forty-seven  to  fifty-two  per 
cent  for  his  trade,  and  compelled  to  trade  in  the  market  where  there  is 
no  competition,  where  competition  has  been  destroyed  by  laws  passed 
in  the  interest  of  the  manufacturer ;  and  through  these  laws  he  is  forced 
to  bargain  with  the  men  who  will  give  him  the  least  of  the  things  he 
wants  for  the  greatest  amount  of  the  things  which  he  does  not  want, 
and  so  he  grows  poorer  and  poorer  from  year  to  year  and  consumes 
less.  As  this  goes  on,  the  manufacturer  making  the  articles  the  far;ner 
should  consume  soon  learns  that  his  custom  is  falling  off,  and  that  he 
must  reduce  the  number  of  his  employees  and  the  wages  of  those  retained. 
The  laborers  thus  thrown  out  of  employment  must  also  reduce  their 
expenses,  and  are  forced  to  use  less  of  the  products  of  the  farm  and 


282  HISTORICAL  AND  POLITICAL, 

factory.  In  this  way  is  brought  about  vvliat  the  poHtical  wiseacres  call 
an  over-production,  which  is  in  fact  under-consumption.  There  is  an 
over-production  of  too  many  farmers,  laborers,  manufacturers,  profes- 
sional men,  merchants,  railroads  ;  in  fact,  too  many  of  everybody.  There 
are  particularly  too  many  fools  who  vote  to  keep  up  such  a  system  of 
government,  which  obstructs  trade  and  progress,  and  brings  poverty  and 
distress  upon  the  whole  land. 

Then,  again,  when  the  farmer  sends  his  surplus  to  market  the  rail- 
roads lie  in  wait  for  him.  In  effecting  his  exchange  he  must  use  this 
great  public  highway,  and  he  finds  that  what  should  be  a  public  blessing 
is  turned  into  an  engine  of  oppression,  and  that  all  the  benefits  growing 
out  of  this  great  invention  are  given  to  the  large  corporations,  which  are 
enabled  to  rob  the  people  through  special  privileges  granted  by  laws 
passed  by  a  Congress  whose  election  has  been  secured  by  the  free  use 
of  money  wrung  from  the  people  by  the  charge  upon  watered  stock. 

Another  cause  of  poverty  among  the  farmers  is  our  system  of  indirect 
taxation.  Under  this  system  a  man  is  taxed  on  what  he  spends,  and  as 
the  average  income  of  the  Western  farmer  is  not  more  than  ^500  per 
annum,  he  spends  at  least  $350  of  this  to  support  his  family.  One-third 
of  this  is  taken  from  him  by  indirect  taxation,  or  in  bounties  to  capital- 
ists or  rich  corporations.  The  balance  of  his  income  is  used  up  in 
paying  State  and  municipal  taxes.  To  cover  this  loss  that  falls  upon  him 
from  year  to  year,  he  is  forced  to  take  out  a  mortgage  on  his  farm. 
Then  it  is  that  he  falls  a  prey  to  the  grandest  robber  of  them  all,  the 
loan  agent  or  shark,  who  demands  upon  a  mortgage  of  S500,  in  some 
instances,  as  high  as  twenty  per  cent  for  securing  the  loan,  and  from 
ten  to  fifteen* per  cent  for  insuring  the  small  buildings  on  the  farm,  and 
then  raises  doubts  about  the  claimant's  right  to  prove  up  on  it  at  the 
land-office,  and  extracts  ten  or  fifteen  per  cent  for  securing  the  poor 
settler's  title  to  the  land  upon  which  he  has  lived  and  worked  hard  for 
over  five  years,  in  accordance  with  the  homestead  law. 

The  farmer,  of  course,  demurs  at  this  exaction;  but  the  time  has 
come  when  he  must  buy  improved  machinery,  and  pay  debts  previously 
contracted,  and  the  government  fees  at  the  land-office  before  he  can 
prove  up.  He  and  his  wife,  fearing  that  they  must  give  up  the  fruits  of 
their  labor  and  struggles  to  build  up  a  new  home,  sign  the  papers,  and, 
after  the  Shylock's  exactions,  receive  from  two  to  three  hundred  dollars 
out  of  the  ^500  twelve  per  cent  mortgage,  and  divide  the  balance  of 
the  swag  between  the  loan  agent  and  the  banker,  who  sells  the  mortgage, 
knowing  how  it  has  been  obtained,  to  his  neighbors,  friends,  or  kinsmen 
in  the  East,  for  the  full  face  of  the  mortgage,  and  swaggers  around  town 


POLITICAL  REBELLION  IN  KANSAS.  283 

as  a  great  financier.  The  mortgage  usually  contains  the  provisions  that 
the  buildings  shall  be  kept  insured,  and  the  taxes  paid  on  the  farm,  or 
foreclosure  and  eviction  can  be  summarily  enforced  on  the  settler,  leav- 
ing him  and  his  family,  with  his  homestead  rights  to  take  up  public  land 
gone,  in  a  strange  land  without  home  or  friends. 

How  could  it  be  possible  under  such  a  system  that  the  rich  should 
fail  to  grow  richer  and  the  men  of  moderate  means  should  rapidly  fall 
into  the  ranks  of  the  extremely  poor?  Then  is  it  any  wonder  that  the 
men  who  followed  "  old  John  Brown  "  into  Kansas,  on  the  principle  that 
it  was  wrong  to  rob  the  black  man  of  the  fruits  of  his  toil,  should  rebel 
when  their  own  welfare  is  at  stake  ?  It  can  easily  be  seen  that,  after 
waiting  year  after  year  for  the  Republican  party  to  come  to  their  relief, 
and  each  succeeding  year  seeing  relief  further  off,  and  that  the  State 
had  fallen  into  the  hands  of  the  worst  political  crew  that  ever  cursed 
any  country,  under  the  domineering  rule  of  this  arrogant  party,  con- 
trolled by  this  aristocratic  ring  of  political  office-seekers,  who  cared  only 
for  their  own  advancement,  forbearance  ceased  to  be  a  virtue,  and  the 
farmers  were  wise  in  resolving  to  take  charge  of  things  themselves. 
They  made  the  discovery  that  for  long  years  they  had  been  blinded  to 
their  own  interests  by  designing  politicians,  who  kept  alive  the  old  war 
issues  and  prejudices.  They  resolved  to  cast  aside  the  chief  apostle  of 
this  doctrine  of  hate,  John  J.  Ingalls,  and  thereby  set  an  example  to  the 
rest  of  the  country,  particularly  to  the  South.  They  saw  that  new  issues 
would  be  brought  to  the  front  that  were  pressing  for  adjustment ;  there- 
fore it  was  time  to  bury  the  old  ones.  With  this  new  declaration  of 
independence,  called  the  "St.  Louis  Demands,"  they  commenced  a 
political  revolution  that  bids  fair  to  sweep  from  one  end  of  the  country 
to  the  other,  and  drive  from  place  and  power  the  men  who  fattened 
upon  the  labor  of  the  people.  That  this  will  be  no  easy  task  all  history 
will  testify ;  for  the  oppressor  never  lets  go  without  a  struggle,  whether 
he  wields  his  power  through  military  force,  the  Church,  by  controlling 
money,  trade,  commerce,  transportation,  through  cunningly  devised 
schemes  of  legislation,  or  by  holding  men  in  chattel  slavery.  All  history 
proves  that  this  is  the  selfish,  brutal  part  of  the  human  race,  which  knows 
no  law  but  force. 

Now  this  rebellion  in  Kansas  is  against  this  principle.  The  people 
have  been  driven  to  it  by  oppression  from  the  moneyed  class  of  this 
country.  They  have  served  notice  upon  the  poHticians  of  the  country 
that,  from  this  time  on,  the  farmers  of  this  country  are  going  to  take 
a  hand  in  its  politics. 


CHAPTER    XL 

THE    NEEDS    OF    THE    SOUTH. 

By  Hon.  L.  F.  Livingston,  Member  of  Congress  from  Georgia,  and  Presi- 
dent OF  THE  Georgia  State  Alliance. 

The  needs  of  the  South  are  peculiar,  rendered  so  by  a  combination 
of  circumstances  that  the  outside  world  is  slow  to  understand.  No  other 
civilized  and  Christianized  people  have  been  so  misunderstood  and  mis- 
judged. Since  the  war  between  the  States,  the  magazine  correspondents, 
newspaper  scribblers,  and  politicians,  combined  with  those  who  knew 
the  former  power  and  greatness  of  the  South  socially,  politically,  and 
financially,  and  actuated  purely  by  prejudice  and  jealousy,  were  deter- 
mined that  her  reconstruction  should  never  lead  to  her  former  prestige. 
These  have  all  placed  the  South  and  her  environments  before  an  inquir- 
ing world  in  a  false  light.  Nothing  has  been  given  so  freely,  "  without 
money  and  without  price,"  to  the  struggling  South  as  advice.  This,  as 
usual,  comes  from  people  either  ignorant  of  our  needs  or  wilfully  opposed 
to  the  betterment  of  our  condition,  and  has  proven  as  worthless  as 
gratuitous. 

It  would  prove  an  interesting  chapter  in  the  history  of  the  South  if 
this  intermeddling  in  detail,  and  the  real  condition  of  the  people,  could 
be  spread  out  before  the  civilized  world.  To  do  so  in  this  article  would 
neither  be  appropriate  nor  consistent  with  the  object  for  which  it  is 
written. 

We  often  come  to  correct  conclusions  more  readily  by  looking  at  the 
negative  side  of  a  proposition.  There  are  many  things  the  South  does 
not  and  never  will  need,  and  there  are  other  things  that  she  may,  in  her 
future  development,  require  that  are  inopportune  now.  There  are  two 
great  questions  that  effect  her  interest :  What  are  her  present  and  pos- 
sible needs  ?  and  how  are  they  to  be  obtained  ?  To  present  this  more 
clearly,  we  reassert,  first,  the  things  she  does  not  need  should  be  shown. 

The  South  does  not  need  a  moneyless  immigration.  This  has  been  a 
wild  and  visionary  demand,  both  from  home  and  abroad.  The  day  may 
come  when  such  immigration  would  be  profitable.  At  this  time  it  is  a 
struggle  on  our  part  to  decently  support  and  educate  the  present  popu- 
lation. Immigration,  to  be  profitable  to  a  country  or  section,  must  find 
an  open  road  to  labor,  and  cheap  and  ready  means  of  supplying  their 
284 


HONORABLE    L    F.    LIVINGSTON, 


M.  C,   Fifth  District,  Georgia. 


NEEDS    OE  THE  SOUTH.  285 

present  necessities.  To  be  contented  and  useful,  their  social  and  politi- 
cal surroundings  must  be  to  some  extent  similar  to  those  formerly 
enjoyed.  To  be  prosperous,  they  must  find  reasonable  compensation 
from  the  output  of  their  labor.  None  of  these  circumstances  would 
meet  the  moneyless  immigrant  in  the  South. 

It  has  been  said  of  some  of  the  populous  European  countries,  thati 
their  greatest  need  was  "more  room  and  fresh  air."  This  cannot  be 
said  of  the  South.  We  have  millions  of  acres  of  fertile  lands  lying 
waste,  and  our  cHmate  is  all  that  could  be  desired.  Proper  cultivation 
of  the  soil  produces  the  varied  cereals  and  fruits  necessary  to  existfence, 
health,  and  comfort  of  the  human  family.  Peculiar  to  this  South-land 
we  have  the  cotton  crop,  upon  which  the  world  depends  largely  for 
cheap  and  durable  fabrics.  Nor  do  we  need  brains.  The  history  of 
this  country  clearly  demonstrates  that,  from  colonial  days  to  the  present 
time,  Southern  men  and  Southern  women  have  stood  in  the  foremost 
rank,  whether  in  the  councils  of  the  nation,  in  the  pulpit,  on  the  battle- 
field, telling  the  secrets  of  science,  or  tilling  the  soil.  Our  men  have 
proven  themselves  equal  to  every  emergency,  and  our  women  have 
been  the  admiration  of  the  world  for  their  hospitahty,  modesty,  and 
intelHgence. 

With  very  few  exceptions,  she  does  not  need  additional  transportation. 
Our  whole  country  is  checkered  with  railroad  Hnes.  We  are  surrounded, 
on  the  east  and  south,  by  the  Atlantic  and  Gulf  coasts,  our  great  rivers 
penetrating  the  same,  their  navigable  currents  spreading  themselves  out 
over  our  vast  territory. 

To  arrange  and  display  the  needs  of  the  South  in  their  order  as  to 
importance,  we  believe  that  the  Alliance  has  well  stated  them :  First, 
we  need  education.  I  use  this  word  in  its  true  and  broad  sense.  Our 
people,  since  the  war  closed,  have  had  but  little  opportunity,  and  less 
financial  ability,  for  thought  and  study  than  any  people  in  modern  his- 
tory. Outside  of  our  cities  and  towns,  our  system  of  popular  education 
has  been  largely  a  farce.  This  has  depopulated  the  rural  districts  to  a 
large  extent,  and  crowded  the  thoroughfares  of  our  cities,  where  a  better 
system  usually  obtains.  Of  all  the  burdens  a  people  can  bear,  in  the 
way  of  taxes,  ignorance  far  surpasses  all  others.  We  need,  therefore,  in 
the  South  a  thorough,  practical,  and  economical  system  of  common- 
school  education. 

The  development  of  the  South  means  a  development  of  the  rural  sec- 
tions. To  do  this  there  must  be  an  inducement  held  out  to  those  who 
are  domiciled  outside  of  the  cities  and  towns.  By  nature  we  are  shut 
up  largely  to  the  pursuit  of  agriculture,  and  no  greater  mistake  can  be 


286  HISTORICAL  AND  POLITICAL. 

made  with  our  people  than  to  conclude  that  the  manufactories  of  the 
world  or  this  country  can  or  should  be  transferred  to  this  locality.  God 
never  intended  that  one  simple  section  of  this  world  should  ever  be 
independent  of  other  sections.  We  are  tied  together  thus  by  nature, 
and  the  largest  amount  of  happiness  and  prosperity  depends  upon  the 
freedom  and  interchange  of  ideas  and  products ;  and  when  friendship 
reigns  supreme  between  the  States  in  this  Union,  then  will  this  inter- 
change of  ideas  become  universal  and  profitable ;  and  when  absolute 
control  by  the  government  of  the  transportation  of  this  country  can  be 
had,  then  an  interchange  of  products,  with  the  greatest  possible  profit  to 
the  producer,  with  no  gambling  or  speculative  prices  to  the  consumer, 
will  demonstrate  that  the  products  of  the  one  section  so  peculiarly 
adapted  thereto  can  be  exchanged  with  other  sections  at  a  profit. 
These  conditions,  therefore,  are  necessary  to  the  development  of  the 
agricultural  South.  We  need  a  diversified  agriculture  to  that  extent,  at 
least,  that  will  cover  the  absolute  necessities  of  life.  This  is  rendered 
vital  on  account  of  the  fact  that  transportation  and  gambling  in  prices 
—  setting  one  side  the  question  of  supply  and  demand  —  are  in  the 
hands  of  those  whose  motto  seems  to  be  to  enrich  themselves  at  the 
sacrifice  of  the  people.  No  country  in  the  world  will  admit  of  greater 
diversity  as  to  the  necessities  of  life,  and  to  this  extent  no  people  are 
wise  and  provident  who  discard  the  fact. 

We  need,  in  the  South,  justice  and  impartiahty  at  the  hands  of  our 
national  government.  Being  purely  an  agricultural  section,  the  burdens 
of  taxation  have  largely  fallen  on  our  people.  Indeed,  the  discrimina- 
tion in  favor  of  manufacturers,  shipping,  fisheries,  internal  transportation, 
capitaHsts,  gamblers,  and  speculators,  has  been  wicked  and  unlimited. 
This  the  South  demands  should  stop ;  and  with  the  help  of  the  people 
from  other  agricultural  sections  of  this  Union  we  are  determined  it 
shall  stop. 

We  need,  in  the  South,  a  monetary  system,  established  by  the  govern- 
ment, that  will  promote  and  protect  the  industries  of  the  South ;  (in  this 
we  have  a  common  lot  with  all  industries  in  this  great  country ;)  a  finan- 
cial system  not  dependent  upon  that  of  European  countries,  a  system 
not  intended  primarily  to  facilitate  and  build  up  capitalists  from  abroad, 
but  a  currency  distinctly  constituted,  first  for  the  benefit  of  American 
citizens  and  American  enterprises ;  a  flexible  currency,  owned  and  con- 
trolled by  the  government,  not  to  be  expanded  or  contracted  by  capital- 
ists ;  a  currency  sufficient  in  volume  to  meet  the  demands  of  every  citi- 
zen of  the  country,  at  all  seasons  of  the  year ;  a  currency  to  be  regulated 
in  amount  only  by  the  demands  of  the  people  ;  a  currency  so  cheap  as 


NEEDS   OF  THE  SOUTH.  287 

to  force  capitalists,  and  those  who  have  the  largest  share  of  it,  to  embark 
in  useful  enterprises ;  a  currency  that  is  calculated  to  expand  and  foster 
the  industries  of  the  country  instead  of  promoting  isolated  and  sectional 
enterprises ;  a  currency  from  which  the  government  can  derive  sufficient 
revenue  to  enable  them  to  abolish  every  vestige  of  taxation  from  the 
necessities  and  conrforts  of  life ;  a  currency  that  will  not  interfere  with 
commercial  transactions  in  this  country. 

We  need,  in  the  South,  perfect  friendship,  political  and  financial,  with  j 
every  other  section  in  this  Union.     This  is  indispensable.     No  nation  j 
can  long  prosper  with  bickerings  and  strife  within.    But  while  legislation 
and  administration  of  law  in  favor  of  one  section  as  against  another,  or 
in  favor  of  one  class  as  against  another,  continues,  peace  will  never 
wreath  her  chain  around  this  land  of  ours.     "  Let  us  have  peace." 


CHAPTER   XII. 

HISTORY    OF   THE    COLORED    FARMERS*    NATIONAL    ALLIANCE    AND, 
CO-OPERATIVE    UNION. 

By  General  R.  M.  Humphrey,  Superintendent  of  the  Colored  Farmers' 
National  Alllance  and  Co-operative  Union. 

The  Colored  Farmers'  Alliance  had  its  origin  in  Texas.  The  first 
subordinate  Colored  Alliance  was  organized  in  Houston  County,  in  that 
State,  on  the  eleventh  day  of  December,  1886.  Immediately  following 
this,  a  number  of  others  were  organized  in  Houston  and  adjoining 
counties.  The  necessity  for  general  organization  soon  became  apparent. 
Accordingly  these  several  AUiances  chose  delegates  to  a  central  conven- 
tion, which  assembled  in  the  Good  Hope  Baptist  Church,  at  Weldon, 
on  the  twenty-ninth  day  of  the  same  month.  After  some  discussion 
and  earnest  prayer,  it  was  unanimously  agreed  that  union  and  organiza- 
tion had  become  necessary  to  the  earthly  salvation  of  the  colored  race. 

The  convention  then  proceeded  to  adopt  the  following  declaration  of 
principles :  — 

"I.  To  create  a  body  corporate  and  politic,  to  be  known  as  'The  Alliance  of 
Colored  Farmers  of  Texas.' 

"  2.  The  objects  of  this  corporation  shall  be :  (a)  To  promote  agriculture  and 
horticulture;  {b)  To  educate  the  agricultural  classes  in  the  science  of  economic 
government,  in  a  strictly  non-partisan  spirit,  and  to  bring  about  a  more  perfect  union 
of  said  classes;  {c)  To  develop  a  better  state  mentally,  morally,  socially,  and  finan- 
cially; (^)  To  create  a  better  understanding  for  sustaining  our  civil  officers  in  main- 
taining law  and  order;  (<?)  To  constantly  strive  to  secure  entire  harmony  and  good 
will  to  all  mankind,  and  brotherly  love  among  ourselves;  (/)  To  suppress  personal, 
local,  sectional,  and  national  prejudices,  and  all  unhealthful  rivalry  and  selfish  ambi- 
tion; {g)  To  aid  its  members  to  become  more  skilful  and  efficient  workers,  promote 
their  general  intelligence,  elevate  their  character,  protect  their  individual  rights;  the 
raising  of  funds  for  the  benefit  of  sick  or  disabled  members,  or  their  distressed 
families;  the  forming  a  closer  union  among  all  colored  people  who  may  be  eligible 
to  membership  in  this  association." 

This  declaration  was  promptly  signed  by  the  following  colored  men, 
being  all  the  delegates  present :  H.  J.  Spencer,  William  Armistead, 
R.  M.  Saddler,  Anthony  Turner,  T.  Jones,  N.  C.  Crawley,  J.  W.  Peters, 
Israel  McGilbra,  G.  W.  Coffey,  Green  Lee,  J.  J.  Shuffer,  Willis  Nichols, 
Jacob  Fairfax,  Abe  Fisher,  S.  M.  Montgomery,  John  Marshall.  - 
288 


GENERAL    R.    M.    HUMPHREY. 


COLORED  FARMERS'   ALLIANCE.  289 

J.  J.  Shuffer  was  elected  President,  and  H.  J.  Spencer,  Secretary. 
Suitable  committees  were  appointed  to  draft  a  constitution  and  by-laws, 
a  ritual,  and  a  form  of  charter.  After  receiving  the  reports  of  these 
committees,  it  was  agreed  that  the  Colored  Farmers'  Alliance  should  be 
a  secret  association. 

R,  M.  Humphrey  of  Lovelady  was  elected  General  Superintendent, 
and  to  him  was  committed  the  work  of  organization.  The  new  order 
had  no  money,  no  credit,  few  friends,  and  was  expected  to  reform  and 
regenerate  a  race  which,  from  long  endurance  of  oppression  and  chattel 
slavery,  had  become  exceedingly  besotted  and  ignorant. 

On  the  28th  of  February,  1887,  a  charter  was  obtained  under  the  laws 
of  Texas,  and  the  organization  assumed  definite  shape  as  The  Alliance 
of  Colored  Farmers.  The  work  now  spread  with  great  rapidity  over 
the  State  of  Texas,  and  was  soon  introduced  into  several  of  the  neigh- 
boring States.  The  colored  people  everywhere  welcomed  the  organizers 
with  great  delight,  and  received  the  Alliance  as  a  sort  of  second  eman- 
cipation. 

On  the  14th  of  March,  1888,  a  meeting  of  the  States  convened  at 
Lovelady,  Texas,  and  after  some  discussion,  agreed  to  charter  as  a 
trades-union,  in  accordance  with  the  laws  of  the  United  States.  The 
new  association  adopted  the  Texas  State  work,  with  only  such  changes  as 
were  necessary  to  give  it  national  character.  The  new  charter  was  duly 
filed  in  the  office  of  the  Recorder  of  Deeds  for  the  District  of  Colum- 
bia, in  compliance  with  the  laws  of  Congress,  and  will  be  found  recorded 
in  Book  IV.,  at  page  354,  Acts  of  Incorporation,  United  States  of  America. 
Under  this  new  arrangement,  the  Alliance  continued  to  thrive. 

About  this  time,  leading  minds  among  the  colored  people  in  the 
South  began  to  realize  the  importance  of  a  better  system  of  co-operation. 
They  were  desirous,  too,  of  utilizing  and,  as  far  as  possible,  extending 
the  benefits  of  their  organization.  The  national  trustees  addressed  the 
following  communication  to  the  general  superintendent :  — 

"Lovelady,  Texas,  July  20,  1888. 
"  To  the  General  Superintendent  of  the  Colored  Farmers'  National  Alliance. 

"  Sir  :  Upon  receipt  of  this  order  you  will  at  your  earliest  convenience  proceed 
to  establish  such  trading  post,  or  posts,  or  exchanges,  for  the  use  and  benefit  of  our 
order  in  the  several  States,  as  in  your  judgment  will  be  most  conducive  to  the  interests 
of  the  people.  We  leave  you  to  adopt  such  plans  as  in  your  opinion  will  be  most 
effective. 

"  With  much  respect  yours, 

"  J.  J.  Shuffer,  President. 
"  H.  J.  Spencer, 
"  Secretary  Colored  Farmers'.  National  Alliance 
and  Co-operative  Union!'' 


290  HISTORICAL   AND   POLITICAL. 

In  compliance  with  this  order,  exchanges  were  estabHshed  in  Hous- 
ton, Texas ;  New  Orleans,  Louisiana ;  Mobile,  Alabama ;  Charleston, 
South  Carolina ;  and  Norfollc,  Virginia.  These  institutions,  with  varying 
success,  are  still  in  existence,  and  have  accomplished  great  things  for 
the  elevation  of  the  colored  race.  Occupying  as  these  posts  do,  the 
greai  centres  of  the  country's  commerce,  we  are  not  without  hope  that 
they  will  be,  in  the  future  as  in  the  past,  well  supported  by  the  people. 
Our  method  in  their  estabhshment  is  this  :  An  assessment  of  ;^2.oo  is 
levied  upon  each  male  member  of  the  order,  within  prescribed  boun- 
daries, for  the  benefit  of  the  exchange  within  his  territory.  These  small 
amounts  paid  by  each  member  become  a  cash  capital  for  the  basis  of 
our  business  operations.  The  money  may  be  used  to  buy  a  stock  of 
bacon,  or  to  pay  off  a  mortgage,  and  being  at  once  replaced,  is  ready 
the  next  week  for  some  similar  investment.  Being  thus  often  turned 
over,  it  will,  in  a  year,  save  many  times  its  value  as  against  the  speculator, 
who  always  reckons  the  term  of  a  credit  at  twelve  months,  and  the  rate 
of  interest  at  fifty  to  one  hundred  per  cent,  though  the  actual  time  of 
such  credit  may  be  only  from  August  till  September. 

Again,  this  kind  of  cash  basis  is  not  exhausted  nor  exhaustible  ;  fifty 
or  a  hundred  years  hence  it  may  be  still  present  to  do  the  same  work 
it  is  now  doing  ;  or  should  the  Colored  Alliance  cease  or  become  extinct, 
the  funds  on  hand  might  be  turned  to  the  endowment  of  schools  or 
colleges  for  colored  youths,  and  so  render  a  perpetual  service  during  all 
time. 

With  the  beginning  of  1889  the  Alliance  established  a  weekly  news- 
paper, called  The  Natiofial  Alliance.  They  designed  it  for  the  prac- 
tical education  of  their  members.  It  has  been  reasonably  well  supported, 
and  is  still  published  weekly,  at  Houston,  Texas,  each  of  its  editions 
reaching  many  thousand  colored  families. 

At  this  writing,  Texas,  Louisiana,  Mississippi,  Alabama,  Florida,  Geor- 
gia, South  Carolina,  North  Carolina,  Virginia,  and  Tennessee  have  State 
Colored  Alliances,  working  under  State  charters.  Several  other  States 
expect  to  be  chartered  at  an  early  day,  while  organizations  of  greater 
or  less  extent  exist  in  more  than  twenty  States.  The  total  membership 
is  nearly  1,200,000,  of  whom  300,000  are  females,  and  150,000  males 
under  twenty-one  years  of  age,  leaving  750,000  adult  males. 

It  is  freely  admitted  by  all  that  the  colored  people  have  made  great 
strides  forward  in  intelligence,  morals,  and  financial  standing  during 
these  years  of  organization.  Thousands  of  their  public  free  schools 
have  been  wonderfully  improved  in  character  of  teaching,  and  the  dura- 
tion of  their  sessions  much  extended  by  the  combining  of  the  people. 


COLORED  FARMERS'    ALLIANCE,  291 

and  the  payment  by  each  member  of  the  Alliance  of  a  small  sum  in  the 
form  of  tuition.  Very  many  Alliance  academies  and  high  schools  have 
been  opened  in  various  sections  of  the  country.  In  not  a  few  com- 
munities the  people,  impelled  by  the  higher  cultivation  of  their  social 
instincts,  have  built  new  places  of  worship,  while  the  intellectual  and 
moral  grade  of  their  pastors  and  teachers  has  been  immeasurably 
advanced. 

The  relation  of  the  colored  people  in  the  South  to  their  white  neigh- 
bors had  been  long  a  question  of  the  last  importance  to  both  races. 
There  were  not  wanting  those  who  believed  in  race  conflict,  race  war, 
and  even  race  extermination.  These  beliefs  and  opinions  were  shared 
by  some  of  the  best  people  on  both  sides,  as,  perhaps,  painfully  inevit- 
able results  which  must  follow  from  existing  conditions ;  but  there  were 
others  who  were  in  apparent  haste  to  put  their  views  into  practical 
operation,  and  who,  if  judged  by  their  own  testimony,  were  ready  to 
baptize  their  prejudices  in  the  blood  of  their  fellow-beings,  and  dishonor 
themselves  by  the  destruction  of  their  country.  The  Alliances,  both 
colored  and  white,  were  organized  from  the  first  largely  with  a  view  to 
the  suppression  of  all  prejudices,  whether  national,  local,  sectional,  or 
race,  and  to  create  conditions  of  peace  and  good  will  among  all  the 
inhabitants  of  our  great  nation.  On  this  account  the  "  race  question  " 
was  from  the  beginning  a  matter  of  profoundest  interest  to  the  order. 
At  the  first  practicable  moment  steps  were  taken  looking  to  the  peaceful 
solution  of  that  much-vexed  and  intricate  problem. 

December  3,  1889,  the  representatives  of  the  Colored  Farmers'  Na- 
tional Alliance  convened  in  the  city  of  St.  Louis.  During  this  session 
they  were  visited  by  committees  of  fraternal  regard  from  the  Farmers 
and  Laborers'  Union,  the  Farmers'  Mutual  Benefit  Association,  and  the 
National  Farmers'  Alliance.  These  visits  were  acknowledged  with  the 
utmost  good  will,  so  that  the  messengers  from  the  several  brotherhoods 
were  looked  upon  rather  as  ministers  of  light  and  salvation.  Like  com- 
mittees were  appointed  from  our  body  to  visit  and  bear  our  good  will 
and  fraternal  greetings  to  these  several  organizations. 

Again,  in  Ocala,  Florida,  at  which  place  their  National  Council  was 
held  in  December,  1890,  they  were  visited  by  committees  from  the 
Farmers  and  Laborers*  Union,  and  by  officers  of  the  Knights  of  Labor, 
and  by  members  of  other  labor  associations.  They  appointed  com- 
mittees to  each  of  these  bodies,  as  bearers  of  their  good  will  and 
fraternal  regard.  They  further  proposed  the  holding  of  a  joint  meeting 
by  these  committees  to  form  an  association  or  confederation  of  the 
several  orders  represented,  for  purposes  of  mutual  protection,  co-opera- 


292  HISTORICAL  AND  POLITICAL. 

tion,  and  assistance.  The  committees,  in  their  joint  session,  found 
themselves  able  to  agree,  and  the  matter  of  their  agreement  being 
reported  back  to  their  several  orders,  was  heartily  indorsed  by  all  con- 
cerned. It  recognizes  common  citizenship,  assures  commercial  equality 
and  legal  justice,  and  pledges  each  of  the  several  organizations  for  the 
common  protection  of  all.  This  agreement  will  be  known  in  future  ages 
as  the  burial  of  race  conflict,  and  finally  of  race  prejudice.  Its  announce- 
ment has  fired  many  hearts  with  renewed  hope,  has  given  a  new  impetus 
to  progress  among  the  people,  and  will  exert  tremendous  inP/aences  in 
the  healing  of  sectional  and  national  misconceptions  and  prejudices 
throughout  the  entire  country. 

"Declaration  of   Purposes  of  the  Colored   Farmers'   National  Alliance 
AND  Co-operative  Union  of  the  United  States. 

"  The  seventh  section  of  the  charter  declares  the  object  of  this  corporation  shall 
be  to  elevate  the  colored  people  of  the  United  States,  by  teaching  them  to  love  their 
country  and  their  homes;  to  care  more  for  their  helpless  and  sick  and  destitute;  to 
labor  more  earnestly  for  the  education  of  themselves  and  their  children,  especially 
in  agricultural  pursuits. 

"  To  become  better  farmers  and  laborers,  and  less  w^asteful  in  their  methods  of 
living. 

"To  be  more  obedient  to  the  civil  law,  and  withdraw  their  attention  from  political 
partisanship. 

"  To  become  better  citizens,  and  truer  husbands  and  wives." 


COLONEL   BEN   TERRELL 


CHAPTER   XIII. 

THE    GROWTH    OF    THE   ALLIANCE. 

By  Ben  Terrell,  Past  National  Lecturer,  National  Farmers'  Alliance 
AND  Industrial  Union. 

The  Farmers'  Alliance  originated  in  the  Lampasas  County,  Texas,  in 
1875,  but  died  out  in  a  few  years.  In  1879  ^V.  T.  Baggett,  a  member 
Of  the  old  Alliance,  organized  in  Poolville,  Parker  County,  July  29,  the 
first  Sub-Alliance  of  the  great  organization  that  now  embraces  thirty- 
one  States  and  Territories,  and  whose  influence  is  now  being  felt  through- 
out the  nation.  Great  as  this  growth  in  numbers  has  been,  in  its  business 
eff'orts,  in  the  education  of  its  members  in  their  duties  as  citizens,  in 
rekindling  the  fires  of  patriotism,  in  its  general  ability  to  accomplish 
results,  the  growth  has  been  even  greater.  All  of  this  has  not  been 
accomplished  without  determined  and  intelligent  effort  on  the  part  of 
those  composing  the  rank  and  file  of  the  order,  and  to  the  earnest,  intel- 
ligent, and  faithful  workers  in  the  Sub- Alliances. 

From  the  organization  of  the  first  Sub- Alliance,  July  29,  1879,  the 
growth  was  slow,  not  so  much  from  the  opposition  it  encountered  from 
moneyed  and  partisan  interests  —  for  it  was  too  weak  to  provoke  their 
opposition ;  but  the  failure  of  the  Grange  and  the  general  apathy  of  the 
people  were  the  enemies  which  in  its  infancy  the  Alliance  was  compelled 
to  meet.  In  the  latter  part  of  1879  there  were  only  twelve  Sub- Alliances 
in  the  State. 

When  it  is  considered  that  it  required  five  years  to  arouse  sufficient 
interest  in  the  order  to  obtain  a  State  charter  and  devise  plans  to  extend 
it  throughout  the  State,  and  that  in  all  this  time  so  litde  had  been  accom- 
plished, we  may  well  be  amazed  at  the  persistent  determination  of  those 
hardy  frontiersmen,  the  pioneers  of  the  Alliance  in  Texas.  Knowing 
that  something  was  wrong,  that  labor  was  being  discriminated  against, 
that  the  doctrine  of  equal  rights  to  all  had  become  a  mere  theory,  and 
not  a  condition  in  government,  they  worked  on  doggedly,  determined 
to  restore  conditions  that  obtained  in  the  days  of  the  fathers  of  the 
nation. 

That  political  reform,  even  in  those  early  days,  was  the  grand  central 
idea  of  the  Alliance  movement,  is  made  more  than  manifest  by  their 
declaration  of  purposes.      From   August,    1884,    there    commenced   a 

293 


294  HISTORICAL   AND  POLITICAL, 

marvellous  growth  of  the  order,  and  at  the  next  meeting,  in  August, 
1885,  there  were  550  Sub-Alliances  in  good  working  order.  The  great- 
est growth  of  the  order  in  Texas  was  from  August,  1885,  to  August,  1886. 
During  that  year  2200  Sub-Alliances  were  added,  making  the  number  of 
subs  in  the  State  2750. 

At  Cleburne,  August,  1886,  the  celebrated  Cleburne  Demands  were 
promulgated,  and  the  declaration  of  purposes  made  what  they  are  to-day ; 
and  from  that  time  on  the  Alliance  has  been  compelled  to  meet  the 
opposition  of  the  party  politicians,  and  those  who  were  interested  in  the 
continuation  of  class  laws. 

This  rapid  increase  in  number  continued,  and  at  the  called  meeting 
at  Waco  in  January,  1887,  there  were  between  three  and  four  thousand 
Sub-AUiances  in  Texas.  Up  to  this  time  the  order  had  not  extended 
beyond  the  State ;  but  the  time  had  now  come  when,  by  joining  with 
the  Farmers'  Union  of  Louisiana,  the  National  Farmers'  Alliance  and 
Co-operative  Union  was  formed. 

During  the  year  1889  the  Wheel  and  Alliance  were  consolidated,  and 
the  order  was  known  as  the  Farmers  and  Laborers'  Union.  Delegates 
were  elected  to  meet  on  the  third  day  of  December,  1889,  at  St.  Louis. 
From  December  3,  1889,  to  December  3, 1890,  the  growth  has  been  with- 
out a  parallel  in  the  history  of  the  world.  At  the  Ocala,  Florida,  meet- 
ing, December  2,  the  following  States  and  Territories  were  represented  : 
Arkansas,  Alabama,  Louisiana,  Mississippi,  Indiana,  Illinois,  Missouri, 
Georgia,  North  Carolina,  South  Carolina,  Texas,  Colorado,  Tennessee, 
Maryland,  Kansas,  Florida,  North  Dakota,  South  Dakota,  Kentucky, 
Pennsylvania,  Michigan,  Indian  Territory,  Virginia,  West  Virginia,  New 
York,  California,  with  the  order  started  in  ten  other  States.  The  mem- 
bership was,  at  that  time,  over  2,000,000. 

In  reviewing  the  progress  of  the  order,  these  truths  are  plainly  taught : 
First,  there  must  be  a  necessity ;  second,  the  objects  of  the  order  must 
be  just,  and  in  the  interest  of  those  sought  to  be  organized  ;  and  third, 
those  placed  in  control  must  be  patriots,  working  for  the  good  of  the 
whole,  and  not  personal  aggrandizement.  These  three  conditions  have 
so  far  been  met  by  the  Alliance.  To-day,  in  looking  *over  the  entire 
order,  I  can  see  no  sign  of  disintegration.  It  is,  as  a  whole,  stronger 
than  ever  before  ;  and  as  long  as  the  necessity  continues,  and  its  purity 
of  purpose  is  maintained,  the  Alliance  will  continue  to  grow  in  numbers 
and  power. 

Let  us  notice  the  progress  of  the  Alliance  in  the  accompHshment  of 
its  purpose,  as  at  first  declared,  — to  labor  for  the  education  of  the  agri- 
cultural classes  in  a  stfictly  non-partisan  spirit. 


GROWTH   OF  THE  ALLIANCE.  295 

When  the  AUiance  made  its  entrance  upon  the  world's  stage  of  action, 
it  found  the  farmers,  as  a  mass,  absolutely  devoid  of  interest  in,  or 
knowledge  of,  government.  They  had  tacitly  given  over  to  the  politician 
the  entire  control  of  economic  matters,  and,  as  a  rule,  voted  as  parti- 
sans, without  regard  to,  or  consideration  of,  the  consequences.  Preju- 
dice ruled  their  councils  instead  of  reason,  and  the  Alliance  found  them 
fighting  one  another  over  imagined  differences  that  had  no  real  exist- 
ence. It  would  be  hard  to  conceive  of  a  condition  seemingly  more 
hopeless ;  but  at  the  Cleburne  meeting  it  was  determined  by  the  Alli- 
ance —  as  farmers,  without  regard  to  party  —  to  make  known  its  wishes 
in  regard  to  the  policy  of  government,  and  to  that  end  the  celebrated 
Cleburne  Demands  were  made  and  published  to  the  world.^ 

Demands  i,  2,  3,  7,  8,  13,  upon  which  the  State  could  legislate,  have 
been  complied  with,  and  9,  so  far  as  to  greatly  improve  the  condition  from 
what  it  was  when  the  demand  was  made.  Demand  15  was  not  pressed 
by  the  State  Alliance,  they,  after  investigation,  concluding  that  it  would 
not  be  practicable.  Demand  14,  on  the  general  government,  has  been 
complied  with  in  name,  but  did  not  yield  the  results  demanded  and 
expected  of  it ;  and  so  it  is  continued,  and  finds  expression  in  the  pres- 
ent demand  in  regard  to  railroads,  promulgated  at  Ocala,  Florida,  on 
December  2,  1890.  Demands  10  and  11  form  the  basis  of  the  present 
demand  as  to  finance.  Demand  4  is  still  continued,  and  finds  expres- 
sion in  the  demand  opposing  the  alien  and  corporate  ownership  of  land. 
Demand  5,  to  prevent  dealing  in  futures,  is  still  urged.  Demand  6,  by 
the  action  of  Congress,  has  become  the  law. 

Thus  it  will  be  seen  that  all  the  demands  made  upon  the  State  have 
been,  in  whole  or  in  part,  complied  with.  Of  those  made  upon  the  gen- 
eral government,  numbers  6  and  12  have  been  acted  upon  favorably, 
and  we  now  have  the  Secretary  of  Agriculture  a  Cabinet  officer,  and  all 
lands  reclaimed  by  the  government  held  for  actual  settlers. 

When  these  demands  were  made  in  Texas,  the  Alliance  was  at  once 
bitterly  assailed  by  the  partisan  press,  as  a  dark-lantern,  secret,  political 
order,  dangerous  alike  to  the  liberties  of  the  people  and  the  best  inter- 
ests of  the  country.  Every  effort  was  made  to  cause  dissension  in  the 
ranks,  but  the  great  mass  of  the  Alliance  stood  firmly  by  its  demands. 

As  in  Texas,  so  in  every  State  it  has  had  the  same  conditions  to  meet. 
If  the  State  was  or  had  been  Republican,  then  it  was  a  Democratic  trick, 
and  the  same  torrent  of  abuse  was  heaped  upon  it  by  the  Republican 
papers  ;  if  Democratic,  it  was  abused  by  that  party. 

In  looking  back  over  the  past  four  and  a  half  years,  since  that  ever-to- 

1  See  page  41, 


01^ 


296  HISTORICAL   AND  POLITICAL. 

be-remembered  sixth  day  of  August,  1886  ;  taking  into  consideration  the 
fact  that  the  AlUance  has  had  no  money  and,  until  latterly,  no  papers  to 
champion  its  course ;  no  trained  speakers,  no  light  of  experience  by 
which  to  guide  its  course ;  relying  wholly  upon  the  honor,  integrity,  and 
patriotism  of  the  people ;  is  it  not  strange  that,  opposed  as  it  has  been 
by  the  combined  influence  of  money,  —  represented  by  the  national 
banking  system  and  railroad  corporations,  land  monopolies,  and  other 
privileged  interests,  which  it  has  boldly  attacked  and  defied,  —  the 
press,  with  all  of  its  power,  party  prejudices ;  with  all  of  this  opposition, 
I  repeat,  is  it  not  strange  that  it  even  existed  ?  It  is  more  wonderful 
still  that  it  has  attained  to  the  great  success  which  it  now  enjoys. 
History  cannot  show  a  parallel.  In  the  next  Congress  there  will  be 
forty  representatives,  and  four,  if  not  five,  senators  who  come  pledged 
to  its  national  demands.  It  has,  through  education,  —  by  discussion  in 
its  Sub-Alliances  upon  economic  questions,  —  made  its  power  felt 
throughout  the  entire  country.  It  is  gaining  in  numbers,  intelligence, 
and  influence,  with  a  rapidity  almost  incredible.  It  now  has  hundreds 
of  newspapers  defending  its  demands.  It  has  developed  from  its  own 
rank  journalists  of  the  highest  order,  and  thinkers  second  to  none.  Its 
public  speakers  are  now  legion,  and  among  them  are  some  of  the  most 
eloquent  and  logical  of  the  day.  Could  any  people  make  more  progress 
than  the  farmers  have  made  through  the  Alliance  in  the  last  four  years  ? 
In  that  time  the  Alliance  has  raised  the  farmer  from  a  class  absolutely 
without  influence  in  the  government,  to  one  with  more  power  to  mould 
its  policy  than  any  one  other  in  the  land. 

The  order  is  now  confederating  with  other  labor  organizations,  having 
like  objects,  adopting  demands  upon  which  all  can  agree,  remembering, 
"  in  things  essential  unity,  in  all  things  charity  "  ;  its  influence  is  being 
widened,  its  power  extended,  and  its  effectiveness  increased  day  by 
day.  God  grant  that  its  progress  may  continue,  and  its  efforts  to  edu- 
cate in  the  science  of  economic  government  be  so  successful  that  all 
class  laws  may  be  wiped  from  the  statute  books,  and  equal  and  exact  jus- 
tice be  maintained  for  all  alike,  from  the  highest  to  the  lowest  of  our 
citizens.  If  wisdom  guide,  and  patriotism  lead,  in  the  future  as  in  the 
past,  the  Alliance,  by  its  education  of  the  masses,  will  have  created  a 
public  opinion  that  cannot  be  resisted. 

The  second  declared  purpose  is  to  obtain  equal  rights  to  all,  and  espe- 
cial privileges  to  none.  When  the  Alliance  eff"ects  this  purpose,  then  all 
will  have  been  accomplished  that  is  possible  or  desired  through  political 
action  ;  and  that  this  grand  consummation  is  much  nearer  than  when  the 
Alliance  was  organized  in  1879,  ^  believe  no  one  will  attempt  to  deny. 


GROWTH  OF  THE  ALLIANCE,  297 

Another  purpose  of  the  order  is  to  strive  to  destroy  prejudice,  local, 
national,  and  sectional.  In  the  effort  to  accomplish  this,  the  progress 
of  the  order  has  been  greater  than  the  most  sanguine  could  have  hoped. 
By  their  reading,  thinking,  and  discussing,  they  have  found  the  true  source 
of  trouble ;  and,  as  the  light  of  information  breaks  through  the  dark 
cloud  of  ignorance,  the  prejudices  are  disappearing.  It  is  not  only  these 
prejudices  between  industrial  classes  that  have  been  given  their  death 
wound  by  the  Alliance,  but  party  prejudices  have,  in  a  great  measure, 
been  destroyed.  Against  this  the  Alliance  has  done  battle  from  the 
very  first,  and  great  has  been  its  victory.  Its  triumph  is  almost  com- 
pleted. Sectionalism  is  dead.  With  it  there  is  no  longer  North,  South, 
East,  or  West.  .  We  are  one  people,  with  one  flag  and  one  country.  The 
famous  chasm  has  been  filled  up ;  the  scar  is  hidden  by  the  beautiful 
white  roses  of  peace  and  good  will.  For  this  all  lovers  of  the  country 
must  say,  "  God  bless  the  Alliance  !  "  If  it  had  done  nothing  more,  and 
should  die  now,  it  would  be  enough  to  make  one  proud  to  have  been  a 
soldier  in  its  ranks. 

The  progress  of  the  order  in  its  fight  against  prejudices  of  all  kinds 
will  never  cease  until  the  shattered  forces  of  that  arch-demon  are  driven 
from  our  beautiful  and  beloved  country.  Long  may  its  pure  white  ban- 
ner of  peace  and  good  will  wave  over  the  land  of  Washington,  Jefferson, 
and  Lincoln,  and  may  it  continue  to  be  the  champion  of  equal  rights  to 
all,  and  especial  privileges  to  none  ! 


CHAPTER   XIV. 

THE    farmers'    congress. 

By  Colonel  Robert  Beverley,  The  Plains,  Virginia. 

This  organization  was  the  first  serious  effort  to  organize  the  farmers  of 
the  United  States  for  the  purpose  of  influencing  national  legislation. 
All  efforts,  heretofore,  had  been  confined  to  State  organizations.  It  was 
organized  in  1875,  at  Atlanta,  Georgia,  with  General  W.  H.  Jackson  of 
Tennessee,  President.  It  made  but  Httle  progress  from  that  time  until 
1879.  ^^  ^^^s  meeting  C.  J.  Hudson  of  Mississippi  was  chosen  Presi- 
dent, and  I  was  selected  as  Vice-President.  Louisville,  Kentucky,  was 
chosen  as  the  place  of  next  meeting.  At  this  meeting,  Mr.  Hudson 
being  in  poor  health,  I  was  elected  President.  Fully  realizing  the  lan- 
guishing condition  of  agriculture,  I  immediately  issued  the  following 
address :  — 

"  To  the  Farmers  of  the  United  States  : 

"  At  the  recent  meeting  of  the  National  Agricultural  Congress  at  Louisville,  Ken- 
tucky, honored  by  election  to  the  presidency  of  that  body,  the  duty  devolves  upon 
me  of  issuing  this  brief  address  explanatory  of  the  aims  and  purposes  of  the  organiza- 
tion, this  earnest  appeal  to  every  farmer  in  the  Union  to  extend  to  us  his  active  and 
cordial  sympathy  and  co-operation.  Everything  which  can  affect  the  dignity  or  pros- 
perity of  agriculture  is  a  subject  of  national  importance,  and  is  entitled  to  the  respect- 
ful attention  of  the  government  of  the  nation,  so  often  vauntingly  declared  to  be 
*  the  government  of  the  people,  by  the  people,  and  for  the  people ' ;  yet  the  fact  is 
utterly  and  scornfully  ignored  that  the  tillers  of  the  soil  are  a  clear  majority  of  all  the 
people. 

"The  ultimate  aim  and  purpose  of  the  National  Agricultural  Congress  is  twofold; 
viz. :  First,  to  arouse  agriculturists  themselves  to  a  realization  of  this  great  fact; 
and,  secondly,  to  enforce  a  recognition  of  it  upon  the  representatives  of  the  people 
who  have  been  delegated  to  administer  the  State  and  national  governments.  It  is  a 
fact  which  admits  of  no  dispute,  that  no  prominent  and  influential  statesman  in  any 
department  of  the  national  government  either  possesses,  or  apparently  desires  to  pos- 
sess, even  a  superficial  knowledge  of  agriculture  in  any  of  its  aspects,  relations,  or 
interests.  This  great  business,  by  which  a  majority  of  all  the  people  live,  and  through 
which  all  have  their  bread,  is  practically  unrepresented  in  any  department  of  the 
people's  government.  In  the  executive  branch  they  have  a  commissioner  who  ranks 
only  with  the  clerks  of  other  departments;  in  the  Senate  they  have  one,  and  in  the 
House  of  Representatives  twenty-seven  members  in  a  body  of  more  than  thre»  hun- 
dred.    When  we  propose  to  remedy  this  improper,  unreasonable,  and  unjust  state  of 


COLONEL    ROBERT    BEVERLEY. 


THE  FARMERS'    CONGRESS.  299 

affairs,  we  are  scornfully  told  *  the  word  "  agriculture  "  is  not  in  the  Constitution 
of  the  United  States.'  We  might  retort  :  Neither  is  the  word  '  lawyer.'  We  might 
very  properly  reply :  If,  then,  the  word  '  agriculture  '  is  not  in  the  Constitution  of  the 
government  of  the  people,  of  whom  we  are  a  majority,  then  we  mean  to  put  it  there. 
'If  as  a  class  we  possess  no  rights,  as  a  majority,  nevertheless,  we  possess  all  rights 
and  all  power  under  the  Constitution  and  the  government  as  they  stand. 

"  In  order  that  agriculture  may  be  placed  upon  an  equitable  footing  in  the  execu- 
tive branch  of  the  government,  it  is  believed,  and  we  should  demand,  that  it  should 
be  represented  in  the  Cabinet  by  a  minister  of  equal  influence,  honor,  and  dignity 
with  any  and  all  other  constitutional  advisers  of  the  President,  to  the  end  that  its  true 
relations  to  taxation,  to  commerce,  to  finance,  and  all  other  great  industries,  may  be 
effectively  studied  and  understood,  and  presented  and  defended  with  proper  dignity 
in  the  councils  of  the  nation.  That  such  is  now  the  case,  it  is  but  idle  to  pretend. 
Farmers  of  America,  we  put  it  to  you  that  it  is  your  bounden  duty  to  yourselves  and 
to  your  posterity  to  use  the  power  which  belongs  to  you  to  enforce  this  just  recogni- 
tion of  your  dignity  and  your  rights !  If  the  word  '  agriculture  '  is  not  in  the  Consti- 
tution, you  have  always  found,  you  will  ever  find,  when  voters  are  wanted,  it  is  in 
every  politician's  mouth.  We  make  no  war  upon  any  profession,  calling,  or  pursuit; 
we  know  full  well  that  the  prosperity  of  each  is  the  prosperity  of  all  in  any  well- 
ordered  community;  we  simply  ask  of  our  representatives  a  reasonable  and  proper 
recognition  of  our  rights;  and  this,  let  us  cause  them  to  understand,  is  what  we  are 
resolved  to  have.  We  are  fifty-seven  per  cent  of  the  population  of  the  United  States; 
we  need  such  organization  as  shall  awaken  us  to  a  comprehension  of  the  habitual 
subordination  of  our  interests  to  those  of  every  other  class,  producing  and  non-pro- 
ducing. Such  organization  and  such  intelligent  comprehension  of  our  situation  as 
will  secure  a  proper  representation  for  us  in  the  executive  and  legislative  branches 
of  the  governments,  national  and  State,  under  which  we  live,  is  one  of  the  prime 
objects  of  our  organization.  It  is  only  by  and  through  effective  organization  in  every 
coui^ty  in  every  State  that  we  can  hope  to  act  intelligently  together  to  obtain  practi- 
cal recognition  of  our  political  powers  and  our  political  rights.  Let  your  present 
representatives  be  made  to  know  that  some  of  the  most  extensive  and  important 
interests  of  agriculture  are  to-day  seriously  imperilled  by  their  failure  or  refusal  to 
provide  remedies  adequate  to  the  danger;  that  you  look  to  them  and  expect  of  them 
to  provide  proper  and  sufficient  appropriations  of  the  public  funds  to  protect  the 
great  animal  industries  of  the  country  from  perpetual  menace  and  imminent  danger 
by  contagious  disease,  constitutional  qualms  to  the  contrary  notwithstanding.  Let 
them  know,  also,  that  the  agriculture  of  the  country  expects  and  requires  at  their 
hands  that  the  benefits  of  the  Signal  Service  be  extended  to  the  farming  operations 
of  the  country,  as  well  as  to  navigation,  commerce,  and  other  pursuits,  and  that 
whatever  organization  is  required,  and  whatever  funds  are  necessary  for  such  a  pur- 
pose, ought  to  be  provided  without  further  delay,  so  that  information  of  approaching 
storms,  cold  waves,  and  inclemencies  of  the  weather,  threatening  and  causing  destruc- 
tion to  agricultural  products,  may  be  timely  sent  to  every  community  which  railroads 
or  telegraph  lines  reach,  or  to  which  warning  signals  can  be  conveyed  by  any  means 
known  to  science.  As  one  result  already  matured  of  the  beneficent  wisdom  of  the 
immortal  Maury,  the  approach  of  destructive  storms  may  now  be  foretold  two  days 
or  more  in  advance  ;  surely  agriculture,  which  bears  the  greatest  burden  of  taxation, 
is  entitled  to  the  vast  measures  of  protection  which  would  accrue  to  her  imperilled 
products  from  the  general  diffusion  of  such  timely  information,  and  thereby  save  to 


300  HISTORICAL  AND  POLITICAL. 

our  interest  and  to  the  nation  tiiousands  of  millions  of  dollars.  If  the  machinery  and 
funds  necessary  for  the  collection  and  distribution  of  such  incalculably  valuable  fore- 
warnings  are  lacking,  it  will  be  a  shame  to  our  representatives  if,  with  an  overflowing 
national  treasury  and  a  sufficient  corps  of  trained  scientists  lacking  employment  at 
their  disposal,  the  machinery  and  funds  are  not  forthwith  provided;  and,  as  agricul- 
turists, we  demand  it. 

"  We  repeat  it,  that  we  entertain  no  purpose  to  assume  an  attitude  of  hostility  to 
any  of  the  great  interests  of  the  country;  least  of  all  do  we  entertain  any  purpose 
of  assailing  any  actual  vested  right  legitimately  belonging  to  any  of  the  great  trans- 
portation companies;  but  we  are  deeply  sensible  of  the  vital  importance  to  all  agri- 
cultural interests  of  cheap,  steady,  and  safe  transportation  of  their  products  to  the 
great  markets  of  the  world.  In  furtherance  of  this  great  national  desideratum,  we 
shall  favor  at  all  times  any  State  and  national  policy  which  shall  foster  the  creation 
and  improvement  of  such  great  commercial  highways  as,  for  example,  the  Mississippi 
River  and  the  ship  canals  across  the  Delaware  and  Florida  peninsulas.  Such,  we 
feel,  would  be  a  better  direction  to  give  to  the  surplus  of  swollen  revenues,  thus 
employing  some  of  our  surplus  and  idle  labor,  than  the  anticipation  of  the  demands 
of  the  public  creditor  by  this  generation. 

"Space  does  not  permit  me  to  enter  into  elaborate  details;  but  why  should  we 
not  demand  and  receive  appropriations  from  the  national  treasury  for  the  protec- 
tion of  our  imperilled  interests,  aggregating  hundreds,  yea,  thousands  of  millions,  of 
taxable  values?  Does  the  Constitution  stand  in  the  way?  Do  we  not  know  that 
peaceful  machinery  is  provided  whereby  we  who  are  a  majority  of  all  the  people  of 
all  the  States  may  alter  or  even  abolish  that  instrument,  and  that  our  right  to  do 
so  is  *  inalienable,  indefeasible,  and  indisputable '  ?  Look  at  the  shoal  of  proposed 
amendments  to  the  Constitution  of  your  country  thrust  with  unseemly  haste  upon  the 
national  legislature  the  very  first  day  of  the  current  session,  proposed  amendments 
which  can  in  no  case  take  higher  rank  than  mere  political  and  partisan  schemes,  and 
say  that  we  must  sit  down  powerless  to  protect  our  rights ! 

"  In  furtherance  of  purposes  such  as  I  have  feebly  and  imperfectly  set  forth;  in  fur- 
therance of  every  purpose  which  has  for  its  object  the  advancement  of  the  great 
calling  we  pursue,  the  National  Agricultural  Congress  was  itself  called  into  existence. 
In  furtherance  of  these  great  purposes  and  aims,  we  earnestly  and  respectfully  invoke 
the  action,  co-operation,  and  cordial  sympathy  of  every  farmer  of  every  section  of  this 
vast  country  -7-  the  home  and  the  domain  of  the  foremost,  the  mightiest,  and  most 
progressive  nation  on  earth." 

The  next  meeting  was  held  at  Nashville,  and  certain  rules  were  adopted 
governing  representation.  At  this  meeting  seventeen  States  were  repre- 
sented. The  next  meeting  was  held  at  New  Orleans,  with  nineteen  States 
represented.  Resolutions  calling  upon  Congress  to  grant  radical  reforms 
were  passed,  and  a  general  determination  prevailed  to  work  for  their 
adoption.  The  next  meeting  was  held  in  Washington,  District  of  Colum- 
bia, January,  1887,  which  made  an  impression  upon  Congress,  then  in 
session.  The  next  meeting  was  held  in  Chicago,  after  which  I  retired, 
and  Colonel  Kolb  of 'Alabama  was  chosen  president.  It  is  believed  that 
this  Congress  was  the  forerunner  of  the  Alliance,  and  prepared  the  way 


J 


THE  FARMERS'    CONGRESS.  30I 

for  the  grand  work  it  is  now  doing.  Since  the  only  literature  relating  to 
this  Congress  now  remaining  consists  of  a  few  addresses  made  by  me, 
while  its  president,  I  trust  the  reader  will  pardon  my  reference  to  them. 
As  they  show  the  trend  of  thought  at  that  time,  I  will  call  attention  to  a 
few  extracts :  — 

At  the  Nashville  meeting,  in  1884  :  — 

"  I  congratulate  you  upon  the  increased  interest,  everywhere  manifested  by  intel- 
ligent agriculturists,  in  the  general  policy  of  our  State  and  national  governments,  in 
its  broad  relations  to  their  own  great  calling." 

"  When  we  say  that  we  mean  to  be  heard  with  respect  and  attention  by  our  own 
representatives,  who  hold  their  seats  by  our  suffrage,  let  it  be  plainly  understood  we 
mean  what  we  say." 

"  If  it  be  made  necessary,  our  candidates  will  be  found  opposing  those  of  both 
parties,  and  of  all  parties  opposed  to  our  vital  interests;  for  we  mean  to  have  our 
rights  under  our  own  government." 

"  We  meditate  no  war  on  any  of  the  great  industries  of  the  people;  neither  upon 
manufacturers,  nor  mining,  nor  transportation,  nor  commerce,  nor  any  pursuit  or 
business  by  which  honest  people  earn  bread.  God  forbid  !  When  the  farmer  meets 
the  mechanic,  let  him  take  him  by  the  hand  and  hail  him  as  a  brother;  shoulder  to 
shoulder  let  them  take  their  stand  against  unequal  and  unjust  taxation  in  every  form; 
against  monopoly,  the  common  oppressor  of  all." 

"  Whatever  hurtfully  touches  any  of  the  great  employments  of  the  great  armies  of 
bread-winners  of  the  land  injures  and  hinders  each  and  all." 

"  The  proposition  was  urged  upon  Congress  by  the  chairman  of  your  committee, 
viz. :  *  to  create  a  Department  of  Agriculture.'  This  proposition  was  received  with 
contempt  and  sneers.  We  will  not  bow  down  nor  worship  whatever  political  fetich 
they  may  choose  to  set  up  for  us.  We  who  are  a  clear  majority  of  the  voters  of  the 
Union  choose  to  decide  for  ourselves  whether  we  will  have  a  Department  of  Agricult- 
ure. It  is  for  our  representatives  to  obey  the  command  of  their  constituents,  and 
not  to  set  up  their  judgment  contrary  to  the  instructions  of  the  people." 

"  Farmers  and  mechanics,  laborers  and  producers  of  every  class,  brothers  in  a 
common  cause,  let  us  stand  as  one  man  to  oppose  corruption  and  monopoly  and 
oppression,  in  whatsoever  form  they  come,  by  whatsoever  name  they  may  be  called, 
whatsoever  disguise  they  may  assume.  Organize !  I  beg  you,  organize !  Without 
organization  you  cannot  cope  with  the  trained  legions  of  monopoly.  Organize ! 
organize  !  or  they  will  tread  you  in  the  dust  beneath  their  feet !  " 

Again,  in  1885  :  — 

"  We  have  not  claimed  to  have  grievances,  but  rights.  There  are  legislative  meas- 
ures and  administrative  reforms,  essential  not  only  to  the  best  interests  of  our  calling, 
but  to  the  well  being  of  the  nation.  A  majority  of  the  people  must  carry  them 
against  rings  and  monopolies,  corrupt  and  shameless,  and  their  astute  attorneys,  who, 
in  cahoot  with  political  *  bosses,'  have  so  long  misgoverned  this  country." 

At  a  called  meeting  of  the  Congress  in  Washington,  in  1887  :  — 

"  In  our  representative  capacity  we  have  no  cause  to  be  afraid  or  ashamed  to  put 
forth  our  opinions,  wishes,  and  demands,  touching  matters  which  concern  the  great 


302  HISTORICAL  AND  POLITICAL. 

interests  and  economics  of  agriculture,  State,  interstate,  national,  and  international. 
It  is  for  that  very  purpose  we  are  here  assembled." 

"  Our  interests  require,  we  detnand,  an  equitable  readjustment  of  the  whole  system 
of  taxation,  federal.  State,  local;  distributmg  its  burdens  equally  among  producers, 
distributors,  consumers.  No  legitimate  business  can  prosper  until  war  taxation  is 
reduced  to  a  peace  basis,  without  galling  and  grinding  discriminations  for  the  rich 
and  against  the  poor;  nor  as  long  as  we  gather  in  the  treasury  an  annual  surplus  of 
more  than  one  hundred  millions  over  and  above  every  reasonable  or  honest  public 
necessity." 

Undoubtedly  the  most  important  meeting  of  the  Farmers'  Congress 
was  the  one  held  in  New  Orleans,  at  the  time  of  the  great  exposition 
there.  At  that  meeting  were  present  and  participating,  delegates  from 
nearly  every  State  and  Territory.  Among  them  was  scarcely  a  name  not 
known  throughout  the  country  as  a  leading  agriculturist.  That  this 
meeting  exercised  an  important  influence  upon  the  rise  and  progress  of 
the  National  Farmers'  Alliance,  it  is  impossible  not  to  perceive. 

Those  who  would  discern  the  true  intent  and  meaning  of  secret  devel- 
opments in  industrial  organization,  those  who  would  understand  aright 
the  significance  of  the  demands  now  urged  by  these  organizations,  must 
not  overlook  the  character  and  the  significance  of  the  work  done  by  the 
Farmers'  National  Congress. 

Among  the  accomplished  results  which  must  be  credited  to  the  efforts 
of  the  Congress  are  the  enlargement  of  the  scope  and  increase  of  the 
dignity  and  influence  of  the  Department  of  Agriculture,  and  the  final 
transfer  of  the  Signal  Service,  or  more  properly  the  Weather  Bureau,  to 
that  department,  with  the  assurance  of  further  increased  precision,  use- 
fulness, and  importance  of  the  service.  That  the  Interstate  Commerce 
law  was  also  the  legitimate  outcome  of  the  agitation  of  the  question  set 
on  foot  by  the  Congress,  seems  to  be  true.  But  the  great  work  on  the 
Congress  was  its  unconscious  work  in  preparing  the  way  for  the  Alliance. 
It  was  as  a  prime  factor  in  the  earlier  evolution  of  industrial  organizations 
that  the  Congress  is  important  and  interesting  to  the  intelligent  student 
of  contemporaneous  events.  When  the  final  outcome  and  the  entire 
results  are  before  the  world,  those  who  may  be  then  living  will  be  aware 
that  human  freedom  was  at  this  time  rapidly  unfolding  one  stage  of  its 
progress  along  the  path  of  its  divinely  conducted  evolution,  —  a  path 
tending  to  that  "  one  far-off  divine  event,  to  which  the  whole  creation 
moves." 


ALONZO    WARDALL 


CHAPTER    XV. 

THE   SITUATION    IN    THE    NORTHWEST. 
Bv  Alonzo  Wardall,  Member  of  the  National  Executive  Committee. 

This  article  will  deal  more  particularly  with  the  situation  in  the 
States  of  Iowa,  Minnesota,  North  and  South  Dakota,  as  the  writer  has 
been  intimately  and  personally  connected  with  those  States  for  the  past 
forty  years ;  although  the  conditions  that  obtain  there  are  very  similar 
to  what  we  find  in  Kansas  and  Nebraska,  each  of  those  States  being 
engaged  principally  in  agriculture,  and  with  comparatively  little  manu- 
factures. True,  Minnesota  has  vast  lumber  interests,  and  mining  for 
coal  and  the  precious  metals  is  being  carried  on  to  some  extent  in  the 
other  States ;  yet  they  are  and  must,  in  the  nature  of  things,  ever  remain 
great  storehouses  for  the  food  products  of  the  world,  and  I  shall  con- 
fine myself  to  a  view  of  the  situation  as  related  to  agriculture  and 
agriculturists. 

The  four  States  named  are  among  the  largest,  most  fertile,  and  most 
favorably  situated  in  the  Union,  comprising  some  290,000  square  miles 
of  the  choicest  farming  land  in  the  world,  nearly  every  acre  of  which 
will  produce  abundant  crops  without  the  use  of  artificial  fertilizers; 
favorably  located,  with  healthful  climate,  a  desirable  class  of  citizens, 
and  unequalled  railroad  and  water  transportation  facilities.  In  area, 
they  constitute  one-ninth  of  the  United  States,  exclusive  of  the  Terri- 
tories, and  they  raise  over  one-fifth  the  breadstufis  and  one-eighth  the 
meats  produced,  not  to  mention  their  contributions  of  butter,  cheese, 
poultry,  eggs,  flax,  and  a  multitude  of  other  things  that  go  to  supply  the 
necessities  and  comforts  of  life,  which  mount  up  collectively  to  a  vast 
aggregate.  And  yet  these  States  are  in  their  infancy  as  regards  material 
development;  great  tracts  of  fertile  soil  are  as  yet  unvexed  by  the 
plow ;  millions  of  acres  of  choice  wheat,  corn,  and  grazing  land  are  still 
unimproved. 

Of  Iowa's  36,000,000  acres,  but  27,000,000  are  in  cultivation.  Min- 
nesota has  but  16,000,000  acres  reclaimed  of  her  53,500,000;  of  North 
Dakota's  47,500,000  but  3,000,000  are  utilized ;  and  South  Dakota's 
49,000,000  remain  as  nature  left  them,  save  a  paltry  4,000,000,  —  hardly 
a  scar  on  her  broad  bosom. 

303 


304  HISTORICAL  AND  POLITICAL. 

Let  me  recapitulate  :  Fertile  soil,  salubrious  climate,  convenient  to  the 
great  markets  of  the  world,  abundant  transportation  facilities,  an  in- 
dustrious, frugal,  and  temperate  class  of  citizens,  continuous  good  crops 
with  local  exceptions.     Should  we  not  be  prosperous  and  contented  ? 

What  are  the  facts  ?  With  an  area  capable  of  supporting  comfortably 
12,000,000  people,  we  have  less  than  one-third  that  number,  with  the 
rural  districts  at  a  standstill  or  actually  decreasing  in  population,  farm 
values  steadily  decreasing,  while  farm  and  chattel  mortgages  are  as 
steadily  increasing.  Census  Superintendent  Porter  gives  the  land  mort- 
gage figures  for  Iowa  at  ^199,000,000;  ^2,000,000  per  county  for  land 
mortgages  alone.  A  farmer's  debts  are  by  no  means  measured  by  the 
mortgage  on  his  farm ;  on  the  contrary,  his  chattel  and  unsecured  lia- 
bilities often  exceed  the  real  estate  indebtedness.  Minnesota  and  the 
Dakotas  are  in  a  worse  condition  than  Iowa ;  and  when  to  the  totals 
of  her  land  and  personal  debts  are  added  the  township,  municipal, 
school,  corporate,  and  State  obligations,  an  aggregate  is  reached  almost 
incomprehensible  in  magnitude,  and  appalling  to  contemplate,  especially 
when  an  attempt  is  made  to  figure  how  the  debt,  principal  and  interest, 
is  to  be  paid.  Labor  Commissioner  Sovereign  of  Iowa  has  collected 
reliable  information  as  to  cost  of  production  in  Iowa,  and  profits 
thereon.  Selecting  twelve  representative  farmers  in  each  of  one  hun- 
dred counties,  and  sending  them  a  series  of  questions,  including  cost 
per  acre  of  raising  crops,  price  of  products  realized,  profit  or  loss, 
rates  of  interest  prevailing,  etc.,  the  almost  unanimous  report  was  that 
for  the  last  six  or  seven  years  farming  had  been  carried  on  in  that 
favored  State  at  an  actual  loss.  Conservative  judges  estimate  the  total  in- 
debtedness, personal,  corporate,  municipal,  and  State,  at  ^2,000,000,000 
for  the  four  States,  bearing  from  six  to  twelve  per  cent  interest,  much 
of  it  even  higher  than  that,  and  very  little  lower  :  seven  per  cent  would 
be  an  average,  making  an  annual  interest  tax  of  $140,000,000. 

A  system  that  brings  about,  or  even  renders  possible,  a  debt  of 
one  bilhon  in  1880,  to  increase  to  two  billion  in  1890,  will  permit  it  to 
swell  to  three  or  four  billion  in  1900,  and  so  on,  continually  increasing, 
until  our  beautiful  inheritance,  of  which  we  are  so  proud,  will  pass  from 
us  forever.  As  a  result,  the  people  are  organizing  as  never  before,  and 
demanding  an  about-face  in  governmental  policy,  retrenchment  in 
expenses,  decrease  of  official  salaries,  more  honesty  in  administration, 
the  resumption  of  such  national  and  State  functions  as  have  been 
improperly  delegated  to  corporations  and  individuals,,  such  as  the  con- 
trol of  finance  and  commerce,  and  the  assumption  of  such  additional 
functions  as  may  be  essential  to  the  successful  consummation  of  the 


SITUATION  IN  THE  NORTHWEST.  305 

pledges  guaranteed  in  the  Constitution  of  the  United  States,  where  it 
reserves  the  right  to  do  any  and  all  things  essential  to  the  general 
welfare  of  the  people.  Usurious  rates  of  interest  are  demanded  for 
the  use  of  money,  ten  per  cent  on  personal  security  and  eight  to  ten  per 
cent  on  real  estate  being  the  prevaiUng  rate  in  Iowa  and  Minnesota, 
and  twelve  per  cent  on  personal  and  ten  per  cent  on  real  estate  in  the 
Dakotas,  with  bonus  and  usury  often  amounting  to  twenty  or  thirty 
per  cent,  and  thousands  of  cases  could  be  given  where  it  even  exceeded 
the  latter  ruinous  figure.  I  refer  now  to  country  loans ;  somewhat 
lower  rates  may  be  obtained  in  cities.  Chattel  mortgages  on  short 
time,  and  at  high  rates  of  interest  and  large  bonus,  with  exorbitant 
attorney  fees,  in  many  instances  actually  exceeding  the  face  of  the 
notes,  are  placed  on  everything  the  farmer  owns  or  expects  to  own,  — 
teams,  machinery,  stock,  furniture,  crops  for  the  current  year,  and  for 
three,  four,  or  five  years  in  advance  :  these  short  loans  are  renewed  at 
compound  interest  from  two  to  six  times  a  year;  each  renewal  the 
poor  debtor  pays  what  he  can,  adds  new  bonuses,  compounds  interest, 
pays  for  making  out  and  filing  the  mortgage. 

The  failure  of  crops  must  not  be  charged  with  this  condition  of  affairs  ; 
for  while  there  have  been  partial  or  local  failures  some  years,  the  aggre- 
gate crops  have  steadily  increased  in  quantity  and  decreased  in  value 
for  the  past  twenty-five  years.  Multitudes  of  banks,  loan  agents,  and 
money  sharks  have  sprung  into  existence,  swarming  in  every  city  and 
village,  and  fattening  off  the  dire  necessities  of  the  people.  Where  one 
bank  could  easily  transact  all  the  legitimate  business  for  a  village  or 
county,  seven  or  eight  are  located,  supplemented  by  double  that  num- 
ber of  loan  agents,  and  all  of  them  seemingly  prosperous.  I  have  before 
me  a  newspaper  published  in  a  small  county  in  South  Dakota,  with  forty- 
eight  notices  of  foreclosure  of  real  estate  mortgages  in  it,  covering  over 
half  the  paper,  and  in  which  the  attorney  fees  and  publication  fees 
exceed  the  face  of  the  original  mortgages  by  over  fifty  per  cent ;  and 
while  that  is  an  extreme  case,  it  is  an  indication  of  the  relentless  methods 
pursued.  There  are  hundreds  of  cases  where,  in  the  course  of  five  or 
six  years,  the  poor  debtor  has  paid  more  than  the  amount  of  the  original 
loan  in  interest  and  usury,  and  found  himself  with  a  larger  debt  on  his 
hands  at  the  end  than  when  he  started. 

Another  serious  bar  to  our  prosperity  has  been  excessive  and  discrim- 
inating freight  rates  upon  our  railroads.  With  the  two  great  rivers  of 
the  continent  and  the  Great  Lakes  upon  our  borders,  it  would  seem  that 
competition  would  regulate  that.  But  the  facts  are  that,  despite  the 
Interstate  Commerce  law  and  our  numerous  lines  of  supposed-to-be- 


3o6  HISTORICAL  AND   POLITICAL. 

competing  railroads,  it  costs  as  much  or  more  to  draw  our  produce  the 
few  miles  necessary  to  reach  our  general  markets,  —  viz. :  Minneapolis, 
Duluth,  Chicago,  or  St.  Louis,  —  as  it  does  to  carry  it  thence  a  thousand 
miles  by  rail  through  to  New  York,  or  even  clear  through  to  Liverpool ; 
which  practically  amounts  to  the  prohibition  of  shipments  of  heavy  and 
bulky  articles  when  the  price  is  low  ;  often  potatoes,  hay,  corn,  oats,  wood, 
brick,  coal,  cost  much  more  for  freight  than  the  producers  originally 
received  for  them.  Thousands  of  people  burn  hay,  and  other  hundreds 
of  thousands  burn  much  less  fuel,  and  consume  less  of  the  necessaries 
of  life,  on  account  of  the  additional  cost  resulting  from  excessive  freight 
charges.  A  coal-mine  owner  in  Penn^lvania  told  the  writer  recently 
that  he  would  be  glad  to  put  coal  on  the  car  at  75  cents  per  ton,  and 
yet  we,  a  thousand  miles  away,  are  compelled  to  pay  ^8  to  $^.^0  per  ton 
for  that  same  coal,  or  do  without.  Coal  in  Iowa,  300  miles  from  Huron, 
South  Dakota,  costs  $1.40  per  ton  on  board  car.  Delivered  at  Huron, 
^5, —  i^  cents  per  ton  per  mile  freight.  Sworn  statements  by  railroad 
managers  before  Congressional  committees  put  actual  cost  of  railroad 
freight  transportation  at  two  mills  per  ton  per  mile,  which  would  reduce 
the  freight  to  60  cents  per  ton,  and  cost  of  coal  to  ;^2  per  ton  at  Huron. 
Cheap  bread  and  meat  can  never  become  a  reality  to  the  people  so  long 
as  transportation  companies  have  it  in  their  power  to  "  tax  the  traffic  all 
it  can  bear." 

Again,  for  long  years  the  elevator  companies  were  in  combination 
with  the  railroad  officials,  being  really  a  wheel  within  a  wheel,  officers 
and  stockholders  in  the  one  occupying  a  similar  position  in  the  other, 
and  by  means  of  discrimination  in  rates  and  favoritism  in  securing  cars, 
practically  monopolized  the  shipping  interest  and  controlled  the  prices. 

North  Dakota  elects  commissioners,  but  they  haven't  been  in  office 
long  enough  to  accomplish  much  good,  and  are  handicapped  by  an 
ineffective  law,  which  the  railroads  take  good  care  shall  not  be  materially 
tampered  with. 

In  Dakota  the  poor  man  who  cannot  afford  to  buy  a  two-thousand- 
mile  ticket  pays  four  cents  a  mile  passenger  fare,  while  the  rich  man 
rides  at  two  cents,  and  the  politicians,  judges,  and  office-holders  go  free. 
The  people  are  tired  of  all  this,  and  in  casting  about  for  relief,  realize 
that  it  must  come  through  Congress,  in  the  way  of  a  greater  volume  of 
currency,  divorced  from  the  control  of  national  banks  or  any  individual 
or  corporation,  and  in  the  ownership  and  control  of  our  lines  of  trans- 
portation by  the  government,  and  run  in  the  interest  of  the  people  at 
cost,  the  same  as  our  postal  system.  But  when  we  go  to  Congress  with 
our  petitions  and  demands,  we  are  coolly  informed  that  farmers  do  not 


SITUATION  IN  THE  NORTHWEST  307 

understand  finance,  and  that  money  and  transportation  must  be  left  in 
the  hands  of  their  friends ;  i.e.  the  bankers  and  railroad  kings. 

Between  5000  and  6000  Alliances,  Knights  of  Labor,  and  Labor  Unions 
have  been  organized  during  the  past  few  years  in  the  four  States  men- 
tioned, and  every  one  is  a  living  and  vigorous  protest  against  the  exist- 
ing order  of  things ;  and  if  the  politicians  were  not  blind  they  would 
see  the  storm  brewing,  and  trim  their  sails  accordingly.  But  none  are 
so  blind  as  those  that  will  not  see,  and  nothing  but  a  political  cyclone 
will  open  their  eyes.  The  people  have  about  despaired  of  securing 
relief  from  either  of  the  old  parties,  being  satisfied  that  they  are  hope- 
lessly and  helplessly  under  the  domination  of  Wall  Street  and  the  great 
corporations,  and  are  moving  strongly  for  the  organization  of  a  people's 
party ;  and  if  they  do,  it  is  a  safe  prediction  that  they  will  sweep  the 
Northwest  with  an  overwhelming  plurality. 

In  South  Dakota  the  majority  of  the  county  officers,  two-fifths  of  the 
legislature,  and  a  United  States  senator  were  elected  last  year  on  an 
independent  ticket. 

Minnesota  polled  58,000  independent  votes,  electing  legislators 
enough,  headed  by  the  president  of  the  State  Alliance,  Hon.  Ignatius 
Donnelly,  to  control  largely  the  legislature,  and  elected  one  congress- 
man by  a  large  majority.  North  Dakota,  while  not  electing  her  men, 
largely  controlled  the  nominations  of  the  other  parties,  resulting  in  the 
election  of  an  Alliance  congressman  and  a  friendly  senator. 

In  Iowa  there  was  no  general  independent  ticket  put, in  the  field, 
although  a  number  of  candidates  were  nominated  and  made  a  strong 
run,  defeating  the  majority  of  the  RepubUcan  congressmen  in  that  old 
stronghold  of  Republicanism.  But  they  are  awake  now,  and  will  be 
heard  from  in  1892;  and  if  the  "situation  in  the  Northwest"  is  not 
changed,  politically  at  least,  at  that  time,  it  will  not  be  the  fault  of  the 
State  mentioned. 


CHAPTER    XVI. 

THE    INFLUENCE    OF    WOMEN    IN    THE    ALLIANCE. 
By  Mrs.  Bettie  Gay,  Columbus,  Texas. 

In  the  past,  woman  has  been  secondary  as  a  factor  in  society.  She 
has  been  placed  in  this  position  because  the  people  have  been  educated 
to  believe  that  she  is  mentally  inferior  to  the  sterner  sex.  Only  of  late 
has  the  discussion  of  her  social  and  political  rights  been  brought  promi- 
nently before  the  country.  The  male  portion  of  our  population,  through 
a  false  gallantry,  have  assumed  that  they  are  the  protectors  of  the 
"weaker  sex":  women  have  been  led  to  believe  that  they  had  no 
poUtical  or  social  rights  to  be  respected,  and  a  very  large  majority  of 
them  have  bowed  in  quiet  submission. 

History  proves  that  the  more  crude  and  savage  society  is,  the  lower 
women  are  placed  in  the  social  scale.  The  men  of  savage  races  compel 
their  women  to  do  all  the  work;  in  fact,  to  be  their  slaves.  When 
this  social  question  is  investigated  from  a -scientific  standpoint,  the 
wonder  is  that  man  has  ever  been  able  to  emerge  from  his  original 
condition,  while  the  situation  of  the  mothers  of  the  race  has  been  such 
as  to  naturally  impede  intellectual  progress.  Only  the  plain  manifesta- 
tion of  the  laws  of  nature  and  the  human  mind  has  enabled  man  to 
raise  himself  above  the  crude  forms  of  barbarism,  and  establish  what  is 
now  termed  civilized  society. 

Education  concerning  the  effects  of  social  conditions  is  demonstrating 
that  most  of  the  moral  evils  which  afflict  society  are  produced  by  the 
unnatural  conditions  which  .are  imposed  upon  women.  Nature  has 
endowed  her  with  brains ;  why  should  she  not  think  ?  If  she  thinks, 
why  not  allow  her  to  act?  If  she  is  allowed  to  act,  what  privilege 
should  men  enjoy  of  which  she  should  be  deprived  ?  These  are  perti- 
nent questions  which  society  should  begin  to  consider. 

Go  into  the  rural  districts,  and  look  at  the  position  occupied  by  the 
wives  and 'daughters  of  the  farmers.  They  have,  until  of  late,  occupied 
a  social  position  which  tended  only  to  discourage  intellectual  effort. 
In  most  of  the  churches  women  have  been  allowed  no  voice ;  an^  the 
very  moment  some  brainy  woman  in  a  community  would  rise  above 
her  surroundings  and  take  an  interest  in  public  questions,  the  men,  as 
well  as  the  women,  would  begin  to  discourage  her  efforts.  She  would 
308 


MRS.    BETTIE    GAY. 


UNIVERSITY 

OF 


WOMEN  IN  THE  ALLIANCE.  309 

be  told  by  her  father,  brother,  or  husband,  that  such  questions  are  not 
the  concern  of  women.  But  the  AlUance  has  come  to  redeem  woman 
from  her  enslaved  condition,  and  place  her  in  her  proper  sphere.  She 
is  admitted  into  the  organization  as  the  equal  of  her  brother,  and  the 
ostracism  which  has  impeded  her  intellectual  progress  in  the  past  is 
not  met  with,  and  men  have  begun  to  recognize  the  fact  that,  when 
the  women  are  educated,  the  battle  for  human  rights  will  have  been 
fought  and  won. 

Her  position  in  the  Alliance  is  the  same  as  it  is  in  the  family,  —  the 
companion  and  helpmeet  of  man.  In  it  she  is  given  the  opportunity  to 
develop  her  faculties.  She  is  made  to  feel  that  she  is  the  equal  of  man, 
and  that  she  can  make  herself  useful  in  every  department  of  human 
affairs ;  that  her  mission  in  the  world  is  more  than  merely  to  be  called 
wife  or  mother  (both  of  which  are  honorable),  but  her  work  is  one  of 
sympathy  and  affection,  and  her  help  is  as  much  needed  in  the  great 
work  of  reform. 

Only  in  late  years  have  women  been  considered  a  necessary  factor  in 
reform  movements.  This  has  been  brought  about  by  advanced  thinkers, 
who  have  studied  sociology  and  the  science  of  intellectual  and  moral 
development.  Society  seems  never  to  have  thought  of  the  fact  that 
there  is  no  progress  without  opportunity,  and  that  depriving  women  of 
their  social  and  political  rights  has  taken  from  them  the  inducement  to 
become  educated  upon  great  questions.  The  Alliance  contemplates  the 
opening  of  every  avenue  of  intelligence,  which  will  induce  women  to 
become  educated,  and  capable  of  taking  care  of  themselves  in  the 
struggle  for  existence,  and  the  establishment  of  a  social  system  which 
will  guarantee  to  every  human  being  the  results  of  his  labor.  The  con- 
dition of  the  wives  and  daughters  of  the  farmers  is  but  little  better  than 
that  of  the  women  who  work  in  factories.  In  probably  a  majority  of 
instances,  in  the  South  and  Southwest,  the  women  assist  in  cultivating 
and  gathering  the  crops.  Such  a  condition  of  industrial  serfdom  the 
Alliance,  with  other  reform  organizations,  expects  to  overthrow. 

In  the  effort  for  reform,  none  can  be  more  interested  than  women, 
as  they  are  the  chief  sufferers  whenever  poverty  or  misfortune  overtakes 
the  family.  They  are  the  ones  to  look  after  the  welfare  of  the  children, 
of  the  family^^  They,  more  readily  than  the  fathers,  see  what  is  neces- 
sary to  make  the  family  happy  and  comfortable.  But,  having  been 
educated  to  believe  that  bad  conditions  are  caused  by  Divine  Provi- 
dence, or  are  the  result  of  mismanagement,  many  of  them  have  borne 
the  social  evils  in  silence,  and  trusted  for  happiness  after  they  shall  have 
crossed  "the  silent  river." 


3IO  HISTORICAL  AND  POLITICAL. 

Through  the  educational  influence  of  the  Alhance,  the  prejudice 
against  woman's  progress  is  being  removed,  and  within  the  last  five 
years  much  has  been  accomplished  in  that  direction.  Women  are  now 
recognized  as  a  prominent  factor  in  all  social  and  political  movements. 
In  the  meetings  of  the  Alliance  she  comes  in  contact  with  educated 
reformers,  whose  sympathies  she  always  has.  Her  presence  has  a  ten- 
dency to  control  the  strong  tempers  of  many  of  the  members,  and  places 
a  premium  upon  politeness  and  gentility.  She  goads  the  stupid  and 
ignorant  to  a  study  of  the  principles  of  reform,  and  adds  an  element  to 
the  organization,  without  which  it  would  be  a  fiiilure.  Being  placed 
upon  an  equality  with  men,  and  her  usefulness  being  recognized  by  the 
organization  in  all  of  its  work,  she  is  proud  of  her  womanhood,  and  is 
better  prepared  to  face  the  stern  realities  of  life.  She  is  better  pre- 
pared to  raise  and  educate  her  offspring,  by  teaching  the  responsibility 
of  citizenship  and  their  duty  to  society. 

The  meetings  give  recreation  to  the  mind,  and  the  physical  being  is 
for  a  time  relieved  from  incessant  toil.  The  entire  being  is  invigorated, 
and  the  mind  is  prepared  for  the  reception  of  such  truths  as  fit  her  to 
be  companion,  mother,  and  citizen.  As  stated  above,  woman  has  not 
been  considered  a  factor  in  great  movements,  until  of  late  years,  but  she 
comes  prominently  to  the  front  in  the  Alliance,  and  demands  that  she 
be  allowed  to  render  service  in  the  great  battle  for  human  rights,  better 
conditions,  happier  homes,  and  a  higher  civilization  generally.  In  fact, 
she  has  come  to  the  conclusion  that  she  has  some  grievances  for  which 
remedies  should  be  found,  and  that  she  owes  it  as  a  duty  to  herself  and 
society  to  help  work  out  the  social  and  political  salvation  of  the  people. 

I  believe  that  there  are  remedies  for  most  of  the  evils  which  afflict 
society ;  that  poverty  and  want  are  the  chief  causes  of  crime ;  and  the 
reason  why  so  many  people  are  found  occupying  unnatural  conditions, 
is  because  of  the  violation  of  the  principles  of  justice  and  right,  by  the 
government  allowing  the  few  to  monopolize  the  land,  money,  and  trans- 
portation, which  deprives  a  large  portion  of  the  people  of  their  natural 
right  to  apply  their  labor  to  the  gifts  of  nature.  Under  such  conditions, 
the  people  become  dependent,  hopeless  slaves,  —  a  condition  which  drives 
the  last  spark  of  manhood  and  womanhood  from  their  bosoms,  —  and  they 
become  outcasts  and  criminals,  and  fill  our  jails  and  penitentiaries  and 
other  places  of  shame. 

It  is  the  duty  of  the  Alliance  to  consider  these  questions,  and  none 
others  are  so  much  interested  in  the  regeneration  of  society  as  women. 
When  the  battles  of  life  are  to  be  fought,  she  is  always  a  valiant  soldier, 
and  many  of  them  bear  upon  their  faces  the  scars  of  the  battle  with 


WOMEN  IN  THE  ALLIANCE.  311 

poverty  and  want.  The  faces  and  forms  of  many  of  the  farmers'  wives  ""^ 
bear  marks  of  premature  age.  Their  sensibilities  are  deadened  with  the 
cares  and  toils  of  Hfe.  They  have  enjoyed  but  few  of  the  benefits  of 
modern  civilization,  and  but  few  of  the  luxuries  of  life  which  they  have 
helped  to  create.  They  have  plodded  along,  while  conscienceless  greed 
has  fattened  upon  their  labor,  and  deprived  them  of  the  conditions 
which  are  necessary  to  make  them  happy  and  good,  —  their  lives  a 
blessing,  their  homes  a  heaven. 

But  this  is  a  new  era  in  human  progress,  when  woman  demands-  an 
equal  opportunity  in  every  department  of  life.  She  is  no  longer  to  be 
considered  a  tool,  a  mere  plaything,  but  a  human  being,  with  a  soul  to 
save  and  a  body  to  protect.  Her  mind  must  be  cultivated,  that  she 
may  be  made  more  useful  in  the  reform  movement  and  the  develop- 
ment of  the  race.  It  is  an  acknowledged  principle  in  science  that 
cultivated  and  intelligent  mothers  produce  brainy  children,  and  the  only 
means  by  which  the  minds  of  the  human  race  can  be  developed  is  to 
strengthen,  by  cultivation,  the  intellectual  capacities  of  the  mothers,  by 
which  means  a  mentally  great  race  may  be  produced.  When  I  look  into 
the  hard  and  stolid  faces  of  many  of  the  mothers  of  the  present,  and 
know  that  they  have  been  deprived  of  the  opportunities  which  would  have 
improved  them,  I  am  not  surprised  that  we  are  surrounded  by  people 
who  are  the  advocates  of  a  system  but  little  better  than  cannibalism. 

Through  a  system  of  education,  in  the  Alliance  and  kindred  organi- 
zations, we  are  slowly  but  surely  eradicating  the  false  doctrines  of  the 
Dark  Ages,  and  the  traditions  of  the  pagans,  handed  down  to  us  through 
false  teaching.  To  remove  these  evils  is  the  grandest  work  of  the  age, 
and  the  woman  who  holds  herself  aloof  from  reform  organizations,  either 
through  false  pride  or  a  lack  of  moral  courage,  is  an  object  of  pity,  and 
falls  far  short  of  the  duty  she  owes  to  herself,  society,  and  posterity. 

If  I  understand  the  object  of  the  Alliance,  it  is  organized  not  only  to 
better  the  financial  condition  of  the  people,  but  to  elevate  them  socially, 
and  in  every  other  way,  and  make  them  happier  and  better,  and  to  make 
this  world  a  fit  habitation  for  man,  by  giving  to  the  people  equal  oppor- 
tunities. Every  woman  who  has  at  heart  the  welfare  of  the  race  should 
attach  herself  to  some  reform  organization,  and  lend  her  help  toward  the 
removal  of  the  causes  which  have  filled  the  world  with  crime  and  sorrow, 
and  made  outcasts  of  so  many  of  her  sex.  It  is  a  work  in  which  all  may 
engage,  with  the  assurance  that  they  are  entering  upon  a  labor  of  love, 
in  the  interest  of  the  downtrodden  and  disinherited  ;  a  work  by  which 
all  mankind  will  be  blessed,  and  which  will  bless  those  who  are  to  come 
after  for  all  time. 


312  HISTORICAL   AND  POLITICAL. 

The  education  of  the  masses  is  the  hope  of  the  world,  and  a  healthy 
public  sentiment  must  be  created  in  the  interest  of  labor.  Poverty  must 
be  abolished,  and  the  natural  rights  of  the  people  must  be  respected. 
It  is  unnecessary  for  me  to  pay  any  tribute  to,  or  heap  any  abuse  upon, 
woman.  She  is  precisely  what  her  opportunities  have  made  her,  whether 
she  is  found  in  a  palace  or  a  hovel.  She  is  flesh  and  blood,  and  what- 
ever virtues  or  vices  she  may  possess,  can  only  be  attributed  to  environ- 
ment and  opportunity. 

What  we  need,  above  all  things  else,  is  a  better  womanhood,  —  a 
womanhood  with  the  courage  of  conviction,  armed  with  intelligence  and 
the  greatest  virtues  of  her  sex,  acknowledging  no  master  and  accepting 
no  compromise.  When  her  enemies  shall  have  laid  down  their  arms, 
and  her  proper  position  in  society  is  recognized,  she  will  be  prepared  to 
take  upon  herself  the  responsibilities  of  life,  and  civilization  will  be 
advanced  to  that  point  where  intellect  instead  of  brute  force  will  rule  the 
world.  When  this  work  is  accomplished,  avarice,  greed,  and  passion 
will  cease  to  control  the  minds  of  the  people,  and  we  can  proclaim, 
"  Peace  on  earth,  good  will  toward  men." 


CHAPTER   XVII. 

RELIGION    IN    THE    ALLIANCE. 
By  Rev.  Isom  P.  Langley,  Ex-Lecturer  of  the  Agricultural  Wheel. 

What  influence  will  the  National  Farmers'  Alliance  and  Industrial 
Union  have  upon  the  religious  institutions  of  our  country?  is  becoming 
a  question  of  about  as  much  magnitude  to  the  leaders  of  religious 
thought  as  the  question  of  its  political  action  is  to  the  two  great  parties. 
The  farmers  are  thinking  and  acting  more  independently  than  ever 
before.  For  some  time  the  political  and  religious  ties  of  the  people 
have  been  growing  less  binding,  and  men  and  women  have  become 
more  exacting  as  to  the  conduct  of  the  leaders  in  both  Church  and 
State. 

Politics  being  the  science  of  government,  we  have  the  right  to  know 
the  reasons  for  the  conduct  of  our  public  servants.  Science  is  what  we 
know,  and  not  what  we  may  suppose.  Supposition  is  the  mother  of  all 
our  mistakes.  Knowing  the  principles  upon  which  our  government  is 
founded,  we  have  the  right  to  call  in  question  the  authority  of  any  one 
who  ma^  attempt  to  change  the  basis  upon  which  our  fathers  established 
our  institutions.  Our  government  is  intended  to  be  a  government  of  the 
people,  by  the  people,  and  for  the  people ;  and  the  people  should  be 
consulted  on  all  questions  involving  their  rights  to  life  and  property,  it 
being  the  object  of  all  just  governments  to  secure  the  greatest  good  to 
the  greatest  number. 

To  secure  these  ends,  the  National  Farmers'  Alliance  and  Industrial 
Union  has  been  putting  forth  all  its  energy  in  educating  the  wealth- 
producers  of  the  country  in  the  science  of  economical  government. 
The  prediction  has  been  made  that  this  grand  order  would  go  to  pieces 
and  fail  to  accomplish  any  good ;  yet  it  continues  to  grow,  and  its  prin- 
ciples, as  they  are  better  understood  by  the  masses,  become  more 
popular. 

The  religious  sentiments  contained  in  the  basic  principles  of  the 
Alhance  are  giving  it  its  wonderful  power  with  the  people.  True  relig- 
ion, not  sectarianism,  is  its  crowning  glory.  This  organization  makes 
war  upon  vicious  principles,  and  not  upon  men,  and  it  will  not  permit 
any  man  or  set  of  men  to  get  in  its  way.     Good  government  for  the 

3^3 


314  HISTORICAL   AND  POLITICAL. 

people  is  its  object.  To  form  and  perpetuate  a  good  system  of  govern- 
ment, the  people  must  be  just  and  good. 

This  brings  us  to  the  question  :  What  is  religion?  The  true  meaning 
of  religion  is,  a  high  sense  of  moral  obligation,  and  a  spirit  of  reverence 
or  worship  toward  God,  with  the  desire  that  all  mankind  may  be  happy 
in  this  life,  as  well  as  in  the  life  to  come.  No  one  can  truly  honor  God, 
who  does  not  desire  the  happiness  of  all.  God,  our  common  Father, 
makes  no  distinction  between  his  children.  Why,  then,  should  human 
governments  make  such  shameful  distinctions  among  men?  Jesus 
Christ  fed  the  hungry  thousands,  that  he  might  more  deeply  impress 
upon  the  minds  of  those  who  gathered  to  hear  him,  his  great  doctrine  : 
"  Whatsoever  ye  would  that  men  should  do  unto  you,  do  ye  even  so 
unto  them."  Any  one  may  know  whether  he  is  a  Christian  by  this  great 
rule.  Whenever  any  individual  reaches  the  point  where  he  is  willing  for 
others  to  do  to  him  as  he  does  to  others,  he  can  be  sure  that  he  has 
passed  from  death  unto  life.  One  of  the  main  reasons  why  we  have  so 
many  empty  seats  in  our  churches  is  the  abundance  of  empty  stomachs 
and  unclad  limbs.  How  to  reach  the  people  is  the  question  that  is 
being  discussed  by  our  ministry  all  over  our  country.  There  is  only 
one  solution.  See  to  it  that  the  people  who  produce  the  wealth  of  the 
nation  get  a  fair  share  of  the  profits  of  their  labor.  You  cannot  reach  a 
man's  higher  sentiments  as  long  as  he  has  an  empty  stomach,  or  is  in 
need  of  decent  clothing.  Let  our  pastors  and  priests  study  the  physical 
needs  of  their  people  more,  and  give  them  less  theology,  if  they  desire 
to  Christianize  the  world.  Religion  is  a  principle  that  grows  in  a  man. 
It  remains  with  him  seven  days  in  the  week.  The  true  Christian  is  just 
as  good  on  Monday  as  he  is  on  Sunday. 

Theologians  boast  of  the  Christian  government  of  the  United  States ; 
but  where  is  the  spirit  of  Christ  in  our  national  and  State  governments? 
Is  that  government  Christian  whjch  creates  millionnaires  and  palaces  on 
the  one  hand,  and  paupers  and  miserable  homes  on  the  other?  Is  that 
government  Christian  which  licenses  the  liquor  traffic?  'It  is  the- duty 
of  all  governments  to  eradicate  the  evils  of  extreme  poverty  and  vice, 
restrain  the  strong  and  vicious,  and  strengthen  the  weak  and  helpless. 
What  are  we  doing,  as  a  nation,  on  the  line  of  equal  rights  for  all,  and 
special  privileges  for  none  ?  Name  a  government  that  permits  the  masses 
to  be  robbed  more  systematically  than  ours  does. 

Among  the  reasons  we  have  given,  in  the  past,  for  the  superiority  of 
our  form  of  government,  none  had  more  weight  with  the  public  than  the 
claim  that  here  the  few  could  not  prey  upon  the  many;  yet,  for  the 
last  twenty-five  years,  no  people  on  earth  have  been  more  successfully 


RELIGION  IN  THM  ALLIANCE.  315 

deprived  of  their  honest  earnings  than  the  citizens  of  the  United  States. 
Competition  is  no  longer  the  Ufe  of  trade.  It  has  grown  into  a  system 
of  combinations  and  trusts.  Shylock  rules  the  commercial  world.  The 
worst  feature  of  the  whole  matter  is,  that  the  names  of  these  modern 
pirates  often  can  be  found  upon  the  records  of  some  religious  organiza- 
tion, and  they  are  known  as  liberal  contributors  to  our  benevolent  and 
religious  institutions. 

There  was  a  time  when  you  might  make  the  masses  believe  that  it  was 
a  part  of  the  divine  plan  that  some  should  be  very  rich  and  many  very 
poor ;  but  you  cannot  deceive  all  the  people  any  longer  on  that  hne. 

The  members  of  our  labor  organizations  know  that  it  is  God's  plan 
that  men  and  women  who  are  able  to  work  must  live  by  their  industry, 
and  they  are  not  the  poor  that  "  we  have  with  us  always,"  who  are 
spoken  of  by  Christ.  He  meant  that  those  who  were  disabled  so  as  to 
be  unable  to  work  should  be  cared  for  by  alms  or  charity,  and  not  those 
who  were  able  to  work. 

The  old  rule  was  that  those  who  could  work  and  would  not,  should 
not  be  allowed  to  eat.  But  this  ancient  rule  has  been  changed,  and 
they  who  do  the  least  now,  get  the  most.  Organized  labor  proposes  to 
correct  these  abuses.  The  revellings  of  these  modern  Belshazzars  and 
their  thousand  lords  have  been  heard,  and  the  expense  thereof  has  been 
borne  too  long  for  the  good  of  the  whole.  "  Weighed  and  found  want- 
ing," is  the  writing  on  the  wall ;  and  the  hand  which  writes  is  the  hand 
of  the  Alliance,  and  the  sentence  is  against  our  poHtical  and  religious 
leaders.  Let  the  religious  organizations  of  this  country  practise  what 
they  preach  before  they  dare  to  throw  a  stone  at  organized  labor.  Let 
all  men  who  claim  to  be  Christians  vote  as  Christ  would  have  them  vote, 
and  see  how  soon  all  wrongs  would  be  corrected. 

Labor  is  the  creator  of  all  wealth.  What  can  capital  do  without  labor? 
What  was  this  country  before  the  hand  of  labor  seized  hold  of  it  ?  The 
Grand  Master  Workman  of  the  universe  has  arranged  matters  as  well  as 
they  could  be,  so  far  as  natural  advantages  are  concerned.  Our  country 
is  a  world  within  itself.  Everything  needful  for  man's  happiness,  in  this 
life,  is  or  can  be  produced  within  the  limits  of  our  country.  But  what 
was  this  country  before  the  "  keel  of  discovery "  touched  its  shores  ? 
With  all  its  natural  beauty,  it  was  a  waste,  howling  wilderness,  inhabited 
by  wild  men,  ferocious  beasts,  and  venomous  reptiles.  What  power 
wrought  these  mighty  changes  ?  Instead  of  the  lonely  wigwam  of  the 
aborigines,  we  have  innumerable  beautiful  cottage  homes,  inhabited  by 
millions  of  farmers  and  mechanics,  the  bone  and  sinew  of  the  grandest 
government,  ancient  or  modern.     Instead  of  the  mud  village  of  some 


3l6  HISTORICAL  AND  POLITICAL. 

war  chief,  we  have  magnificent  cities  and  towns,  scattered  all  over 
this  vast  territory,  the  centres  of  commerce,  wealth,  and  refinement. 
Instead  of  the  lonely  pathway  of  the  untutored  savages,  we  have  the 
highway  of  quick  transportation,  with  its  tracks  of  steel.  Instead  of 
the  frail  canoe  of  the  red  man,  we  have  great  floating  palaces  propelled 
by  steam,  links  in  our  system  of  commerce  and  travel.  Instead  of  the 
few  small  patches  of  half-cultivated  maize  of  the  poor  Indian,  we  have 
thousands  of  well-tilled  farms,  the  products  of  which  are  anxiously  sought 
for  the  world  over.  Instead  of  a  few  crude  shops  where  the  red  men 
manufactured  their  bows  and  arrows,  we  hear  the  bum  of  thousands  of 
spindles,  the  ring  of  thousands  of  anvils,  and  the  whir  of  a  milUon  saws. 

The  contrast  is  indeed  great.  What  brought  about  this  mighty  revo- 
lution? Labor.  Labor,  directed  by  the  spirit  of  right,  has  banished 
the  war  songs  of  the  savage,  and  on  thousands  of  hills  has  erected  altars 
where  millions  of  voices  can  be  heard  singing,  "  Praise  God  from  whom 
all  blessings  flow."  It  has  erected  school-houses  all  over  the  land,  where 
the  humblest  child  may  obtain  a  Hberal  education  free.  It  has  demon- 
strated the  fact  that  the  best  form  of  government  is  where  the  majority 
rules,  and  the  rights  of  the  minority  are  respected.  Without  labor  the 
iron  horse  would  stand  still  on  the  track ;  the  hum  of  every  mill  would 
be  hushed ;  the  plow  on  every  farm  would  stand  idle ;  our  churches 
and  school-houses  would  be  closed  ;  and  all  our  boasted  glory  as  a  nation 
would  fade  away  like  the  flowers  before  the  rays  of  the  scorching  mid- 
summer sun.  The  time  has  come  for  the  religious  world  to  put  itself  in 
line  with  the  great  principles  of  humanity,  advocated  by  organized  labor. 
If  the  Christian  ministers  of  the  United  States  had  the  moral  courage 
to  preach  the  religion  of  Jesus  Christ  instead  of  yielding  to  the  influence 
of  Mammon-worshippers,  our  political  organizations  would  not  dare  to 
neglect  the  demands  of  the  people.  If  all  men  who  claim  to  be  mem- 
bers of  religious  institutions  would  vote  as  their  respective  articles  of 
faith  indicate,  the  wrongs  of  which  organized  labor  complains  would  be 
righted  at  once. 

While  the  very  spirit  of  true  religion  is  found  in  all  Alliance  meetings, 
yet  no  sectarianism  is  manifested,  or  political  preferment  known.  Its 
motto  is,  "  In  things  essential,  unity ;  in  all  things,  charity."  The  ques- 
tion of  "  Solid  North,"  or  "  Solid  South,"  is  never  heard  in  any  well- 
regulated  lodge  or  local  union.  The^  one  great  question  is :  How  can 
we  better  the  condition  of  those  who  earn  their  bread  by  the  sweat  of 
their  faces?  "An  injury  to  one  farmer,  or  laborer  of  any  trade,  is  the 
concern  of  all  farmers,  laborers,  or  mechanics,"  say  our  labor  advocates. 
It  is  a  true  statement ;  for  if  a  system  will  take  something  for  nothing 


RELIGION  IN  THE  ALLIANCE.  317 

from  one  toiler,  it  will  reach  them  all,  sooner  or  later,  unless  the  system 
is  corrected.  The  industrial  reform  does  not  contemplate  the  destruc- 
tion of  the  rights  of  any  one,  but  it  seeks  to  deprive  a  few  individuals 
of  the  special  privilege  of  robbing  the  many. 

What  a  shame  it  is  that  the  churches  of  the  country  do  not  lead  in 
these  great  reforms.  But  it  is  now  as  it  has  been  in  all  ages,  —  reform 
does  not  begin  in  churches  or  parties.  It  originates  in  the  mind  of 
some  one  who  will  not  be  fettered  by  the  dogmas  of  ecclesiastical  organ- 
izations, and  who  is  brave  enough  to  bear  the  stripes  of  the  old  party 
lash.  The  leaders  of  our  present  reforms  are  men  and  women  who 
would  not  submit  to  the  dictations  of  either  sectarianism  or  partisanism. 
They  love  humanity  better  than  they  love  sect  or  party.  It  is  the  spirit 
of  Christ  that  is  arousing  the  people. 

No  organization,  religious  or  political,  need  be  alarmed  at  the  action 
of  a  body  which  is  constantly  striving  to  secure  entire  harmony  and 
good  will  to  all  mankind,  and  brotherly  love  among  its  own  members, 
laboring  to  suppress  personal,  local,  sectional,  and  national  prejudices, 
and  all  selfish  ambition  among  its  members  and  the  people.  The  Alli- 
ance stands  by  the  doctrine  of  the  fatherhood  of  God  and  the  brother- 
hood of  man.  It  is  ready  to  co-operate  with  all  institutions  that  have 
for  their  object  the  betterment  of  humanity. 


CHAPTER   XVIII. 

THE   LABOR    MOVEMENT. 

By  Ralph  Beaumont,  Lecturer  Knights  of  Labor,  and  Editor  National 
Citizens'  Alliance. 

The  labor  movement  is  not  by  any  means  a  new  movement.  It  is 
as  old  as  history  itself.  Osborne  Ward,  the  translator  of  the  Labor 
Bureau  at  Washington,  in  his  book  entitled  "  The  Ancient  Lowly," 
traces  it  back  to  the  days  of  Abraham ;  and  James  Bronterre  O'Brien, 
in  his  work  entitled  "  Human  Slavery  :  the  Way  it  Came  into  the  World 
and  the  Way  that  it  Should  be  Made  to  go  Out,"  traces  it  back  to  the 
days  of  the  patriarchs. 

It  is  not  my  intention  to  refer  to  any  of  the  many  phases  of  the  move- 
ment that  may  have  taken  place  in  those  ancient  times,  but  simply  to 
make  a  brief  record  of  its  different  phenomena,  as  I  have  observed 
them  for  the  past  twenty  odd  years  in  this  country.  The  labor  organi- 
zations that  existed  in  this  country  prior  to  the  war  of  the  Rebellion 
were  mostly  of  a  local  nature.  This  country,  prior  to  that  time,  was 
what  might  be  termed  an  agricultural  country,  and  that,  too,  different 
from  any  other  country  on  the  face  of  the  globe.  In  nine  out  of  ten 
cases,  the  farm  laborer  was  the  owner  of  his  own  farm,  and,  in  many 
instances  in  New  England,  they  divided  their  labors  between  the  farm, 
mill,  or  workshop,  and,  as  a  result,  were  independent  of  their  employers. 
Besides  that,  the  manufacturing  establishments  were  of  a  small  charac- 
ter, as  far  as  capital  was  concerned. 

But  with  the  war  came  the  demands  for  increased  productions  on  the 
part  of  manufacturing  establishments,  which  resulted  in  the  concentra- 
tion of  capital  into  large  bodies.  It  is  but  a  Httle  over  forty  years  ago 
when  the  New  England  cotton  or  woollen  mill  was  the  property  of  one 
or  more  individuals;  from  that  it  became  the  property  of  two  or 
more ;  and  from  that  to  the  corporation,  consisting  of  several  individ- 
uals, clothed  by  law  with  special  powers.  And  from  the  corporation 
owning  one  or  more  mills,  it  became  the  corporation  owning  several 
mills,  until  to-day,  in  one  city  in  New  England  —  Fall  River —  may  be 
found  twenty-five  or  more  mills,  employing  anywhere  from  three  hun- 
dred to  fifteen  hundred  operatives  in  each  separate  establishment,  rep- 
resenting a  combined  capital  of  more  than  ^30,000,000.  The  whole 
318 


THE  LABOR  MOVEMENT,  319 

business  is  concentrated  into  what  is  termed  a  Board  of  Trade,  com- 
posed of  one  representative  of  each  mill  or  corporation  represented  in 
the  combination.  And  this  again  is  concentrated  down  to  an  Executive 
Committee  of  five  persons.  And  this  combination  of  capital  is  of  such 
a  character  that  the  little  bobbin  boy  that  pieces  behind  the  mules 
cannot  ask  for  a  five-cent  raise  in  wages,  without  causing  a  throb  to  go 
through  the  whole  ^30,000,000  of  capital.  And  the  same  concentra- 
tion of  capital  has  been  going  on  in  all  other  manufacturing  industries, 
as  well  as  the  cotton  and  woollen. 

At  the  time  these  industries  were  in  their  infancy,  the  employees  were 
all  either  American  or  skilled  English.  The  farmers'  daughters,  after 
they  had  finished  their  education  in  the  common  school  or  village  acad- 
emy, would  come. into  the  town  or  village,  and  work  in  these  manufac- 
turing establishments.  Dickens,  in  one  of  his  works  describing  one  of 
his  visits  to  the  United  States,  says  that  he  found  a  well-edited  maga- 
zine published  in  Lowell,  Massachusetts,  and  the  articles  were  written 
by  the  operatives  in  the  mills  of  that  city.     This  was  as  early  as  1 840. 

The  moment  a  person  becomes  educated,  that  moment  he  demands 
a  higher  standard  of  civilization.  That  was  the  case  with  these  New 
England  mill  operatives.  They  wanted  magazines,  daily  papers,  fine 
surroundings,  shorter  hours  of  labor,  more  leisure  to  devote  to  pleasure 
and  study,  better  and  more  comfortable  homes.  The  moment  this  was 
asked  for,  capital,  which,  under  our  present  competitive  system,  treats 
labor  as  a  commodity,  and  our  civihzation  according  to  the  doctrine  of 
the  survival  of  the  fittest,  rebelled  against  it,  and  said  that  the  business 
would  not  warrant  it ;  that  fourteen  hours  was  little  enough  for  workmen 
to  toil ;  and  when  this  labor  began  to  rebel  by  organization  and  com- 
bination, they  began  to  place  their  boycott  upon  it. 

There  had  been  a  race  of  people  living  in  Ireland  for  over  four  hun- 
dred years,  in  a  sort  of  semi-slavery  bordering  upon  starvation.  In  1848 
this  island  was  visited  with  a  famine,  and  emigration  began  to  set  in 
towards  the  United  States.  The  moment  that  these  people  set  foot 
upon  our  shores,  the  capitalists  looked  upon  them  as  their  prey.  They 
said,  "  There  is  a  workman  that  does  not  need  fine  things.  He  has 
never  had  them,  and  he  has  no  taste  for  them.  Look  at  that  frieze 
coat  that  he  wears.  He  has  worn  that  for  ten  years,  and  he  will  be 
content  to  wear  it  for  ten  years  more."  Then  they  offered  this  man 
twenty-five  per  cent  less  than  the  educated  American  was  getting ;  but 
it  was  twenty-five  per  cent  more  than  the  Irishman  had  been  receiving, 
and  so  was  a  step  upwards  for  him.  In  the  course  of  time  the  Irishman 
had  children  that  grew  up  under  our  civilization ;  they  were  educated 


320  HISTORICAL  AND  POLITICAL. 

in  our  common  schools,  and  it  created  a  demand  on  their  part  for  better 
surroundings ;  and  when  they  began  to  demand  the  wages  that  would 
secure  them,  these  same  capitalists  refused  on  the  same  plea  as  before, 
that  the  business  did  not  warrant  the  advance.  Then  the  employing 
class  made  another  flank  movement,  and  went  over  to  Canada  and 
imported  the  Canadian  Frenchman,  who  could  neither  read,  speak,  nor 
write  the  English  language,  and  who,  from  his  habits  of  living,  was  con- 
tented to  eat  lard  instead  of  butter  on  his  bread,  and  put  him  to  work 
in  the  place  of  the  Irishman  and  his  children.  It  has  now  reached  the 
point  when  these  Frenchmen  have  raised  a  generation  of  children,  who, 
after  having  been  brought  up  in  our  civiUzation  and  educated  in  our 
common  schools,  are  demanding  at  the  hands  of  these  capitalists  those 
improved  methods  of  living  that  are  the  product  (Jf  our  civilization. 
The  capitalists  are  now  substituting  Italians  and  Hungarians  for  them. 
It  would  seem  that  system  and  business  methods  demand  that  there 
should  be  a  class  of  workmen  who  are  of  a  lower  order  of  intelligence. 

This  system  of  substituting  the  ignorant  workman  in  the  place  of  the 
intelligent  one  has  taught  the  intelligent  ones  that  it  is  necessary  for 
them  to  combine  together  to  resist  this  process  of  despoliation.  Because 
of  this  conviction,  labor  organizations  sprang  into  existence. 

There  have  existed  in  this  country,  since  the  close  of  the  war,  two 
different  schools  of  labor  reformers.  One  school  was  in  favor  of  reform 
by  political  methods.  The  other  was  composed  of  those  who  were  in 
favor  of  gaining  the  reform  upon  the  line  of  what  is  termed  the  wage 
question.  They  accepted  the  capitalistic  idea  of  economics,  which  was 
in  substance  that  labor  was  a  commodity,  and  that  the  law  of  supply  and 
demand  regulated  the  matter  of  wages.  The  political  •  school  insisted 
that,  under  an  industrial  republic  like  ours,  it  was  more  a  question  of 
legislation,  and  that  by  special  enactments  some  were  getting  more  of 
the  products  of  human  effort  than  they  were*  entided  to.  Those  who 
adhered  to  the  capitalistic  idea  proceeded  to  organize  upon  what  is 
termed  the  "trades-union"  principle,  and  to  fight  the 'battle  upon  that 
hne,  and  there  are  a  goodly  number  that  adhere  to  that  method  to-day. 
Among  the  trades  that  first  assumed  a  national  character  during  the 
war  were  :  "The  Iron  Moulders'  International  Union,"  of  which  William 
H.  Sylvis  of  Philadelphia  was  the  president ;  "  The  International  Cigar- 
makers'  Union,"  of  which  John  J.  Junio  of  Syracuse,  New  York,  was  the 
president;  " The  Machinists  and  Blacksmiths'  International  Union,"  of 
which  John  Fearinbach  of  Ohio  was  the  president ;  "  The  International 
Typographical  Union,"  of  which  John  Farqhuar  was  president.  Mr. 
Farqhuar  in  after  years  represented  the  city  of  Buffalo  in  Congress,  and 


THE  LABOR  MOVEMENT.  321 

in  the  fifty-first  Congress  was  the  chairman  of  the  Committee  on  Mer- 
chant Marine  and  Fisheries.  There  were  other  trades  that  were  organ- 
ized, but  few  of  them  attained  any  prominence  of  a  national  character. 

In  1866  Newell  Daniels  of  Milwaukee  and  a  half-dozen  other  shoe- 
makers founded  what  was  known  as  the  "  Knights  of  St.  Crispin." 
This  organization  accepted  the  capitalistic  idea  that  wages  were  governed 
by  the  law  of  supply  and  demand,  and  they  set  about  to  regulate  and 
curtail  the  supply.  Upon  joining  the  order,  every  member  was  pledged 
not  to  teach  any  new  help.  This  had  the  desired  effect.  In  the  short 
period  of  two  years  the  wages  in  the  shoe  trade  went  up  twenty  per 
cent,  and  all  of  the  boys  and  apprentices  disappeared  in  three  or  four 
years.  The  manufacturers  were  compelled  to  scour  the  country  towns 
for  men  who  had  learned  the  trade,  as  none  others  were  any  use  to 
them,  as  the  men  refused  to  teach  or  show  them.  Help  was  advertised 
for  abroad,  and  it  seemed  that  every  German  that  came  over  to  this 
country  at  that  time  was  born  with  some  shoemaker's  tool  in  his  mouth, 
for  every  one  of  them  that  the  manufacturers  hired  was  a  shoemaker  in 
the  old  country,  and  that  made  him  eligible  to  join  the  organization  and 
receive  instructions  from  the  craft.  This  was  necessary,  as  every  one  of 
them  had  to  practically  learn  his  trade  over  again,  as  the  method  of 
working  was  so  different.  And  in  many  instances  it  took  longer  to 
instruct  him  than  it  would  have  taken  to  instruct  a  young  man  brought 
up  here  in  this  country.  But  under  the  rules  of  the  society  the  young 
man  was  debarred  by  the  pledge  of  the  organization,  while,  if  the  Ger- 
man had  learned  his  trade  in  the  old  country,  it  did  not  prevent  a  mem- 
ber from  teaching  him  over  again.  But  when  the  panic  of  1873  came, 
it  broke  the  power  of  this  organization  to  curtail  help.  There  were  so 
many  thrown  out  of  employment  that  the  workmen  had  to  compete 
with  one  another  for  work,  and  the  organization  went  to  the  wall. 

In  1865  there  was  a. conference  of  some  of  the  advanced  thinkers 
in  the  labor  movement,  at  Louisville,  Kentucky.  Captain  Richard  F. 
Trevellick,  then  president  of  the  "  Shipcarpenters  and  Calkers'  Inter- 
national Union,"  was  one  of  the  leading  spirits.  This  conference  was 
the  first  step  that  was  taken  by  the  wage  workers  in  this  country,  for 
advancing  the  work  of  labor  reform  in  a  manner  different  from  that 
which  had  been  practised  by  the  Trades-Unionists.  These  men  saw 
what  the  Trades-Unionists  did  not  see ;  viz. :  That  the  capitalists  were 
using  Congress  and  the  different  State  legislatures  to  strengthen  them 
in  their  fight  against  the  laboring  people ;  that  they  were  obtaining 
special  privileges,  in  the  form  of  special  laws,  which  gave  them  power  to 
obtain  more  of  the  products  of  the  joint  labor  of  capital  and  labor  than 


322  HISTORICAL  AND  POLITICAL 

they  otherwise  could  do.  These  men,  few  as  they  were  in  number,  set 
out  to  form  an  organization  that  would  counteract  the  work  of  the  capi- 
talistic class  in  that  line.  They  noticed  that  special  privileges  had  been 
obtained  by  these  capitalists  to  issue  money,  which  enabled  them  to 
control  its  volume ;  that,  while  it  was  a  good  thing  to  have  labor  rely 
upon  the  natural  law  of  supply  and  demand,  in  their  opinion  it  was  bad 
for  money  to  do  the  same  thing.  Besides  that,  these  men  saw  that  the 
capitalistic  class  were  also  using  the  government  law- makers  to  obtain 
large  blocks  of  land  that,  in  the  near  future,  would  be  very  valuable,  on 
account  of  the  increase  in  population  in  the  country. 

The  preliminary  steps  taken  at  Louisville  resulted  in  the  calling  of  a 
convention  in  the  city  of  Baltimore,  in  1866.  Among  some  of  the  men 
who  were  at  that  convention  were  Captain  Richard  F.  Trevellick  of 
Michigan ;  Thomas  A.  Armstrong  of  Pennsylvania,  the  founder  of 
the  Labor  Tribune,  of  Pittsburgh,  Pennsylvania ;  A.  C.  Cameron,  who 
at  that  time  edited  the  WorkmarHs  Advocate,  of  Chicago,  then  about 
the  only  distinct  labor  paper  in  the  country ;  John  Oberly,  who  after- 
wards became  Indian  Commissioner  and  Civil  Service  Commissioner 
under  President  Cleveland.  This  convention  appointed  a  committee  to 
draw  up  a  platform  of  principles,  and  then  adjourned.  But  before  it 
adjourned,  it  adopted  the  name  of  "The  National  Labor  Union,"  and 
prepared  to  form  subordinate  unions  throughout  the  country.  The 
committee  appointed  to  draw  up  tl\e  platform  consisted  of  A.  C.  Cam- 
eron, Chairman,  Thomas  A.  Armstrong,  and  several  others.  This  com- 
mittee met  at  Ionia,  Michigan,  on  December  18,  1886,  drew  up  a  plat- 
form, and  published  it  to  the  world.  It  may  be  said  that  the  beginning 
of  labor  taking  a  hand  in  politics  in  the  United  States  dates  from  the 
publishing  of  that  platform. 

The  next  time  that  the  National  Labor  Union  met  was  at  Chicago, 
in  1867,  at  which  meeting  William  H.  Sylvis,  of  the  Iron  Moulders' 
Union,  was  elected  president  of  the  b®dy.  The  next  meeting  was 
at  New  York,  in  1868.  The  publishing  of  this  platform  to  the  world 
caused  others  besides  workingmen  to  interest  themselves  in  its  pro- 
ceedings. Among  those  who  came  asking  admission  to  the  New  York 
meeting  were  General  A.  M.  West,  who  at  that  time  was  President  of 
the  Ohio  and  Mississippi  Railroad ;  Britton  A.  Hill  of  St.  Louis,  one  of 
the  ablest  legal  minds  of  that  city  at  that  time;  and  General  Samuel  F. 
Gary,  who  afterwards  represented  the  city  of  Cincinnati  in  Congress. 

There  were  local  tickets  nominated  upon  this  platform,  in  several 
different  sections  of  the  country,  during  the  next  four  years.  In  Massa- 
chusetts there  were  several  members  elected  to  the  legislature  in  both. 


THE  LABOR  MOVEMENT.  323 

branches,  and  as  a  result  of  this  new  factor  in  poHtics,  came  the  first 
labor  bureau  ever  estabhshed  in  this  country  (the  Massachusetts 
bureau).  In  1870  there  was  a  State  ticket  run  on  this  platform  in  New 
York.  James  S.  Graham  of  Rochester  was  the  nominee  for  governor, 
and  Conrad  S.  Kuhn  of  New  York  City,  who  was  at  that  time  the  vice- 
president  of  the  "  International  Cigarmakers'  Union,"  was  the  nominee 
for  lieutenant  governor.  Alexander  Troup,  who  at  the  present  writing 
is  editor  of  the  New  Haven  Daily  Union,  was  very  prominent  in  this 
movement. 

In  1872  the  officials  of  the  National  Labor  Union  called  a  national 
convention  at  the  city  of  Indianapolis,  for  the  purpose  of  placing  in 
nomination  candidates  for  President  and  Vice-President.  At  this  Con- 
vention Judge  David  Davis  of  lUinois  was  nominated  for  President, 
and  Senator  Booth  of  California,  for  Vice-President.  Both  of  these 
gentlemen  declined,  and  the  Executive  Committee  did  not  see  fit  to 
place  any  new  men  in  nomination.  Judge  Davis  was  afterwards  elected 
to  the  United  States  Senate,  over  John  A.  Logan,  by  some  workingmen 
who  held  the  balance  of  power  in  the  Illinois  legislature.  In  1876  the 
National  Committee,  elected  at  Indianapolis  in  1872,  called  another 
convention  at  the  same  city,  and  placed  in  nomination  for  President, 
Peter  Cooper,  the  New  York  philanthropist,  and  Samuel  F.  Carey  of 
Ohio,  as  Vice-President,  and  something  like  81,000  votes  were  cast  for 
this  ticket.  This  party  was  termed  the  Greenback  party.  The  follow- 
ing is  the  platform  as  adopted  at  that  convention  :  — 

"  The  Independent  party  is  called  into  existence  by  the  necessities  of  the  people, 
whose  industries  are  prostrated,  whose  labor  is  deprived  of  its  jufet  reward  by  a  ruin- 
ous policy  which  the  Republican  and  Democratic  parties  refuse  to  change;  and  in 
view  of  the  failure  of  these  parties  to  furnish  relief  to  the  depressed  industries  of  the 
country,  thereby  disappointing  the  just  hopes  and  expectations  of  the  suffering 
people,  we  declare  our  principles,  and  invite  all  patriotic  men  to  join  our  ranks  in 
this  movement  for  financial  reform  and  industrial  emancipation. 

"  First.  We  demand  the  immediate  and  unconditional  repeal  of  the  Specie 
Resumption  Act  of  January  14,  1875,  and  the  rescue  of  our  industries  from  ruin 
and  disaster  resulting  from  its  enforcement;  and  we  call  upon  all  patriotic  men  to 
organize  in  every  congressional  district  of  the  country,  with  a  view  of  electing  repre- 
sentatives to  Congress  who  will  carry  out  the  wishes  of  the  people  in  this  regard,  and 
stop  the  present  suicidal  and  destructive  policy  of  contraction. 

"  Second.  We  believe  that  a  United  States  note,  issued  by  the  government,  and 
convertible,  on  demand,  into  United  States  obligations,  bearing  a  rate  of  interest  not 
exceeding  one  cent  a  day  on  each  one  hundred  dollars,  and  exchangeable  for  United 
States  notes  at  par,  will  afford  the  best  circulating  medium  ever  devised.  Such 
United  States  notes  should  be  full  legal  tenders  for  all  purposes,  except  for  the  pay- 
ment of  such  obligations  as  are,  by  existing  contracts,  especially  made  payable  in 
coin;  and  we  hold  that  it  is  the  duty  of  the  government  to  provide  such  a  circulating 


324  HISTORICAL  AND  POLITICAL. 

medium,  and  insist,  in  the  language  of  Thomas  Jefferson,  that  '  bank  paper  must  be 
suppressed  and  the  circulation  restored  to  th»  nation,  to  whom  it  belongs.' 

"  Third.  It  is  the  paramount  duty  of  the  government,  in  all  its  legislation,  to 
keep  in  view  the  full  development  of  all  legitimate  business,  agricultural,  mining, 
manufacturing,  and  commercial. 

"  Fourth.  We  most  earnestly  protest  against  any  further  issue  of  gold  bonds  for 
sale  in  foreign  markets,  by  which  we  would  be  made,  for  a  long  period,  *  hewers 
of  wood  and  drawers  of  water'  to  foreigners,  especially  as  the  American  people 
would  gladly  and  promptly  take  at  par  all  bonds  the  government  may  need  to  sell, 
provided  that  they  are  made  payable  at  the  option  of  the  holder,  and  bearing  interest 
at  three  and  sixty-five  per  cent  per  annum,  or  even  a  lower  rate. 

"  Fifth.  We  further  protest  against  the  sale  of  government  bonds  for  the  purpose 
of  purchasing  silver  to  be  used  as  a  substitute  for  our  more  convenient  and  less  fluc- 
tuating fractional  currency,  which,  although  well  calculated  to  enrich  owners  of  silver 
mines,  yet  in  operation  it  will  still  further  oppress,  in  taxation,  an  already  overbur- 
dened people." 

In  1877  there  was  another  movement  that  took  root  here  in  the 
United  States.  It  was  termed  the  "  Sociahstic  Labor  Party."  It  went 
further  than  any  other  labor  movement  that  had  ever  come  to  the  front 
in  this  country.  It  aimed  to  do  away  with  competitions  as  means  of 
advancing  civiUzation.  It  beheves  that  the  next  step  in  evolution  is  in 
the  line  of  paternalism.  The  first  national  convention  that  was  ever  held 
in  this  country  was  in  Pittsburgh,  in  1877.  One  of  the  leading  spirits  of 
that  body  was  Albert  R.  Parsons,  who  suffered  death  for  his  opinions 
upon  this  question.  A  great  many  persons  have  been  led  to  believe 
that  Parsons  was  of  a  bloodthirsty  disposition,  while  the  contrary  was 
the  case.  He  was  of  the  kindest  of  dispositions,  but  he  had  studied  the 
present  unjust  system  until  he  had  become  a  fanatic  against  it ;  and 
whenever  he  read  of  an  injustice  under  it,  he  could  not  resist  the  temp- 
tation to  condemn  it  in  the  most  severe  terms.  This  party  has  con- 
stantly placed  tickets  in  the  field  at  local  and  State  elections.  They 
have  been  the  strongest  in  Chicago  and  New  York.  John  Swinton  of 
New  York  is  one  of  the  strongest  advocates  of  this  idea  in  the  country, 
and  at  one  time  was  their  candidate  for  mayor  of  the  city.  They  are 
gradually  increasing  from  year  to  year.  During  the  last  campaign  their 
candidate  for  governor,  in  the  State  of  New  York,  reached  nearly 
14,000  votes.  Osborne  Ward,  the  translator  of  the  Labor  Bureau  at 
Washington,  in  1877  was  the  lecturer  for  that  party,  and  travelled  over 
the  country  in  their  interests,  and,  the  same  as  all  other  labor  agitators 
in  the  early  days,  received  his  pains  for  his  services. 

In  1877  there  also  came  into  prominence  the  organization  known  as 
the  "  Knights  of  Labor,"  with  a  platform  similar  in  purport  to  the  one 
adopted  at  IndianapoUs.     The  members  of  this  organization,  as  a  gen- 


THE  LABOR  MOVEMENT.  325 

eral  rule,  supported  the  candidates  of  the  Greenback  party  at  election 
times  in  1877,  and  in  the  congressional  elections  of  1S78  this  party 
polled  over  850,000  votes  for  congressional  candidates,  and  succeeded 
in  electing  thirteen  independent  men  to  Congress.  The  result  of  this 
force  in  Congress  compelled  the  government  to  reverse  its  financial 
policy,  which  had  been  to  retire  the  legal  tender  money  and  put  out 
bonds  in  its  place.  The  government  had  also,  in  1873,  demonetized 
silver,  and  at  this  session  of  Congress,  through  this  independent  force, 
it  was  compelled  to  remonetize  it.  This  same  party  held  its  next  con- 
vention in  1880,  and  placed  in  nomination  for  President,  General  James 
B.  Weaver  of  Iowa,  who  had  been  the  Independent  leader  in  Congress 
during  two  years,  and  B.  J.  Chambers  of  Texas  for  Vice-President,  and 
that  ticket  received  nearly  400,000  votes. 

The  Knights  of  Labor  started  out  on  different  lines  from  the  trades- 
union.  They  endeavored  to  be  an  educational  organization,  and  for  the 
space  of  twelve  years  accomplished  more  in  that  line  than  any  other 
body  of  workingmen  that  had  existed  before  that.  But  their  work  in 
this  line  was  hampered  by  the  fact  that  a  large  per  cent  of  its  members 
were  of  the  wage  working  classes,  and,  as  a  result,  the  organization 
drifted,  in  the  latter  years,  back  towards  the  trades-union  spirit.  It 
could  not  carry  both  ideas  and  continue  in  operation.  Those  who 
maintained  the  trades-union  sentiment  could  not^  see  the  value  of 
spending  money  in  education  on  the  line  of  political  action,  which  would 
manifest  itself  in  the  construction  of  the  planks  in  the  platform;  while, 
on  the  other  hand,  those  who  believed  in  education  along  political  lines 
could  not  see  the  benefit  to  be  gained  by  contributing  their  money  to 
make  the  fight  in  the  line  of  strikes.  The  organization  became  weak- 
ened by  this  struggle  between  conflicting  ideas.  In  1884  the  Independ- 
ent party  held  a  convention  in  Chicago,  and  placed  in  nomination  for 
President,  Benjamin  F.  Butler  of  Massachusetts,  and  General  A.  M.  West, 
who  was  at  the  New  York  convention  of  the  National  Union,  as  Vice- 
President.  In  1888  this  party  changed  its  name  to  the  Union  Labor 
party,  and  placed  in  nomination  for  President,  A.  J.  Streeter,  president 
of  the  Farmers'  Alliance,  and  Cunningham  of  Arkansas,  as  Vice-Presi- 
dent. Every  one  of  these  presidential  nominations  was  the  outcome  of 
the  conference  held  at  Louisville  in  1865,  and  the  main  points  of  that 
platform,  —  land,  transportation,  and  finance,  —  have  never  been  deviated 
from  from  that  day  to  the  present,  and  the  same  principles  are  to-day 
embodied  in  the  platform  adopted  by  the  Farmers'  Alliance  and  Indus- 
trial Union  and  the  Knights  of  Labor,  at  their  joint  conference  at  St. 
Louis  in  December,  1889.     It  was  on  this  platform  that  the  great  politi- 


326  HISTORICAL  AND  POLITICAL, 

cal  upheaval  in  Kansas,  Nebraska,  Minnesota,  and  Dakota  was  pro- 
duced, in  the  political  campaign  of  the  summer  and  fall  of  1890,  which 
resulted  in  the  election  of  some  fifteen  independent  members  to  the  fifty- 
second  Congress  —  a  result  which  has  profoundly  astonished  the  leaders 
of  the  two  old  political  parties.  It  has  so  revolutionized  public  thought 
that,  at  the  time  of  the  penning  of  this  article,  there  is  no  living  person 
who  can  prognosticate  the  political  complexion  of  the  coming  presi- 
dential campaign  of  1892. 

These  ideas  have  gained  such  a  hold  upon  public  opinion,  that  they 
bid  fair  to  cause  a  complete  change  in  our  form  of  government,  as  far 
as  its  industrial  conditions  are  concerned,  during  the  next  quarter  of  a 
century.  It  looks  as  though,  before  that  period  was  passed,  the  govern- 
ment would  assume  control  and  ownership  of  all  means  of  transporta- 
tion in  the  form  of  railroads  ;  that  the  government  would  adopt  a  system 
of  issuing  money  to  the  people  without  the  aid  of  banking  institutions, 
and  that  a  larger  volume  per  capita  would  be  in  circulation  than  ever 
before  in  the  history  of  any  government  in  the  world ;  that  the  local 
governments  of  cities  and  towns  would  assume  control  and  complete 
ownership  of  all  street  railroads,  gas  and  water  works.  In  fact,  it  bids 
fair  to  be  a  radical  revolution  in  the  industrial  affairs  of  government.  It 
looks  as  though  the  days  of  individualism  and  corporations  were  doomed, 
and  that  the  next  step  in  the  line  of  human  advancement  would  be  the 
adoption  of  the  socialistic  state  of  society. 


COLONEL   R.   J.   SLEDGE. 


CHAPTER    XIX. 

DUTY    OF    THE    MEMBERSHIP. 

By  Colonel  R.  J.  Sledge,  Kyle,  Texas. 

There  is  always  a  duty  which  follows  every  responsibility  of  life. 
This  proposition  will  hold  good  no  matter  what  station  the  individual 
may  occupy,  be  he  rich  or  poor,  learned  or  unlearned,  saint  or  sinner. 
That  duties  and  responsibilities  go  hand  in  hand  through  all  human 
efforts,  and  stand  side  by  side  in  all  human  achievements,  must  be  ac- 
cepted as  a  cardinal  truth.  This  duty  may  relate  to  the  individual,  or 
extend  to  those  either  near  or  far.  It  is  always  present,  and,  when  prop- 
erly understood,  a  faithful  and  unerring  guide.  Under  ordinary  condi- 
tions a  majority  of  the  race  will  perform  a  duty  when  made  plainly 
known.  The  difficulties  which  prevent  the  performance  of  duty  are 
usually  want  of  information,  or  mercenary  and  selfish  motives.  The 
individual  in  his  individual  capacity  can  many  times  reconcile  his  con- 
science to  certain  actions  when  he  has  proven  recreant  to  his  duty  as 
an  individual ;  but  the  difficulties  of  such  a  settlement  increase  when 
this  neglect  affects  the  conditions  or  rights  of  others.  When  a  person, 
by  his  or  her  own  volition,  joins  with  others  to  promote  the  advance- 
ment of  any  cause,  or  for  the  attainment  of  any  purpose,  this  sense  of 
duty  should  become  more  enlarged  because  the  responsibilities  have 
become  greater. 

In  all  organizations  there  should  be  definite  objects  to  labor  for. 
This  should  be  followed  by  a  unity  of  action  on  the  part  of  every  mem- 
ber. The  Scripture  says  that  "  a  house  divided  against  itself  cannot 
stand  "  ;  neither  can  an  organization  with  divided  efforts  continue  to  grow 
and  prosper.  The  duties  involved  in  membership  include  a  desire  to 
advance  the  best  interests  of  the  organization ;  and  this  is  only  possible 
where  a  full  understanding,  backed  up  by  mutual  responsibilities,  exists. 
It  is  tnie,  however,  that  the  degree  of  responsibility  differs  with  almost 
every  individual,  but  it  is  none  the  less  a  mutual  undertaking.  In  the 
AlHance  the  duty  of  each  member  is,  or  should  be,  distinctly  under- 
stood. The  motto  of  the  order,  "  Equal  rights  to  all,  and  special  privi- 
leges to  none,"  furnishes  a  safe  monitor  for  all  who  may  wish  an  object 
lesson  in  that  line.  It  conveys  the  idea  of  equality,  that  condition  which 
is  only  obtained  through  brotherly  love  and  fraternal  soHcitude. 

327 


328  HISTORICAL  AND  POLITICAL. 

A  certain  writer  has  defined  a  condition  of  perfect  equality  to  be  "  where 
each  produces  according  to  his  means,  and  consumes  according  to  his 
wants."  The  Alliance  goes  farther,  and  seeks  better  results.  It  aims, 
as  the  ultimate  fulfilment  of  duty,  to  have  each  member  educated  up  to 
one  common  plane,  as  nearly  as  natural  or  acquired  abilities  will  permit. 
It  assumes  that  the  whole  human  family  can  be  made  better.  While 
admitting  that  some  can  make  more  rapid  advancement  than  others,  it 
holds  to  the  belief  that  all  can  be  improved.  The  common  "  fatherhood 
of  God  and  the  brotherhood  of  man  "  would  be  the  ultimate  end  of  true 
Alliance  doctrine.  The  duties  of  membership  demand  that  the  strong 
should  help  the  weak  ;  the  educated,  the  uneducated  ;  and  the  joyful,  the 
sorrowing.  Aid  and  fraternal  assistance  should  include  the  financial  as 
well  as  the  moral  and  educational.  A  general  desire  to  bring  about 
peace,  plenty,  and  prosperity  to  every  member  should  actuate  the  whole. 
Herein  Ues  the  full  duty  of  membership,  and  is  indispensable  to  either 
success  or  progress. 

In  the  Alliance  all  meet  upon  certain  levels,  and  each  is  possessed  of 
certain  rights  and  privileges.  These  should  be  sacredly  preserved,  and 
fully  recognized  by  every  member.  Those  who  through  ignorance  do 
not  understand  the  full  import  of  these  conditions  should  be  taught 
them  at  once,  and  not  be  deprived  of  their  benefits.  Duty  makes  every 
member  his  "  brother's  keeper,"  and  formulates  a  condition  of  fraternal 
dependence  that  cannot  be  neglected  or  ignored.  In  all  matters  per- 
taining to  moral,  material,  or  intellectual  growth,  each  member  should 
be  governed  by  one  purpose  and  guided  by  one  impulse.  Nothing 
should  interfere  with  continuity  of  action,  in  this  respect,  on  the  part  of 
every  member  of  the  Alliance.  They  should  stand  together  as  a  unit, 
defending  each  other,  and  protecting  the  general  welfare  of  the  order. 
Nothing  should  be  taken  for  granted,  or  believed  to  be  true  concerning 
a  member,  unless  clearly  and  distinctly  proven ;  and  even  then  charity, 
*'  the  greatest  of  them  all,"  should  be  permitted  to  dictate  the  terms  of 
judgment. 

The  motives  of  the  organization  may  not  be  understood,  and,  as  a 
I  I  consequence,  they  are  liable  to  be  impugned.  Because  of  this,  members 
become  alarmed,  and  the  cowards  retreat.  Not  so  with  those  who 
understand  their  duty.  They  seek  to  make  plain  their  objects,  and  try 
to  instruct  the  public  in  the  principles  of  the  order.  To  do  this  requires 
courage ;  but  this  courage  is  nearly  always  found  in  conjunction  with  a 
proper  sense  of  duty,  and  in  all  cases  makes  the  weak  strong,  and  the 
triumph  of  truth  complete.  The  Alliance  furnishes  a  fertile  field  for 
those  who  desire  to  benefit  their  neighbors  and  friends.     The  oppor- 


DUTY  OF  THE   MEMBERSHIP.  329 

tunities  for  doing  good  are  never  wanting,  and  all  such  efforts  usually 
result  satisfactorily ;  the  farmers  being,  as  a  rule,  an  appreciative  class, 
who  hardly  ever  fail  to  profit  by  example  or  advice. 

When  difficulties  are  increasing,  and  the  weight  of  oppression  grows 
heavier,  or  the  storm  cloud  of  opposition  becomes  more  threatening,  the 
duties  which  are  demanded  of  the  membership  become  more  burden- 
some and  more  exacting.  At  the  present  time  the  Alliance  is  on  the  up 
grade.  It  has  required  courage  as  well  as  fidelity  to  convictions  to 
place  it  where  it  now  is.  More  and  greater  efforts,  stronger  and  more 
devoted  friends,  wiser  counsels,  and  more  willing  sacrifices  must  be 
made  in  the  near  future,  to  preserve  the  trophies  which  the  Alliance  has 
already  won.  Nothing  but  an  abiding  faith  in  the  ultimate  triumph  of 
truth,  and  a  fearless,  conscientious  discharge  of  every  duty,  will  secure  to 
future  membership  the  privileges  and  prospects  of  the  present. 

The  Alliance  is  now  in  excellent  condition  and  splendidly  equipped 
for  aggressive  work.  Its  methods  are  nearly,  if  not  quite,  perfected. 
Its  declaration  of  principles  is  clearly  defined,  its  membership  is  fully 
alive  to  the  necessities  of  the  times,  and  the  country  at  large  acknowl- 
edges the  justness  of  its  cause.  The  one  factor  absolutely  necessary 
to  complete  success  is  a  perfect  performance  of  duty  among  the 
members.  A  strict  adherence  to  duty  will  rid  the  AlHance  of  all 
factional  strife,  and  eliminate  the  demagogue,  the  traitor,  and  the 
coward.  It  will  add  courage,  strength,  and  power  to  the  undertaking, 
and  give  dignity,  wisdom,  and  standing  to  the  order.  It  will  cement 
the  organization  into  one  solid  phalanx,  whose  ranks  cannot  be  broken 
by  envy,  slander,  or  internal  dissensions.  It  is  not  the  assaults  of  the 
open  enemy  that  now  threaten  the  perpetuity  of  the  order ;  it  is  the 
insidious  attacks  of  an  unseen  and  secret  foe,  —  one  who  works  through 
stealth,  whose  weapons  are  promises  which  satisfy  the  greed  or  ambi- 
tion of  the  members  ;  one  who  can  stir  up  strife  in  the  order,  and  then 
add  fuel  to  the  fire  already  lighted.  These  are  the  dreaded  enemies 
of  the  order,  and  can  only  be  defeated  in  their  nefarious  scheming  by 
a  rigid  performance  of  duty.  When  one  member  can  depend  upon 
other  members  to  fulfil  their  duties  at  all  times,  fealty  to  the  order 
becomes  absolute,  and  a  determination  to  do  right  becomes  unswerving. 
The  Alliance  is  rapidly  teaching  its  membership  their  duties  and  obli- 
gations to  the  order,  and  it  is  a  pleasure  to  know  that  these  lessons  are 
bringing  forth  the  rich,  ripe  fruit  of  obedience.  Nothing  indicates  the 
power  and  ultimate  triumph  of  the  principles  of  the.  Alliance  more 
forcibly  than  the  manner  in  which  the  membership  are  standing  by  their 
duties.     If  this  condition  can  be  perpetuated,  future  generations  will 


330  HISTORICAL  AND  POLITICAL. 

have  cause  to  rejoice.  Whether  it  will  continue  or  not,  depends 
entirely  upon  the  proper  application  of  the  sense  of  duty  which  obtains 
among  the  membership. 

The  Alliance  movement,  during  its  brief  existence,  has  done  more  to 
educate  the  great  mass  of  people  in  the  principles  of  government  than 
all  the  schools  and  colleges  have  in  the  past  century.  The  people 
are,  through  the  methods  made  use  of  by  the  Alliance,  learning  the 
rights  and  duties  of  citizenship  with  a  rapidity  and  clearness  truly  alarm- 
ing to  the  chronic  politician.  The  Alliance  has  taught  the  wealth- 
producers  of  the  North  and  South  that  their  interests  are  identical; 
that  it  is  their  duty  to  eliminate  all  sectional  feeling,  and  work  together 
for  the  common  good.  It  has  done  more.  It  has  taught  them  to  look 
upon  all  attempts  to  array  one  portion  against  another,  or  revive  old 
animosities,  as  a  cruel  wrong,  and  intended  to  serve  political  purposes. 
They  are  learning  to  class  the  average  politician  as  an  enemy  to  labor  in 
production,  and  in  the  near  future  will  put  this  knowledge  to  a  practical 
test.  The  fact  is  being  made  apparent  that  all  labor,  whether  it  be 
found  amid  the  snow  and  ice  of  the  North,  the  rough  and  rugged 
portions  of  the  West,  or  the  more  mild  and  balmy  sections  of  the  South, 
must  stand  together  for  mutual  protection.  The  Alliance  is  the  initial 
movement  which,  if  continued,  will  bring  about  a  unification  of  senti- 
ment based  upon  questions  of  national  importance,  that  will  benefit 
labor,  wipe  out  all  sectionalism,  and  prove  a  lasting  blessing  to  the 
whole  people. 

The  objects  taught  in  the  Alliance  tend  to  make  the  membership 
better  and  stronger  men  and  women,  and  fit  them  more  properly  for 
the  duties  and  responsibilities  they  may  be  called  to  bear.  In  this  lies 
the  secret  power  of  the  Alliance,  and  with  its  increase  come  more 
certain  prospects  of  future  achievements.  No  matter  what  differences 
may  at  first  appear  in  the  Alliance,  in  regard  to  education,  morals,  social 
relations,  or  matters  financial  or  material,  a  proper  sense  of  duty,  wisely 
and  justly  applied,  will  in  time  produce  one  united,  self-respecting,  self- 
reliant,  and  earnest  organization  of  well-meaning,  duty-loving  members. 
As  I  have  said  before,  the  duties  and  responsibilities  of  membership  are 
found  together ;  they  are  almost  inseparable,  and  demand  not  only 
watchful  attention,  but  a  strict  adherence.  No  man  or  woman  can 
long  neglect  either  and  maintain  their  position  in  ordinary  society, 
much  less  as  members  of  an  organization.  It  therefore  is  incumbent 
upon  every  one,  who  has  his  own  or  others'  welfare  at  stake,  to  see  to 
it  that  every  obligation  is  carefully  discharged,  and  every  duty  fully 
performed. 


JOHN    M.    POTTER. 


CHAPTER   XX. 

THE   DUTY   OF    A    REFORMER. 

By  John  M.  Potter,  Secretary  Michigan  State  Alliance,  and  Editor  of 
THE  Alliance  Sentinel^  Lansing,  Michigan. 

A  REFORMER  has  stood  in  all  ages  past,  and  will  doubtless  stand  in  all 
time  to  come,  among  his  fellows  misjudged  and  misunderstood.  His 
motives  will  be  impugned,  his  sincerity  questioned,  and  his  efforts 
unappreciated.  He  is  one  "  who  treads  on  the  thorns  and  thistles  of 
earth,  while  walking  amid  the  stars." 

The  qualifications  of  a  reformer  are  numerous  and  exacting,  and  with- 
out them  success  is  impossible.  Honesty,  patience,  and  courage  are 
the  three  most*  essential.  Add  to  these  a  continuity  of  action,  a  full 
understanding  of  the  proposed  reform,  and  a  wilHngness  to  labor  with- 
out even  a  prospect  of  reward,  and  the  necessary  requirements  of  a 
genuine  reformer  are  partially  enumerated.  The  incessant,  persistent 
exercise  of  those  qualities  constitutes,  in  part,  the  duty  of  a  reformer. 
He  who  undertakes  a  reform  must  fight  existing  power,  old  conditions 
and  practices,  and  the  almost  universal  dread  of  innovations.  The 
settled  policies  of  years  are  to  be  changed ;  the  prejudices  of  long  stand- 
ing are  to  be  overcome ;  and  last,  but  by  far  the  most  difficult,  educa- 
tion must  do  its  perfect  work. 

To  be  a  reformer  is  to  be  a  hero,  perhaps  a  martyr,  but  seldom  a 
beneficiary.  It  is  only  after  the  ground  has  been  prepared,  the  seed 
sown,  and  the  plant  cultivated,  that  the  harvest  can  be  gathered.  It  is 
just  so  with  a  reform.  The  people  must  be  prepared  through  want  and 
distress ;  the  cause  must  be  discovered  and  pointed  out ;  the  remedy 
must  be  clearly  shown ;  and  a  concert  of  action  toward  the  demand  for 
its  application  must  be  aroused;  and  after  all  this  has  been  brought 
about,  some  eleventh-hour  convert  usually  steps  in  and  receives  the 
reward.  But  the  true  reformer  is  satisfied  to  perform  his  duty  if  only 
rewarded  by  the  consciousness  of  having  discharged  it  honestly  and  well. 
His  efforts  are  all  directed  toward  the  accomplishment  of  his  purpose, 
without  even  a  care  as  to  what  will  become  of  him  in  the  grand  results 
attending  success. 

The  history  of  reforms  during  the  past  demonstrates  the  fact  that 
none  were  failures  in  the  end.     In  the  fulness  of  time,  the  seeds  sown 


332  HISTORICAL  AND  POLITICAL. 

brought  a  harvest,  of  which  the  world  eagerly  partook.     Men  have  died 
believing  that  their  efforts  at  reform  were  futile,  to  whose  memory  a 
grateful  people  have  erected  monuments  many  years  afterward. 
It  may  be  true  that 

"The  seed  ye  sow  another  reaps, 
The  wealth  ye  find  another  keeps"; 

but  it  neither  hinders  the  true  reformer  in  the  discharge  of  his  duties, 
nor  causes  a  single  pang  of  regret  in  his  reflections.  It  is  not  necessary 
to  mention  any  particular  reforms  in  order  to  designate  certain  lines  of 
duty.  Nearly  all  reforms  originate  under  similar  conditions,  and  are 
carried  forward  by  the  same  forces.  The  battle  may  be  bloodless,  it 
may  even  be  without  confusion  or  tumult,  and  yet  it  may  result  in  the 
weal  or  woe  of  the  people  of  the  entire  world.  Death  and  destruction 
to  the  people  wait  upon  other  methods  than  war. 
Carlyle  says :  — 

"It  is  not  to  die,  or  even  to  die  of  hunger,  that  makes  a  rilan  wretched;  many 
men  have  died;  all  men  must  die.  But  it  is  to  live  miserable,  we  know  not  why; 
to  work,  save,  and  yet  gain  nothing;  to  be  heart- worn,  weary,  yet  isolated,  unre- 
lated, girt  in  with  a  cold  universal  Laissez-faire,^'* 

John  Stuart  Mill  says  :  — 

"If  the  bulk  of  the  human  ra,ce  is  always  to  remain  as  at  present,  slaves  to  toil 
in  which  they  have  no  interest,  and  therefore  feel  no  interest,  drudging  from  early 
morning  till  late  at  night  for  the  bare  necessaries,  and  with  all  the  intellectual  and 
moral  deficiencies  which  that  implies  —  without  resources  either  in  mind  or  feeling; 
untaught,  for  they  cannot  be  better  taught  than  fed;  selfish,  for  their  thoughts 
are  all  required  for  themselves ;  without  interest  or  sentiments  as  citizens  and  members 
of  society,  and  with  a  sense  of  injustice  rankling  in  their  minds  equally  for  what 
they  have  not  and  what  others  have,  —  I  know  not  what  there  is  which  should  make 
a  person  of  any  capacity  of  reason  concern  himself  about  the  destinies  of  the  human 
race." 


What  a  fearful  picture,  and  yet  how  true  ! 


"  The  iron  law  of  wages,"  says  Ricardo,  "  is  the  natural  price  of  labor  which  is 
necessary  to  enable  the  laborers,  one  with  another,  to  subsist  and  to  perpetuate  their 
race  without  increase  or  decrease." 

"  Labor,"  says  Karl  Marx,  "  is  bought  at  its  exchange  value,  and  sold  at  its  use 
value.  Exchange  value  is  the  least  amount  that  will  permit  the  laborer  and  his 
family  to  live,  while  the  use  value  is  all  the  employer  can  squeeze  out  of  it." 

"  You  believe,  perhaps,  fellow  laborers  and  citizens,"  said  Lassalle,  "  that  you  are 
human  beings,  that  you  are  men.  Speaking  from  the  standpoint  of  political  econ- 
omy, you  make  a  terrible  mistake.  You  are  nothing  but  a  commodity,  a  high  price 
for  which  increases  your  numbers,  just  the  same  as  a  high  price  for  stockings  increases 


DUTY  OF  A  REFORMER.  333 

the  number  of  stockings,  if  there  are  not  enough  of  them  —  and  you  are  swept  away. 
Your  number  is  diminished  by  smaller  wages,  by  what  Malthus  calls  the  preventive 
and  positive  checks  to  population;  just  as  if  you  were  vermin,  against  which  society 
wages  war." 

Conditions,  and  not  theories,  bring  about  the  necessity  of  reforms,  and 
it  is  necessity,  not  theory,  that  brings  out  the  reformer.  His  duty  begins 
where  equal  rights  arc  ignored,  and  never  ends  until  justice  and  equity 
are  obtained. 

Emerson  says  :  — 

"  What  is  a  man  born  for,  but  to  be  a  reformer,  a  re-maker  of  what  man  has  made, 
a  renouncer  of  lies,  a  restorer  of  truth  and  good,  imitating  that  great  Nature  which 
embosoms  us  all,  and  which  sleeps  no  moment  on  an  old  past,  but  every  hour 
repairs  herself,  yielding  us  every  morning  a  new  day,  and  with  every  pulsation  a  new 
life  ?  The  power,  which  is  at  once  spring  and  regulator  in  all  efforts  of  reform,  is 
the  conviction  that  there  is  an  infmite  worthiness  in  man  which  will  appear  at 
the  call  of  worth,  and  that  all  reforms  are  the  removing  of  some  impediment. 
The  Americans  have  no  faith;  they  rely  on  the  power  of  a  dollar;  they  are  deaf  to 
sentiment;  they  think  you  may  talk  the  north  wind  down  as  easily  as  to  raise  society. 
And  no  class  is  more  faithless  than  the  scholars  or  intellectual  men.  Now,  if  I  talk 
with  a  sincere  wise  man,  and  my  friend  with  a  poet,  with  a  conscientious  youth,  who 
is  still  under  the  dominion  of  his  own  wild  thoughts,  and  not  yet  harnessed  in  the 
team  of  society  to  drag  with  us  all  in  the  ruts  of  custom,  I  see  at  once  how  paltry  is 
all  this  generation  of  unbelievers,  and  what  a  house  of  cards  their  institutions  are; 
and  I  see  what  one  brave  man,  what  one  great  thought  executed,  might  effect.  But 
the  reformer  not  only  beholds  his  heaven  to  be  possible,  but  already  to  begin  to  exist; 
not  by  the  men  or  materials  the  statesman  uses,  but  by  men  transfigured  and  raised 
above  themselves  by  the  power  of  principles.  To  principles  something  else  is  pos- 
sible, that  transcends  all  the  power  of  expedients." 

The  estimate  put  upon  a  reformer,  in  the  true  sense  of  the  word,  by 
Mr.  Emerson,  was  in  reality  a  tribute  to  all  the  virtues.  How  true  this 
is  !  When  the  generations  that  come  after  look  back  upon  the  efforts  of 
reform,  the  dark  shades  with  which  it  was  enveloped  are  turned  into 
brighter  beams,  and  the  methods  then  considered  doubtful  become  the 
maxims  of  future  conduct.  True  reforms,  true  beneficence,  and  better 
conditions  for  the  human  race,  are  bound  together  in  indissoluble 
bonds  of  union.  Where  one  is  found,  all  may  be  seen;  and  where 
either  is  wanting,  neither  need  be  expected. 

The  Alliance  is  the  one  grand  reform  of  the  nineteenth  century.  Its 
objects  are  to  enlighten,  elevate,  and  make  better.  It  is  founded  upon 
the  principle  of  equal  and  exact  justice  to  all.  It  demands  reform 
in  the  conditions  which  obtain  among  those  who  labor  in  production, 
especially  the  farmers.     Being  the  most  conservative  element  of  society, 


334  HISTORICAL  AND  POLITICAL, 

they  are  the  most  confiding  and  the  slowest  to  act.  They  are  more 
suspicious  of  the  acts  of  others  than  jealous  of  their  own  rights,  and  are 
quite  apt  to  impugn  the  motives  of  any  one  who  seeks  to  bring  about 
any  innovations  upon  existing  customs  and  usages.  Reform  in  this 
direction  can  only  follow  education,  and  that  is  only  brought  about  by 
patient  efforts.  While  they  may  be  slow  to  act,  it  is  also  true  that  their 
efforts  are  earnest  and  vigorous  when  once  put  in  motion.  It  would  be 
a  blessing  to  the  race  if  reformers  were  unnecessary ;  but  the  wish  is 
useless,  since,  notwithstanding  all  the  appeals  that  have  been  made  in 
ages  past,  for  God  and  humanity,  the  tide  of  oppression  seems  to  be 
augmenting  as  time  rolls  on,  and  the  wails  of  the  poor,  needy,  and  dis- 
tressed are  unnoticed,  even  in  a  land  consecrated  to  liberty. 

It  is  here  that  the  herculean  task  of  the  reformer  presents  itself.  It 
is  here  that  he  must  choose  between  ease,  comfort,  and  possible  riches, 
and  a  life  of  self-sacrifice,  deprivation,  and  possible  want.  It  is  here  that 
he  must  choose  between  the  soul  and  the  body,  between  the  man  and 
the  animal.  If  a  reformer,  he  chooses  the  right  and  despises  the  wrong. 
Observation  has  already  taught  him  that  great  reforms  are  of  slow 
growth,  and  that  all  forms  of  selfishness  must  be  buried  in  the  great 
work  in  which  he  is  engaged.  The  idea  of  reward,  except  in  the  great 
world  to  come,  must  not  possess  him.  We  would  cheerfully  grant  to 
him  the  consoling  thought  that  a  life  devoted  to  some  good  work  is 
advancing  heavenward. 

The  reformer  must  live  in  the  future,  and  consider  present  discomforts 
as  the  credit  marks  for  coming  appreciation.     Emerson  further  says  :  — 

"  He  who  would  help  himself  and  others  should  not  be  a  subject  of  irregular  and 
interrupted  impulses  of  virtue;  but  a  continent,  persisting,  immovable  person,  —  such 
as  we  have  seen  a  few  scattered  up  and  down  in  time  for  the  blessing  of  the  world,  — 
men  who  have  in  the  gravity  of  their  nature  a  quality  which  answers  to  the  fly-wheel 
in  a  mill,  which  distributes  the  motion  equally  over  all  the  wheels,  and  hinders  it  from 
falling  unequally  and  suddenly  in  destructive  shocks.  It  is  better  that  joy  should  be 
spread  over  all  the  day  in  the  form  of  strength,  than  that  it  should  be  concentrated 
into  ecstasies,  full  of  danger  and  followed  by  reactions.  There  is  a  sublime  prudence, 
which  is  the  very  highest  that  we  know  of  man,  which,  believing  in  a  vast  future,  sure 
of  more  to  come  than  is  yet  seen,  postpones  always  the  present  hour  to  the  whole 
life;  postpones  talent  to  genius,  and  special  results  to  character.  A  purer  fame,  a 
greater  power,  rewards  the  sacrifice." 

Another  point  usually  lost  sight  of  is  that  all  reformers  begin  at  the 
bottom.  It  is  the  substratum  of  what  is  called  society  that  furnishes 
the  material  out  of  which  both  reforms  and  reformers  are  usually  pro- 
duced. It  is  among  the  discontented,  the  distressed,  and  those  who  are 
not  satisfied  with  their  environment,  that  all  reforms  begin.     Those  who 


DUTY  OP  A  REFORMER,  335 

are  satisfied  with  their  conditions  are  not,  as  a  rule,  satisfied  to  divide 
with  others,  or  consent  without  a  protest  to  a  change.  Hence  the  re- 
former, in  the  discharge  of  his  duty,  runs  counter  to  the  interests  of  the 
rich,  powerful,  and  educated.  Reforms  that  are  founded  in  philan- 
thropy are  quite  certain  to  end  in  failure,  while  those  based  upon  princi- 
ple are  always  in  the  end  triumphant.  To  meet  with  average  courage 
all  these  obstacles ;  to  fight  manfully  all  opposition ;  to  bear  insult,  suffer 
wrong,  and  bear  reproach,  —  these  constitute  the  plain  duties  of  every 
true  reformer. 


CHAPTER   XXI. 

THE    SUB-TREASURY    PLAN. 

By  Hon.  Harry  Tracy,  Lecturer   National  Farmers'  Alliance  and  Indus- 
trial Union,  Editor  Southern  Mercipy^  Dallas,  Texas. 

Before  beginning  a  discussion  of  this  plan  I  will  give  the  original 
bill  in  full,  as  it  deserves  to  be  handed  down  to  history. 

H.  R.  7162  is  the  official  designation  of  the  bill  introduced  by  Hon. 
John  A.  Pickler  of  South  Dakota,  embodying  the  demand  of  the 
Farmers'  Alliance  and  Industrial  Union,  which  was  referred  to  the  Com- 
mittee on  Ways  and  Means.  Its  title  is,  "  A  bill  to  establish  a  system 
of  sub-treasuries,  and  for  other  purposes,"  the  full  text  of  the  bill  being 
as  follows :  — 

"  Section  i.  Be  it  enacted  by  the  Senate  and  House  of  Representatives  of  the 
United  States  of  America  in  Congress  assembled.  That  there  may  be  established  in 
each  of  the  counties  of  each  of  the  States  of  this  United  States,  a  branch  of  the 
Treasury  Department  of  the  United  States,  to  be  known  and  designated  as  a  sub- 
treasury,  as  hereinafter  provided,  when  one  hundred  or  more  citizens  of  any  county 
in  any  State  shall  petition  the  Secretary  of  the  Treasury  requesting  the  location  of  a 
sub-treasury  in  such  county,  and  shall, 

*'  I.  Present  written  evidence  duly  authenticated  by  oath  or  affirmation  of  county 
clerk  and  sheriff,  showing  that  the  average  gross  amount  per  annum  of  cotton,  wheat, 
oats,  corn,  and  tobacco  produced  and  sold  in  that  county  for  the  last  preceding  two 
years,  exceeds  the  sum  of  ^500,000,  at  current  prices  in  said  county  at  that  time,  and, 

"  2.  Present  a  good  and  sufficient  bond  for  title  to  a  suitable  and  adequate  amount 
of  land  to  be  donated  to  the  government  of  the  United  States  for  the  location  of  the 
sub-treasury  buildings,  and, 

"  3.  A  certificate  of  election  showing  that  the  site  for  the. location  of  such  sub- 
treasury  has  been  chosen  by  a  popular  vote  of  the  citizens  of  that  county,  and  also 
naming  the  manager  of  the  sub-treasury  elected  at  said  election  for  the  purpose  of 
taking  charge  of  said  sub-treasury,  under  such  regulations  as  may  be  prescribed. 
It  shall,  in  that  case,  be  the  duty  of  the  Secretary  of  the  Treasury  to  proceed  without 
delay  to  establish  a  sub-treasury  department  in  such  county  as  hereinafter  provided. 

"  Sec.  2.  That  any  owner  of  cotton,  wheat,  corn,  oats,  or  tobacco  may  deposit 
the  same  in  the  sub-treasury  nearest  the  point  of  its  production,  and  receive  therefor 
treasury  notes,  hereinafter  provided  for,  equal  at  the  date  of  deposit  to  eighty  per 
centum  of  the  net  value  of  such  products  at  the  market  price,  said  price  to  be  deter- 
mined by  the  Secretary  of  the  Treasury,  under  rules  and  regulations  prescribed,  based 
upon  the  price  current  in  the  leading  cotton,  tobacco,  or  grain  markets  of  the  United 
States;  but  no  deposit  consisting  in  whole  or  in  part  of  cotton,  tobacco,  or  grain 
imported  into  this  country  shall  be  received  under  the  provisions  of  this  act. 
336 


COLONEL    HARRY   TRACY. 


THE  SUB-TREASURY  PLAN.  337 

"  Sec.  3.  That  the  Secretary  of  the  Treasury  shall  cause  to  be  prepared  treasury 
notes,  in  such  amounts  as  may  be  required  for  the  purpose  of  the  above  section,  and 
in  such  form  and  denominations  as  he  may  prescribe,  provided  that  no  note  shall  be 
of  a  denomination  of  less  than  ^i,  or  more  than  ^icx)0. 

"  Sec.  4.  That  the  treasury  notes  issued  under  this  act  shall  be  receivable  for 
customs,  and  shall  be  a  full  legal  tender  for  all  debts,  both  public  and  private,  and 
such  notes  when  held  by  any  national  banking  association  shall  be  counted  as  part 
of  its  lawful  reserve. 

"Sec.  5.  It  shall  be  the  duty  of  the  manager  of  a  sub-treasury  when  cotton, 
grain,  or  tobacco  is  received  by  him  on  deposit,  as  above  provided,  to  give  a  ware- 
house receipt,  showing  the  amount  and  grade  or  quality  of  such  cotton,  tobacco,  or 
grain,  and  its  value  at  date  of  deposit;  the  amount  of  treasury  notes  the  sub-treasury 
has  advanced  on  the  product;  that  the  interest  on  the  money  so  advanced  is  at  the 
rate  of  one  per  centum  per  annum;  expressly  stating  the  amount  of  insurance,  weigh- 
ing, classing,  warehousing,  and  other  charges  that  will  run  against  such  deposit  of 
cotton,  grain,  or  tobacco.  All  such  warehouse  receipts  shall  be  negotiable  by 
indorsement. 

"  Sec.  6.  That  the  cotton,  grain,  or  tobacco  deposited  in  the  sub-treasury  under 
the  provisions  of  this  act  may  be  redeemed  by  the  holder  of  the  warehouse  receipt 
herein  provided  for,  either  at  the  sub-treasury  in  which  the  product  is  deposited,  or 
at  any  other  sub-treasury,  by  the  surrender  of  such  warehouse  receipt  and  the  pay- 
ment in  lawful  money  of  the  United  States  of  the  same  amount  originally  advanced 
by  the  sub-treasury  against  the  product,  and  such  further  amount  as  may  be  neces- 
sary to  discharge  all  interest  that  may  have  accrued  against  the  advance  of  money 
made  on  the  deposit  of  produce,  and  all  insurance,  warehouse,  and  other  charges 
that  attach  to  the  product  for  warehousing  and  handling.  All  lawful  money  received 
at  the  sub-treasury  as  a  return  of  the  actual  amount  of  money  advanced  by  the  gov- 
ernment against  farm  products  as  above  specified  shall  be  returned,  with  a  full  report 
of  the  transaction,  to  the  Secretary  of  the  Treasury,  who  shall  make  record  of  the 
transaction  and  cancel  and  destroy  the  money  so  returned.  A  sub-treasury  that 
receives  a  warehouse  receipt  as  above  provided,  together  with  the  return  of  the 
proper  amount  of  lawful  money  and  all  charges  as  herein  provided,  when  the  product 
for  which  it  is  given  is  stored  in  some  other  sub-treasury,  shall  give  an  order  on  such 
other  sub-treasury  for  the  delivery  of  the  cotton,  grain,  or  tobacco,  as  the  case  may 
be,  and  the  Secretary  of  the  Treasury  shall  provide  for  the  adjustment  between  sub- 
treasuries  of  all  charges. 

"  Sec.  7.  The  Secretary  of  the  Treasury  shall  prescribe  such  rules  and  regulations 
as  are  necessary  for  governing  the  details  of  the  management  of  the  sub-treasuries, 
fixing  the  salary,  bond,  and  responsibility  of  each  of  the  managers  of  sub-treasuries 
(provided  that  the  salary  of  any  manager  of  a  sub-treasury  shall  not  exceed  the  sum 
of  ^1500  per  annum),  holding  the  managers  of  sub-treasuries  personally  responsible 
on  their  bonds  for  weights  and  classifications  of  all  produce,  providing  for  the  rejec- 
tion of  unmerchantable  grades  of  cotton,  grain,  or  tobacco,  or  for  such  as  may  be  in 
bad  condition;  and  shall  provide  rules  for  the  sale  at  public  auction  of  all  cotton, 
corn,  oats,  wheat,  or  tobacco  that  has  been  placed  on  deposit  for  a  longer  period 
than  twelve  months,  after  due  notice  published.  The  proceeds  of  the  sale  of  such 
product  shall  be  applied,  first,  to  the  reimbursement  to  the  sub-treasury  of  the 
amount  originally  advanced,  together  with  all  charges;  and,  second,  the  balance  shall 
be  held  on  deposit  for  the  benefit  of  the  holder  of  t<he  warehouse  receipt,  who  shall 


33^  HISTORICAL  AND  POLITICAL, 

be  entitled  to  receive  the  same  on  the  surrender  of  his  warehouse  receipt.  The  Sec- 
retary of  the  Treasury  shall  also  provide  rules  for  the  duplication  of  any  papers,  in 
case  of  loss  or  destruction. 

"  Sec.  8.  It  shall  be  the  duty  of  the  Secretary  of  the  Treasury,  when  Section  i  of 
this  act  shall  have  been  complied  with,  to  cause  to  be  erected,  according  to  the  laws 
and  customs  governing  the  construction  of  government  buildings,  a  suitable  sub- 
treasury  building,  with  such  warehouse  or  elevator  facilities  as  the  character  and 
amount  of  the  products  of  that  section  may  indicate  as  necessary.  Such  buildings 
shall  be  supplied  with  all  modern  conveniences  for  handling  and  safely  storing  and 
preserving  the  products  likely  to  be  deposited. 

"  Sec.  9.  That  any  gain  arising  from  the  charges  for  insurance,  Aveighing,  storing, 
classing,  holding,  shipping,  interest,  or  other  charges,  after  paying  all  expenses  of 
conducting  the  sub-treasury,  shall  be  accounted  for  and  paid  into  the  Treasury  of  the 
United  States. 

"  Sec.  10.  The  term  of  office  of  a  manager  of  a  sub-treasury  shall  be  two  years, 
and  the  regular  election  to  fill  such  office  shall  be  at  the  same  time  as  the  election 
for  members  of  the  House  of  Representatives  of  the  Congress  of  the  United  States. 
In  case  of  a  vacancy  in  the  office  of  manager  of  the  sub-treasury,  by  death,  resigna- 
tion, or  otherwise,  the  Secretary  of  the  Treasury  shall  have  power  to  appoint  a  man- 
ager for  the  unexpired  term. 

"Sec.  II.  The  sum  of  fifty  millions  of  dollars,  or  so  much  thereof  as  maybe 
found  necessary  to  carry  out  the  provisions  of  this  act,  is  hereby  appropriated  out  of 
any  moneys  in  the  Treasury  not  otherwise  appropriated,  for  that  purpose. 

"  Sec.  12.  That  so  much  of  any  or  all  other  acts  as  are  in  conflict  with  the  pro- 
visions of  this  act  are  hereby  repealed. " 

Amid  the  great  confusion  of  thought  as  to  the  real  object  and  effect 
of  this  important  and  much-abused  plan,  an  article,  be  it  ever  so  elabo- 
rate, could  not  be  expected  to  sustain,  by  argument,  all  the  propositions 
of  the  measure.  If,  in  this  communication,  a  forcible,  clear,  and  con- 
clusive presentation  can  be  made  of  ( i )  the  necessity  for  the  resort  to 
such  legislation  at  this  time,  (2)  the  true  methods  of  the  proposed  sub- 
treasury  system  and  their  relation  to  agriculture  and  other  lines  of 
business,  and  (3)  a  conservative  view  of  the  inevitable  effect  of  the 
introduction  of  this  method  to  meet  the  necessity  of  the  period,  much 
will  have  been  accomplished. 

The  necessity  for  something  of  this  kind  depends  upon,  and  has  been 
developed  by,  the  onward  march  of  material  progress.  The  introduc- 
tion of  steam  and  electricity,  the  effectiveness  given  to  effort,  under  the 
modern  commercial  methods,  as  the  combined  result  of  the  introduc- 
tion of  improved  machinery,  and  a  more  perfect  application  of  the 
economic  doctrine  of  the  division  of  labor,  with  many  other  forces 
developed  by  discovery,  research,  and  education,  have  in  the  last  fifty 
years  produced  great  changes  in  almost  every  line  of  effort.  These 
changes  have  probably  affected  the  methods  of  agriculture   and  the 


THE   SUB-TREASURY  PLAN.  339 

conditions  that  surround  it,  about  as  much  as  they  have  other  lines  of 
business,  on  the  average.  It  is  important  to  note  that,  for  the  last 
twenty-five  years,  agriculture  has,  as  compared  with  the  other  two  great 
branches  of  production,  —  manufacture  and  commerce,  —  been  rapidly 
becoming  depressed  and  unprofitable.  Political  economists  have  long 
recognized  the  fact  that  a  country  could  not  reach  a  high  degree  of 
prosperity  if  it  depended  alone  upon  either  one  of  the  three  great 
divisions  of  productive  effort,  —  agriculture,  commerce,  or  manufacture, 
—  and  that  it  requires  a  wise  development  of  all  these  branches  to  pro- 
duce the  highest  degree  of  prosperity  in  each.  It  must,  then,  be  a 
source  of  concern  to  all,  that  agriculture  is  depressed.  That  the  de- 
pressed condition  of  agriculture  has  been  developed  and  intensified 
during  the  last  twenty-five  years,  a  period  of  material  progress  without  a 
parallel  in  the  world's  history,  the  development  of  which  should  have 
produced  a  prosperous  condition  of  agriculture,  and  through  it  reacted 
favorably  upon  commerce  and  manufacture,  is  indicative  of  a  very 
potent  cause,  and  one  worthy  the  most  careful  analysis. 

In  a  practical  examination  of  this  subject  it  must  be  remembered 
that  it  is  a  condition  to  be  met,  and  not  a  theory ;  that  things  must  be 
viewed  as  they  are,  and  not  as  they  should  be.  For  this  purpose,  take 
two  of  the  leading  products  of  agriculture,  wheat  and  cotton,  and  trace 
the  changes  made  in  regard  to  them,  during  that  period.  Twenty-five 
years  ago  wheat  was  raised  by  farmers  throughout  the  North  generally, 
as  one  of  their  leading  money  crops.  It  was  cut  by  reapers  and  bound 
by  hand.  The  farmer  had  his  granary  on  his  farm,  in  which  he  stored 
jt  until  ready  to  sell.  It  was  threshed  by  itinerant  horse-power  thresh- 
ers, that  found  steady  work  throughout  fall,  winter,  and  spring.  Local 
mills,  thickly  scattered  over  the  country,  ground  the  flour  for  local  con- 
sumption, and  the  balance  was  sold  when  the  price  suited  the  farmer. 
The  farmers  of  the  West  then  hauled  their  wheat  to  market,  a  distance 
of  from  ten  to  a  hundred  miles.  All  this  guaranteed  a  moderately  even 
sale  of  wheat  by  the  farmer,  from  August  until  the  next  June  or  July, 
and  it  was  very  common  for  a  farmer  to  have  his  wheat  on  hand  for 
more  than  a  year. 

Note  the  difference  now.  The  development  of  railway  systems  has 
brought  the  great  West  so  close  to  market  that  wheat  can  no  longer  be 
profitably  grown  in  the  East,  and  the  local  mills  have  long  since  been 
abandoned  to  the  rats,  or  devoted  to  other  purposes ;  while  in  the  West, 
the  great  wheat-growing  district,  the  wheat  is  cut  and  bound  by  machin- 
ery, and  eagerly  lapped  into  the  iron  jaws  of  immense  steam  threshers 
everywhere  present.     There  is  no  delay,  and  from  the  very  thresher  the 


340  HISTORICAL   AND  POLITICAL. 

grain  goes  in  hot  haste  into  the  elevator  upon  the  railway,  always  close 
at  hand,  and  the  moment  it  strikes  the  elevator,  it  is,  by  means  of  the 
telegraph,  on  the  markets  of  the  world.  Huge  milling  centres  supply 
the  country  with  flour,  and  the  farmer  himself  generally  sells  his  wheat 
and  buys  his  flour.  The  season  in  which  the  farmer  realizes  from  his 
productive  eff"ort,  instead  of  ranging  from  ten  to  twelve  months,  is  now 
shortened  to  a  period  that  does  not,  in  its  utmost  limit,  exceed  three 
months. 

Twenty-five  years  ago  cotton  was  housed  in  cabins,  built  in  the  fields 
for  that  purpose,  and  slowly  ginned  out  by  horse-gins,  and  marketed 
throughout  the  year.  Now,  it  is  picked  and  put  into  wagons  that  take 
it  to  the  large  steam  merchant  gin,  to  be  found  in  every  neighborhood, 
and,  as  a  rule,  it  may,  by  wire,  be  offered  for  sale  in  New  York,  Boston, 
or  Liverpool,  before  night,  on  the  very  day  it  is  picked.  The  season  for 
marketing  the  cotton  by  the  farmer  has  shortened  as  much  as,  or  more 
than,  that  of  marketing  the  wheat.  These  changes  are  brought  about  by 
the  modern  improvements  that  have  substituted  the  railway  train  for  the 
ox-cart,  and  the  telegraph  for  the  courier  that  carried  intelligence. 

Nothing  is  more  certain  than  that  these  changes  make  some  other 
changes  necessary,  the  most  important  of  which  is  the  substitution  of  a 
modern  for  an  ox-cart  system  of  finance,  to  correspond  to  these  new 
conditions.  Under  the  old  system,  the  demand  for  money  to  handle 
the  products  of  the  country  being  nearly  the  same  throughout  the  dif- 
ferent seasons  of  the  year,  the  marketing  of  the  products  of  agriculture 
produced  no  great  effect  upon  the  money  market ;  but  under  modern 
conditions  it  produces  a  most  powerful  effect,  which  may  be  demon- 
strated as  follows :  The  volume  of  money  in  circulation  in  the  United 
States  at  this  time,  is  variously  estimated  at  from  six  to  fourteen  hundred 
millions ;  say  one  billion  dollars,  and  represent  that  sum  by  the  figure  2. 
The  gross  output  of  all  manufacturing  of  all  kinds  is  about  five  billion 
dollars.  Now  suppose  that  all  the  manufactured  commodities  change 
ownership  between  the  manufacturer  and  the  consumer  three  times; 
then  the  demand  throughout  the  year,  for  the  use  of  money  on  account 
of  manufactured  commodities,  would  equal  four  times  that  amount,  or 
twenty  billion  dollars.  Represent  that  sum  by  the  number  40,  and  the 
relation  of  the  volume  of  money  to  the  demand  for  its  use  would  be  as 
2  is  to  40,  and  would  only  require  that  every  dollar  in  circulation  should 
be  used  twenty  times  in  each  year,  to  satisfy  this  demand.  This  relation 
is  practically  uniform  throughout  the  year. 

The  gross  value  of  agricultural  products  is  about  seven  and  one  half 
billions  of  dollars.     In  order  to  be  very  conservative,  suppose  that  one- 


THE   SUB-TREASURY  PLAN,  34 1 

third  of  this  product  is  used  by  agriculture  for  consumption  and  seed, 
and  that  two- thirds,  or  two  and  one- half  billion  dollars'  worth,  of  agri- 
cultural products  is  marketed  during  the  last  three  months  of  the  year, 
and  that  they  only  change  ownership  three  times.  The  demand  thus 
created  would  be  for  the  use  of  twenty  billions  of  dollars,  which,  upon 
the  above  basis,  should  be  represented  by  the  figure  40,  and  which, 
added  to  the  regular  demand  40,  makes  the  demand  during  that  time  80. 
If  the  volume  remains  the  same  throughout  the  year,  it  is  fair  to  say  that, 
for  nine  months  in  the  year,  the  relation  of  volume  to  demand  is  as  2  to 
40,  and  during  the  other  three  months  it  is  as  2  to  80.  Of  course  this  is 
the  widest  range  in  the  relation  of  the  volume,  and  it  could  not,  in  prac- 
tice, be  confined  to  any  such  lines.  It  must  come  and  go  gradually,  but 
the  actual  relative  volume  must  be  and  is  reduced,  during  the  short  term 
for  handling  the  crops,  to  one-half  of  its  average  during  a  part,  at 
least,  of  the  balance  of  the  year.  This  may  be  denied,  on  the  ground 
that  a  violent  contraction  of  the  volume  of  money  to  one-half  of  its 
normal  relative  volume  would  depress  prices  in  nearly  the  same  propor- 
tion. That  is  true ;  but  there  are  reasons  why  it  does  not  have  effect  to 
the  full  extent.  First,  the  contraction  produces  an  acceleration  in  the 
speed  with  which  the  money  circulates.  Second,  the  inadequacy  of  the 
volume,  with  the  downward  tendency  in  the  prices  of  products,  awakens 
the  spirit  of  speculation,  which  floats  a  substitute  in  the  shape  of  credit 
paper,  which  circulates  as  money.  If  the  total  amount  of  credit  paper 
issued  and  circulated  for  the  purpose  of  handling  the  crop  during  the 
short  season  will  aggregate  $250,000,000,  as  usually  estimated,  then  on 
the  above  basis,  \  should  be  added  to  the  ratio  of  volume,  making  it 
2^  during  the  short  season,  and  making  the  ratio  of  volume  to  demand 
throughout  the  year  as  follows  :  — 

Long  season,  volume  2,    demand  40. 
Crop  season,  volume  2|,  demand  80. 

This  shows  that  the  actual  deficiency  or  contraction  of  the  volume 
during  the  short  season  equals  five- eighths  of  the  volume  during  the  long 
term,  or  62.5  per  cent.  Third,  there  is  an  actual  decline  in  prices, 
equal  to  40  per  cent,  during  the  short  season,  thus  proving  the  demon- 
stration to  be  correct. 

In  support  of  this  statement  as  to  the  fluctuation  in  price  every  year, 
the  reader  is  referred  to  Spoftbrd's  American  Almanac,  where  figures  are 
given  showing  the  fluctuations  in  price  of  many  commodities  for  the 
last  sixty-two  years.  During  the  war  the  fluctuations  were  very  great^; 
the  fairest  and  best  period,  therefore,  to  consider  is  since  the  war.    The 


342  HISTORICAL   AND  POLITICAL. 

average  annual  fluctuations  in  price  of  the  five  products  affected  by  the 
sub-treasury  system  for  twenty  years,  from  1868  to  1887,  was  41  per 
cent.  That  is  to  say,  these  products  have  fluctuated  20.5  per  cent 
above,  and  20.5  per  cent  below,  the  mean  price,  on  the  average,  every 
year  for  twenty  years.  This  practically  means  that  if  the  farmer  received 
79.5  cents  for  a  product  during  the  three  months  in  which  he  was  com- 
pelled to  sell,  the  mean  price  he  might  have  realized,  could  he  have 
waited  a  short  time,  was  100,  and  the  price  the  consumer  would  have 
paid  him  still  later  was  120.5.  These  are  not  changes  of  price  due  to 
locality  or  service  of  any  kind  whatever,  but  due  pj-incipally  to  the  re- 
duction of  general  prices  that  must  follow  the  violent  contraction  of  the 
relative  volume  of  money,  —  a  condition  that  is  unavoidably  the  result  of 
a  fixed  and  inflexible  volume  meeting  a  great  and  suddenly  augmented 
demand. 

The  conclusion  from  all  this  is  very  plain  and  forcible.  The  farmer 
makes  his  investment,  in  his  productive  effort,  principally  during  the 
time  between  April  and  August,  when  the  largest  amount  of  the  circu- 
lating medium  and  all  the  credit  papers  has  been  released  from  the 
products  of  agriculture,  because  the  surplus  has  been  exported  or  con- 
sumed, and  consequently,  the  demand  having  diminished,  the  volume 
of  money  is  relatively  larger,  and  prices  are  higher.  He  realizes  from 
his  investment,  during  the  season  in  which  prices  are  depressed  on  ac- 
count of  the  excessive  demand  for  money  meeting  an  inflexible  supply. 
The  result  is,  and  has  been  for  twenty  years,  that  he  sells  at  a  time  when 
prices  are  40  per  cent  lower  than  they  were  when  he  bought.  No 
business  on  earth  could  survive  such  an  unfair  discrimination,  and  the 
farmers  could  not,  but  for  the  fact  that  nearly  40  per  cent  of  the  value 
of  their  products  must  have  been  labor,  not  capital"  investment ;  and  as 
40  per  cent  exceeds  the  labor  investment,  it  shows  the  inroad  made 
upon  their  capital  by  these  losses,  which  are  largely  represented,  at  this 
time,  by  mortgage  indebtedness. 

This  is  an  actual,  tangible  discrimination  against  agriculture,  of  40 
per  cent  annually.  It  does  not  inure  to  commerce  or  manufacture,  as 
both  these  great  interests  are  very  materially  injured  by  it.  No  class  is 
benefited  except  the  exporter ;  but  it  is,  or  should  be,  the  concern  of 
all,  because  it  is  sapping  the  foundation  of  this  government  and,  by  the 
legal  sanction  of  absolute  wrong,  producing  a  contempt  for  law  and  gov- 
ernment favorable  to  the  growth  of  sentiments  of  anarchy  and  socialism 
that  threaten  the  stability  of  modern  civilization.  Every  useful  and  pro- 
ductive interest  in  this  country  should  be  deeply  interested  in  securing  a 
flexibility  for  the  volume  of  money  that  will  be  a  guarantee  against  this 


THE  SUB-TREASURY  PLAN.  343 

violent  contraction.  This  regular  and  unavoidable  contraction  is  the 
true  cause  for  the  depressed  condition  of  agriculture. 

The  methods  of  the  proposed  sub-treasury  system  are  such  as  will 
exactly  meet  this  condition,  and  thereby  benefit  all  classes  of  society. 
It  is  the  settled  and  just  policy  of  this  government  to  forbid  any  issue  of 
money  except  by  the  government  itself.  The  government,  therefore, 
either  coins  or  prints  all  the  legal-tender  money.  There  are  at  present 
only  two  ways  for  the  government  to  get  it  into  circulation ;  one  is  to 
sell  it,  and  the  other  is  to  lend  it  to  the  national  banks  and  let  them 
lend  it  to  the  people,  hs>  a  modification  of  this,  persons  having  a  com- 
modity called  silver  bullion  are  now  authorized  to  deposit  it  in  govern- 
ment warehouses,  and  the  government  lends  them  money  on  it.  Now, 
if  the  sub-treasury  system  will  enlarge  one  of  these  channels  for  the  dis- 
tribution of  money,  and  provide  for  an  emergency  issue  that  will  increase 
the  volume,  so  as  to  keep  pace  with  the  suddenly  augmented  demand, 
created  by  dumping  the  year's  product  of  agriculture  upon  the  market, 
without  increasing  the  relative  volume  of  money  above  what  is  the  nor- 
mal mean  average,  and  provide,  also,  that  such  emergency  volume  shall 
be  of  such  a  character  that  it  will  always  pass  current,  on  a  par  value 
with  gold  coin,  then  the  sub-treasury  plan  must  be  admitted  to  be  a 
conservative  and  efficient  remedy  for  the  financial  question ;  otherwise 
it  is  not.  To  this  severe  test  the  advocates  of  the  measure  are  ready 
and  willing  to  yield.  Surely  an  intelligent  public  will  embrace  so  liberal 
a  proposition. 

The  sub-treasury  system  is  an  enlargement  of  the  present  national 
banking  law,  the  only  modifications  being  that  the  loan  of  the  bills  by 
the  government  is  not  restricted  to  certain  corporations,  but  is  extended 
to  all  people  who  have  the  required  collateral  to  deposit;  and  that 
the  collateral  so  deposited,  instead  of  being  restricted  to  government 
bonds,  a  simple  evidence  of  debt,  is  extended  to  a  few  leading  products 
of  agriculture  that  form  the  basis  of  the  export  trade  of  this  country,  — 
notably  wheat  and  cotton,  the  most  potential  forms  of  value  to  man,  — 
because  the  entire  product  is  every  year  demanded  by  him  for  con- 
sumption, and  therefore  it  'vs,  positive  evidence  of  wealth.  Surely  nothing 
can  suffer  from  such  a  conservative  extension  of  the  national  banking 
system.  The  warehousing  is  not  essential;  it  makes  no  difference 
whether  the  government  or  the  people  own  the  warehouses,  or  whether 
private  warehouses  are  used  under  suitable  guarantees ;  the  object  is  to 
base  this  emergency  issue  on  those  products  which  make  such  a  sudden 
and  augmented  demand  ;  because  by  so  doing  the  violent  contractions 
of  the  present  system  will  be  avoided.     The  best  money  now  put  in 


344  HISTORICAL  AND  POLITICAL. 

circulation,  so  far  as  the  wants  of  the  people  are  concerned,  is  the 
pension  money,  because  it  goes  into  active  circulation.  Who  will- 
deny  that  the  money  issued  by  the  Secretary  of  the  Treasury  to  relieve 
the  September  squeeze  would  have  prevented  the  December  flurry  if  it 
had  been  issued  direct  to  people  who  needed  it  and  would  have  used 
it,  instead  of  being  issued,  as  it  was,  in  thousand-dollar  gold  certificates 
that  never  changed  hands  afterwards  ? 

Money  put  out  under  the  proposed  system  could  never  augment  the 
consumer's  price,  because  it  could  never  abnormally  augment  the 
relative  volume.  Take,  for  instance,  any  agreed  ratio  between  demand 
and  volume  of  money,  independent  of  agriculture,  and  then  dump  the 
products  of  agriculture  to  create  a  greatly  augmented  demand ;  issue 
money  to  the  full  amount  of  one- third  of  the  product  of  agriculture, 
which  is  more  than  those  affected  by  the  sub-treasury  plan  represent, 
and  there  will  still  be  a  deficiency  in  the  ratio  of  the  volume  that  must 
be  supplied  by  its  accelerated  speed  of  circulation;  therefore  the 
highest  prices,  or  those  which  now  obtain  with  the  consumer,  would  not 
be  increased,  but  the  tendency  would  be  to  bring  the  lowest  prices,  or 
those  now  realized  by  the  producer,  up  to  the  mean  price  towards  which 
the  consumer's  price  must  also  tend. 

This  government  now  maintains  about  $346,000,000  of  treasury 
notes,  that  circulate  on  a  parity  with  gold,  that  are  based  on  nothing 
but  the  government  credit.  Several  members  of  Congress  have  recom- 
mended that  the  amount  of  such  notes  be  increased.  This  may  be 
done  and  the  amount  doubled,  or  very  materially  increased,  without 
depreciating  such  notes  from  the  gold  standard;  but  all  must  admit 
that  there  is  a  limit,  to  go  beyond  which  would  depreciate  such  notes, 
and  that  such  limit  is  constantly  changed  by  circumstances,  such  as 
war,  famine,  and  others.  It  is  hereby  claimed  that  the  amount  of 
treasury  notes  that  would  circulate,  when  based  on  wheat  and  cotton, 
would  be  self-limited  to  an  amount  that  would  always  be  on  a  parity 
with  gold,  and  that  none  of  the  disturbing  influences  which  affect 
government  credit  would  have  any  tendency  to  depreciate  such  notes 
from  the  gold  standard.  In  considering  this  proposition  it  must  be 
remembered  that  the  farmer  is  not  compelled  to  deposit  his  wheat  and 
cotton ;  it  is  entirely  optional  with  him.  It  is  a  generally  recognized 
fact  that  the  price  of  these  products  is  regulated  by  the  export  market. 
The  price  of  the  portion  exported  regulates  and  fixes  the  price  of  the 
gross  product,  including  all  that  is  consumed  in  this  country.  The 
foreign  markets  to  which  these  products  are  exported,  and  from  which 
quotations  are  received  that  regulate  domestic  prices,  are   using  the 


THE  SUB-TREASURY  PLAN,  345 

single  gold  standard  of  money ;  therefore  the  prices  of  the  products  so 
estimated  would  be  gold  prices,  and  whenever  the  increase  in  the  volume 
of  domestic  currency  augmented  the  general  prices  of  commodities  to 
an  exact  equality  with  such  gold  quotations  for  these  products,  the  equi- 
librium of  price  would  be  established,  and  no  more  would  be  deposited 
by  the  farmers,  because  any  further  additions  to  the  volume  of  the  circu- 
lating medium  would  increase  local  prices  in  local  currency,  so  that  it 
would  pay  better  to  sell  than  to  deposit,  and  the  products  would  come 
out  of  the  warehouses,  and  the  money  go  into  them,  and  consequently 
out  of  circulation,  thus  automatically  tending  to  establish  and  main- 
tain the  equilibrium  of  stable  prices.  Absolutely  no  emergency  could 
possibly  arise  that  would  depress  such  money  below  a  parity  with  gold. 

But,  in  this  connection,  there  is  a  still  more  important  consideration. 
If  it  be  true  that,  of  such  products  as  are  leading  commodities  of  export, 
the  domestic  price  is  regulated  by  the  export  market,  then  this  sub- 
treasury  plan  must  be  hailed  as  the  discovery  of  a  great  economic  truth. 
Thomas  Jefferson  and  Alexander  Hamilton  must  long  since  have  grown 
restless  in  their  graves  at  such  economics  and  statesmanship  as  permit 
this  country  to  suffer  from  the  evils  of  having  the  leading  products  priced 
abroad,  without  claiming,  at  the  same  time,  the  natural  benefit  that  should 
flow  from  that  condition.  The  price  of  these  products  being  fixed  by 
the  export  price,  it  depends  of  course  upon  the  supply  of  gold  and  the 
demand  for  its  use  in  such  foreign  countries ;  therefore  the  fluctuations 
here  do  not  correspond  with  the  general  level  of  local  prices  expressed 
in  local  money,  and  the  producer  and  consumer  are  alike  at  the  mercy 
of  the  speculator. 

Nothing  is  plainer  than  the  following :  If  domestic  price  is  governed 
by  foreign  quotations^  then  effective  measures  should  be  inaugurated  for 
preserving  the  satne  ratio  between  the  supply  and  demand  for  money  that 
prevails  in  the  foreign  markets.  This  is  effectually  done  by  utilizing  the 
domestic  product,  which  is  priced  abroad,  as  a  basis  for  a  domestic 
issue  of  currency.  This  system  says,  practically  :  "  We  have  been  ham- 
pered by  having  domestic  prices  of  these  products  based  on  foreign  gold, 
and  we  now  propose  to  utilize  foreign  gold  as  a  circulating  medium  in 
this  country,  for  the  purpose  of  handling  these  products  which  it  prices." 
Now,  certificates  are  issued  against  gold  and  silver  bullion  deposited  in 
the  government  warehouses,  while  under  the  proposed  system  certi- 
ficates would  be  issued  against  gold  coin  in  circulation  abroad  but 
represented  by  wheat  and  cotton  deposited  in  the  government  ware- 
houses here.  This  must  fully  demonstrate  the  wisdom  and  conservatism 
of  the  system. 


346  HISTORICAL  AND  POLITICAL. 

The  effect  of  the  introduction  of  this  system,  as  has  been  foreshadowed 
above,  is  very  different  from  what  is  generally  supposed  by  those  who 
have  read  only  newspaper  criticisms.  There  is  no  direct  benefit  to  the 
farmer,  only  as  it  removes  discriminations  against  him  ;  no  direct  benefit 
to  him  in  the  warehousing  feature.  The  present  law  is  not  considered 
to  be  made  in  the  interest  of  the  owner  of  silver  or  gold  bullion  or 
whiskey,  on  account  of  the  fact  that  the  government  warehouses  hold 
those  products  :  and  so  it  is  with  the  sub-treasury ;  the  benefit  does  not 
flow  from  the  warehousing,  but  from  the  fact  that  money  is  put  in  cir- 
culation when  it  is  needed  to  keep  prices  from  falling.  The  result  will 
be  a  powerful  tendency  towards  stability  of  price.  There  will  be  no  dis- 
crimination for  or  against  any  class,  but  an  equal  benefit  to  all.  There 
are  absolutely  no  favors  extended  to  the  farmer,  but  he  is  given  a  chance 
to  help  himself  simply  by  having  the  present  discriminations  against  him 
removed. 

Of  course  there  are  many  objections  raised  against  the  bill.  Nearly 
all  relate  to  its  details.  Upon  the  question  of  its  constitutionality,  I  will 
quote  from  an  article  by  N.  A.  Dunning,  in  the  National  Economist^ 
which  places  that  point  beyond  further  controversy.     He  says  :  • — 

"  The  favorite  objection  to  the  sub-treasury  bill  is  its  unconstitutionality,  yet  no 
one  has  ventured  an  argument  upon  that  line.  In  view  of  the  fact  that  this  bill  has 
been  so  widely  discussed,  more  so  perhaps  than  any  other  matter  of  legislation  dur- 
ing the  past  twenty  years,  it  is  somewhat  strange  that  the  proof  of  its  being  unconsti- 
tutional has  not  advanced  beyond  mere  assertions.  So  far  all  objections  have  been 
confined  to  the  details  of  the  plan,  while  its  principles  have  been  entirely  ignored. 
The  main  points  in  the  bill  involve  the  right  of  the  government  — 

"  I.   To  purdhase  land. 

"  2.  To  build  warehouses. 

"3.  To  appoint  agents. 

"  4.   To  receive  deposits. 

"5.   To  loan  money. 

"  Upon  the  constitutionality  of  these  propositions  the  sub-treasury  bill  must  stand 
or  fall.  It  has  been  said  before,  and  it  is  well  to  repeat,  that  the  most  ardent  sup- 
porter of  this  measure  desires  to  have  all  its  provisions  strictly  within  the  limits  of 
the  Constitution.  The  right  of  government  to  purchase  land,  build  warehouses, 
appoint  agents,  and  receive  deposits  of  grain,  merchandise,  and  the  precious  metals, 
is  so  clearly  and  fully  set  forth  in  the  system  governing  the  execution  of  the  internal 
revenue  laws,  the  customs  laws,  or  those  of  the  Treasury  Department  as  to  need  no 
repetition  at  this  time.  No  functions  of  government  are  more  clearly  defined  or 
practically  applied  than  are  these,  as  shown  by  the  following  incident.  Learning 
that  the  basement  of  the  post-office  at  Kansas  City,  Missouri,  was  being  used  as  a 
warehouse  for  whiskey,  a  communication  was  sent  to  the  Commissioner  of  Internal 
Revenue,  which  elicited  the  following  response,  dated  July  12,  1890,  from  Assistant 
Secretary  of  the  Treasury  George  S.  Batcheller :  — 


THE  SUB-TREASURY  PLAN,  347 


« ( 


I  have  to  acknowledge  the  receipt,  by  reference,  of  your  letter  of  the  loth 
instant,  addressed  to  the  honorable  Commissioner  of  Internal  Revenue,  and  in  reply 
to  the  inquiry  therein  contained  relative  to  the  authority  under  which  the  basement 
under  the  United  States  custom-house  and  post-office  building  at  Kansas  City,  Mis- 
souri, is  used  for  warehouse  purposes,  particularly  for  the  storage  of  whiskey,  I  have 
to  refer  you  to  act  of  Congress  approved  April  29,  1878,  chapter  67,  page  39,  volume 
20,  U.  S.  Statutes  at  Large,  and  to  section  2962,  Revised  Statutes.' 

"  The  act  of  Congress  referred  to  provided  for  the  purchase  of  suitable  grounds  on 
which  to  erect  a  building  to  be  used  as  a  post-office,  custom-house,  bonded  warehouse, 
and  office  of  internal  revenue  collector.  Section  2962  of  the  Revised  Statutes  is  as 
follows :  — 

" '  Any  merchandise  subject  to  duty,  except  perishable  articles,  also  gunpowder  and 
other  explosive  substances,  except  firecrackers,  which  shall  have  been  duly  entered 
and  bonded  for  warehousing,  in  conformity  with  existing  laws,  may  be  deposited,  at 
the  option  of  the  owner,  importer,  consignee,  or  agent,  at  his  expense  and  risk,  in 
any  public  warehouse  owned  or  loaned  by  the  United  States,  or  in  the  private  ware- 
house of  the  importer,  the  same  being  used  exclusively  for  the  storage  of  warehoused 
merchandise  of  his  own  importation  or  to  his  consignment,  or  in  a  private  warehouse 
used  by  the  owner,  occupant,  or  lessee,  as  a  general  warehouse  for  the  storage  of 
warehoused  merchandise;  such  place  of  storage  to  be  designated  on  the  warehouse 
entry  at  the  time  of  entering  such  merchandise  at  the  custom-house.' 

"  The  above  citations  constitute  the  authority  by  which  the  government  at  this 
present  time  purchases  lands,  builds  warehouses,  and  receives  deposits  for  storage. 
The  appointment  of  agents  to  perform  these  duties  is  a  necessary  sequence. 

"  In  view  of  these  facts,  if  the  bill  is  unconstitutional,  it  is  because  of  that  pro- 
vision which  requires  the  government  to  loan  money.  If,  therefore,  it  can  be  shown 
that  the  government  has  loaned  money,  and  that  the  Supreme  Court  has  decided  it 
proper  and  legal,  further  objections  to  the  bill  must  be  confined  to  its  details. 

"The  act  of  February  16,  1876,  placed  in  the  hands  of  the  Centennial  Finance 
Committee  ^1,500,000  of  government  funds,  to  be  used  in  completing  the  arrange- 
ments for  the  Centennial  Exposition.  This  money  was  to  be  returned  to  the  govern- 
ment out  of  certain  moneys,  after  the  close  of  the  exposition.  A  bond*  in  the  sum 
of  $500,000  was  exacted  for  the  performance  of  the  provisions  of  the  act.  When 
the  time  for  payment  came,  this  committee  refused  to  liquidate  the  debt  to  the  gov- 
ernment, setting  up  a  different  construction  of  the  act.  A  suit  was  commenced,  and 
finally  taken  to  the  Supreme  Court,  where  it  was  argued  at  length,  Chief  Justice 
Waite  giving  the  opinion  of  the  court  (U.  S.  Reports,  S.  C.  94,  Otto  IV.,  page  500), 
which  is  given  in  part :  — 

"'The  act  of  1876  requires  the  payment  of  the  United  States  before  a  distribution 
of  profits  to  stockholders.  Not  a  word  is  said  about  restoring  capital;  in  fact,  there 
is  no  mention  of  capital  at  all.  The  act  of  1872  is  not  repealed.  On  the  contrary, 
it  is  left  in  full  force  in  every  particular,  save  that  the  liability  incurred  to  the  United 
States  is  made  payable  after  those  contemplated  by  the  act  of  1872  are  satisfied  in 
full.  In  this  the  United  States  made  a  concession  to  creditors,  but  not  to  the  stock- 
holders. Neither  was  anything  taken  from  the  stockholders;  they  retain  all  the 
rights  which  the  act  of  1872  gave  them.  If  there  had  been  no  appropriation  by 
Congress,  the  corporation  would  have  been  driven  to  the  necessity  of  raising  the 
required  means  by  borrowing  or  a  further  sale  of  stock.  If  by  borrowing,  the  debt 
SO  created  would  have  to  be  paid  with  the  others,  before  there  could  be  any  dividend 


34^  HISTORICAL   AND  POLITICAL. 

to  stockholders.     If  by  sale  of  stock,  the  new  stockholders  would  come  in  pro  rata 
with  the  old,  upon  the  final  division  of  assets. 

"  *  Congress  might  have  advanced  the  money  by  loan,  as  well  as  upon  the  condi- 
tions it  did  impose.  It  might  also  have  subscribed  to  the  stock.  If  a  loan  had  been 
made,  and  there  had  been  no  waiver  of  the  legal  rights  of  the  government  as  a 
creditor,  this  debt  would  have  preference  over  all  others  in  the  order  of  payment. 
If  stock  had  been  taken,  the  government  would  have  participated  in  the  final  distri- 
bution like  any  other  stockholder.  It  seemed  best,  however,  not  to  adopt  either  of 
those  plans,  and  another  was  devised,  by  which  creditors  were  given  preference,  and 
the  United  States  remitted  for  their  indemnity  to  the  fund  which  might  remain  after 
all  the  debts  were  paid.  To  this  the  corporation  assented,  and  the  stockholders  can- 
not now  complain.  Creditors  were  protected,  and  the  stockholders  not  injured.  .  .  . 
The  decree  of  the  Circuit  Court  must  be  reversed,  and  the  case  remanded,  with 
instructions  to  enter  a  decree  directing  the  payment  of  the  sum  of  51,500,000  into 
the  treasury  of  the  United  States,  by  the  commercial  board  of  finance,  before  any 
division  of  the  remaining  assets  of  that  corporation  is  made  among  the  stockholders.' 

"In  1884  an  act  was  passed  loaning  ;^i,ooo,ooo  to  the  Cotton  Exposition,  to  be 
held  at  New  Orleans.  This  bill  was  fully  and  exhaustively  debated,  and  finally  passed 
by  a  vote  of  132  to  87.     The  caption  of  the  bill  was :  — 

"  '  An  act  to  make  a  loan  to  aid  in  the  celebration  of  the  World's  Industrial  and 
Cotton  Exposition. 

•  "'Section  i.  That  the  sum  of  ^1,000,000  be,  and  the  same  is  hereby,  appro- 
priated out  of  any  money  in  the  public  treasury  not  otherwise  appropriated,  as  a  loan 
to  the  World's  Industrial  and  Cotton  Centennial  Exposition,  to  be  used  and  employed 
by  the  board  of  management  thereof,  to  augment  and  enhance  the  success  of  the 
World's  Industrial  and  Cotton  Centennial  Exposition,  in  such  manner  as  said  board 
of  management  may  determine.' 

"  In  the  course  of  this  debate  the  matter  was  at  all  times  treated  as  a  loan,  and  in 
nearly  every  instance  spoken  of  as  such.  In  a  question  to  Hon.  W.  D.  Kelley,  of 
Pennsylvania,  Mr.  Bland  said :  — 

"  '  I  will  ask  the  gentleman  whether  the  provision  is  in  the  same  language  as  the 
appropriation  in  the  case  of  Philadelphia?  In  that  instance  the  money  was  only 
recovered  by  the  government  upon  suit  in  the  Supreme  Court.  In  other  words,  the 
city  of  Philadelphia  refused  to  pay  the  money  back  to  the  governmesit,  and  suit  was 
instituted  for  it.  And  I  remember  that  the  gentleman  from  Pennsylvania  argued  on 
this  floor  that  the  Springer  amendment  did  not  reserve  repayment  of  the  money. 

"  *  Mr.  Kelley.  An  amicable  action  was  entered  to  determine  whether  it  was  a 
loan  or  a  gift. 

"  *  Mr.  Bland.    The  gentleman  claimed  that  it  was  a  gift. 

"  *  Mr.  Kelley.  The  gentleman  from  Illinois  [Mr.  Springer]  appeared  before  the 
court  to  argue  that  it  was  a  loan.  It  was  so  decided,  and  the  money  was  paid 
immediately.' 

"  Mr.  Cannon,  of  Illinois,  said  :  — 

"  *  The  committee,  desiring  to  guard  the  interests  of  the  government,  and  to  pre- 
vent the  recurrence  of  the  condition  of  affairs  that  happened  at  Philadelphia,  namely, 
the  squandering  of  great  amounts  in  expensive  buildings,  to  guard  against  the  expen- 
diture, say,  of  four  or  five  million  dollars,  provides  in  this  bill  that  no  more  than  the 
one  million  which  we  loan,  and  the  amount  which  has  been  subscribed  and  might  be 
donated,  should  go  into  the  buildings;   and  then  the  bill  further  provides  to  secure 


THE  SUB-TREASURY  PLAN.  349 

that  no  more  than  that  amount  should  be  expended,  and  that  the  whole  assets  of  this 
corporation,  after  the  current  expenses  from  day  to  day  are  paid,  shall  be  held  sacred 
to  pay  this  $1,000,000  to  the  government ;  provides  for  a  bond,  which  is  conditioned 
as  the  act  states,  and  the  setting  apart  of  the  surplus  after  the  payment  of  current 
expenses,  to  indemnify  the  government. 

"*Mr.  Kelley,  An  exhibition  such  as  is  proposed  to  be  held  at  New  Orleans, 
at  which  shall  assemble  the  world  in  its  best  mechanical  and  commercial  power,  and 
in  which  convocation  the  American  people  shall  be  the  active  and  predominant  ele- 
ment, will  pay  the  American  people  at  a  minimum  estimate  $100  for  every  dollar  that 
may  be  lost,  even  if  the  government  shall  never  receive  back  one  dollar  it  may  loan  it. 

"  '  Mr.  Henderson  of  Iowa.  Iowa  is  knocking  at  the  door  of  Congress  to-day, 
and  I  am  but  voicing  her  feeling  when  I  ask  that  the  government  shall  loan  from  its 
vast  surplus  in  the  treasury  enough  to  put  this  great  exhibition  grandly,  solidly,  and 
successfully  upon  its  feet.     [Applause.] 

" '  Mr.  Sumner  of  California.  As  I  am  clear  in  my  opinion  that  this  is  a  con- 
stitutional proposition,  I  do  not  hesitate,  but  cheerfully  and  eagerly  improve  this  two- 
minute  opportunity  to  commend  the  bill. 

"  •  Mr.  Lane.  I  do  this  for  this  reason :  I  recognized  the  propriety  of  the  loan 
to  the  Centennial  Exhibition;  it  was  the  centennial  year,  and  was  designed  as  a 
celebration  of  our  one  hundredth  national  anniversary.  This,  however,  is  not  for 
that  purpose. 

*"  Mr.  Cannon.  I  was  a  member  of  Congress  when  the  act  passed  authorizing 
a  loan  by  the  United  States  to  the  Centennial  Exposition  at  Philadelphia. 

"  *  Mr.  Horr.  When  the  loan,  as  I  understand  it,  was  made  to  the  Centennial 
Exposition  at  Philadelphia,  it  was  for  a  million  and  a  half  of  dollars,  I  believe;  is 
that  correct? 

" '  Mr.  Blanchard.    That  was  the  amount. 

" '  Mr.  Horr.  Then  we  required  a  bond  of  only  $500,000.  Now,  the  bond  is 
fixed  here  at  $300,000  for  a  loan  of  $1,000,000,  which,  I  take  it,  is  about  equivalent 
to  what  we  did  in  the  other  case;  and  that  bond  is  not  to  secure  the  repayment  of 
the  million  of  dollars,  but,  as  the  bill  itself  will  show,  is  for  the  purpose  of  securing 
the  honest  and  efficient  action  of  the  people  in  charge  of  it,  and  a  careful  expendi- 
ture of  the  funds  intrusted  to  them;  and  it  is  fully  as  large  as  the  bonds  which  are 
usually  required  under  our  form  of  government,  for  any  such  purpose, 

"  *  Mr.  McCord.  I  favor  this  bill,  and  I  am  not  deterred  from  supporting  it  by  the 
constitutional  question.  It  seems  to  me  that  gentlemen  who  question  the  power  of 
Congress  to  legislate  in  this  way  could  easily  satisfy  themselves  by  finding  warrants  in 
two  or  three  of  the  granted  powers  delegated  to  Congress.  The  one  which  provides 
for  the  general  welfare  certainly  has  been  constructed  broadly  enough  to  cover  this. 

"  *  Mr.  Breckenridge.  Mr.  Chairman,  in  regard  to  the  proposition  now  before 
the  Committee  of  the  Whole,  it  simply  involves  the  requirement  of  security  for  the 
repayment  to  the  government  of  this  loan  of  $1,000,000,  and  the  question  of  con- 
stitutional power  in  the  premises.  The  amendment  proposed  is  a  hard  exaction ;  it 
is  an  unprecedented  exaction.  This  appropriation  is  not  only  justified  by  precedent, 
but  it  is  also,  in  my  opinion,  clearly  within  the  purview  of  the  Constitution  and  the 
province  of  the  Congress.  That  clause  about  which  some  gentlemen  here  stickle  so 
much  gives  Congress  power  to  raise  revenue,  and  what  does  it  say  you  may  do  with 
that  revenue?  It  says  you  may  pay  the  public  debt,  and  you  may  provide  for  the 
general  welfare  by  appropriations  of  that  revenue. 


350  HISTORICAL  AND  POLITICAL. 

" '  Mr.  Bayne.  There  is  but  one  clause  in  the  Constitution  which  authorizes  the 
Congress  of  the  United  States  to  expend  this  million  of  dollars  or  to  loan  it.  The 
clause  which  authorizes  Congress  to  levy  taxes  to  provide  for  the  common  defence 
and  general  welfare  is  the  source  from  which  Congress  must  derive  its  authority  to 
loan  this  money  or  expend  it. 

•*  *  Mr.  Money.  A  new  set  of  circumstances  has  now  arisen,  and  if  it  seems 
proper  to  this  House  that  the  government  should  support  this  great  enterprise  by  a 
loan  to  it  of  ^1,000,000,  I  cannot  see  any  valid  objection  to  it. 

"  '  Mr.  Wolford.  I  believe  it  is  perfectly  constitutional,  and  I  base  that  belief 
upon  the  power  given  by  the  Constitution  of  the  United  States  to  Congress  to  pro- 
vide for  the  general  welfare  of  the  United  States.  I  agree  with  Judge  Story  that 
that  is  a  distinct  power,  and  I  believe  that  under  that  grant  of  power  the  Congress 
of  the  United  States  has  authority  to  pass  any  law  that  will  do  good,  that  will  bless 
the  people,  that  will  make  them  happy.' 

"  Discussing  this  proposition,  Mr.  Gates  is  on  record  as  saying :  — 

'"This  is  not  an  appropriation  proper;  it  is  a  loan.  While  it  is  an  appropriation 
in  form,  it  is  nevertheless  a  loan  upon  security  for  return.  .  .  .  This,  mark  you,  is 
not  an  appropriation  outside  of  the  Constitution.  It  is  a  loan.  It  is  competent  for 
the  government  to  make  a  deposit,  and  it  does  it  with  bankers  all  over  the  country, 
wherever  it  thinks  proper.  That  money  is  to  be  returned,  and  if  this  money  is 
returned,  what  harm  will  be  done?  If  it  is  outside  of  the  power  of  Congress  to  do 
this,  then  the  action  of  Congress  would  be  hampered  in  providing  sufficient  legis- 
lation.' 

"When  the  vote  was  taken  upon  the  bill,  it  was  passed  by  132  to  87.  The  yeas 
were  as  follows:  Adams,  G.  E.,  Atkinson,  Anderson,  Barksdale,  Bayne,  Belford, 
Belmont,  Bennett,  Bisbee,  Blanchard,  Boutelle,  Breckenridge,  Bremer,  F.  B.,  Brown, 
W.  W.,  Buchanan,  Cadwell,  Campbell,  I.  M.,  Cannon,  Clements,  Collins,  Crisp,  Cul- 
berson, W.  W.,  Cullen,  Cutcheon,  Davidson,  Davis,  G.  R.,  Davis,  R.  Y.,  Dibble, 
Dibrell,  Dorsheimer,  Dunham,  Dunn,  Elliott,  Ellis,  Evins,  I.  H.,  Findlay,  Follett, 
Forney,  Funston,  Garrison,  George,  Gibson,  Glascock,  Graves,  Green,  Hammond, 
Hanback,  Hancock,  Hardeman,  Harmer,  Hart,  Hatch,  H.  H.,  Hemphill,  Hender- 
son, T.  I.,  Henley,  Herbert,  Hewett,  G.  W.,  Hitt,  Hopkins,  Horr,  Houk,  House- 
man, Howey,  Hunt,  Jeffords,  Jones,  B.  W.,  Jones,  I.  H.,  Jones,  J.  T.,  Jordan,  Kasson, 
Keifer,  King,  Lewis,  Lore,  McCord,  McCormick,  Money,  Morrill,  Morrison,  Murphy, 
Neece,  Nelson,  NichoUs,  Gates,  O'Hara,  O'Neill,  Charles,  O'Neill,  J.  J.,  Payson, 
Peelle,  S.  J.,  Perkins,  Peters,  Petibone,  Phelps,  Price,  Pryor,  Pusey,  Randall,  Rankin, 
Ranney,  Reed,  Reese,  Rice,  Rogers,  J.  H.,  Rogers,  W.  F.,  Rowell,  Ryan,  Shelley, 
Singleton,  Skinner,  T.  G.,  Smalls,  Spooner,  Steele,  Stevens,  Stewart,  Charles,  Stone, 
Sumner,  C.  A.,  Throckmorton,  Tilman,  Tully,  Van  Eaton,  Wakefield,  Ward,  Well- 
born, White,  Milo,  Whiting,  Williams,  Willis,  Wilson,  James,  Wilson,  W.  L.,  Wilford, 
Woodward,  Young. 

"  After  passing  the  House,  the  bill  went  to  the  Senate.  It  was  referred  to  the 
Committee  on  Appropriations,  and  upon  its  recommendation  was  passed,  with  a  few 
amendments  and  but  little  debate.  The  concensus  of  opinion  in  the  Senate  was  so 
unanimous  in  favor  of  the  bill  that  a  yea  and  nay  vote  was  not  taken.  The  Senators 
spoke  of  it  as  a  loan. 

"  Senator  Plumb  considered  it  a  loan,  and  in  his  remarks  said :  — 

"  *  There  are  chances,  and,  I  think,  a  majority  of  chances,  that  the  government 
will  be  repaid  the  money. 


THE  SUB-TREASURY  PLAN.  35 1 

"*  Senator  Maxey.  When  we  made  an  appropriation  in  the  nature  of  a  loan  to 
the  Centennial  Exposition,  in  1876,  we  gave  a  million  and  a  half  dollars,  and  there 
was  no  objection  to  that. 

"  *  Senator  Garland.  The  bill  has  undergone  the  scrutiny  of  the  entire  Com- 
mittee on  Appropriations,  and  long  and  tedious  investigation,  and  the  Senator  from 
Missouri  [Mr.  Cockrell],  who  is  acute  and  alert  as  to  these  matters,  has  given  it  his 
careful  attention,  and  he  reports  that  it  is  perfect  in  this  respect.  The  United  States 
is  in  no  danger  in  reference  to  getting  back  this  million  of  dollars. 

"  *  Senator  Maxey.  I  suggested  to  the  Senator  from  Kansas  [Mr.  Plumb],  when 
he  was  on  the  floor,  that  we  had  loaned  to  the  Centennial  Exposition  a  million  and  a 
half  dollars. 

" '  Senator  Frye.  I  would  be  for  it,  if  I  knew  the  Exposition  would  not  pay 
a  dollar  back. 

"  *  Senator  Miller.  I  would  rather  vote  for  the  bill  as  it  stands,  loaning  a 
million  dollars,  than  to  vote  ^500,000  as  a  gift. 

"  *  Senator  Allison.  We  have  restricted,  so  far  as  it  is  possible  to  restrict,  the 
expenditures  preparatory  to  this  exposition,  to  the  subscriptions,  and  to  the  amount  of 
this  loan. 

" '  Senator  Allison.  I  move  to  amend  the  title  so  as  to  make  it  read,  "  A  bill 
to  make  a  loan  in  aid  of  the  celebration  of  the  World's  Industrial  and  Cotton  Ex- 
position.' " 

"  The  opponents  of  the  sub-treasury  plan  have  assumed  that  it  was  visionary, 
impracticable,  and  unconstitutional.  The  friends  of  the  measure  have  endeavored  to 
show  the  reverse  as  being  true.  That  it  was  well  considered  before  given  to  the 
public  is  no  longer  denied.  That  it  is  practical,  or  with  some  modifications  as  to 
detail  can  be  made  practical,  is  being  discussed  in  a  manner  that  leaves  no  room  for 
doubt  upon  that  point.  As  to  its  being  strictly  within  the  limits  of  constitutional 
law,  the  amount  and  character  of  the  evidence  given  in  this  article  upon  that  portion 
of  the  question  must  be  considered  by  all  fair-minded  persons  as  absolutely  con- 
clusive. 

"  What  more  can  the  friends  of  this  measure  do  to  obtain  the  assistance  of  those 
senators  and  representatives  who  prefer,  and  no  doubt  feel  an  interest  in,  their 
farmer  constituents?  The  last  valid  objection  is  now  removed,  and  nothing  but 
details  remain.  It  is  earnestly  hoped  and  expected  that  all  captious  objections  will 
now  cease,  and  an  honest  effort  be  made  to  give  the  measure  a  fair  trial." 

In  conclusion,  let  us  consider  the  cost  of  the  experiment. 

The  grain  crop  of  the  United  States,  for  the  year  1889,  amounted  to 
2,660,45  7,000  bushels.  At  least  two- thirds  of  it  will  be  retained  at  home 
for  consumption.  This  will  leave  886,819,000  bushels  that  will  be  stored 
during  the  year. 

These  crops  mature  at  different  dates  of  the  year,  and  the  demand 
for  their  consumption  is  evident.  It  is,  therefore,  safe  to  say  that  not 
more  than  one- third  of  the  whole  amount  will  be  in  the  elevators  at  any 
one  time.  This  will  amount  to  not  quite  300,000,000  bushels.  It  is  a 
well-known  fact  that  those  elevators  will  not  cost  exceeding  fifteen  cents 
per  bushel.     This  amounts  to  |)45, 000,000.     To  be  liberal,  we  will  say 


352  HISTORICAL  AND  POLITICAL. 

that  it  will  be  necessary  to  erect  looo  warehouses,  each  costing  ^30,000. 
This  will  necessitate  an  additional  expenditure  of  $30,000,000 ;  that  is 
to  say,  it  will  require  to  carry  this  plan  into  full  and  perfect  operation  all 
over  the  country,  $75,000,000  —  not  twice  as  much  as  the  deferred  pay- 
ments on  whiskey.  The  question  naturally  comes  in  just  here  :  Will  this 
expenditure  in  any  manner  impoverish  the  treasury  of  the  United  States? 
By  referring  to  the  last  monthly  statement  of  the  Treasurer  of  the  United 
States,  it  will  be  seen  that  there  is  now,  and  has  been  since  1875,  locked 
up  in  that  treasury  $100,000,000  in  gold,  and  that  it  has  been,  and  is  still 
being,  held  foi:  the  purpose  of  redeeming  outstanding  United  States  legal 
tender  notes.  This  money  could  be  used  for  this  purpose,  as  there  is  no 
law  which  placed  it  there.  The  benefits  of  this  measure  would  be  many. 
Among  them  might  be  mentioned  the  following  :  — 

It  will  place  about  $550,000,000  in  circulation  and  in  the  hands  of  the 
people,  at  an  annual  cost  of  $5,500,000.  To  get  this  amount  of  currency 
into  circulation  under  present  laws,  the  following  would  be  necessary : 
A  national  debt  of  $610,000,000,  upon  which  to  base  the  issue  of 
national  bank  currency,  the  interest  upon  which  at  four  and  one-half  per 
cent  amounts  to  $27,450,000.  This  would  take  the  money  from  the 
national  Treasury,  and  put  it  into  the  vaults  of  the  banks.  To  get  this 
money  from  the  banks  will  cost  the  people  at  least  $55,000,000  more. 
The  two  together  make  $82,450,000.  By  deducting  amount  of  interest 
necessary  under  our  system,  we  find  the  farmers  will  save  $76,950,000 
annually.  Besides,  under  our  system,  the  rate  of  fire  insurance  can  and 
will  be  reduced  at  least  one-half  the  present  rate.  This  will  add  at  least 
$20,000,000  to  the  savings.  The  economy  in  handling  that  will  necessa- 
rily follow  the  carrying  out  of  this  plan  cannot  add  less  than  S  2  0,000,000 
more. 

Again,  under  the  working  of  this  plan  the  grain-raisers  will  save,  at  the 
very  lowest  estimate,  ten  cents  per  bushel  on  every  bushel  stored.  This 
will  add  another  saving  of  $88,681,900,  and  not  raise  the  prices  that 
producers  now  pay  for  it ;  but,  on  the  contrary,  the  price  will  be  rather 
reduced.  The  cotton-raisers  will  save,  by  this  system,  at  least  one-half 
cent  on  each  pound  of  lint  cotton.  This  will  add  $17,347,000  to  the 
■  savings,  and  not  raise  the  price  to  the  manufacturer  one  cent  on  fifty 
bales.  The  savings  on  tobacco,  sugar,  rice,  and  wool  cannot  be  less  than 
$8,000,000.  All  these  savings  together  amount  to  the  enormous  sum  of 
$220,978,900  to  the  farmers  annually.  Thus  we  see  that,  by  investing 
$75,000,000  in  erecting  buildings  that  will  last  fifty  years  or  more,  we 
will  be  enabled  to  save  annually,  in  the  hands  of  the  producer,  $220,978,- 
800  that  now  goes  into  the  pockets  of  usurers  and  speculators. 


THE  SUB-TREASURY  PLAN.  353 

The  carrying  out  of  this  demand  will  confer  as  many  and  as  rich  ben- 
efits to  every  one  engaged  in  any  legitimate  calling  as  it  does  to  the 
farmers.  All  who  are  well  posted  know  that  more  merchants  have  been 
ruined  by  speculating  in  produce  than  by  anything  else.  The  mercantile 
business  in  the  agricultural  towns  has  drifted  into  this  unnatural  and 
ruinous  attitude  by  the  credit  system,  this  system  becoming  an  imperative 
necessity  by  reason  of  the  contraction  of  the  currency.  Our  system 
relieves  the  merchant  of  this,  his  worst  enemy,  by  saving  $220,978,900 
to  his  customers  annually,  which  would  soon  enable  them  to  pay  cash. 

The  manufacturers  under  the  present  system  are  forced  to  enter  the 
market  and  purchase  within  three  months  sufficient  material  to  run  their 
machinery  the  entire  year,  to  prevent  speculators  from  cornering  the 
supply.  To  be  able  to  purchase  such  large  supplies  at  one  time,  they 
are  compelled  to  apply  for  loans,  mortgage  their  property,  pay  exorbitant 
interest,  which  must  be  added  to  the  manufactured  article.  This  must, 
of  course,  augment  the  price,  which  in  turn  forces  under-consumption, 
which  in  the  end  can  only  enrich  the  usurer  and  involve  producer,  man- 
ufacturer, and  consumer  in  one  common  ruin. 

This  system  will  relieve  the  manufacturer  of  this  as  well  as  other  use- 
less expenses.  Our  unexcelled  facilities  for  rapid  transportation  and 
instantaneous  transmission  of  intelligence  conspire  to  make  the  carrying 
out  of  this  plan  the  more  easy.  The  manufacturers  will  not  be  com- 
pelled to  buy  more  than  one  month's  supply  ahead,  knowing  that  a  suffi- 
cient supply  can  be  had  at  any  time.  They  will  not  be  compelled  to 
borrow  large  sums  of  money  at  exorbitant  interest,  for  the  manufacturers 
will  find  out  at  once  that  the  crop  will  not  be  sold  to  speculators,  but 
held  for  consumption.  The  eliminating  of  speculation  will  enable  pro- 
ducers to  carry  more  from  the  manufacturer;  hence  self-interest,  if 
nothing  more,  will  make  the  producer,  manufacturer,  and  consumer 
co-operate  in  supporting  this  demand. 

It  is  a  well-known  fact  that  the  railroads  are  blocked  with  freight 
for  about  three  months  during  the  year,  by  the  haste  now  practised  in 
marketing  the  crops.  Railroads  are  compelled,  in  order  to  hold  their 
trade,  to  buy  large  additions  to  their  rolling  stock,  to  stand  idle  upon 
the  sidings  for  nine  months  in  the  year.  This  necessitates  a  large  out- 
lay of  capital,  which  of  course  is  added  to  the  freights,  and  in  the  end 
is  always  charged  to  the  producer.  This  system  will  distribute  the  ship- 
ments through  the  entire  year,  and  enable  the  railroads  to  give  their 
employees  regular  employment ;  hence  it  is  to  the  interest  of  railroads 
that  our  system  should  be  put  in  operation. 

This  system  will  enable  the  millions  of  farmers  of  the  West  to  pur- 


354  HISTORICAL  AND  POLITICAL.  . 

chase  thousands  of  tons  of  coal  from  the  starving  miners  of  the  East, 
and  feed  the  miner  and  his  family  on  the  corn  that  speculation  now 
compels  them  to  burn  for  fuel.  What  an  absurdity  to  cry  overproduc- 
tion when  those  who  raise  bread  burn  it  for  fuel,  while  those  who  dig 
coal  must  quit  because  they  cannot  exchange  it  for  bread  !  Our  system 
will  emancipate  the  true  merchant,  manufacturer,  farmer,  and  laborer. 
That  it  benefits  the  railroads  and  every  other  legitimate  industry ;  that 
the  prosperity  of  our  people  demands  it ;  that  common  sense,  honesty, 
and  fair  play  demand  it ;  that  every  principle  of  humanity  demands  it ; 
that  the  genius  of  advancing  civilization  demands  it ;  that  the  perpetua- 
tion of  free  and  just  government  demands  it ;  that  the  plan  is  perfectly 
feasible  ;  that  its  cost  is  insignificant ;  that  its  benefits  will  be  enormous ; 
that  no  more  pressing  necessity  could  exist  for  it ;  that  it  will  make 
every  industry  prosperous ;  that  no  one  will  be  injured  by  it ;  that  no 
sound  reason  can  be  urged  against  its  adoption,  —  for  these,  and  many 
other  reasons,  every  prompting  of  an  honest  heart  demands  that  we 
adopt  it.  Let  us  align  ourselves  on  the  side  of  right,  and  forever  free 
our  people  from  the  power  of  money  to  oppress,  and  march  forward  to 
a  new  civilization,  thereby  making  our  institutions  the  beacon  light  of 
liberty  to  the  oppressed  of  all  nations,  and  make  of  our  people  a  nation 
of  patriots,  full  of  strength  and  prosperity.  In  such  a  country,  every 
laboring  man  will  own  his  own  home,  free  from  execution,  across  the 
threshold  of  which  no  usurer  or  other  tyrant  dare  pass.  Let  us  unite  in 
making  our  country  — 

"The  land  of  the  free  and  the  home  of  the  brave, 
Where  no  man  is  master,  and  no  one  a  slave." 


WASHINGTON    MONUMENT,  WASHINGTON,   D.C. 


CHAPTER   XXII. 

BUSINESS    EFFORTS    OF    THE    ALLIANCE. 

The  term  "  business,"  as  now  understood,  contains  numberless  factors 
within  its  meaning  that  did  not  obtain  in  ancient  times.  These  increased 
and  kept  pace  with  the  advancement  of  civilization,  and  will  so  continue 
as  long  as  intellectual  advancement  is  made.  Primitive  business  was 
nearly,  if  not  quite,  a  sort  of  limited  barter,  in  which  nothing  but  labor 
values  were  considered.  It  was  a  simple  exchange  of  the  product  of 
one  individual  for  the  product  of  another,  in  which  the  amounts  of 
patience  and  manual  labor  were  the  only  factors,  aside  from  desirability 
for  use. 

Under  these  conditions  the  products  of  individuals  and  tribes  were 
exchanged.  The  fur  of  one  tribe,  for  instance,  was  exchanged  for  the 
fish  of  another  tribe  in  a  different  section.  It  soon  became  apparent 
that,  in  making  these  exchanges,  one  party  or  the  other  gained  an  advan- 
tage, as  there  was  no  method  of  dividing  the  different  products  so  as  to 
represent  the  exact  divisions  of  labor  values.  In  this  dilemma  resort 
was  had  to  an  expedient  which  proved  so  successful  as  to  be  accepted 
as  an  additional  factor  in  all  exchanges.  By  common  consent  certain 
shells,  or  beads  made  from  shells  or  other  materials,  were  endowed  with 
the  function  of  representing  certain  divisions  of  labor  values.  By  this 
means,  when  a  piece  of  fur  was  worth  more  in  labor  value  than  two  fish, 
and  not  quite  as  much  as  three,  the  difference  was  evened  up  through 
the  medium  of  these  shells  or  beads.  As  exchanges  multiplied,  the 
demand  for  these  shells  and  beads  increased,  until,  most  unfortunately 
for  the  human  race,  some  one  accumulated  a  sufficient  number  to  make 
an  e'xchange  without  the  aid  of  barter.  Then  began  the  difficulty 
between  currency  and  labor,  which  has  come  down  to  us  under  the 
modern  term  of  a  ''  war  between  capital  and  labor."  The  shells  and 
beads  of  primitive  business  are  the  prototypes  of  the  dollars  and  cents 
of  the  present  generation.  And  the  same  desire  which  actuated  the  fur- 
clad  possessor  of  these  shells  and  beads,  in  demanding  as  much  fur  and 
fish  for  them  as  possible,  is  seen  to-day  in  his  modern  imitator,  the 
money-owner,  who  is  seeking  by  all  means,  fair  or  otherwise,  to  obtain 
as  much  of  the  fruits  of  labor  in  production  as  he  can,  in  exchange  for 
his  dollars  and  cents.     Through  the  introduction  of  this  medium  of 

355 


356  HISTORICAL  AND  POLITICAL. 

exchange,  by  which  the  necessity  of  barter  was  ehminated,  an  endless 
number  of  elements,  conditions,  methods,  and  factors  has  been  added 
to  the  term  now  known  as  business. 

In  the  evolution  which  time  has  brought  about  since  the  days  of 
barter,  many  other  materials  have  been  used  in  the  place  of  shells  and 
beads,  but  the  functions  have  remained  the  same.  Usury  soon  made 
its  appearance,  and,  as  now,  became  a  flourishing  and  remunerative 
occupation.  Banks  were  operated  with  the  usual  results.  Bank  bills, 
or  paper  money,  were  invented,  and  the  fine  art  of  appropriating  the 
substance  of  the  people,  without  due  course  of  law,  has  been  carefully 
and  successfully  systematized.  In  all  ages  of  the  world  the  producer 
and  consumer  have  protested  against  the  demands  and  intrigues  of  capi- 
tal. Sometimes  these  attempts  have  been  successful,  but  as  a  rule  they 
have  resulted  in  failure.  It  would  be  both  interesting  and  instructive 
to  trace  these  different  attempts,  at  different  periods  in  the  world's 
history,  but  space  will  not  permit. 

One  of  the  most  important  parts  of  the  declaration  of  principles  of 
the  Farmers'  Alliance  is  the  one  that  gives  sanction  to  the  idea  that  the 
membership  are  to  strive  for  financial  improvement.  A  belief  seems  to 
have  prevailed  in  the  order,  from  its  earliest  history,  that  direct  financial 
improvement  might  be  expected,  as  a  result  of  co-operation  in  a  business 
system  by  the  membership.  An  outline  of  the  effort  made  to  secure  this 
important  result  by  that  method,  will  be  sufficient  to  show  the  principles 
involved  and  the  lessons  to  be  learned. 

The  first  Farmers'  Alliance  was  organized  for  business,  and  the  entire 
order  has  been  a  business  organization,  for  business  purposes,  from  that 
day  to  the  present ;  but  the  methods  of  co-operation  to  secure  that  end 
have  been  many,  and  often  conflicting  and  expensive.  The  first  effort 
at  co-operation,  to  develop  the  business  feature  of  the  Alliance,  seems  to 
have  been  in  the  establishment  of  Trade  Committees,  as  a  part  of  the 
various  County  Alliances  in  the  State  of  Texas.  They  usually  consisted 
of  five  of  the  best  men,  chosen  from  different  sections  of  the  county. 
They  were  expected  to  meet  the  merchants  and  dealers  in  the  county, 
and  to  receive,  consider,  and  act  upon  any  trade  arrangement  that  might 
be  offered.  The  idea  upon  which  the  system  was  based  was  that  often 
a  country  town  contained  six  or  eight  stores  and  dealers,  where  two  or 
three  could  transact  all  the  business,  without  an  increase  of  force  or 
investment,  and  that,  could  the  trade  be  concentrated  so  as  to  employ  a 
less  number  of  men  and  less  capital,  the  saving  thus  made  should  accrue 
to  the  purchaser,  in  the  shape  of  lower  prices  on  the  commodities  pur- 
chased.    The  Trade  Committees,  therefore,  sought  to  get  one  or  two 


BUSINESS  EFFORTS.  357 

merchants  in  a  town  to  make  a  written  proposition  to  sell  merchandise 
to  members  of  the  Alliance  in  good  standing,  who  held  "  trade  cards  " 
stating  that  fact,  at  a  specified  rate  of  profit,  which  was  to  be  much  less 
than  the  average  rate  of  profit  current  at  the  time  in  that  locahty ;  and 
in  exchange  fox  such  concessions  on  the  part  of  the  merchant,  the 
Trade  Committee,  if  they  decided  to  accept  the  proposition,  had  full 
authority,  and  would  agree  that  the  trade  of  the  entire  membership 
would  be  concentrated  and  placed  with  such  merchant.  All  complaints 
of  overcharge  or  any  violation  of  agreement,  were  made  to  the  Trade 
Committee.  This  committee  also  had  access  to  the  merchant's  books, 
and  were  in  possession  of  his  cost  mark,  and  had  access  to  his  invoices ; 
and  it  was  their  duty  to  frequently  examine  into  his  business,  and  see 
that  he  was  complying  with  the  contract.  As  a  further  precaution,  it 
was  generally  stipulated  and  agreed  to,  that  the  merchant  should  employ 
at  least  one  Alliance  clerk,  who  should  be  at  liberty  to  report  any  viola- 
tions of  the  contract  to  the  Trade  Committee. 

While  this  trade  contract  system  was  being  extensively  tried,  an  effort 
was  also  made  to  co-operate  in  the  sale  of  the  products  of  the  farm,  and 
in  some  counties  Alliance  cotton  yards  were  established.  This  feature 
was  thoroughly  discussed  at  the  annual  meeting  of  the  State  Alliance  in 
Cleburne,  Texas,  in  August,  1886,  and  the  membership  were  advised  to 
bulk  their  cotton  and  have  sale  days,  to  which  buyers  from  the  cities 
should  be  invited,  to  compete  for  the  purchase ;  and  when  practicable, 
the  Alliance  was  advised  to  establish  their  own  cotton  yards,  for  receiv- 
ing, weighing,  sampling,  grading,  and  shipping  that  product. 

The  plan  of  bulking  large  lots  of  cotton,  so  as  to  secure  buyers  from 
a  distance  to  compete  in  the  purchase,  was  not  successful.  For  a  while 
it  acted  as  a  spur  to  local  buyers,  and  kept  up  prices ;  but  after  several 
lots  had  been  bulked,  and  all  buyers  had  combined  against  it,  the  sale 
was  sometimes  made  at  a  loss,  and  the  plan  as  a  whole,  after  two  years' 
experience,  was  gradually  abandoned.  While  the  bulking  system  has 
been  abandoned,  the  Alliance  cotton  yards  have  largely  been  developed 
into  Alliance  warehouses,  and  they  have  stood  the  test,  and  will  remain 
as  an  important  and  permanent  feature  of  the  business  effort. 

In  January,  1887,  the  National  Farmers'  Alliance  and  Co-operative 
Union  was  organized.  No  national  business  system  was  provided  for; 
but  the  State  Alliance  of  Texas,  which  met  at  the  same  time,  modified 
its  constitution  so  as  to  provide  for  a  State  business  agent,  to  be  elected 
by  the  Executive  Committee,  and  to  be  under  the  control  of  that  com- 
mittee. This  is  the  first  record  of  any  attempt  at  State  co-operation  in- 
business  by  the  order.     All  previous  action  by  the  State  Alliance  had 


35^  HISTORICAL  AND  POLITICAL. 

tended  to  produce  co-operation  in  county  efforts,  but  the  establishment 
of  a  State  agency  was  calculated  to  secure  co-operation  between  the 
counties  in  a  State  effort.  C.  W.  Macune  of  Milam  County  was  chosen 
by  the  Executive  Committee  to  fill  the  important  position  of  State  agent, 
and  to  demise  and  put  into  active  operation  co-operation  between  the 
counties.'^  He  received  the  appointment  about  March  i,  1887,  and 
immediately  issued  a  circular  letter  to  the  different  County  Alliances, 
calling  on  them  to  select  a  county  business  agent,  place  him  under  bond, 
provide  for  his  expenses,  and  empower  him  to  represent  the  county 
business  effort.  He  then  visited  Boston  and  Fall  River,  to  try  to  make 
arrangements  for  the  sale  of  the  next  cotton  crop.  It  was  found  that 
the  agency  could  handle  cotton  and  sell  direct  to  the  factories,  provided 
it  had  sufficient  capital  behind  it  to  be  responsible  for  its  contracts. 
This  was  reported  to  the  State  Alliance,  which  convened  in  August  of 
that  year,  and  was  one  of  the  causes  that  led  to  the  formation  of  the 
State  Exchange. 

After  the  report  of  the  State  business  agent  was  received  by  the  State 
Alliance  of  Texas,  in  1887,  the  following  action  was  taken,  authorizing 
the  establishment  of  the  Farmers'  Alliance  Exchange  of  Texas. 

Committee  on  Dr.  Macune's  plan  of  the  Alliance  Exchange  was  com- 
posed of  the  following  gentlemen  :  Harrison,  McLellan  County ;  Mathes, 
Coryell  County  ;  Rogers,  Anderson  County ;  Cagle,  Montague  County ; 
Eddie  man,  Denton  County ;  Binford,  Kaufman  County ;  who  reported 
as  follows  :  — 

"  By-Laws. 

"This  corporation  shall  be  known  as  The  Farmers'  Alliance  Exchange  of 
Texas. 

"  The  object  of  this  corporation  is  to  negotiate  the  sale  of  the  cotton  and  other 
products,  and  stock,  and  such  other  property,  personal,  real,  or  mixed,  as  may  be 
desired  by  the  members  of  the  Farmers'  State  Alliance  of  Texas;  also,  the  purchase 
of  all  such  commodities,  machinery,  and  other  things  as  may  be  desired;  also,  to  erect 
suitable  buildings,  storehouses,  and  appliances  for  conducting  such  business,  and 
furnishing  the  necessary  hall  room  and  offices  for  the  officers  of  the  said  Farmers' 
State  Alliance,  and  such  other  purposes  as  may  be  desired  by  the  said  order. 

"The  capital  stock  of  this  corporation  shall  be  ^500,000,  divided  into  twenty-five 
shares  of  ^20,000  each,  and  one-tenth  of  one  per  cent  shall  be  paid  on  the  subscrip- 
tion of  the  stock.  The  twenty-five  stockholders  of  this  corporation  shall  be  elected 
by  the  Farmers'  State  Alliance  of  Texas,  as  follows :  At  this  present  August  session 
of  said  State  Alliance,  of  1887,  there  shall  be  two  elected  from  each  congressional 
district  in  the  State,  and  three  from  the  State  at  large;  and  immediately  after  elec- 
tion, their  names  shall  be  placed  in  a  hat  and  drawn  one  at  a  time :  the  first  nine 
drawn  shall  hold  office  one  year,  the  next  eight  shall  hold  office  two  years,  and  the 
last  eight  shall  hold  office  for  three  years;  and  the  term  of  office  for  each  stockholder 


BUSINESS  EFFORTS  359 

shall  hereafter  be  three  years,  and  the  said  State  Alliance  shall,  at  each  regular  annual 
session,  elect  stockholders  to  fill  all  vacancies. 

"  Each  stockholder  shall  hold  one  share  of  stock  in  this  association,  in  trust  for 
the  benefit  of  the  members  of  the  Farmers'  State  Alliance,  and  shall  discharge  his 
duties  as  owner  in  trust  of  said  stock,  to  the  best  interest  of  his  constituents,  and  turn 
over  all  stock  and  every  privilege  accruing  therefrom  to  his  successor  in  office.  The 
stockholders  of  this  corporation  shall  elect  from  among  their  number  an  Executive 
Board  of  three  members,  who  shall  be  the  Board  of  Trustees,  and  who  shall  have  the 
general  supervision  and  management  of  all  the  business,  and  shall  procure  such 
charter  or  charters  from  the  State  of  Texas  as  may  be  necessary  to  carry  on  the  work 
and  business  desired  to  be  done.  They  shall  be  governed  by  such  general  by-laws  as 
the  stockholders  may  from  time  to  time  adopt. 

"  In  order  to  raise  the  capital  stock  above  entrusted  to  the  stockholders,  for  the 
benefit  of  the  members  of  the  Farmers'  Alliance  in  the  State  of  Texas,  each  Far- 
mers' Alliance  in  the  State  of  Texas  is  hereby  called  upon  to  vote  an  assessment  of 
one  dollar  per  member,  both  male  and  female,  due  and  payable  October  15,  1887;  and 
one  dollar  per  member,  both  male  and  female,  due  and  payable  December  i,  1887; 
and  those  voting  in  favor  of  said  proposition  shall  immediately  notify  the  State  busi- 
ness agent  of  the  fact;  and  the  money  on  such  assessment,  when  received,  shall  be 
sent  to  the  secretary  of  this  corporation,  and  a  notice  of  the  remittance  sent  to  the 
secretary  of  the  State  Alliance. 

"  It  is  understood  that,  when  as  much  as  $50,000  have  been  paid  to  the  secretary, 
each  share  of  stock  will  be  credited  with  ten  per  cent  paid  in,  and  for  each  subse- 
quent payment  of  that  amount  a  like  credit  will  be  made. 

"  Unanimously  adopted  at  regular  session,  in  Waco,  Texas,  August  12,  1887. 

"Evan  Jones,  President. 
"H.  G.  Moore,  Secretary.'' 

The  Trustee-Stockholders  met  and  organized,  by  adopting  by-laws 
and  electing  officers  and  a  Board  of  Directors.  C.  W.  Macune,  as  State 
business  agent,  presented  a  proposition  from  the  business  men  of 
Dallas,  which  he,  in  connection  with  R.  J.  Sledge,  had  secured  after 
much  negotiation. 

This  proposition  was  adopted  by  the  Trustee- Stockholders,  and  the 
Executive  Board  was  instructed  to  go  to  Dallas  and  close  the  contract, 
according  to  the  terms  of  the  proposition,  and  locate  the  headquarters 
in  that  city. 

As  we  have  now  seen,  the  Alliance  membership  of  the  State  were  to 
pay  in  the  capital  stock  by  an  equal  assessment  of  two  dollars  each,  and 
the  State  Alliance  was  to  elect  twenty-five  Trustee-Stockholders,  who 
should  represent  the  stockholders  in  all  meetings,  and  elect  from  their 
number  a  Board  of  Directors,  composed  of  seven  men,  who  should  con- 
trol and  operate  the  business.  In  organizing  the  business,  the  Board  of 
Directors  found  it  necessary  to  have  a  business  manager,  and  they 
selected  and  employed  for  that  purpose  Brother  C.  W.  Macune,  paying 


360  HISTORICAL   AND  POLITICAL. 

him  a  salary,  and  requiring  of  him  a  bond  in  the  sum  of  $25,000. 
He  was  not  a  member  of  the  Board  of  Directors,  nor  a  Trustee-Stock- 
holder ;  he  was  simply  employed  to  do  a  certain  work,  as  directed  by 
the  Board  of  Directors.  It  is  deemed  best  to  give  the  organization  of 
the  Texas  Exchange  in  detail,  because  it  was  a  precedent  for  the  estab- 
lishment of  an  Exchange  in  many  other  States,  and  the  history  of  the 
Alliance  business  effort  must  be  a  compilation  of  the  State  efforts,  since 
no  national  effort  has  fully  materialized  up  to  this  time. 

The  effort  made  by  the  Exchange  to  handle  the  AUiance  cotton  crop 
during  that  fall,  was  worth  many  thousand  dollars  to  the  farmers  of  that 
State.  It  was  a  very  simple  and  effective  system.  The  Exchange  fitted 
up  a  very  large  sample  room,  and  notified  the  brethren  of  the  order  that 
they  could  bulk  their  cotton  in  their  home  cotton  yards  or  warehouses, 
and  send  packages  of  samples  to  the  Exchange,  where  they  would  be 
displayed,  and  the  cotton  sold  with  the  guarantee  of  the  Exchange  that 
it  was  correctly  weighed  and  sampled.  In  this  way  the  Exchange  sold 
cotton  direct  to  the  mills  or  to  Liverpool,  and  had  it  shipped  from  its 
home  depot  on  a  through  bill  of  lading,  thereby  saving  all  local  freights 
and  other  expenses  of  handling.  There  can  be  no  doubt  that  this  effort, 
together  with  the  information  as  to  the  current  price  of  cotton,  every 
day  sent  out  by  the  Exchange,  raised  the  price  of  cotton  to  the  farmers 
of  that  State  at  least  one-half  of  one  cent  per  pound,  on  the  average, 
for  every  pound  of  cotton  sold.  This,  on  the  crop  of  1,300,000  bales  of 
500  pounds  each,  was  a  saving  to  the  farmers  of  $3,252,000  that  had 
previously  gone  into  the  pocket  of  the  speculator. 

The  people  seemed  to  realize  the  great  benefits  they  could  derive  from 
the  Exchange,  if  they  could  only  cut  loose  from  the  crop  mortgage 
system,  so  as  to  be  able  to  control  their  own  cotton  in  the  fall.  But 
when  it  was  mortgaged  to  the  merchant,  they  could  not  sell  it  through 
the  Exchange.  In  this  emergency  they  began  to  appeal  to  the  Exchange 
to  provide  a  system  of  advancing  on  their  crops,  so  as  to  enable  the 
Exchange  to  control  the  cotton  in  the  fall.  In  response  to  many  such 
appeals,  the  Board  of  Directors  agreed  upon  a  plan,  and  instructed  the 
business  manager  to  submit  it  to  the  people  of  the  State  for  ratification. 
This  was  done  about  the  first  of  December,  1887,  by  a  circular  letter 
known  as  "Circular  Letter  No.  39."  This  plan  and  mortgage  obligation 
are  given  on  the  opposite  page. 


BUSINESS  EFFORTS, 


361 


[front.] 
State  of  Texas,  ? 

County  of. \  Know  all  Men  by  these  Presents,  That 

we,  the  undersigned,  hereby  jointly  and  severally  agree  to  pay  the  Farmers'  Alli- 
ance Exchange  of  Texas,  for  value  received,  the  sum  of  $ on  the  15th  day 

of  November,  1888,  for  Goods,  Wares,  and  Merchandise,  purchased  for  and  shipped 

to • as  agent  for  the  undersigned. 

Further,  we,  the  undersigned,  hereby  represent,  for  the  purpose  of  obtaining  credit 
for  the  above  amount  from  the  Farmers'  Alliance  Exchange,  that  the  figures  opposite 
our  signatures,  representing  assets  as  designated  by  the  column  heads,  are  true  and 
correct,  and  that  we  have  and  own  the  property  thus  indicated,  and  that  they  are  in 
nowise  a  misrepresentation,  and  that  we  will  mortgage  the  cotton  and  stock  as  speci- 
fied;  and  that  we  agree  to  all  the  conditions  expressed  on  back  of  this  instrument. 


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Remarks. 

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[back.] 

It  is4iereby  expressly  understood  that  the  filling  out  of  this  blank  by  the  members  of  Sub-Alliances 
in  no  way  obligates  the  Farmers'  Alliance  Exchange  to  furnish  any  goods,  wares,  or  merchandise, 
unless  it  has  received  the  approval  of  the  committee  of  acceptance,  and  notice  returned  to  the  Sub- 
Alliance  that  the  obligation  is  accepted  and  that  the  goods,  wares,  and  merchandise  will  be  sent. 

It  is  further  understood  that  the  amount  of  the  obligation  is  divisible  into  six  equal  parts,  if  the  Ex- 
change shall  so  elect,  and  in  that  event  the  Exchange  will  be  under  no  obligations  to  advance  more 
than  one  such  one-sixth  part  thereof  during  any  one  month  from  and  after  the  month  of  March. 

It  is  further  understood  and  agreed  that  all  bills  for  advances  under  this  proposition  shall  bear 
interest  from  the  day  of  shipment  until  paid,  at  the  rate  of  one  per  cent  per  month,  and  that  payments 
are  due  and  payable  in  the  city  of  Dallas,  Texas. 

It  is  further  agreed  that,  as  this  obligation  is  given  jointly  and  severally,  each  signer  thereof  agrees 
to  place  at  the  disposal  of  the  balance  of  the  signers  such  a  portion  of  its  assets  as  may  be  necessary 
to  secure  them  in  joining  him  in  the  obligation,  and  should  any  one  fail  to  properly  work  or  gather  his 
crop,  he  agrees  that  they  may  take  possession  of  same  and  complete  it  to  the  best  of  his  advantage. 

It  is  further  understood  and  agreed  that  the  Exchange  delivers  all  orders  for  goods,  wares,  and 
merchandise  on  board  the  cars  in  the  city  of  Dallas,  and  that  the  parties  signing  the  written  agree- 
ment to  receive  and  pay  all  freights  on  such  goods,  etc.,  so  ordered,  from  the  city  of  Dallas. 


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362  HISTORICAL  AND  POLITICAL. 

The  resolution  passed  by  the  Board  was  as  follows  :  — 

"  Plan  of  relief  adopted  by  the  Board  of  Directors  of  the  Farmers'  Alliance 
Exchange  of  Texas,  for  the  purpose  of  assisting  the  members  of  the  Farmers'  Alliance 
of  Texas  in  purchasing  their  supplies  for  the  coming  year,  and  selling  their  products 
to  the  best  advantage. 

"  First.  The  members  of  all  Sub-Alliances  wishing  to  avail  themselves  of  the 
advantages  to  be  offered  by  the  Exchange,  shall  make  a  full  showing  of  their  collec- 
tive responsibility,  and  an  estimate  of  the  amount  of  commodities  they  will  require 
advanced  on  time  after  April,  1888,  and  a  satisfactory  showing  that  they  are  able  and 
willing  to  pledge  cotton  to  at  least  two  times  the  amount  of  advances  asked. 

"  Second.  The  county  business  agent  from  each  county  desiring  to  avail  them- 
selves of  the  benefits  of  the  Exchange,  shall  give  a  good  bond  to  the  president  of  this 
Exchange,  in  a  sufficient  amount  to  cover  all  the  transactions  he  will  be  called  upon 
to  perform.  And  it  shall  be  his  duty  to  make  a  careful  examination  of  the  records 
and  the  securities  offered  by  any  Alliance  in  his  county,  ara  report  on  a  blank  form 
to  the  secretary  of  this  Exchange  every  item  in  regard  to  the  business  that  may  be 
required.  It  shall  be  his  duty  to  have  recorded  in  his  county  all  obligations  taken 
therein,  and  send  certificates  of  record  to  the  secretary,  and  perform  such  other  duties 
as  may  be  imposed  on  him  by  the  general  business  management. 

"  Third.  The  secretary  and  two  other  members  of  this  board,  as  may  be  herein- 
after chosen,  shall  sit  as  a  Board  of  Acceptance,  and  it  shall  be  their  duty  to  examine 
the  application  of  every  Alliance  desiring  to  do  business  with  this  Exchange ;  and 
when  they  are  satisfied  with  the  showing  made  by  a  Sub- Alliance,  and  report  favor- 
ably, then  the  business  manager  shall  be  authorized  to  deal  with  that  Sub- Alliance 
according  to  the  terms  of  the  proposition  so  accepted,  but  no  further.  And  the  busi- 
ness manager  shall  in  no  case  advance  more  than  he  has  been  authorized  by  the 
said  Board  of  Acceptance. 

"  The  Board  of  Acceptance  shall  also  make  estimates  of  the  amounts  of  purchases 
necessary  to  meet  the  demands  of  the  accepted  contracts,  and  shall  demand  of  the 
business  management  purchase  adequate  to  meet  such  necessities  in  a  satisfactory 


As  shown  above,  this  was  not  a  proposition  to  do  business  on  time. 
It  was  a  call  upon  the  membership  to  make  known  their  wishes  as  to 
whether  they  desired  the  Exchange  to  undertake  the  business  as  out- 
lined in  the  circular  letter.  This  letter  was  sent  out  about  December  i, 
1887,  and  responses  came  in  so  slowly  that,  on  the  first  of  January,  the 
time  was  extended.  The  membership  clamored  for  more  time  in  which 
to  prepare  the  notes,  and  for  advances  to  be  made  earlier  than  the  first 
of  April.  To  this  clamor  the  Board  of  Directors  yielded,  and  notes  were 
received  and  accepted  up  to  May,  and  goods  were  supplied  freely  in 
March.  Had  the  business  been  carried  out  as  outHned  in  the  plan,  the 
result  might  have  been  different ;  but  the  Board  departed  from  that  plan 
by  accepting  note  obHgations  very  much  in  excess  of  the  prescribed 
limit  of  four  times  the  actual  cash  capital  paid  in.  -When  the  Board  of 
Directors  met  in  March,  they  found  that  only  about  ^17,000  of  the 


BUSINESS  EFFORTS.  363 

capital  stock  had  been  paid  in,  and  that  their  Board  of  Acceptance  had 
approved  and  accepted  joint  notes  to  the  amount  of  about  ;^  128,000; 
and  with  the  corporation  thus  overburdened  they  accepted  a  coptract 
for  the  construction  of  a  building  upon  their  lots  in  Dallas,  which  in- 
creased their  liabilities  about  ;^3 5,000  more.  They  continued  to  accept 
notes  from  the  people,  until  their  obligations  to  supply  merchandise 
aggregated  about  ^400,000,  with  a  paid-in  capital  of  about  ^56,000  that 
could  be  used  in  the  business.'  '\  To  discharge  this  obligation  required 
that  the  people  be  furnished  merchandise  to  the  value  of  over  seven 
times  the  capital  stock  paid,  and  to  do  that  "it  was  necessary  that  the 
Exchange  hypothecate  these  joint  notes,  at  about  eighty-five  per  centum 
of  their  face  value.  That  was  found  impossible.  On  the  average  they 
had  to  be  used  as  collateral,  at  about  forty  per  cent  of  their  face  value ; 
consequently  the  Exchange  had  undertaken  more  than  it  possibly  could 
do,  and  it  failed  ;  not  because  the  system  was  faulty,  or  the  management 
bad,  but  because  the  people  did  not  put  in  capital  stock  in  proportion 
to  the  credit  they  asked,  and  because  many  of  them  did  not  pay  their 
indebtedness.  The  following  is  the  report  of  the  committee,  after  a 
thorough  investigation  of  all  the  facts  :  — 

"  To  the  Members  of  the  Farmers*  Alliance  of  the  State  of  Texas  : 

"  Brethren  :  In  compliance  with  the  request  of  a  meeting  held  in  the  city  of 
Waco,  on  the  15th  day  of  May,  1888,  by  representative  members  of  our  order,  from 
different  parts  of  the  State,  requesting  us  to  thoroughly  examine  the  books  and 
present  financial  condition  of  the  Alliance  Exchange  of  Texas,  we,  the  undersigned, 
President  and  Executive  Committee  of  the  Texas  State  Alliance,  beg  leave  to  submit 
the  following  report :  — 

"  We  met  in  the  city  of  Dallas  on  the  19th  day  of  May,  1888,  and,  after  a 
thorough  and  critical  examination  of  the  books  and  business  generally,  and  the 
manner  of  conducting  said  business  in  all  its  departments,  and  those  in  charge  of 
same,  we  are  gratified  to  state  that  the  entire  business  is,  and  has  been,  conducted  " 
upon  sound,  conservative,  practicable  business  principles,  and  that  the  capital  stock 
of  said  Exchange  is  intact,  and  that  it  has  been  self-supporting,  and  is  entitled  to 
your  fullest  confidence  and  support.  The  facts  set  forth  in  Brother  Macune's  report 
are  true. 

"We  also  find  the  Exchange  has  been  crippled  in  its  efforts  to  help  the  brethren, 
in  consequence  of  not  being  able  to  negotiate  loans  upon  the  mortgage  notes  of 
the  brethiren,  placed  in  their  hands  for  that  purpose,  and  by  the  acts  of  designing 
enemies  of  our  order.  This  you  will  find  more  fully  explained  by  Brother  Macune's 
report,  hereunto  attached,  and  made  a  part  of  this  report. 

"  We  are,  after  a  diligent  and  fair  investigation,  made  in  Dallas,  deeply  impressed 
with  the  great  importance  of  the  brotherhood  moving  with  all  their  united  force  at 
once  to  the  support  of  our  Exchange,  that  we,  as  an  Alliance,  have  built  up. 

"  It  is  with  regret  we  have  to  chronicle  the  fact  that  any  class  of  men  should  be 
found  in  this  enlightened  age,  whose  love  of  power  and  money,  and  the  emoluments 


364  HISTORICAL  AND  POLITICAL. 

growing  out  of  such,  would  prompt  them  to  form  an  unholy  and  unhallowed  com- 
bination for  the  purpose  of  throttling  a  business  venture,  established  for  the  purpose 
of  inaugurating  a  just  and  equitable  system  of  distribution.  Yet  it  is  true,  and,  unless 
each  member  evinces  patriotic  zeal  and  loyalty,  and  promptly  rises  to  a  full  concep- 
tion of  the  dignity  and  gravity  of  the  situation,  and  royally  assumes  at  once  his  part 
of  the  burden,  our  efforts  will  be  much  hampered. 

"  It  is  now  time  for  each  brother  to  realize  the  fact  that  faltering  now  means 
unconditional  surrender;  it  means  a  perpetuation  of  the  invidious  discriminations 
which  now  deprive,  and  have  in  the  past  deprived,  us  of  a  just  share  of  the  proceeds 
of  our  labor. 

"  Our  faith  in  the  zeal,  fidelity,  love  of  justice,  and  patriotism  in  the  order  is  so 
strong  that  we  look  to  you  to  say,  by  your  actions,  that  a  combination  of  schemers, 
now  formed  for  selfish  purposes,  shall  not  thwart  the  efforts  of  a  quarter  of  .a  million 
free  men,  fighting  the  battles  of  truth  and  justice. 

"  With  unfaltering  confidence  in  your  ability  and  loyalty,  we  urge  you  to  move 
with  one  accord  forward,  and  victory  awaits  you. 

"  Yours  fraternally, 

"  Evan  Jones,  President, 
"  B.  J.  Kendrick, 
"  Joe  Smeltzer, 
"  Geo.  L.  Clark, 

"  Executive  Committee^ 

The  Exchange  used  the  notes  for  the  very  purpose  for  which  they 
were  given,  and  did  not  sell  or  part  ownership  with  one  of  them.  True, 
some  of  them  were  forfeited  as  collateral,  but  that  was  no  violation  of 
the  agreement  on  the  part  of  the  Exchange.  That  was  a  contingency 
that  the  makers  of  the  notes  took  the  chances  of  when  they  made  the 
notes  for  that  purpose. 

The  plan  of  business  inaugurated  by  the  Exchange  was  a  great  innova- 
tion upon  the  established  usages  and  customs  of  the  country  at  that  ■ 
time  ;  it  was  therefore  attended  with  the  two  great  drawbacks  that  always 
attend  the  introduction  of  an  innovation,  —  bitter  opposition  and  great 
difficulty  in  being  understood.  The  people  had  been  for  twenty  years 
taught  the  Rochdale  system  of  conducting  stores,  and,  as  it  had  for  its 
object  an  entirely  different  purpose  from  that  taught  by  the  Alliance, 
the  Exchange  could  not  use  that  plan,  and  therefore  was  compelled  to 
undertake  the  difficult  task  of  introducing  a  new  system,  and  combat- 
ing the  opposition  from  within  the  order,  of  many  who  were  wedded  to 
the  Rochdale  plan  of  joint-stock  (miscalled  co-operative)  stores.  The 
opposition  of  the  merchants  and  dealers  of  the  State  was  aroused  against 
the  Exchange  plan,  because  it  proposed  to  demoralize  prices.  A  com- 
parison will  show  the  essential  difference  between  the  Exchange  and 
the  Rochdale  systems.  The  latter  proposed  to  establish  stores,  or  rather 
to  have  the  people  in  the  different  localities  furnish  the  capital  and  start 


BUSINESS  EFFORTS.  365 

stores,  called  co-operative,  and  sell  commodities,  as  other  merchants  did, 
at  the  prices  current  in  that  place  at  the  time.  Then,  at  stated  intervals 
of  once  or  twice  a  year,  the  business  would  be  balanced,  and  the  profits, 
after  paying  the  running  expenses  and  interest  on  the  capital  stock, 
would  be  divided  among  the  stockholders,  on  a  basis  of  the  amount  of 
goods  purchased  by  each.  The  object  of  this  system  was,  therefore,  to 
make  a  success  of  the  business  as  a  mercantile  effort,  so  as  to  make 
money  for  its  stockholders. 

The  Exchange  did  not  encourage  the  people  to  establish  stores.  It 
taught  them  to  consider,  before  embarking  in  the  enterprise,  what  object 
they  expected  to  achieve  ;  to  decide  whether  the  venture  should  be  a  suc- 
cess as  a  mercantile  effort,  or  a  success  as  an  auxiliary  to  the  farming  effort ; 
and  whether  they  should  make  money  at  the  expense  of  their  brother 
farmers,  or  whether  they  would  make  the  same  money  by  assisting  their 
brother  farmers  to  make  equally  as  much.  To  make  this  perfectly  plain, 
note  the  difference  in  the  following  comparison :  A  Rochdale  store  in  a 
county  in  Cent»a'l  Texas,  in  1888,  declared  a  dividend  to  its  purchasers, 
equal  to  fifty  per  cent  of  its  capital,  on  its  first  six  months'  business. 
Suppose  it  ha(i  maintained  this  degree  of  prosperity  throughout  the  year, 
and  it  had  a  capital  of  $5000  paid  in  by  a  hundred  stockholders,- and 
that  the  gross  trade  of  the  county  amounts  to  about  ;^  1,000,000.  If  the 
average  profit  on  sales  is  twenty  per  cent,  then  this  institution  has  sold 
^25,000  worth  of  goods,  and  returns  to  its  stockholders  ^50  each  as  a 
dividend,  and  the  gross  profits  of  the  other  merchants  of  that  county 
amount  to  $195,000,  as  a  profit  on  the  other  tg^j^poo  worth  of  business 
done  in  the  county.  This  is  very  satisfactory  to  all  the  merchants  and 
newspapers,  lawyers  and  doctors,  and  especially  to  the  stockholders  in 
the  co-operative  store,  who  have  got  their  original  investment  back,  and 
begin  to  understand  that  merchandising  pays  better  than  farming.  The 
manager  is  honized,  and  becomes  a  great  man  in  the  county.  He  is 
recognized  as  having  a  great  influence  among  the  farmers.  The  store 
will  have  a  fine  reputation  as  a  successful  mercantile  institution,  and 
everybody  will  congratulate  the  farmer  on  having  such  a  good  store, 
and  praise  him  for  his  co-operative  effort. 

Now  had  an  Alliance  store  been  started  in  the  place  of  the  Rochdale 
store,  in  the  same  town,  at  that  time,  with  a  like  capital,  different  con- 
ditions would  have  prevailed,  and  a  very  different  result  would  have 
ensued.  The  Alliance  store  would  have  said  :  "  We  are  strictly  auxiliary 
to  the  farming  effort,  and  therefore  will  not  charge  the  membership  the 
usual  profits  of  merchants,  and  then  return  it  to  them  as  dividends.  We 
will  let  them  keep  the  profits  in  their  pockets,  by  selling  them  the  goods 


366  MtSTORtCAL  AND  POLITICAL. 

at  the  cost  of  laying  them  down  hete  and  handUng.  The  people  will 
thereby  be  able  to  make  their  money  go  farther  towards  paying  the 
expenses  of  the  farming  effort."  It  is  found  that  they  can  pay  all 
expenses  of  handUng  the  goods  with  a  profit  of  five  per  cent,  and  they 
commence  selling  the  brethren  at  that  margin.  Immediately  all  other 
stores  in  that  county  drop  to  the  same  price,  and  sell  many  leading 
articles  even  lower,  and  open  a  bitter  war  on  the  Alliance  store  and  its 
manager.  They  undersell  him  and  get  the  trade  ;  they  slander  him  and 
ridicule  his  methods.  It  is  found,  at  the  end  of  the  year,  that  his  sales 
have  been  so  small  that  the  store  has  lost  money,  and  stories  are  circu- 
lated that  the  manager  has  swindled  the  stockholders.  A  careful  exami- 
nation, however,  fails  to  show  any  evidence,  and  all  know  in  their  hearts 
that  they  are  false  ;  but  the  store  is  regarded  as  a  failure,  and  its  enemies 
advertise  it  as  a  fraud.  The  stockholders  have  made  nothing,  perhaps 
not  even  interest  on  their  stock.  They  may  have  lost  a  part  of  the 
original  investment.  Thus  far  this  comparison  has  shown  what  is 
usually  pubhshed  in  regard  to  these  two  systems,  but  simple  justice 
demands  that  the  investigation  be  pursued  a  little  further,  in  order  to  see 
the  effect  of  both  upon  agriculture. 

As  has  been  shown,  the  gross  effect  of  the  Rochdale  plan  was  a  divi- 
dend of  ;^5o,  on  an  average,  to  each  of  the  one  hundred  stockholders, 
making  an  aggregate  gain  of  1^5000.  The  gain  from  the  business  of  the 
Alliance  store  accrued  to  the  general  public  in  the  shape  of  reduced 
prices  ;  and,  as  nine-tenths  of  the  people  of  that  county  were  farmers, 
nine-tenths  of  the  gains  accrued  to  agriculture.  This  gain  consisted 
in  the  difference  between  five  per  cent  and  twenty-five  per  cent  on  the 
1^800,000  worth  of  goods  purchased  from  the  merchants  of  that  county. 
That  is  to  say,  under  both  systems  the  gross  purchases  of  the  merchants 
of  the  county  were  $800,000.  Under  the  Rochdale  system,  they  sold 
the  goods  during  the  year  for  $1,000,000,  and  under  the  Alliance  store 
system  they  sold  the  same  goods  for  $840,000,  making  a  clear  gain  to 
the  people  of  that  county,  on  their  purchases,  of  $160,000 ;  and  if  nine- 
tenths  were  farmers,  the  gain  to  the  farming  interests  of  the  county  would 
be  $144,000  in  a  single  year,  as  a  result  of  the  Alliance  store.  Subtract 
from  this  the  five  thousand,  as  gross  gains  of  the  Rochdale  store,  and  it 
shows  the  difference  to  be  $139,000  in  a  single  county,  in  one  year,  in 
favor  of  the  AUiance  store,  as  a  benefit  to  agriculture. 

The  stockholders,  however,  were  not  perceptibly  benefited,  and  not 
disposed  to  perpetuate  a  store  that  perhaps  fulfilled  the  divine  injunc- 
tion, and  benefited  its  enemies.  It  was  impossible  to  make  the  people 
generally  understand  that  it  paid  to  run  a  store  that  was  a  failure.    They 


BUSINESS  EFFORTS,  367 

Could  not  be  made  to  comprehend  the  fact  that  their  stores,  cotton 
yards,  and  Exchange  were  practically  option  houses,  and  that  the  less 
business  they  did,  the  less  expense  they  would  have  and  the  better  the 
result  would  be,  provided  general  prices  were  kept  down. 

The  Exchange  did  about  ^1,000,000  worth  of  business  in  1888,  and 
reduced  general  prices  throughout  the  entire  State  of  Texas,  saving  the 
farmers  of  the  State,  at  the  very  lowest  estimate,  several  milHons  of  dol- 
lars. No  one  man  had  over  ^5  invested  in  the  capital  stock,  and  the 
final  loss  of  the  entire  capital  stock,  amounting  in  the  aggregate  to  less 
than  $100,000,  was  a  mere  drop  in  the  bucket  to  the  gains  that  accrued 
to  the  membership  from  the  reduction  of  general  prices. 

The  business  effort  of  the  Alliance  Exchange  of  Texas  taught  that 
profit  was  wrong ;  that  a  man  was  entitled  to  pay  for  his  work,  and  to 
interest  on  his  investment,  but  to  no  profits ;  and  advised  farmers  in  the 
different  sections  not  to  invest  their  money  in  stores,  but  to  select  an 
agent  and  provide  a  place  for  storage ;  have  such  goods  as  they  were 
sure  to  need  shipped  to  these  "  supply  stations,"  as  they  were  called, 
and  have  the  agent  there  one  or  two  days  in  each  week,  to  divide  out  the 
goods  to  those  who  participated  in  making  the  note  and  ordering  the 
goods.  Whether  the  plan  contained  merit  or  not,  its  benefits,  when 
compared  with  its  expense,  including  the  loss  of  the  original  capital, 
demonstrate  it  to  have  been  the  greatest  financial  success  ever  started  in 
this  country,  and  the  only  reason  this  fact  is  not  recognized  is  because 
the  benefits  have  been  distributed  in  small  amounts  to  the  pockets  of 
millions  of  farmers,  instead  of  being  placed  to  the  credit  of  the  bank 
account  of  one  single  capitalist. 

In  May,  1888,  the  business  agents  of  the  different  States  met  as  a 
committee  of  the  National  Alliance,  for  the  purpose  of  organizing  a  State 
business  agents'  association.  The  matter  was  thoroughly  discussed  and 
a  plan  formulated.  This  plan  formed  the  basis  upon  which  many  State 
Exchanges  were  started.  The  following  plan,  on  which  the  State  Alliance 
of  Georgia  has  organized  its  Farmers'  Alliance  Exchange,  will  give  a 
correct  idea  of  the  objects  and  methods  by  which  the  Exchange  system 
is  operated,  and  is  a  very  good  example  of  the  laws  governing  the 
Exchanges  in  the  other  States :  — 

"  I.  The  name  of  this  corporation  shall  be  'The  Farmers'  Alliance  Exchange  of 
Georgia.' 

**  2.  The  purposes  for  which  this  corporation  is  organized  are :,  To  conduct  a  gen- 
eral mercantile  business;  to  act  as  agent  for  the  purchase  and  sale  of  all  kinds  of 
farm  and  orchard  products,  and  general  forwarding  agent  for  all  kinds  of  commodi- 
ties; to  erect,  manage,  and  operate  warehouses,  stock-yards,  grain  elevators,  packing 


368  HISTORICAL   AND  POLITICAL. 

establishments;  to  manufacture  guano  or  other  fertilizers;  and  all  such  other  enter- 
prises as  may  be  found  necessary  or  advisable  to  profit  and  betterment. 

"  3.  This  corporation  shall  have  the  power,  by  and  under  its  corporate  name,  to 
enjoy  the  following  rights  and  privileges,  to  wit :  It  shall  be  capable  in  law  to  pur- 
chase, receive,  and  hold  and"  enjoy,  lands,  goods,  chattels,  and  property  of  any  kind 
and  effects  whatsoever;  the  same  to  grant,  sell,  mortgage,  and  dispose  of,  sue  and  be 
sued,  plead  and  be  impleaded,  contract  and  be  contracted  with;  to  make  a  common 
seal,  to  alter  or  break  the  same;  to  establish  and  put  in  execution  by-laws  governing 
the  corporation;  to  issue  and  float  debenture  or  other  bonds;  to  do  a  printing  and 
publishing  business. 

"4.  The  capital  stock  of  the  corporation  shall  be  $i,ooo,ckx)  —  twenty-five  per 
cent  of  stock  subscribed  to  be  paid  in  during  the  year  1888,  the  remainder  in  three 
instalments  of  twenty-five  per  cent  annually;  and  when  ^50,000  is  paid  in,  the  board 
of  directors  shall  begin  operations.  The  capital  stock  shall  be  divided  into  10,000 
shares  of  ^100  each. 

"  5.   The  term  for  which  this  corporation  shall  exist  shall  be  ninety-nine  years. 

"  6.  Subscriptions  for  shares  of  capital  stock  shall  be  made  by  Farmers'  Alliances, 
and  not  by  individuals,  and  shall  be  accompanied  by  twenty-five  per  cent  in  cash 
of  the  amount  of  subscription. 

"  7.  It  is  hereby  understood  or  agreed  that  each  Sub-Alliance  adopting  this  Ex- 
change system,  and  thereby  ratifying  this  plan,  is  firmly  bound  to  subscribe  for  and 
make  settlement  on  stock,  as  above  specified,  to  the  number  of  shares  due  from  it, 
under  the  following  schedule  of  ability,  to  wit:  Those  having  less  than  thirty-five 
members  shall  be  apportioned  one  share;  thirty-five  to  sixty-five  members,  two  shares; 
sixty-five  to  ninety-five  members,  three  shares;  all  above  ninety-five  members,  four 
shares;  Provided,  this  shall  not  prevent  any  Alliance  from  taking  as  many  shares  as 
they  choose. 

"  8.  Each  Farmers'  Alliance  shall  be  entitled  to  one  Trustee-Stockholder,  who  shall 
be  elected  annually  at  the  time  of  the  regular  election  of  officers.  He  shall  repre- 
sent such  subordinate  body  in  the  meeting  of  Trustee-Stockholders,  from  and  for  all 
the  subordinate  bodies  in  that  county,  and  shall  be  entitled  to  as  many  votes  as  he 
represents  shares  of  stock.  The  county  convention  of  Trustee-Stockholders  shall,  at  a 
regular  annual  meeting,  elect  from  their  number  one  delegate  from  all  shares  of  stock 
owned  in  that  county,  who  shall  be  known  as  County  Trustee-Stockholder,  and  be 
authorized  to  represent  the  stock  held  in  that  county  in  the  State  meetings  of  the 
Trustee-Stockholders  of  the  corporation,  and  shall  be  entitled  to  as  many  votes  as  they 
represent  shares  of  stock.     Each  Trustee-Stockholder  shall  be  the  representative  of 

the  Exchange  in  his  Alliance,  and  shall  give  bond  in  the  sum  of dollars  for 

the  faithful  performance  of  duty. 

"  9.  The  next  Trustee-Stockholders'  meeting  shall  be  at  the  time  and  place  of  the 
next  meeting  of  the  Farmers'  State  Alliance  of  Georgia,  unless  sooner  convened  by 
call  from  the  Board  of  Directors  of  the  Exchange. 

'•  10.  The  Trustee- Stockholders  shall  elect  annually  eleven  from  their  number,  as  a 
Board  of  Directors,  to  be  chosen  one  from  each  congressional  district  in  the  State,  and 
one  from  the  State  at  large.     Seven  of  these  directors  will  constitute  a  quorum. 

"II.  The  Board  of  Directors  shall  elect  from  their  number  a  president,  vice-presi- 
dent, and  a  secretary  and  treasurer.  They  may  employ  or  discharge  such  assistants 
as  necessary,  taking  sufficient  bonds  to  cover  all  responsibility  reposed.  They  shall 
enftct  suitable  laws  and  regulations,  subject  to  approval  by  the  next  meeting  of  stock- 


BUSINESS  EFFORTS.  369 

holders :  Provided,  all  such  by-laws  and  regulations  shall  have  the  full  force  of  low, 
until  the  stockholders  shall  have  refused  to  concur  in  them." 

Just  prior  to  the  national  meeting  at  St.  Louis,  a  call  was  issued,  invit- 
ing all  State  business  agents  to  meet  at  the  same  time,  to  consider  the 
propriety  of  forming  a  national  organization.  Business  agents  from 
nearly  all  the  organized  States  were  present,  and  a  general  discussion 
of  the  whole  subject  was  entered  into.  The  benefits  of  such  an  asso- 
ciation were  at  once  apparent,  and  immediate  steps  were  taken  for  its 
formation.         ♦  ^ 

The  following  business  agents  were  present :  J.  S.  Bird,  Alabama ; 
W.  W.  Holland,  Kentucky ;  George  A.  Gowan,  Tenne&see ;  J.  O.  Winn, 
Georgia;  Felix  Corput,  Georgia;  T.  A.  Clayton,  Louisiana;  W.  H. 
Worth,  North  Carolina ;  D.  B.  Hatfield,  Arkansas ;  T.  J.  Galloway,  Ten- 
nessee ;^W.  K.  Cessna,  Florida;  G.  G.  Grose,  Dakota;  Allen  Root, 
Nebraska;  J.  D.  Furlong,  Minnesota;  J.  B.  Dines,  Missouri;  August 
Post,  Iowa ;  J.  L.  Seaver,  Washington ;  S.  M.  Hoskins,  Indiana ;  M.  B. 
Wade,  Kansas ;  S.  W.  Wright,  Jr.,  Illinois ;  S.  P.  A.  Bnibaker,  Virginia ; 
B.  G.  West,  Mississippi ;  T.  W.  Haynes,  Kentucky ;  W.  B.  Collier,  Mis- 
souri ;  Colonel  I.  May,  Wisconsin  ;  W.  J.  Cox,  Indiana ;  J.  A.  Mudd, 
Maryland ;  A.  S.  Mann,  Florida ;  Oswald  Wilson,  New  York.  Brother 
J.  B.  Dines  was  elected  President,  W.  W.  Holden,  Vice-President,  and 
Oswald  Wilson,  Secretary.  A  constitution  was  adopted,  and  other  busi- 
ness of  detail  transacted  to  the  satisfaction  of  all. 

The  association  adjourned  to  meet  with  the  National  Alliance  the 
following  December. 


Annual  Meeting  of  the  State  Business  Agents'  Association. 

OcALA,  Florida,  December  i,  1890. 

The  States  Business  Agents'  Association  met  in  hall  of  Donnelton 
Phosphate  Company,  with  the  following  officers  and  members  present :  — 

J.  B.  Dines,  President,  St.  Louis,  Missouri ;  W.  L.  Peek,  Vice-Presi- 
dent, Atlanta,  Georgia ;  Oswald  Wilson,  Secretary,  335  Broadway,  New 
York ;  J.  K.  P.  House,  Kansas ;  M.  D.  Coffeen,  lUinois ;  G.  A.  Gowan, 
Nashville,  Tennessee;  W.  K.  Cessna,  Jacksonville,  Florida;  G.  F. 
Gaither,  Birmingham,  Alabama ;  W.  H.  Worth,  Raleigh,  North  Carolina ; 
T.  A.  Clayton,  New  Orleans,  Louisiana ;  A.  R.  Venable,  Jr.,  Richmond, 
Virginia;  J.  J.  Rogers,  Norfolk,  Virginia;  S.  S.  Harvey,  Pensacola, 
Florida;  S.  D.  A.  Duncan,  Dallas,  Texas;  J.  M.  Moore,  San  Fran- 
cisco, California ;  R.  M.  Humphrey,  Houston,  Texas ;  R.  C.  Betty, 
Indian  Territory ;  B.  G.  West,  Memphis,  Tennessee ;  M.  L.  Donaldson, 


370  HISTORICAL  AND  POLITICAL. 

Greenville,  South  Carolina ;  W.  H.  Holland,  Louisville,  Kentucky ;  Joseph 
A.  Mudd,  Washington,  District  of  Columbia. 

Much  important  business  was  transacted,  the  constitution  was  revised, 
and  a  general  agreement  was  arrived  at  in  regard  to  business  methods 
among  the  different  agencies.  The  meeting  was  entirely  satisfactory  to 
all  concerned. 

The  following  officers  were  elected  :  — 

J.  B.  Dines,  President ;  W.  L.  Peek,  Vice-President ;  Oswald  Wilson, 
Secretary;  J.  K.  P.  House,  Treasurer;  M.  D.  Coffeen,  Member  of 
Executive  Committee. 

Adjourned  to  meet  at  the  place  designated  by  the  National  Farmers' 
Alliance  and  Industrial  Union  for  their  next  annual  meeting. 

No  one  can  estimate  the  benefits  which  may  be  derived  from  this 
national  association,  if  properly  managed.  It  can  protect  the  weak  and 
bid  defiance  to  the  strong,  and  thereby  save  millions  to  the  hard-working 
farmer.  If  space  would  permit,  a  report  from  each  State  business  agent, 
as  to  the  volume  of  business,  benefits  derived  by  the  brethren,  and  the 
prospects  for  the  future,  would  be  both  instructive  and  entertaining. 
Suffice  it  to  say  that  a  great  work  is  being  done  by  these  agencies. 
Millions  of  dollars  are  being  saved  to  the  members,  and  true  business 
principles  are  being  taught  to  the  order.  In  many  respects  these 
agencies  are  made  an  auxiliary  of  no  little  importance,  in  the  education 
of  the  brethren,  regarding  the  correct  doctrine  of  the  Alliance.  That 
they  are  an  important  factor  in  the  Alliance  movement,  no  one  should 
deny,  and  that  they  should  be  patronized  and  supported,  every  one 
should  concede. 


DIVISION    III 


AGRICULTURE. 


CHAPTER   I. 

HISTORY   OF    AGRICULTURE. 

Nothing,  perhaps,  would  be  more  interesting  to  the  Ameri- 
can farmer  than  a  correct  detailed  description  of  the  agricultural 
methods  of  antiquity.  It  would  serve  to  mark  the  progress  that 
has  been  made  in  that  pursuit,  and  disclose  the  fact,  which 
many  seem  to  doubt,  that  the  steady,  plodding  farmer  has  per- 
formed his  full  share  in  bringing  about  the  civilization  of  the 
present,  by  making  rapid  strides  in  the  development  of  every 
branch  of  his  vocation.  It  would  also  be  gratifying  to  know 
how  the  nations  of  the  long  ago  tilled  the  soil,  sowed,  planted, 
reaped,  or  gathered ;  what  crops  they  cultivated,  and  by  what 
methods  they  were  converted  into  use.  Such  information,  how- 
ever, has  been  withheld,  as  the  records  which  have  come  down 
to  us  are  all  but  silent  upon  these  topics. 

The  fact  that  agriculture,  as  an  industry,  antedates  all  others, 
is  admitted  by  every  one.  The  first  want  of  man  is  food,  and 
his  first  resource  for  it  was  the  ground.  Whether  herbs  or 
fruits  were  resorted  to  must  have  depended  upon  their  relative 
abundance  in  the  locality  where  man  began  his  career  upon 
earth.  Doubtless  the  fruits  were  preferred  at  first,  until  the 
use  of  fire,  in  the  preparation  of  the  herbs,  was  discovered. 
Upon  this  hypothesis,  the  first  care  and  labor  of  man  would 
have  been  bestowed  upon  fruit  trees,  and  hence  gardening  may 
be  said  to  have  been  the  art  of  earliest  invention. 

But  man  is  also  a  carnivorous  animal,  and  this  propensity  of 
his  nature  would  soon  lead  him  to  attempt  to  domesticate  such 
animals  as  he  found  most  useful  in  affording  him  milk,  food,  or 

371 


2,']2  AGRICULTURE. 

clothing,  or  would  assist  him  in  his  labor.  From  this  may 
have  come  the  origin  of  pasturage,  and  the  industry  of  raising 
stock.  The  invention  of  tilling  the  soil  must  have  been  coeval 
with  the  discovery  of  the  use  of  the  cereal  grasses,  and  may 
be  considered  as  the  last  step  in  the  invention  of  husbandry, 
as  well  as  the  most  important.  Such  conclusions,  while  simply 
conjectural,  are  nevertheless  based  upon  sufficient  reason  to 
warrant  a  respectful  consideration. 

In  the  earlier  stages  of  civilization,  these  branches  of  econ- 
omy, in  common  with  all  the  arts  of  life,  would  naturally  be 
practised  by  every  family  for  itself ;  but  the  great  advantages 
of  separating  the  occupations  would  soon  present  themselves, 
and  the  result,  no  doubt,  is  the  present  designations  of  farming, 
gardening,  grazing,  etc. 

The  importance  of  agriculture  is  obvious  to  every  thinking 
person,  not  only  by  its  affording  the  direct  supply  of  our 
greatest  wants,  but  as  the  parent  of  manufacture  and  com- 
merce. Without  agriculture,  there  can  be  neither  civilization 
nor  population.  It  is  not  only  the  most  universal  of  all  the 
arts,  but  the  one  which  requires  the  greatest  number  of  opera- 
tors. The  larger  portion  of  the  inhabitants,  in  every  country, 
are  employed  in  agricultural  pursuits ;  and  the  most  prosperous 
and  enlightened  nation  is  the  one  whose  agricultural  population 
are  the  best  remunerated  for  their  labor. 

In  the  earlier  ages  of  the  race,  before  tillage  was  invented, 
doubtless  the  surface  of  the  earth  was  held  in  common  by  all 
the  inhabitants,  and  every  family  pastured  its  flocks,  pitched  its 
tent,  or  erected  its  hut  where  it  seemed  best ;  but  when  tillage 
came  into  use,  it  must  have  become  necessary  to  assign  to  each 
family  or  tribe  a  portion  of  territory,  and  of  this  portion  that 
family  or  tribe  became  the  recognized  proprietors  and  cultiva- 
tor-s.  From  this,  perhaps,  came  the  beginning  of  property  in 
land ;  of  purchased  cultivators,  or  slaves ;  hired  cultivators,  or 
laborers ;  of  farmers,  or  proprietors  ;  and  the  various  laws  and 
customs,  in  regard  to  ownership  and  occupation  of  landed 
property,  which,  in  a  modified  or  intensified  form,  obtain  at 
the  present  time. 

After  a  careful  examination  of  numerous  authors  upon 
ancient  agriculture,  I  have  selected  the  writings  of  Mr.  J.  C. 


HISTORY  OF  AGRICULTUR^^'"--^  '^']l 

Loudon,  printed  in  England,  in  1834,  from  which  I  shall  make 
extended  quotations. 

Mr.  Loudon  says  that  the  history  of  agriculture  may  be 
considered  chronologically,  or  in  connection  with  that  of  the 
different  nations,  which  have  successively  flourished  in  different 
parts  of  the  world ;  politically,  as  influenced  by  the  different 
forms  of  government  which  have  prevailed  ;  geographically,  as 
affected  by  different  climates ;  and  physically,  as  influenced  by 
the  character  of  the  earth's  surface. 

The  first  kind  of  history  is  useful,  by  displaying  the  relative 
situation  of  different  countries  as  to  agriculture  ;  instructive,  as 
enabling  us  to  contrast  our  present  situation  with  that  of  other 
nations  and  former  times  ;  and  curious,  as  discovering  the  route 
by  which  agriculture  has  passed  from  primitive  ages  and  coun- 
tries to  our  own. 

The  political  and  geographical  histories  of  the  art  derive  their 
value  from  pointing  out  causes  favorable  and  unfavorable  to 
improvement,  and  countries  and  climates  favorable  or  unfa- 
vorable to  particular  kinds  of  cultivation  and  management. 
Traditional  history  traces  man  back  to  the  time  of  the  deluge. 
After  that  catastrophe,  of  which  the  greater  part  of  the  earth's 
surface  bears  evidence,  man  seems  to  have  recovered  himself  in 
the  central  parts  of  Asia,  and  to  have  first  attained  to  eminence 
in  arts  and  government  on  the  alluvial  plains  of  the  Nile.  Egypt 
colonized  Greece,  Carthage,  and  some  other  places  on  the  Medi- 
terranean Sea ;  and  thus  the  Greeks  received  their  arts  from  the 
Egyptians ;  afterwards  the  Romans  from  the  Greeks ;  and  finally, 
the  rest  of  Europe  from  the  Romans. 

Such  is  the  route  by  which  agriculture  is  traced  to  our  part 
of  the  world.  How  it  may  have  reached  the  eastern  countries 
of  India  and  China  is  less  certain,  though,  from  the  great  antiq- 
uity of  their  inhabitants  and  governments,  it  appears  highly 
probable  that  arts  and  civilization  were  either  coeval  there,  or, 
if  not,  that  they  travelled  to  the  east  much  more  rapidly  than 
they  did  to  the  west.  Very  few  facts  are  recorded  on  the  sub- 
ject, previous  to  the  time  of  the  Romans.  That  enterprising 
people  considerably  improved  the  art,  and  extended  its  practice 
with  their  conquests.  After  the  fall  of  their  empire,  it  declined 
throughout  Europe,  and,  during  the  Dark   Ages,  was   chiefly 


374  AGRICULTURE. 

preserved  on  the  estates  of  the  Church.  With  the  general 
revival  of  arts  and  letters,  which  took  place  during  the  sixteenth 
century,  agriculture  also  revived ;  first  in  Italy,  and  then  in 
France  and  Germany ;  but  it  flourished  most  in  Switzerland 
and  Holland ;  and  finally,  in  recent  times,  has  attained  its  high- 
est degree  of  perfection  in  England. 

The  modern  agriculture  of  America  is  copied  from  that  of 
Europe ;  and  the  same  may  be  said  of  the  agriculture  of  Euro- 
pean colonies,  established  in  different  parts  of  the  world.  The 
authors  whose  writings  relate  to  the  period  under  consideration 
are  few,  and  the  relations  of  some  of  them  very  contradictory. 
The  earliest  is  Moses  (b.c.  1600).  Herodotus  and  Diodorus 
Siculus,  who  wrote  more  particularly  on  the  history  and  geog- 
raphy of  Egypt,  lived,  the  former  in  the  fifth,  and  the  latter  in 
the  sixth,  century  B.C. ;  and  Hesiod,  the  ancient  Greek  writer  on 
husbandry,  in  the  tenth  century  preceding  our  era.  It  is  truly 
remarkable  that,  in  the  eastern  countries,  the  state  of  agriculture 
and  other  arts,  and  even  of  machinery,  at  that  period,  does  not 
appear  to  have  been  materially  different  from  what  it  is  in  the 
same  countries  at  the  present  day.  Property  in  land  was  recog- 
nized, the  same  grains  cultivated,  and  the  same  domestic  animals 
reared  or  employed.  Some  led  a  wandering  life  and  dwelt  in 
tents,  like  the  Arabs,  and  others  dwelt  in  towns  or  cities  and 
pursued  agriculture  and  commerce,  Hke  the  fixed  nations.  It 
is  reasonable,  indeed,  and  consistent  with  received  opinions, 
that  this  should  be  the  case ;  for,  admitting  the  human  race  to 
have  been  nearly  exterminated  at  the  deluge,  those  who  sur- 
vived that  catastrophe  would  possess  the  more  useful  arts  and 
general  habits  of  life  of  the  antediluvian  world.  Noah,  accord- 
ingly, is  styled  a  husbandman,  and  is  said  to  have  cultivated  the 
vine,  and  to  have  made  wine.  In  little  more  than  three  centu- 
ries afterwards,  Abraham  is  stated  to  have  had  extensive  flocks 
and  herds,  slaves  of  both  sexes,  silver  and  gold,  and  to  have 
purchased  a  family  sepulchre  with  a  portion  of  territory  around 
it.  Isaac,  his  son,  during  his  residence  in  Palestine,  is  said  to 
have  sown  and  reaped  a  hundred  fold. 

Grain  seems  to  have  been  grown  in  abundance  in  Egypt,  for 
Abraham,  and  afterwards  Jacob,  had  recourse  to  that  country 
during  times  of  famine.     Irrigation  was  also  extensively  prac- 


EGYPTIAN  AGRICULTURE.  375 

tised  there,  for  it  is  said  that  the  plains  of  Jordan  were  watered 
everywhere,  even  as  the  garden  of  the  Lord,  hke  the  land  of 
Egypt.  Such  is  the  amount  of  agricultural  information  con- 
tained in  the  writings  of  Moses,  from  which  the  general  conclu- 
sion is  that  agriculture  in  the  East  has  been  practised,  in  all  or 
most  of  its  branches,  from  time  immemorial. 

Agriculture  of  Egypt.  —  The  origin  of  agriculture  has  been 
sought  by  modern  philosophers  in  natural  circumstances.  Man, 
in  his  rudest  state,  they  consider,  would  first  live  on  fruits  or 
roots  ;  afterwards,  by  hunting  or  fishing  ;  next,  by  the  pasturage 
of  animals  ;  and  lastly,  to  all  of  these  he  would  add  the  raising 
of  grain.  The  culture  of  the  soil  for  this  purpose  is  supposed 
to  have  been  first  practised  in  imitation  of  the  effects  produced 
by  the  sand  and  mud  left  by  the  inundations  of  rivers.  These 
take  place,  more  or  less,  in  every  country,  and  their  effects  on 
the  herbage,  which  spontaneously  springs  up  among  the  depos- 
ited sand  and  mud,  must  at  a  very  early  period  have  excited  the 
attention  of  the  people. 

This  hypothesis  seems  supported  by  the  traditions  and  natu- 
ral circumstances  of  Egypt,  a  country  overflowed  by  a  river, 
civilized  from  time  immemorial,  and  so  abundant  in  grain  as 
to  be  called  the  granary  of  the  world.  The  situation  and 
natural  phenomena  of  Upper  Egypt  rendered  it  fitter  for  the 
invention  of  cultivation  than  the  low  country ;  for,  while  Lower 
Egypt  was  a  marsh,  formed  by  the  deposits  of  the  Nile,  the 
principal  part  of  Upper  Egypt  was  a  valley,  a  few  leagues 
broad,  bounded  by  mountains,  and  on  both  sides  declining  to 
the  river.  Hence  it  was  overflowed  only  for  a  qertain  time 
and  season.  The  waters  rapidly  declined,  and  the  ground,  en- 
riched by  the  mud,  was  soon  dry  and  in  a  state  fit  to  receive 
seed.  The  process  of  cultivation  in  this  country  was  also  most 
obvious  and  natural ;  for  the  ground  being  every  year  covered 
with  mud  brought  from  the  Nile,  and  plants  springing  up  spon- 
taneously after  its  recession,  must  have  given  the  hint  that 
nothing  more  was  necessary  than  to  scatter  the  seeds  and  they 
would  vegetate.  Secondly,  the  ground  was  prepared  by  nature 
for  receiving  the  seed,  and  required  only  stirring  sufficient  to 
cover  it.  From  this  phenomenon  the  surrounding  nations 
learned  two  things  :  first,  that  the  ground  before  sowing  should 


376  AGRICULTURE. 

be  prepared  and  cleared  from  plants ;  and,  secondly,  that  the 
mixture  of  rich  mould  and  sand  would  produce  fertility. 

The  invention  of  agricultural  implements  must  have  been 
coeval  with  the  invention  of  cultivation ;  and,  accordingly,  they 
are  supposed  to  have  originated  in  Egypt.  Antiquarians  are 
agreed  that  the  primeval  implement  used  in  cultivating  the  soil 
must  have  been  the  pick.  A  medal  of  the  greatest  antiquity, 
dug  up  at  Syracuse,  contained  an  impression  of  such  an  instru- 
ment ;  and  its  progress  till  it  became  a  plow  has  been  recognized 
in  a  cameo,  published  by  Menestrier,  on  which  a  pick-like  plow 
is  drawn  by  two  serpents.  It  may  also  be  seen  on  a  medal  from 
the  village  of  Enna,  in  Sicily,  in  a  figure  given  as  found  on  an 
antique  tomb,  in  an  Etruscan  plow  copied  from  a  fragment  in 
the  Roman  college  at  Rome,  by  Lasteyrie.  This  plow,  there 
can  be  little  doubt,  was  used  in  war  as  well  as  in  agriculture, 
and  seems  to  have  been  of  that  kind  with  which  the  Israelites 
fought  .against  their  enemies,  the  Philistines. 

Whether  the  culture  of  grains  was  invented  in  Egypt  or  not, 
all  testimonies  concur  that  cultivation  was  carried  to  a  higher 
degree  of  perfection  there  than  in  any  other  country  of  antiq- 
uity. The  canals  and  banks  which  still  remain  in  Lower  Egypt, 
and  especially  in  the  Delta,  are  evidences  of  the  extent  to  which 
embanking,  irrigation,  and  drainage  have  been  carried. 

Landed  property,  in  ancient  Egypt,  it  would  appear,  was 
the  absolute  right  of  the  owners,  till,  by  the  procurement  of 
Joseph,  in  the  eighteenth  century  B.C.,  the  paramount  or  allodial 
property  of  the  whole  was  transferred  to  the  government.  The 
king,  however,  made  no  other  use  of  that  right  than  to  place 
the  former  occupiers  in  the  situation  of  tenants,  bound  to  pay  a 
rent  or  land  tax  of  one-fifth  of  the  produce.  This,  Moses  says, 
continued  to  be  the  law  of  Egypt  down  to  his  time ;  and  the 
same  thing  is  confirmed  by  the  testimony  of  Herodotus.  The 
soil  of  Egypt  is  compared  by  Pliny  to  that  of  the  Leontines, 
formerly  regarded  as  the  most  fertile  in  Sicily.  There,  he  says, 
grain  yields  a  hundred  for  one ;  but  Cicero  has  proved  this  to  be 
an  exaggeration,  and  that  the  ordinary  increase  in  that  part  of 
Sicily  is  eight  to  one.  Granger,  who  paid  much  attention  to  the 
subject,  says  that  the  lands  nearest  the  Nile,  which  during 
the  inundation  were  cpvered  with  water  forty  days,  did  not. 


JEWISH  AGRICULTURE.  2)77 

in  the  most  favorable  seasons,  yield  more  than  ten  for  one. 
This,  however,  is  owing  to  their  present  neglected  state. 

Of  the  animal  or  vegetable  products  of  Egyptian  agriculture, 
very  little  is  known.  The  ox  seems  to  have  been  the  chief 
animal  of  labor  from  the  earliest  period,  and  rice  at  all  times 
the  principal  grain  in  cultivation.  By  an  ancient  painting  it 
would  appear  that  the  operation  of  reaping  was  performed  much 
in  the  same  way  as  at  present,  the  ears  being  cropped  by  a  hook, 
and  the  principal  part  of  the  straw  left  as  stubble. 

Herodotus  mentions  that,  in  his  time,  wheat  was  not  culti- 
vated, and  that  the  bread  made  from  it  was  despised  and  reck- 
oned not  fit  to  be  eaten  ;  beans  were  also  held  in  abhorrence  by 
the  ancient  inhabitants,  but  it  is  highly  probable  that,  in  later 
times,  when  they  began  to  have  commerce  with  other  nations, 
they  laid  aside  these  and  other  prejudices,  and  cultivated,  what 
they  found  best  suited  to  the  foreign  market.  Agriculture  was, 
no  doubt,  the  chief  occupation  of  the  Egyptians ;  and  though 
they  are  said  to  have  held  the  profession  of  shepherd  in  abhor- 
rence, yet  it  appears  that  Pharaoh  not  only  had  considerable 
flocks  and  herds  in  his  own  possession,  but  was  desirous  of 
introducing  any  improvement  .which  might  be  made  in  their 
management ;  for  when  Jacob,  in  answer  to  his  questions,  told 
him  that  he  and  his  family  had  been  brought  up  from  their 
youth  to  the  care  of  live-stock,  he  expressed  a  wish  to  Joseph, 
"  If  thou  knowest  any  men  of  activity  among  them,  then  make 
them  rulers  over  my  cattle." 

Agriculture  of  the  Jews  and  Other  Nations  of  Antiquity. 
—  Of  the  agriculture  of  the  nations  contemporary  with  the 
Egyptians  and  Greeks,  nothing  is  distinctly  known ;  but,  as- 
suming it  as  most  probable  that  agriculture  was  first  brought 
into  notice  in  Egypt,  it  may  be  concluded  that  most  other  coun- 
tries, as  well  as  Greece,  would  begin  by  imitating  the  practices 
of  that  country.  On  the  agriculture  of  the  Jews  we  find  there 
are  various  incidental  remarks  in  the  books  of  the  Old  Testa- 
ment. On  the  conquest  of  Canaan,  it  appears  that  the  different 
tribes  had  their  territory  assigned  to  them  by  lot ;  that  it  was 
equally  divided  among  the  heads  of  families,  and  by  them  and 
their  posterity  held  by  absolute  right  and  impartial  succession. 
Thus  every  family  had  originally  the  same  extent  of  territory; 


2,7^  AGRICULTURE. 

but,  as  it  became  customary  afterwards  to  borrow  money  on  its 
security,  and  as  some  families  became  indolent  and  were  obliged 
to  sell,  and  others  extinct  by  death  without  issue,  landed  estates 
soon  varied  in  point  of  extent. 

In  the  time  of  Nehemiah  a  famine  occurred,  on  which  account 
many  had  "  mortgaged  their  lands,  their  vineyards,  and  houses, 
that  they  might  buy  corn  for  their  sons  and  daughters,  and  to 
enable  them  to  pay  the  king's  tribute."  Some  were  unable  to 
redeem  their  lands,  otherwise  than  by  selling  their  children  as 
slaves,  and  thereby  *'  bringing  the  sons  and  daughters  of  God 
into  bondage."  Boaz  received  three  estates  by  inheritance, 
and  also  got  him  a  wife,  after  much  curious  ceremony.  Large 
estates,  however,  were  not  approved  of.  Isaiah  pronounces  a 
curse  on  those  "that  join  house  to  house,  that  lay  field  to  field, 
till  there  be  no  place,  that  they  may  be  placed  alone  in  the 
midst."  While  some  portions  of  land  near  the  towns  were 
enclosed,  the  greater  part  was  in  common,  or  in  alternate  pro- 
prietorship and  occupation,  as  in  our  common-  fields.  This  ap- 
pears, both  from  the  laws  and  regulations  laid  down  by  Moses, 
as  to  the  herds  and  flocks,  and  from  the  beautiful  rural  story  of 
Ruth,  who,  to  procure  sustenance  for  herself  and  her  widowed 
mother-in-law,  Naomi,  "  came  and  gleaned  in  the  field  after  the 
reapers,  and  her  hap  was  to  light  on  a  part  of  the  field  (that  is, 
of  the  common  field)  belonging  unto  Boaz." 

It  would  appear  that  every  proprietor  cultivated  his  own 
lands,  however  extensive ;  and  that  agriculture  was  held  in 
high  esteem,  even  by  their  princes.  The  crown  lands,  in  King 
David's  time,  were  managed  by  seven  officers.  One  was  over 
the  storehouses ;  one  over  the  work  of  the  field  and  tillage  of 
the  ground ;  one  over  the  vineyards  and  wine-cellars  ;  one  over 
the  olive  and  oil  stores,  and  sycamore  plantations  ;  one  over  the 
herds  ;  one  over  the  camels  and  asses ;  and  one  over  the  flocks. 
King  Uzziah  "built  towers  in  the  desert,  and  digged  many 
wells :  for  he  had  much  cattle,  both  in  the  low  country  and  in 
the  plains :  husbandmen  also  and  vine-dressers  in  the  moun- 
tains, and  in  Carmel :  for  he  loved  husbandry."  Even  private 
individuals  cultivated  to  a  great  extent,  and  attended  to  the 
practical  part  of  the  business  themselves.  Elijah  found  Elisha 
in  the  field,  with  twelve  yoke  of  oxen  before  him,  and  himself 


JEWISH  AGRICULTURE.  379 

with  the  twelfth.  Job  had  five  hundred  yoke  of  oxen,  five 
hundred  she-asses,  seven  thousand  sheep,  and  three  thousand 
camels.  Both  asses  and  oxen  were  used  in  plowing,  for  Moses 
forbade  the  Jews  to  yoke  an  ass  with  an  ox,  their  step  or 
progress  being  different,  and  of  course  their  labors  unequal. 

Among  the  operations  of  agriculture  are  mentioned  watering 
by  machinery,  plowing,  digging,  reaping,  threshing,  etc.  "  Doth 
the  plowman  plow  all  day  to  sow  }  doth  he  open  and  break  the 
clods  of  his  ground  ?  When  he  hath  made  plain  the  face  thereof, 
doth  he  not  cast  abroad  the  fitches,  and  scatter  the  cummin, 
and  cast  in  the  principal  wheat,  and  the  appointed  barley,  and 
the  rye  in  their  place  .^ "  The  plow  was  probably  a  clumsy 
instrument,  requiring  the  most  vigilant  attention  from  the 
plowman,  for  Luke  uses  the  figure  of  a  man  at  the  plow  look- 
ing back,  as  one  of  utter  worthlessness.  Covered  threshing- 
floors  were  in  use,  and,  as  it  appears  in  the  case  of  Boaz  and 
Ruth,  it  was  no  uncommon  thing  to  sleep  in  them  during  the 
harvest. 

Wheat  was  threshed  in  different  ways.  "The  fitches,"  says 
Isaiah,  "  are  not  threshed  with  a  threshing  instrument,  neither  is 
a  cart-wheel  turned  about  upon  the  cummin  ;  but  the  fitches 
are  beaten  out  with  a  staff,  and  the  cummin  with  a  rod.  Bread 
corn  is  bruised ;  because  he  will  not  ever  be  threshing  it,  nor 
break  it  with  the  wheel  of  his  cart,  nor  bruise  it  with  his  horse- 
men." Grain  was  "winnowed  with  the  shovel  and  the  fan." 
Sieves  were  also  used,  for  Amos  says,  "  I  will  sift  the  house  of 
Israel  among  all  nations,  as  corn  is  sifted  in  a  sieve"  ;  and  Christ 
is  represented  by  St.  Luke  as  saying,  "  Simon,  Simon,  behold, 
Satan  hath  desired  to  have  you,  that  he  may  sift  you  as  wheat." 
Isaiah  mentions  the  "digging  of  hills  with  the  mattock,"  to 
which  implement  the  original  pick  would  gradually  arrive. 

Vineyards  were  planted  on  rising  grounds,  fenced  around,  the 
soil  well  prepared,  and  a  vintage-house  and  watch-tower  built,  in 
a  central  situation,  as  it  is  still  done  in  European  Turkey  and 
Italy.  Moses  gives  directions  to  the  Jews  for  cultivating  the 
vine  and  other  fruit  trees.  The  first  three  years  after  planting 
the  fruit  is  not  to  be  eaten,  the  fourth  is  to  be  given  to  the 
Lord,  and  it  is  not  till  the  fifth  year  that  they  are  "to  eat  of 
the  fruit  thereof."     The  intention  of   these  precepts  was,   to 


380  AGRICULTURE, 

prevent  the  trees  from  being  exhausted  by  bearing,  before  they 
had  acquired  sufficient  strength  and  establishment  in  the  soil. 

Agriculture  of  the  Greeks.  —  What  we  know  of  the  agri- 
culture of  Greece  is  chiefly  derived  from  the  poem  of  Hesiod, 
entitled  "Works  and  Days."  Some  incidental  remarks  on  the 
subject  may  be  found  in  the  writings  of  Herodotus,  Xenophon, 
Theophrastus,  and  others.  Varro,  a  Roman,  writing  in  the 
century  preceding  the  commencement  of  our  era,  informs  us 
that  there  were  more  than  fifty  authors  at  that  time,  who  might 
be  consulted  on  the  subject  of  agriculture,  all  of  whom  were 
'ancient  Greeks,  except  Mago,  the  Carthaginian.  Among  them 
he  includes  Democritus,  Xenophon,  Aristotle,  Theophrastus, 
and  Hesiod.  •  The  works  of  the  other  writers  he  enumerates 
have  been  lost. 

The  writings  of  Hesiod  are  the  chief  resource  for  details  as  to 
Grecian  agriculture.  This  author  flourished  in  the  tenth  century 
B.C.,  and  was  therefore  contemporary  with  Homer.  He  lived  at 
Askra,  a  village  at  the  foot  of  Mt.  Helicon,  in  Boeotia.  There 
he  kept  a  flock,  and  cultivated  soil  which  he  describes  as  ''bad 
in  winter,  hard  in  summer,  and  never  good,"  —  probably  a  stiff 
clay.  *'The  Works,"  which  constitute  the  first  part  of  his  poem, 
are  not  merely  details  of  agricultural  labors,  but  comprise  direc- 
tions for  the  whole  business  of  family  economy  in  the  country. 
The  poem  sets  out  by  describing  the  state  of  the  world,  past 
and  present,  for  the  purpose  of  exemplifying  the  condition  of 
human  nature.  This  condition  entails  on  man  the  necessity  of 
exertion  to  preserve  the  goods  of  life,  and  leaves  him  no  alter- 
native but  honest  industry  or  unjust  violence ;  of  which  the 
good  and  evil  consequences  are  respectively  illustrated.  Dis- 
sension and  emulation  are  represented  as  two  principles,  actively 
at  work ;  much  is  said  of  the  corruption  of  judges,  and  the  evils 
of  litigation  ;  contentment  is  apostrophized  as  the  true  secret  of 
happiness ;  virtue  and  industry  strongly  recommended.  The 
poet  now  proceeds  to  describe  the  prognostics  of  the  seasons  of 
agricultural  labor,  and  gives  directions  for  providing  a  house, 
wife,  slaves,  and  two  steers ;  how  and  when  to  cut  down  timber, 
to  construct  carts  and  plows,  and  make  clothes  and  shoes ;  when 
to  sow,  reap,  and  dress  the  vine,  and  make  wine.  He  then  treats 
of  navigation,  and  gives  caution  against  risking  everything  in 


GREEK  AGRICULTURE.  381 

one  voyage.  He  describes  the  seasons  fit  for  the  coasting  trade, 
and  advises  great  care  of  the  vessel  at  such  time  as.  she  is  not  in 
use,  and  hanging  up  the  rudder  and  other  tackle  in  the  smoke  of 
the  chimney.  He  concludes  "  The  Works  "  with  some  desultory 
precepts  of  religion,  personal  propriety,  and  decorum ;  and  en- 
joins some  curious  superstitious  observances,  relative  to  family 
matters.  "The  Days"  contain  a  division  of  the  lunar  month 
into  holy,  auspicious,  and  inauspicious  days,  mixed  and  interme- 
diary days,  the  latter  being  such  as  are  entitled  to  no  particular 
observance. 

Property  in  land,  among  the  Greeks,  seems  to  have  been 
absolute  in  the  owner,  or  what  we  would  term  freehold.  In 
the  matter  of  inheritance,  the  sons  seem  to  have  divided  the 
patrimony  in  equal  portions.  One  of  Solon's  laws  forbade  men 
to  purchase  as  much  land  as  they  desired.  An  estate  containing 
water,  either  in  springs  or  otherwise,  was  highly  valued,  espe- 
cially in  Attica ;  and  there  a  law  existed  relating  to  the  depth 
of  wells,  the  distance  they  were  to  be  dug  from  other  men's 
grounds,  what  was  to  be  done  when  no  water  was  found,  and 
other  matters  to  prevent  contention  as  to  water.  Lands  were 
enclosed,  probably  with  a  ring  fence  or  boundary  mark,  or,  most 
likely,  the  enclosed  lands  were  such  as  surrounded  the  villages, 
and  were  in  constant  cultivation,  the  great  breadth  of  the  country 
being,  it  may  be  presumed,  in  common  pasture.  Solon  decrees 
that,  "He  who  digs  a  ditch  or  makes  a  trench  nigh  another's 
land  shall  leave  so  much  distance  from  his  neighbor  as  the  ditch 
or  trench  is  deep.  If  any  one  make  a  hedge  near  his  neighbor's 
ground,  let  him  not  pass  his  neighbor's  landmark.  If  he  build 
a  wall,  he  is  to  leave  one  foot  between  him  and  his  neighbor ; 
if  a  house,  two  feet.  A  man  building  a  house  in  his  field  must 
place  it  a  bow-shot  from  his  neighbor's." 

The  operations  of  culture,  as  appears  by  Hesiod,  required  to 
be  adapted  to  the  season.  Summer  fallows  were  in  use,  and 
the  ground  received  three  plowings,  —  one  in  autumn,  another 
in  the  spring,  and  a  third  immediately  before  sowing  the  seed. 
Manures  were  applied.  In  Homer,  an  old  king  is  found  manur- 
ing his  fields  with  his  own  hands,  and  the  invention  of  manures 
is  ascribed  by  Pliny  to  the  Grecian  king  Augeas.  Theophrastus 
enumerates  six  different  species  of  manures,  and  adds  that  a- 


382  AGRICULTURE. 

mixture  of  soils  produces  the  same  effect.    Clay,  he  says,  should 
be  mixed  with  sand,  and  sand  with  clay. 

The  seed  was  sown  by  hand  and  covered  with  a  rake.  Grain 
was  reaped  with  a  sickle,  bound  in  sheaves,  carted  to  a  well- 
prepared  threshing-floor,  in  an  airy  situation,  where  it  might  be 
threshed  and  fanned  by  the  wind,  as  is  still  practised  in  modern 
Greece,  Italy,  and  other  countries  of  the  Continent.  Afterward 
it  was  laid  up  in  bins,  chests,  or  granaries,  and  taken  out  as 
wanted  by  the  family,  to  be  pounded  into  meal  in  mortars  or 
quern-mills. 

Thorns  and  other  plants  for  hedges  were  produced  from  the 
woods,  as  we  find  in  a  passage  from  Homer,  in  which  he  repre- 
sents Ulysses  as  finding  Laertes  digging  and  preparing  to  plant 
a  row  ,of  quicksets.  The  implements  enumerated  by  Hesiod 
are,  a  plow,  of  which  he  recommends  two  be  provided,  in  case 
of  accident,  and  a  cart  ten  spans  (seven  feet  six  inches)  in  width, 
with  two  low  wheels.  The  plow  consisted  of  three  parts,  —  the 
share-beam,  the  draught-pole,  and  the  plow-tail.  The  share- 
beam  is  to  be  made  of  oak,  and  the  other  parts  of  elm  or  bay. 
They  are  to  be  joined  firmly  with  nails.  The  beasts  of  labor 
mentioned  are  oxen  and  mules.  The  former  were  more  com- 
mon, and  it  would  appear,  from  a  passage  in  Homer,  were  yoked 
by  the  horns.  Oxen  of  four  years  and  a  half  are  recommended 
to  be  purchased,  as  most  serviceable.  In  winter,  both  oxen  and 
mules  were  fed  under  cover,  on  hay  and  straw,  mast,  and  the 
leaves  of  vines  and  various  trees. 

The  most  desirable  age  for  a  plowman  is  forty.  He  must  be 
well  fed,  go  naked  in  summer,  rise  and  go  to  work  very  early,  and 
have  a  sort  of  an  annual  feast,  proper  rest,  good  food,  and  cloth- 
ing consisting  of  coats  of  kid  skins,  worsted  socks,  and  half-  , 
boots  of  ox  hides  in  winter.  He  must  not  let  his  eyes  wander 
about  while  at  the  plow,  but  cut  a  straight  furrow ;  nor  be 
absent  in  mind  while  sowing  the  seed,  lest  he  sow  the  same 
furrow  twice. 

The  vine  is  to  be  pruned  and  staked  in  due  season,  the  vintage 
made  in  fine  weather,  and  the  grapes  left  a  few  days  to  dry,  and 
then  carried  to  the  press.  The  products  of  Grecian  agriculture 
were  the  grains  and  legumes  at  present  in  cultivation,  with  the 
vine,  fig,  olive,  apple,  date,  and  other   fruits.      The   live-stock 


ROMAN  AGRICULTURE.  383 

consisted  of  sheep,  goats,  swine,  cattle,  mules,  asses,  and  horses. 
It  does  not  appear  that  artificial  grasses  or  herbage  plants  were  in 
use ;  but  recourse  was  had,  in  times  of  scarcity,  to  the  mistletoe 
and  the  cytisus.  What  plant  is  meant  by  the  latter  designation 
is  not  agreed  upon.  Hay  was,  in  all  probability,  obtained  from 
the  meadows  and  pastures,  which  were  used  in  common.  Flax, 
and  probably  hemp,  was  grown.  Wood  for  fuel,  and  timber  for 
construction,  were  obtained  from  the  natural  forests,  which,  in 
Solon's  time,  abounded  with  wolves.  Nothing  is  said  of  the 
olive  or  fig  by  Hesiod ;  but  they  were  cultivated  in  the  fields 
for  oil  and  food,  as  well  as  the  vine  for  wine. 

One  of  Solon's  laws  directs  that  olive  and  fig  trees  must  be 
planted  nine  feet  from  a  neighbor's  ground,  on  account  of  their 
spreading  roots.  Other  trees  might  be  planted  within  five  feet. 
In  Hesiod's  time  almost  every  citizen  was  a  husbandman,  and 
had  a  portion  of  land  which  he  cultivated  himself,  with  the  aid 
of  his  family,  and  perhaps  one  or  two  slaves.  The  produce, 
whether  for  food  or  clothing,  appears  to  have  been  manufactured 
at  home.  The  progress  of  society  would,  no  doubt,  introduce 
the  usual  division  of  labor  and  of  arts,  and  the  commercial  culti- 
vators, or  such  as  raised  produce  for  the  purpose  of  exchange, 
would,  in  consequence,  arise ;  but  when  this  state  of  things 
occurred,  and  to  what  extent  it  was  carried  on  when  Greece 
became  a  Roman  province,  the  ancient  writers  afford  us  no 
means  of  ascertaining. 

Agriculture  among  the  Romans,  or  from  the  Second  Century 
before  Christ  to  the  Fifth  Century  of  our  Era.  — In  the  first 
ages  of  the  Commonwealth,  the  lands  were  occupied  and  culti- 
vated by  the  proprietors  themselves ;  and,  as  this  state  of  things 
continued  for  four  or  five  centuries,  it  was  probably  the  chief 
cause  of  the  agricultural  eminence  of  the  Romans.  When  a 
person  had  only  a  small  portion  of  land  assigned  to  him,  and 
the  maintenance  of  his  family  depended  entirely  upon  its  pro- 
ductions, it  is  natural  to  suppose  that  the  culture  of  it  employed 
his  whole  attention.  A  person  who  has  been  accustomed  to 
regular  and  systematic  habits  of  action,  such  as  those  of  a  mili- 
tary life,  will  naturally  carry  those  habits  into  whatever  he 
undertakes.  Hence  it  is  probable  that  there  was  a  degree  of 
industrious  application,  exactness,  and  order  in  performing  oper- 


384  AGRICULTURE. 

ations,  in  a  soldier-agriculturist,  which  would  not  be  displayed 
by  men  who  had  never  been  trained  to  any  regular  habits  of 
action. 

The  observation  of  Pliny  confirms  this  supposition.  He  as- 
serts that  the  Roman  citizens,  in  early  times,  "plowed  their 
fields  with  the  same  diligence  that  they  pitched  their  camps, 
and  sowed  their  corn  with  the  same  care  that  they  formed  their 
armies  for  battle."  Grain,  he  says,  was  then  abundant  and 
cheap.  Afterward,  when  Rome  extended  her  conquests  and 
acquired  large  territories,  rich  individuals  purchased  large  es- 
tates. The  culture  of  these  fell  into  different  hands,  and  was 
carried  on  by  bailiffs  and  farmers,  much  in  the  same  way  as  in 
modern  times.  Columella  informs  us  that  it  was  so  in  his  time, 
stating  that  "  the  men  employed  in  agriculture  are  either  farmers 
or  servants,  the  last  being  divided  into  free  servants  and  slaves." 
It  was  a  common  practice  to  cultivate  land  by  slaves  during  the 
time  of  the  elder  Pliny,  but  his  nephew  and  successor  let  his 
estates  to  farmers.  In  the  time  of  Cato  the  Censor,  the  author 
of  "  The  Husbandry  of  the  Ancients "  observes,  though  the 
operations  of  agriculture  were  generally  performed  by  servants, 
yet  the  great  men  among  the  Romans  continued  to  give  par- 
ticular attention  to  it,  studied  its  improvements,  and  were  very 
careful  and  exact  in  the  management  of  all  their  country  affairs. 
This  appears  from  the  directions  given  them  by  this  most  atten- 
tive farmer. 

These  great  men  had  both  houses  in  town  and  villas  in  the 
country ;  and,  as  they  resided  frequently  in  town,  the  manage- 
ment of  their  country  affairs  was  committed  to  a  bailiff  or  over- 
seer. Now  their  attention  to  the  culture  of  their  lands,  and 
every  other  branch  of  husbandry,  appears  from  the  directions 
given  them  how  to  behave  upon  their  arrival  from  the  city  at 
their  villas.  "After  the  landlord,"  says  Cato,  "has  come  to  the 
villa  and  performed  his  devotions,  he  ought  that  very  day,  if 
possible,  to  go  through  his  farm  ;  if  not  that  day,  at  least  the 
next.  When  he  has  considered  in  what  manner  the  fields  should 
be  cultivated,  what  work  should  be  done,  and  what  not,  the  next 
day  he  ought  to  call  the  bailiff  and  inquire  what  of  the  work  is 
done,  and  what  remains  ;  whether  the  laboring  is  far  enough 
advanced  for  the  season,  and  whether  the  things  that  remain 


ROMAN  AGRICULTURE,  385 

might  have  been  finished ;  and  what  is  done  about  the  wine, 
corn,  and  all  other  things.  When  he  has  made  himself  ac- 
quainted with  all  these,  he  ought  to  take  an  account  of  the 
workmen  and  the  working  days.  If  a  sufficiency  of  work  does 
not  appear,  the  bailiff  will  say  that  he  was  very  diligent,  but 
that  the  servants  were  not  well ;  that  there  were  violent  storms ; 
that  the  slaves  had  run  away,  and  that  they  were  employed  in 
some  public  work.  When  he  has  given  these  and  many  other 
excuses,  call  him  again  to  an  account  of  the  work  and  the  work- 
men. When  there  have  been  storms,  inquire  for  how  many 
days,  and  consider  what  work  might  be  done  in  rain.  Casks 
ought  to  have  been  washed  and  mended ;  the  villa  cleaned ; 
corn  carried  ;  dung  carried  out ;  a  dunghill  made  ;  seed  cleaned  ; 
old  ropes  mended  ;  new  ones  made ;  and  the  servants'  clothes 
mended.  On  holidays  old  ditches  may  have  been  scoured ;  a 
highway  repaired  ;  briars  cut ;  the  garden  digged  ;  the  meadows 
cleared  from  weeds  ;  twigs  bound  up ;  thorns  pulled ;  far  [bread 
corn]  pounded ;  all  things  made  clean.  When  the  servants  have 
been  sick,  the  ordinary  quantity  of  meat  ought  not  to  have  been 
given  them.  When  he  is  fully  satisfied  in  all  these  things,  and 
has  given  orders  that  the  work  that  remains  be  finished,  he 
should  inspect  the  bailiff's  accounts ;  his  account  of  money, 
corn,  fodder,  wine,  oil ;  what  has  been  sold,  what  exacted,  what 
remains;  what  of  this  may  be  sold;  whether  there  is  good 
security  for  what  is  owing.  He  should  inspect  the  things  that 
remain,  buy  what  is  wanting  for  the  year,  and  let  out  what  is 
necessary  to  be  employed  in  this  manner.  He  should  give 
orders  concerning  the  works  he  would  have  executed,  and  the 
things  he  is  inclined  to  let  out,  and  leave  his  orders  in  writing. 
He  should  inspect  his  flocks,  make  a  sale,  sell  the  superfluous 
oil,  wine,  and  corn.  If  they  are  giving  a  proper  price,  sell  the 
old  oxen,  the  refuse  of  the  cattle  and  sheep,  wool,  hides,  old 
carts,  old  iron  tools,  and  old  diseased  slaves.  Whatever  is 
superfluous,  he  ought  to  sell ;  a  farmer  should  be  a  seller,  not 
a  buyer." 

The  landlord  is  thus  supposed,  by  Cato,  to  be  perfectly  ac- 
quainted with  every  kind  of  work  proper  on  his  farm,  and  the 
seasons  for  performing  it ;  and  also  to  be  a  perfect  judge  of  how 
much  work,  both  within  and  without  doors,  ought  to  be  per- 


386  AGRICULTURE. 

formed  by  any  number  of  servants  and  cattle  in  a  given  time, 
the  knowledge  of  which  is  highly  useful  to  a  farmer,  and  what 
few  perfectly  acquire.  It  may  be  observed,  likewise,  that  the 
landlord  is  here  supposed  to  inquire  into  all  circumstances,  with 
a  minuteness  of  which  there  is  scarcely  even  an  actual  farmer 
in  this  age  who  has  any  conception.  Varro  complains  that,  in 
his  time,  the  same  attention  to  agriculture  was  not  given  as 
in  former  times ;  that  the  great  men  resided  too  much  within 
the  walls  of  the  city,  and  employed  themselves  more  in  the 
theatre  and  circus  than  in  the  corn  fields  and  vineyards. 

Columella  complains  that,  in  his  time,  agriculture  was  almost 
entirely  neglected.  However,  from  the  directions  which  he 
gives  to  the  proprietors  of  land,  it  appears  that  there  were  still 
a  few  who  continued  to  pay  a  regard  to  it ;  for,  after  mentioning 
some  things  which  he  says,  by  the  justice  and  care  of  the  land- 
lord, contribute  much  to  improve  his  estates,  he  adds:  *'But 
he  should  likewise  remember,  when  he  returns  from  the  city, 
immediately  after  paying  his  devotions,  if  he  has  time,  if  not, 
next  day,  to  view  his  marshes,  inspect  every  part  of  his  farm, 
and  observe  whether,  in  his  absence,  any  part  of  discipline  or 
watchfulness  has  been  dispensed  with  ;  and  whether  any  vine, 
any  other  tree,  or  any  fruits  are  missing.  Then,  likewise,  he 
ought  to  review  the  cattle  and  servants,  and  all  the  instruments 
of  husbandry,  and  the  household  furniture.  If  he  continues  to 
do  all  these  things,  for  some  years,  he  will  find  a  habit  of  disci- 
pline established  when  he  is  old ;  and  at  no  age  will  he  be  so 
much  impaired  with  years  as  to  be  despised  by  his  servants." 

The  earliest  farmers,  among  the  Romans,  seem  not  to  have 
been  upon  the  same  footing  as  in  Britain.  The  stock  on  the 
farm  belonged  to  the  landlord,  and  .the  farmer  received  a  cer- 
tain proportion  of  the  products  of  his  labor.  The  farmer  who 
possessed  a  farm  upon  these  terms,  was  called /^///^r  ox  polintor, 
from  his  business,  being  the  dresser  of  the  land ;  and  partua- 
rius,  from  his  being  in  a  kind  of  copartnership  with  his  land- 
lord, and  receiving  part  of  the  products  of  the'  farm  for  his 
labor.  Cato  takes  notice  of  this  kind  of  farmers  only,  and  it  is 
probable  that  there  were  no  others  in  his  time.  "The  terms,"  he 
says,  **upon  which  land  ought  to  be  let. to  a  politor;  in  the  good 
land  of  Casinum  and  Venafrum,  he  receives  the  eighth  basket ; 


ROMAN  AGRICULTURE.  2i^^ 

in  the  second  kind  of  land  he  receives  the  seventh ;  in  the  third 
kind  he  receives  the  sixth.  In  this  last  kind,  when  the  grain 
is  divided  by  the  modius,  he  receives  the  fifth  part ;  in  Vena- 
frum,  when  divided  by  the  basket,  he  receives  only  the  ninth. 
If  the  landlord  and  the  politor  husk  the  grain  in  common,  the 
politor  receives  the  same  proportion  after  as  before ;  of  barley 
and  beans  divided  by  the  nioditis,  he  receives  a  fifth."  The  small 
proportion  that  the  politor  receives  makes  it  evident  that  he  was 
at  no  expense  in  cultivating  the  land,  and  that  he  received  his 
proportion  clear  of  all  deductions. 

Farmers  mentioned  by  Columella  seem  to  have  paid  rent  for 
their  farms.  The  directions  given  to  landlords  by  this  author, 
concerning  the  mode  of  treating  them,  are  curious  as  well  as 
important.  "A  landlord,"  he  says,  "ought  to  treat  his  tenants 
with  gentleness ;  should  show  himself  not  difficult  to  please, 
and  be  more  vigorous  in  exacting  culture  than  rent,  because  this 
is  less  severe  and  upon  the  whole  more  advantageous  ;  for  when 
a  field  is  carefully  cultivated,  it  for  the  most  part  brings  profit ; 
never  loss,  except  when  assaulted  by  a  storm  or  pillagers,  and 
therefore  the  farmer  cannot  have  the  assurance  to  ask  any  ease 
of  his  rent.  Neither  should  the  landlord  be  very  tenacious  of 
his  right  in  everything  to  which  the  farmer  is  bound,  particularly 
as  to  days  of  payment,  and  demanding  the  wood,  and  other 
small  things  which  he  is  obliged  to,  besides  paying  his  rent, 
the  care  of  which  is  a  greater  trouble  than  expense  to  the  rus- 
tics. Nor  is  every  penalty  in  our  power  to  be  exacted,  for  our 
ancestors  were  of  the  opinion  that  the  rigor  of  the  law  is  the 
greatest  oppression.  On  the  other  hand,  the  landlord  ought 
not  to  be  entirely  negligent  in  this  matter,  because  it  is  cer- 
tainly true,  what  Alpheus  the  usurer  used  to  say,  good  debts 
become  bad  ones,  by  being  not  called  for." 

These  directions  are  valuable,  even  with  reference  to  the 
present  time,  and  they  instruct  us  respecting  the  general  man- 
agement of  landed  property  among  the  Romans.  It  appears 
that  the  landlord  was  considered  as  understanding  everything 
respecting  the  husbandry  of  his  estate  himself,  and  that  there 
was  no  agent  or  intermediate  person  between  him  and  the 
farmer.  The  farmers  paid  the  rent  for  the  use  of  their  farms, 
and  were  bound  to  a  particular  kind  of  culture,  according  to  the 


7,88  AGRICULTURE. 

conditions  of  their  lease ;  but  they  were  perfectly  free  and  inde- 
pendent of  their  landlords,  so  much  so  as  to  sometimes  enter 
into  lawsuits  with  them. 

The  habits  of  a  people  take  their  rise,  in  a  great  degree,  from 
the  climate  in  which  they  live,  and  the  native  or  cultivated  pro- 
ductions with  which  the  country  abounds.  As  respects  agri- 
culture, it  may  be  sufficient  to  mention  that  the  great  heat  of 
the  climate,  by  relaxing  the  frame,  naturally  produces  indolence 
in  many,  and  leads  to  a  life  of  plunder  in  some.  Hence,  then 
as  now,  the  danger  of  thieves  in  that  country;  and  hence,  also, 
the  custom  of  performing  field  labor  early  in  the  morning  and 
in  the  evening,  and  resting  during  the  noontide  heat.  The 
general  use  of  oil  and  wine  as  food  and  drink,  and  also  of  the 
fig  as  an  article  of  nourishment,  are  habits  which  arise  immedi- 
ately from  the  circumstance  of  these  articles  being  the  natural 
product  of  the  country,  but  are  ultimately,  like  most  other 
habits,  to  be  referred  to  the  climate. 

The  Roman  authors  are  much  more  copious  in  describing 
farm  culture  and  economy,  than  in  relating  the  state  of  landed 
property,  as  to  extent  and  proprietorship.  Their  directions, 
being  founded  on  experience,  are  in  great  part  applicable  at  the 
present  day.  They  are  remarkable  for  their  minuteness,  but  we 
can  give  only  a  very  brief  compendium,  beginning  with  some 
account  of  the  farm,  the  villa  or  farmery,  and  taking  in  succes- 
sion the  servants,  beasts  of  labor,  implements,  operations,  crops 
cultivated,  animals  reared,  and  profit  produced. 

In  the  choice  of  a  farm,  Cato  recommends  a  situation  where 
there  are  plenty  of  artificers  and  good  water  ;  which  has  a  forti- 
fied town  in  its  neighborhood ;  is  near  the  sea  or  a  navigable 
river,  or  where  the  roads  are  good  ^nd  easy.  To  these  requi- 
sites Varro  adds :  a  proper  market  for  buying  and  selling  ; 
security  from  robbers  and  thieves ;  and  the  boundaries  planted 
with  useful  trees.  The  interior  of  the  farm  was  not  subdivided 
by  enclosures,  which  were  seldom  used  but  for  their  gardens, 
and  to  form  parks  in  the  villas  of  the  wealthy.  The  soil  pre- 
ferred by  Columella,  and  all  the  Roman  authors,  is  the  fat  and 
free,  as  producing  the  greatest  crops,  and  requiring  the  least 
culture  ;  next,  fat,  stiff  soil ;  then,  stiff  and  lean  soil,  that  can  be 
watered ;  and  last  of  all,  lean,  dry  soil.     The  state  of  a  farm 


ROMAN  AGRICULTURE.  389 

preferred  by  Cato  and  some  other  writers,  is  that  of  pasture, 
meadow,  and  watered  grass-lands,  as  yielding  produce  at  the 
least  expense;  and  lands  under  vines  and  olives,  as  producing 
the  greatest  profit  according  to  the  expense.  The  opinions  of 
the  Roman  agriculturists,  however,  seem  to  disagree  on  the 
subject  of  meadows,  apparently  from  confounding  a  profitable 
way  of  management  with  a  capacity  of  yielding  great  profit  with 
superior  management,  and  none  without. 

The  servants  employed  in  Roman  agriculture  were  of  two 
sorts,  freemen  and  slaves.  When  the  proprietor,  or  farmer,  lived 
on  the  farm  and  directed  its  culture,  these  were  directly  under 
his  management.  In  the  other  cases,  there  was  a  bailiff  or 
overseer,  to  whom  all  the  servants  were  subordinate.  This  was 
the  case  as  early  as  the  time  of  Cato,  who  is  very  particular  in 
his  directions  respecting  the  case  of  a  bailiff,  who  ought  to  take 
care  of  the  servants,  the  cattle,  and  the  laboring  utensils,  and 
in  executing  his  master's  orders.  The  bailiff  was  generally  a 
person  who  had  received  some  education,  and  could  write  and 
keep  accounts  ;  and  it  was  expected  that  he  should  be  careful, 
apt  to  learn,  and  capable  of  executing  his  master's  orders,  with 
a  proper  attention  to  situations  and  circumstances.  Columella, 
however,  says  that  "  the  bailiff  may  do  his  business  very  well 
though  he  is  illiterate."  Cornelius  Celsus  says  that  "  such  a 
bailiff  will  bring  money  to  his  master  oftener  than  to  his  book, 
because,  being  ignorant  of  letters,  he  is  the  less  capable  to  con- 
trive accounts,  and  is  afraid  to  trust  another,  being  conscious  of 
fraud."  There  are  some  things  mentioned  by  this  author  with 
respect  to  the  bailiff,  that  are  very  proper,  and  show  particularly 
the  attention  of  the  Romans.  "  He  ought  not,"  he  says,  "  to 
trade  on  his  own  account,  nor  employ  his  master's  money  in 
purchasing  cattle  or  any  other  goods,  for  this  trading  takes  off 
his  attention,  and  prevents  him  from  keeping  square  accounts 
with  his  master.  But  when  he  is  required  to  settle  them,  he 
shows  his  goods  in  the  place  of  money.  This,  above  all,  he  should 
be  careful  of;  not  to  think  he  knows  anything  he  does  not  know, 
and  always  to  be  ready  to  learn  what  he  is  ignorant  of ;  for  as  it 
is  a  great  advantage  to  do  a  thing  well,  so  it  is  most  hurtful  to 
have  it  done  ill.  This  one  thing  holds  true  in  all  rustic  work, 
to  do  but  once  what  the  manner  of  culture  requires ;  because. 


390  AGRICULTURE. 

when  imprudence  or  negligence  in  working  is  to  be  set  to  rights, 
the  time  for  the  work  is  already  wasted,  nor  are  the  effects  of 
the  amendment  such  as  to  make  up  for  the  lost  labor,  and  bal- 
ance the  advantages  that  might  have  been  gained  by  improving 
the  season  that  is  past." 

The  qualities  of  the  other  villa  servants  are  represented  by  the 
same  author,  in  this  manner:  "The  careful  and  industrious," 
he  says,  "should  be  appointed  masters  of  the  works.  These 
qualities  are  more  necessary  for  this  business  than  stature  or 
strength  of  body,  for  this  service  requires  diligent  care  and  art." 
Of  the  plowman,  he  says  :  "Though  a  degree  of  genius  is  nec- 
essary, it  is  not  enough.  There  should  be  joined  to  it  a  harsh- 
ness of  voice  and  manner  to  terrify  the  cattle ;  but  he  should 
temper  strength  with  clemency,  because  he  ought  to  be  more 
terrible  than  cruel,  so  that  the  oxen  may  obey  his  commands, 
and  continue  the  longer  at  their  work,  not  being  spent  at 
the  same  time,  both  with  the  severity  of  labor  and  stripes. 
What  the  offices  of  masters  of  works  and  of  plowmen  are,  I 
shall  mention  in  their  proper  place.  It  is  sufficient,  at  present, 
to  observe  that  tallness  and  strength  are  of  great  use  in  the  one, 
and  of  very  little  in  the  other ;  for  we  should  make  the  tallest 
man  a  plowman,  both  for  the  reason  I  have  already  mentioned, 
and  because  there  is  no  rustic  work  by  which  a  tall  man  is  less 
fatigued  than  by  plowing ;  because,  when  employed  in  this,  walk- 
ing almost  upright,  he  may  lean  upon  the  handle  of  the  plow." 
Of  the  common  laborer  he  says :  "  He  may  be  of  almost  any 
size,  providing  he  is  able  to  endure  fatigue";  of  the  vine- 
dresser :  "  Vineyards  do  not  require  such  tall  men,  providing 
they  are  thick  and  brawny,  for  this  constitution  of  body  is  most 
proper  for  digging,  pruning,  and  other  culture  necessary  for 
them.  In  this  work  diligence  is  less  necessary  than  in  other 
works  of  husbandry,  because  the  vine-dresser  ought  to  perform 
his  work  in  company,  and  under  the  eye  of  a  director.  Com- 
monly, wicked  men  are  of  a  quicker  genius,  which  this  kind  of 
work  requires ;  and,  as  it  requires  not  only  a  stout  servant  but 
one  of  active  contrivance,  vineyards  are  commonly  cultivated 
by  slaves  in  chains."  Thus  we  see  that,  among  the  Romans, 
laborers  were  appointed  to  the  different  works  of  husbandry 
according  to  their  size,  strength,  and  genius. 


ROMAN  AGRICULTURE.  391 

With  respect  to  the  wages  of  agricultural  labor,  among  the 
Romans,  very  little  benefit  can  be  derived  from  knowing  the 
absolute  sum  of  money  paid  for  any  article,  unless  it  be  compared 
with  the  price  of  other  commodities.  The  price  of  a  slave,  in 
Cato's  time,  was  about  ^250.  In  the  time  of  Columella,  it  had 
risen  to  $300,  or  to  the  price  of  eight  acres  of  good  land.  A 
good  vine-dresser  cost  ^350,  and  a  good  plowman  or  laborer  not 
less  than  ^300.  The  interest  of  money,  at  that  time,  was  six 
per  cent  per  annum ;  therefore,  in  stating  the  expense  of  farm 
labor,  a  slave  must  be  rated  at  not  less  than  12  per  cent,  as  be- 
ing a  perishable  commodity ;  so  that  one  who  cost  ^300  would 
fall  to  be  charged  at  the  rate  of  $^6  per  annum,  besides  his 
maintenance  and  clothing.  This  may  give  some  idea  of  the 
wages  that  would  be  paid  to  a  free  servant,  who  hired  himself 
by  the  year,  of  which,  however,  there  appears  to  have  been  no 
great  number,  their  wages  not  being  stated.  All  servants  were 
maintained  and  clothed  by  the  farmer  or  proprietor,  and,  as  may 
be  supposed,  it  was  the  interest  of  the  latter  that  this  should  be 
done  in  a  good  and  sufficient  manner. 

Columella  mentions  what  he  calls  an  old  maxim  concerning 
the  bailiff:  "That  he  should  not  eat  but  in  the  sight  of  all  the 
servants,  nor  of  anything  but  what  was  given  to  the  rest."  He 
mentions  the  reason  for  this:  "For  thus,"  he  says,  "shall  he 
take  care  that  the  bread  be  well  baked,  and  the  other  things  be 
prepared  in  a  wholesome  manner."  The  same  author  mentions 
the  treatment  the  masters  ought  to  give  their  slaves  :  "  So  much 
the  more  attentive,"  he  says,  "  ought  the  master  to  be  in  his 
enquiry  concerning  this  kind  of  servants,  that  they  may  not  be 
injured  in  their  clothes,  and  other  things  afforded  them,  inas- 
much as  they  are  subjects  to  many,  such  as  bailiffs,  masters  of 
works,  and  gaolers;  and  the  more  they  are  liable  to  receive 
injuries,  the  more  they  are  hurt  through  cruelty  or  avarice,  the 
more  they  are  to  be  feared.  Therefore  a  diligent  master  ought 
to  inquire,  both  of  themselves  and  likewise  the  free  servants,  in 
whom  he  may  put  greater  confidence,  whether  they  receive  the 
full  of  what  is  allowed  them.  He  himself  ought  likewise  to  try, 
by  tasting,  the  goodness  of  the  bread  and  drink,  and  examine 
their  clothes,  mittens,  and  shoes."  In  another  place  he  says 
that,  "The  bailiff  should  have  the  family  clothed  rather  usefully 


392  AGRICULTURE. 

than  nicely,  and  carefully  fortified  against  the  wind,  cold,  and 
rain  ;  all  which  they  will  be  secured  from  by  sleeved  leather 
coats,  old  centones  (thick  patchwork,  as  bed  quilts),  for  defend- 
ing their  heads,  or  cloaks  with  hoods.  If  the  laborers  are 
clothed  with  these,  no  day  is  so  stormy  as  to  prevent  them  from 
working  without  doors." 

Cato  likewise  makes  particular  mention  of  the  clothes  of  the 
slaves.  He  says :  "A  coat  and  a  gown  three  feet  and  a  half  long, 
should  be  given  once  in  two  years.  Whenever  you  give  a  coat 
or  a  gown,  first  receive  the  old  one ;  of  these  make  centones. 
Good  shoes  should  be  given  once  in  two  years."  He  also 
informs  us  what  quality  of  bread  and  wine,  and  what  kind  of 
meats  were  given  to  laborers.  Of  bread,  each  laborer  was 
allowed  at  the  rate  of  three  pounds  avoirdupois,  or  of  three 
pounds  twelve  ounces  avoirdupois,  in  the  day,  according  to  the 
severity  of  his  labor.  During  the  winter,  the  bailiff  should  have 
four  modii  of  wheat  each  month,  and  during  the  summer  four 
modii  and  a  half  each  month,  and  the  housekeeper  or  the  bailiff's 
wife  and  the  shepherd  should  have  three.  During  the  winter 
the  slaves  should  have  four  pounds  of  bread  each  in  the  day. 
From  the  time  that  they  began  to  dig  in  the  vineyards  to  the 
ripening  of  the  figs,  they  should  have  five  pounds  each,  after 
which  they  should  return  again  to  four.  To  this  bread  there 
was  a  daily  allowance  of  wine.  During  the  three  months  that 
immediately  followed  the  vintage,  the  servants  drank  a  weak 
kind  of  wine  called  lora.  The  manner  in  which  this  liquor  was 
made  is  described  both  by  Pliny  and  Columella,  and  from  the 
descriptions  given  by  them  it  may  well  be  supposed  to  have  been 
as  good  as  the  small  beer  given  to  servants  in  England.  It  does 
not  appear  that  the  Roman  slaves  were  much  restricted  in  the 
quantity.  Cato  mentions  no  measure,  he  only  says  that  they 
have  this  to  drink  three  months  after  the  vintage.  He  proceeds 
in  this  manner :  "  The  quantity  of  wine  for  each  man  in  the 
year  is  eight  quadrantals.  Now  an  addition  must  be  made  to 
this,  according  to  the  work  in  which  the  slaves  are  employed. 
It  is  not  too  much  for  them  to  drink  ten  quadrantals  each  in 
the  year."  This  allowance  of  wine,  it  must  be  acknowledged, 
was  not  inconsiderable,  being  at  least  seventy-four  gallons  in 
the  year,  or  an  average  of  1.62  pints  in  the  day. 


ROMAN  AGRICULTURE.  393 

Besides  the  bread  and  wine  the  slaves  got  what  was  called 
pulmentarmm,  which  answers  to  what,  in  some  parts  of  the 
country,  is  called  kitchen  drippings  or  fat.  For  this  purpose, 
Cato  recommends  the  laying  up  of  as  many  fallen  olives  as  can 
be  gathered ;  afterwards  the  early  olives,  from  which  the  small- 
est quantity  of  oil  is  expected  —  at  the  same  time  observing  that 
these  must  be  given  sparingly,  that  they  may  last  the  longer. 
When  the  olives  are  finished,  he  desires  salt  fish  and  vinegar  to 
be  given,  and,  besides,  to  each  man  a  sextarius  of  oil  in  the 
month,  and  a  moditcs  of  salt  in  the  year. 

Columella,  for  this  purpose,  directs  apples,  pears,  and  figs 
to  be  laid  up.  He  adds  :  *'  If  there  is  a  great  quantity  of  these, 
the  rustics  are  secured  in  no  small  part  of  their  meat  during 
the  winter,  for  they  serve  for  drippings  or  fat." 

The  laboring  cattle  used  by  the  Romans,  as  well  as  by  all 
other  ancient  nations,  were  chiefly  the  ox,  sometimes  the  ass, 
the  mules  for  burdens,  and  but  very  rarely  the  horse.  The 
horse,  however,  was  reared,  but  almost  exclusively  for  the  sad- 
dle, the  chase,  or  for  war.  The  respect  for  the  ox  which  existed 
among  the  Egyptians,  Jews,  and  Greeks,  was  continued  among 
the  Romans ;  so  much  so  that  Varro,  and  after  him  Columella 
and  Pliny,  adduce  an  instance  of  a  man  having  been  indicted 
and  condemned  for  killing  one,  to  please  a  boy  who  longed  for 
a  dish  of  tripe.  The  breeding,  breaking,  feeding,  and  working 
of  the  ox,  are  very  particularly  treated  of  by  the  ancient  authors. 
The  cows  that  Columella  "  most  approves  of,  are  of  a  tall  make, 
long,  with  very  large  belly,  very  broad  forehead,  eyes  black  and 
open,  horns  graceful,  smooth,  and  black,  hairy  ears,  straight 
jaws,  very  large  dewlap  and  tail,  and  moderate  hoofs  and  legs." 
"Bulls,"  says  Palladius,  ''should  be  tall,  with  huge  members,  of 
a  middle  age,  rather  young  than  old,  of  a  stern  countenance, 
small  horns,  a  brawny  and  vast  neck,  and  a  confined  belly." 

"Breeders,  both  of  horses  and  cows," Virgil  observes,  "should 
attend  principally  to  the  make  of  the  female.  If  any  one  fond 
of  the  prize  at  the  Olympic  games  breeds  horses,  or  if  any  one 
breeds  stout  bullocks  for  the  plow,  he  chiefly  attends  to  the 
make  of  the  mother,  who  ought  to  be  large  in  all  her  parts." 
The  same  maxim  is  enforced  scientifically  by  Cline.  For 
breaking  and  training  cattle  to  the  yoke,  Varro  and  Columella 


394  AGRICULTURE. 

give  very  particular  directions.  ''To  break  bullocks,"  says 
Varro,  "put  their  necks  between  forked  stakes,  set  up  one  for 
each  bullock,  and  give  them  meat  from  the  hand.  They  will 
become  tractable  in  a  few  days.  Then,  in  order  that  by  degrees 
they  may  become  accustomed  to  the  yoke,  let  an  unbroken  one 
be  joined  with  a  veteran,  whom  he  will  imitate ;  then  let  them 
go  upon  even  ground  without  a  plow ;  then  yoke  to  a  light  plow 
in  a  sandy  soil.  That  they  may  be  trained  for  carriages,  they 
should  be  first  put  to  empty  carts,  and  driven,  if  convenient, 
through  a  village  or  town  ;  the  habit  of  hearing  frequent  noises 
and  seeing  a  variety  of  objects,  will  soon  make  them  fit  for  use." 
Training  commences  with  the  calf  state  ;  and  **  calves,"  says  Vir- 
gil, "  which  you  intend  for  country  labor,  should  be  instructed 
while  their  youthful  minds  are  tractable  and  their  age  manage- 
able. First,  bind  round  their  necks  wide  wreaths  of  tender 
twigs ;  then,  when  their  free  necks  have  been  accustomed  to 
servitude,  put  real  collars  upon  them  so  that  they  may  print 
their  steps  only  upon  the  top  of  the  dust ;  afterward,  let  the 
beechen  axle  groan  under  the  heavy  load,  and  the  pole  draw 
the  wheels  joined  to  the  weighty  carriage." 

Laboring  oxen  were  fed  with  the  mast,  or  nuts  of  the  beech, 
or  sweet  chestnut  ;  grape  stones  and  husks,  after  being  pressed  ; 
hay,  wheat,  and  barley  straw  ;  bean  vetch  and  lupine  chaff ;  all 
parts  of  corn  and  pulse,  grass,  green  forage,  and  leaves.  The 
leaves  used  were  those  of  the  holm-oak,  ivy,  elm  (considered  the 
best)^  the  vine,  the  poplar,  etc.  The  poplar  leaves  were  mixed 
with  the  elm  leaves,  to  make  them  hold  out,  and  when  there 
were  no  elm  leaves,  the  oak  and  fig  leaves  were  used.  The  food 
preferred  before  all  others,  by  Columella,  is  good  pasturage  in 
summer,  and  hay  and  corn  in  winter  ;  but  he  says  that  the  food 
and  manner  of  feeding  differ  in  different  countries. 

Oxen  were  worked  in  pairs  abreast,  both  with  the  cart  and 
plow,  and  stood  in  the  stables  also  in  pairs,  in  stalls  made  for  this 
purpose.  They  were  carefully  matched,  in  order  that  the  stronger 
might  not  wear  out  the  weaker.  They  were  yoked  either  by 
the  horns  or  neck,  but  the  latter  mode  was  greatly  preferred. 
"Yoking  by  the  horns,"  Columella  observes,  "is  condemned  by 
almost  all  who  have  written  on  husbandry,  because  cattle  can 
exert  more  strength  from  the  neck  and  breast  than  the  horns, 


ROMAN  AGRICULTURE.  395 

as  in  one  way  they  press  with  the  whole  weight  and  bulk  of 
their  bodies,  whereas  in  the  other  way  they  are  tormented  with 
having  their  heads  drawn  up  and  turned  back,  and  with  diffi- 
culty stir  the  surface  of  the  earth  with  a  light  plow."  Oxen, 
when  in  the  plow,  were  not  allowed  to  go  a  great  way  without 
turning.  One  hundred  and  twenty  feet  was  the  length  fixed 
upon,  and  further  than  this  it  was  thought  improper  for  them 
to  pull  hard  without  stopping.  The  Rev.  A.  Dixon  thinks  it 
**  probable  that  the  breaks  or  plats  for  the  different  kinds  of 
corn  and  pulse,  were  laid  out  nearly  of  this  length  and  breadth," 
and  there  appear  to  be  grounds  for  concluding  that  the  case 
was  the  same  among  the  Jews  and  Greeks.  It  was  thought 
proper  that  oxen,  in  plowing,  should  be  allowed  to  stop  a  little 
at  the  turning,  and  when  they  stopped  that  the  plowman  should 
put  -the  yoke  a  little  forward,  that  their  necks  might  cool. 
"  Unless  their  necks  are  carefully  and  regularly  cooled,"  says 
Columella,  "  they  will  soon  become  inflamed,  and  swellings  and 
ulcers  will  arise."  The  same  author  directs  that  the  plowman, 
when  he  has  unyoked  his  oxen,  "  must  rub  them  after  they  are 
tied  up ;  press  their  backs  with  his  hands  ;  pull  up  their  hides, 
and  not  suffer  them  to  stick  to  their  bodies  ;  for  this  is  a  disease 
that  is  very  destructive  to  working  cattle.  No  food  must  be 
given  them  till  they  have  ceased  from  sweating  and  high  breath- 
ing, and  then  by  degrees,  in  portions  as  eaten,  and  afterward 
they  are  to  be  led  to  the  water  and  encouraged  by  whistling." 

In  purchasing  working  oxen,  Varro  directs  to  choose  such  as 
have  *'  spacious  horns,  rather  black  than  otherwise,  a  broad 
forehead,  wide  nostrils,  a  broad  chest,  and  thick  dewlaps."  All 
the  Roman  authors  agree  that  the  best  color  is  red  or  dark 
brown ;  that  the  black  are  hardier,  but  not  so  valuable ;  that 
the  hair  should  be  short  and  thick,  and  the  whole  skin  very  soft 
to  the  touch  ;  the  body  in  general  very  long  and  deep,  or,  as 
Columella  and  Palladius  express  it,  compact  and  square.  The 
particular  parts  they  also  describe  at  length,  in  terms  such  as 
would,  for  the  most  part,  be  approved  by  experienced  breeders 
of  cattle.  Making  due  allowance  for  the  difference  between 
choice  for  working  and  choice  for  fatting,  they  all  concur  in 
recommending  farmers  to  rear  at  home  what  oxen  they  want,  as 


396  AGRICULTURE. 

the  change  of  soil  and  climate  often  disagrees  with  those  brought 
from  a  distance. 

The  horse  was  scarcely,  if  at  all,  used  in  Roman  agriculture, 
but  was  reared  for  the  saddle  and  the  army  by  some  farmers. 
Varro  and  Columella  are  particular  in  their  directions  as  to  the 
choice  of  mares,  and  breeding  and  rearing  their  young ;  but  as 
these  contain  nothing  very  remarkable,  we  shall  merely  say  that 
the  signs  of  future  merit  in  a  colt  were  said  to  be  a  small  head, 
well-formed  limbs,  and  contending  with  other  colts  or  horses  for 
superiority  in  running,  or  in  any  other  thing. 

The  dog  is  a  valuable  animal  in  every  unenclosed  country,  and 
was  kept  by  the  Roman  farmers  for  its  use  in  assisting  the  shep- 
herds, and  also  for  watching.  Varro  mentions  two  kinds  :  one 
for  hunting,  which  belongs  to  fierce  and  savage  beasts  ;  and  one 
for  the  shepherd  and  the  watch-box.  The  latter  are  not  to  be 
bought  from  hunters  or  butchers,  because  they  are  either  lazy, 
or  will  follow  a  stag  rather  than  a  sheep.  The  best  color  is 
white,  because  it  is  most  discernible  in  the  dark.  They  must 
be  fed  in  the  kitchen,  with  bread  and  milk,  or  broth  with  bruised 
bones,  but  never  with  animal  food,  and  never  allowed  to  suffer 
from  hunger,  lest  they  attack  the  flock.  That  they  may  not  be 
wounded  by  other  beasts,  they  wear  a  collar  made  of  strong 
leather  set  with  nails,  the  inward  extremities  of  which  are  cov- 
ered with  soft  leather,  that  the  hardness  of  the  iron  may  not  hurt 
their  necks.  If  a  wolf  or  any  other  beast  is  wounded  by  these, 
it  makes  other  dogs  that  have  not  the  collar  remain  secure. 

The  Romans  used  a  great  many  instruments  in  their  culture 
and  farm  management,  but  their  particular  forms  and  uses  are 
so  imperfectly  described  that  very  little  is  known  concerning 
them.  The  plow,  the  most  important  instrument  in  agriculture, 
is  mentioned  by  Cato  as  of  two  kinds,  — one  for  strong,  and  the 
other  for  light  soils.  Varro  mentions  one  with  two  mould- 
boards,  with  which,  he  says,  *'  when  they  plow,  after  sowing  the 
seed,  they  are  said  to  ridge."  Pliny  mentions  a  plow  with  one 
mould-board,  for  the  same  purpose,  and  others  with  a  coulter,  of 
which  he  says  there  are  many  kinds.  It  is  probable  that  the 
ancients  had  many  kinds  of  plows,  though  not  so  scientifically 
constructed  as  those  of  modern  times.  They  had  plows  with 
mould-boards    and   without    mould-boards ;    with    and   without 


ROMAN  AGRICULTURE.  397 

coulters ;  with  and  without  wheels ;  with  broad  and  narrow 
pointed  shares ;  and  with  shares  not  only  with  sharp  sides  and 
points,  but  also  with  high  raised  cutting  tops.  Amid  all  this 
variety  of  plows,  no  one  has  been  able  to  depict  the  simplest 
form  of  that  implement  in  use  among  the  Romans.  The  plow 
described  by  Virgil  had  a  mould-board,  and  was  used  for  cover- 
ing seed  and  for  ridging,  but  that  which  we  have  depicted  was 
the  common  form  used  in  stirring  the  soil.  To  supply  the  place 
of  our  mould-boards,  this  plow  required  either  a  sort  of  diverging 
stick  inserted  in  the  share-head,  or  to  be  held  obliquely  and 
sloping  towards  the  side  to  which  the  earth  was  to  be  turned. 
The  Romans  did  not  plow  their  fields  in  beds,  by  circumvolving 
furrows,  as  we  do,  but  the  cattle  returned  always  on  the  same 
side,  as  in  plowing  with  a  turn-wrist  plow. 

"Wheel  plows,"  Lasteyrie  says,  "were  invented  in  or  not 
long  before  the  time  of  Pliny,  who  attributes  the  invention  to 
the  inhabitants  of  Cisalpine  Gaul."  Virgil  seems  to  have  known 
such  plows,  and  refers  to  them  in  his  Georgics.  In  the  Greek 
monuments  of  antiquity  are  only  four  or  five  examples  of  these. 
Lasteyrie  has  given  figures  of  these  wheel  plows,  from  Caylus' 
"  Collection  of  Antiquities,"  and  from  a  Sicilian  medal.  The 
urpex  seems  to  have  been  a  plank  with  several  teeth,  used  as  our 
break  or  cultivator,  to  break  rough  ground  and  tear  out  roots 
and  weeds  ;  the  crates  seems  to  have  been  a  kind  of  harrow ;  the 
rastrtinty  a  rake  used  in  manual  labor ;  the  sarculuntj  a  hand  hoe, 
similar  to  our  draw  hoe  ;  the  marra,  a  hand  hoe  of  smaller  size ; 
the  bidens  seems  to  have  been  a  two-pronged  hoe  of  large  size, 
with  a  hammer  at  the  other  end,  used  to  break  clods.  These 
were  used  chiefly  in  cultivating  vineyards.  The  ligo  seems  to 
have  been  a  spade ;  and  the  pala  a  shovel,  or  a  sort  of  a  spade, 
probably  a  synonym.  The  ligo  and  pala  were  made  of  wood 
only,  of  oak  shod  with  iron,  or  with  the  blade  entirely  of  iron. 
The  securis  seems  to  have  been  an  axe,  and  the  same  term  was 
applied  to  the  blade  of  the  pruning-knife,  which  was  formed  like 
a  crescent.  The  dolabra  was  a  kind  of  adze  for  cutting  roots,  in 
tree  culture.  The  reaping-hook  seems  to  have  been  the  same  as 
that  in  modern  times.  Some  were  used  for  cutting  off  the  ears 
of  corn,  and  these,  it  may  be  presumed,  were  not  serrated  like 


39^  AQRICVLTURE. 

our  sickles ;  others  for  cutting  wheat  and  barley  iiear  the  gfdund, 
like  our  reaping-hooks; 

in  the  south  of  Gaul,  Pliny  informs  us  they  had  invented  a 
reaping-machine.  From  his  description  this  machine  must 
have  borne  a  considerable  resemblance  to  that  used  in  Suffolk 
for  cropping  the  heads  off  clover  left  for  seed,  and  not  unlike 
other  modern  attempts  at  an  engine  of  this  description.  There 
were  threshing-implements  for  manual  labor,  and  for  being 
drawn  by  horses ;  and  some  for  striking  off  the  ears  of  grain, 
like  what  are  called  rippling-combs,  for  combing  off  the  capsules 
of  newly  pulled  flax.  A  variety  of  other  instruments  for  clean- 
ing grain,  and  for  the  wine  and  oil  press,  are  mentioned,  but  too 
obscurely  to  admit  of  description. 


BRIDAL    VEIL    FALLS,    YOSEMITE,    CAL 


Chapter  n. 

HISTORY  OF  AGRICULTURE  —  Continued. 

Of  simple  agricultural  operations,  the  most  important  are 
plowing,  sowing,  and  reaping ;  and  such  as  compound,  or 
involve,  various  simple  operations,  such  as  fallowing,  manuring, 
weeding,  and  field  watering.  "What,"  says  Cato,  "is  the  best 
culture  of  land  ?  Good  plowing.  —  What  the  second  t  Plowing 
in  the  ordinary  way.  —  What  the  third  .-*     Laying  on  manure." 

The  season  for  plowing  was  any  time  when  the  land  was  not 
wet.  In  plowing,  the  furrow  is  directed  to  be  kept  equal  in 
breadth  throughout,  one  furrow  equal  to  another,  and  straight 
furrows.  The  usual  depth  is  not  mentioned,  but  it  was  prob- 
ably considerable,  as  Cato  says  that  grain  land  should  be  of 
good  quality  for  two  feet  in  depth.  No  scamni  or  balks  (hard, 
unmoved  soil)  were  to  be  left ;  and  to  ascertain  that  this  was 
properly  attended  to,  the  farmer  is  directed,  when  inspecting 
the  work  done,  to  push  a  pole  into  Jthe  plowed  ground  in  a 
variety  of  places.  The  plow  was  generally  drawn  by  one  pair 
of  oxen,  which  were  guided  by  the  plowman  without  the  aid  of 
a  driver.  In  breaking  up  stiff  land,  he  was  expected  to  plow 
half  an  acre,  in  free  land  an  acre,  and  in  light  land  an  acre  and 
a  half,  each  day. 

Fallowing  was  a  universal  practice  among  the  Romans.  In 
most  cases  a  crop  and  a  year's  fallow  succeeded  each  other; 
though,  when  the  manure  could  be  got,  two  crops  or  more  were 
taken  in  succession,  and  on  certain  rich  soils,  which  Pliny 
describes  as  favorable  for  barley,  a  crop  was  taken  every  year. 
In  fallowing,  the  lands  were  first  plowed  after  the  crops  were 
removed,  generally  in  August.  They  were  again  cross-plowed 
in  spring,  and  at  least  a  third  time  before  sowing,  when  spring 
grain  or  winter  grain  was  the  crop.  There  was,  however,  no 
limit  to  the  number  of  plowings,  and,  when  occasion  required, 
manual  operations,  the  object  being,  as  Theophrastus  observes, 
"to  let  the  earth  feel  the  cold  of  winter  and  the  sun  of  summer ; 

399 


400  AGRICULTURE. 

to  invert  the  soil  and  render  it  free,  light,  and  clear  of  weeds, 
so  that  it  can  most  easily  afford  nourishment." 

Manuring  was  held  in  such  high  esteem  by  the  Romans  that 
immortality  was  given  to  Sterculius  for  the  invention.  They 
collected  manure  from  every  source  which  has  been  thought  of 
by  the  moderns, — vegetable,  animal,  and  mineral;  territorial, 
aquatic,  and  marine.  Animal  dung  was  divided  into  three 
kinds,  —  that  produced  by  birds,  that  by  men,  that  by  cattle. 
Pigeon  dung  was  preferred  to  all  other,  and  next  human  ordure. 
Pigeon  dung  was  used  as  a  top-dressing,  and  human  dung, 
mixed  with  the  cleaning  of  the  villas,  was  applied  to  the  roots 
of  the  vine  and  the  olive.  "Varro,"  says  Pliny,  **  extols  the 
dung  of  thrushes  from  the  aviaries,  as  food  for  the  swine  and 
oxen,  and  asserts  that  there  is  no  food  that  fattens  them  more 
quickly."  Varro  prefers  it  also  as  a  manure,  on  which  Pliny 
observes,  "  We  rnay  have  a  good  opinion  of  the  manners  of  our 
times,  if  our  ancestors  had  such  large  aviaries  as  to  procure 
from  them  dung  to  their  fields."  Dung  hills  were  directed  to 
be  placed  near  the  villa,  their  bottoms  hollowed  out  to  retain 
the  moisture,  and  their  sides  and  tops  defended  from  the  sun 
by  twigs  and  leaves.  Dung  usually  remained  in  the  heap  a 
year,  and  was  laid  on  in  the  autumn  and  spring,  the  two  sowing 
seasons.  No  more  was  to  be  spread  than  could  be  plowed  in 
the  same  day.  Crops  that  were  sickly  were  revived  by  sowing 
over  them  the  dust  of  dung,  especially  that  of  birds  ;  that  is, 
by  what  is  now  called  a  top-dressing.  Frequent  and  moderate 
dungings  are  recommended  as  preferable  to  occasional  and  very 
abundant  supplies. 

Green  crops,  especially  lupines,  were  sown,  and  before  they 
came  into  pod  plowed  in  as  manures.  They  were  also  cut  and 
buried  at  the  roots  of  fruit  trees  for  the  same  purpose.  Trees, 
twigs,  stubble,  etc.,  were  burned  for  manure.  Cato  says:  "If 
you  cannot  sell  wood  and  twigs,  and  have  no  stone  that  will  burn 
into  lime,  make  charcoal  of  the  wood,  and  burn  in  the  fields  the 
twigs  and  small  branches  that  remain."  Palladius  says  that 
lands  which  have  been  manured  by  ashes  of  trees  will  not 
require  manure  for  five  years.  Stubble  was  very  generally 
burned,  as  it  was  also  among  the  Jews.  Lime  was  used  as  a 
manure,  especially  for  vines  and  olives.     Cato  gives  particular 


ROMAN  AGRICULTURE.  401 

directions  how  to  form  the  kiln  and  burn  it.  He  prefers  a 
truncated  cone,  ten  feet  in  diameter  at  the  bottom,  twenty  feet 
high,  and  three  feet  in  diameter  at  the  top.  The  grate  covers 
the  whole  bottom ;  there  is  a  pit  below  for  the  ashes,  and  two 
furnace  doors,  one  for  drawing  out  the  burnt  stone,  and  the 
other  for  admitting  air  to  the  fire.  The  fuel  used  was  wood  or 
charcoal.  Marl  was  known  to  the  earlier  Roman  authors,  but 
not  used  in  Italy.  It  is  mentioned  by  Pliny  as  having  been 
"found  out  in  Britain  and  Gaul."  "  It  is  a  certain  richness  of 
earth,"  he  says,  "like  the  kernels  in  animal  bodies  that  are 
increased  by  fatness."  He  adds  that  "marl  was  known  to  the 
Greeks  ;  for  is  there  anything  that  has  not  been  tried  by  them } 
They  call  the  marl-like  white  clay  leucargillos y  which  they  use 
in  the  lands  of  Megara,  but  only  where  they  are  moist  and 
cold."  But  though  the  Romans  did  not  use  marl,  because  they 
had  not  discovered  it  in  Italy,  they  were  aware,  as  Varro  and 
others  inform  us,  of  its  use.  "  When  I  marched  an  army,"  says 
Varro,  "to  the  Rhine  in  Transalpine  Gaul,  I  passed  through 
some  countries  where  I  saw  the  fields  manured  with  white  fossil 
clay."     This  must  have  been  either  marl  or  chalk. 

In  reaping  grain,  it  was  a  maxim  that  it  is  "  better  to  reap 
two  days  too  soon,  than  two  days  too  late."  Varro  mentions 
three  modes  of  performing  the  operation,  —  cutting  close  to  the 
ground  with  hooks,  a  handful  at  a  time ;  cutting  off  their  ears 
with  a  curved  stick  and  a  saw  attached ;  and  cutting  the  stalks 
in  the  middle,  leaving  the  lower  part,  or  stubble,  to  be  cut  after- 
ward. Columella  says  :  "  Many  cut  the  stalks  by  the  middle, 
with  drag-hooks,  and  these  either  beaked  or  toothed ;  many 
gather  the  ears  with  inergce,  and  others  with  combs."  This 
method  does  very  well  when  the  crop  is  thin,  but  it  is  very 
troublesome  when  the  grain  is  thick.  If,  in  reaping  with  hooks, 
a  part  of  the  straw  is  cut  off  with  the  ears,  it  is  immediately 
gathered  into  a  heap,  and,  after  being  dried  by  being  exposed 
to  the  sun,  is  threshed.  But  if  the  ears  only  are  cut  off,  they 
are  carried  directly  to  the  granary,  and  threshed  during  the 
winter.  To  these  modes  Pliny  adds  that  of  pulling  up  by  the 
roots,  and  remarks,  that  "generally,  where  they  cover  their 
houses  with  stubble,  they  cut  high,  to  preserve  this  of  as  great 


405  AGRICULTURE. 

length  as  possible.  When  there  is  a  scarcity  of  hay,  they  cut 
low,  that  the  straw  may  be  added  to  the  chaff." 

A  reaping  machine,  used  in  the  plains  of  Gaul,  is  mentioned 
by  both  Pliny  and  Palladius,  which  is  thus  described  by  the 
latter :  "  In  the  plains  of  Gaul  they  use  this  quick  way  of  reap- 
ing, and,  without  reapers,  cut  large  fields  with  an  ox  in  one  day  : 
for  this  purpose  a  machine  is  made,  carried  upon  two  wheels ; 
the  square  surface  has  boards  erected  at  the  side,  which,  sloping 
outwards,  make  a  wider  space  above.  The  board  on  the  fore 
part  is  lower  than  the  others ;  upon  it  there  are  a  great  many 
small  teeth,  wide  set  in  a  row,  answering  to  the  height  of  the 
ears  of  grain,  and  turned  upward  at  the  ends.  On  the  back  part 
of  this  machine  two  short  shafts  are  fixed,  like  the  poles  of  a 
litter ;  to  these  an  ox  is  yoked,  with  his  head  to  the  machine, 
and  the  yoke  and  traces  likewise  turned  the  contrary  way ;  he 
is  well  trained  and  does  not  go  faster  than  he  is  driven.  When 
this  machine  is  pushed  through  the  standing  grain,  all  the  ears 
are  comprehended  by  the  teeth,  and  heaped  up  in  the  hollow 
part  of  it,  being  cut  off  from  the  straw  which  is  left  behind,  the 
driver  setting  it  higher  or  lower  as  he  finds  it  necessary ;  and 
thus  by  a  few  goings  and  returnings  the  whole  field  is  reaped. 
This  machine  does  very  well  in  plain  and  smooth  fields,  and  in 
places  where  there  is  no  necessity  for  feeding  with  straw." 

The  Romans  did  not  bind  their  grain  into  sheaves,  as  is 
customary  in  northern  climates.  When  cut  off  it  was  sent 
directly  to  the  area  to  be  threshed ;  or,  if  the  ears  were,  only 
cropped,  sent  in  baskets  to  the  barn.  Among  the  Jews,  Egyp- 
tians, and  Greeks,  the  grain  was  bound  in  sheaves ;  at  least, 
some  kinds  were  so  treated,  as  appears  from  the  story  of  Ruth, 
"gleaning  among  the  sheaves";  of  Joseph's  dream  in  which 
his  "  sheaf  arose  "  ;  and  from  the  harvest  represented  by  Homer, 
on  one  of  the  compartments  of  Achilles'  shield.  Reapers  were 
set  in  bands,  on  the  opposite  side  of  the  field,  and  worked 
towards  the  centre.  As  the  land  was  plowed  in  the  same 
manner,  from  the  sides  to  the  middle,  there  was  an  open  furrow 
left  there,  to  which  the  reapers  hastened  in  the  way  of  compe- 
tition. A  reaper  was  expected  to  cut  down  a  jugerum  of  wheat 
in  a  day  and  a  half ;  of  barley,  legumes,  and  clover,  in  one  day ; 
and  of  flax,  in  three  days. 


ROMAN  AGRICULTURE.  403 

Threshing  was  performed  in  the  area,  or  threshing-floor,  a 
circular  space  of  from  forty  to  sixty  feet  in  diameter,  in  the 
open  air,  with  a  smooth,  hard  surface.  The  floor  was  generally 
made  of  well-wrought  clay,  mixed  with  the  leeds  of  oil.  Some- 
times it  was  paved.  It  was  generally  placed  near  the  barn,  in 
order  that,  when  a  sudden  shower  happened  during  the  process 
of  threshing,  the  ears  might  be  carried  in  there  out  of  the  rain. 
Sometimes,  also,  the  ears  of  unthreshed  wheat  of  the  whole 
farm  were  first  put  in  this  barn,  and  carried  out  to  the  area 
afterward.  Varro  and  Columella  recommended  that  the  situa- 
tion of  the  area  be  high  and  airy,  and  within  sight  of  the  farm- 
er's or  bailiff's  house,  to  prevent  fraud ;  distant  from  gardens 
and  orchards,  because,  though  dung  and  straw  are  beneficial  to 
the  roots  of  vegetables,  they  are  destructive  when  they  fall  on 
their  leaves.  The  grain  being  spread  over  the  area  a  foot  or  two 
in  thickness,  it  was  threshed  or  beaten  out  by  the  hoofs  of  cattle 
or  horses,  driven  around,  or  a  machine  dragging  over  it.  "  This 
machine,"  Varro  informs  us,  "  was  made  of  a  board,  rough  with 
stones  or  iron,  with  a  driver  of  great  weight  placed  on  it."  A 
machine  composed  of  rollers  studded  with  iron  knobs,  and  fur- 
nished with  a  seat  for  the  driver,  was  used  in  the  Carthaginian 
territory.  Sometimes  they  also  threshed  with  rods  or  flails. 
Wheat  was  cleaned  or  winnowed  by  throwing  it  from  one  part 
of  the  floor  to  another  (in  the  wind,  when  there  was  any)  with 
a  kind  of  a  shovel  called  a  ventilabrum ;  another  implement, 
called  a  van,  probably  a  kind  of  sieve,  was  used  when  there  was 
no  wind.  After  being  dressed,  the  grain  was  laid  in  the  gran- 
ary, and  the  straw  either  laid  aside  for  litter,  or,  what  is  not  a 
little  remarkable,  "sprinkled  with  brine,''  then,  when  dried, 
rolled  up  in  bundles,  and  so  given  to  the  oxen  for  hay. 

Haymaking,  among  the  Romans,  was  performed  much  in  the 
same  way  as  in  modern  times.  The  meadows  were  mown  when 
the  flowers  of  the  grass  began  to  fade.  "As  it  dries,"  says 
Varro,  "  it  is  turned  with  forks.  It  is  then  tied  up  in  bundles  of 
four  pounds  each,  and  carried  home,  and  what  is  left  strewn 
upon  the  meadow  is  raked  together  and  added  to  the  crop." 
"A  good  mower,"  Columella  informs  us,  "cuts  a  jugeriim  of 
meadow,  and  binds  twelve  hundred  bundles  of  hay."  It  is 
probable  that  this  quantity,  which  is  nearly  two  tons,  was  the 


404  AGRICULTURE. 

produce  per  acre  of  a  good  crop.  A  second  crop  was  cut,  called 
cordtiiUy  and  was  chiefly  used  for  feeding  sheep  in  winter.  Hay- 
was  also  made  of  leafy  twigs,  for  the  same  purpose.  Cato 
directs  the  bailiff  to  "  cut  down  poplar,  elm,  oak  spray,  and  put 
them  up  in  time,  not  over  dry,  for  fodder  for  the  sheep." 

Weeding  and  stirring  the  soil  were  performed ;  the  first  by 
cutting  with  a  hook,  or  pulling  the  weeds  up  with  the  hand ; 
the  second  by  sarcling  or  hoeing.  Beans  were  hoed  three 
times ;  the  first  time  they  were  earthed  up,  but  not  the  second 
or  third.  Lupines  were  not  hoed  at  all,  because,  "  so  far  from 
being  invested  with  weeds  they  destroy  them."  Horse  hoeing 
was  also  practised,  the  origin  of  which  is  thus  given  by  Pliny : 
"We  must  not  omit,"  says  he,  ''a  particular  kind  or  method  of 
plowing,  at  this  time  practised  in  Italy,  beyond  the  Po,  and 
introduced  by  the  injuries  of  war.  The  Salassi,  when  they  rav- 
aged the  lands  lying  under  the  Alps,  tried  likewise  to  destroy 
the  panic  and  millet  that  had  just  come  above  the  ground. 
Finding  that  the  situation  of  the  crops  prevented  them  from 
destroying  it  in  the  ordinary  way,  they  plowed  the  fields ;  but 
the  crop  at  harvest  being  double  what  it  used  to  be,  taught  the 
farmer  to  plow  among  the  grain."  This  operation,  he  informs 
us,  was  performed  either  when  the  stocks  were  beginning  to 
appear,  or  when  the  plant  had  put  forth  two  or  three  leaves. 
The  grain  being  generally  sown  in  drills,  or  covered  with  the 
plow,  so  as  to  come  up  in  rows,  readily  admitted  this  practice. 

Pasturing  and  harrowing  grain,  when  too  luxuriant,  were  prac- 
tised. Virgil  says,  "*What  commendation  shall  I  give  him,  who, 
lest  his  grain  should  lodge,  pastures  it  while  young,  as  soon  as 
the  blade  equals  the  furrows  ? "  Pliny  directs  to  "  comb  the 
grain  with  a  harrow  before  it  is  pastured,  and  hoe  it  afterward." 

Watering  on  a  large  scale  was  applied  to  both  arable  and 
grass  land.  Virgil  advises,  "  to  bring  down  the  waters  of  a  river 
upon  sown  grain,  and  when  the  field  is  parched,  and  the  plants 
dying,  convey  it  from  the  brow  of  the  hill  in  channels."  Pliny 
mentions  the  practice,  and  observes  that  the  water  destroys 
the  weeds,  nourishes  the  grain,  and  serves  in  place  of  hoeing. 
Watering  grass-lands  was  practised  whenever  an  opportunity 
was  offered.  "As  much  as  is  in  your  power,"  says  Cato,  "make 
watered  meadows."     "  Land  that  is  naturally  rich  and  in  good 


ROMAN  AGRICULTURE.  405 

heart,"  says  Columella,  "  does  not  need  to  have  water  set  over 
it,  because  the  hay  produced  in  a  juicy  soil  is  better  than  that 
excited  by  water.  When  the  poverty  of  the  soil  requires  it, 
however,  water  may  be  let  over  it."  The  same  author  describes, 
very  particularly,  the  position  of  the  land  for  water  meadows  : 
''  Neither  a  low  field  with  hollows,  nor  a  broken  field  with  steep, 
rising  grounds,  is  proper ;  the  first  because  it  contains  too 
long  the  water  collected  in  the  hollows,  and  the  last  because  it 
makes  the  water  to  run  too  quickly  over  it.  A  field,  however, 
that  has  a  moderate  descent,  may  be  made  a  meadow,  whether 
it  be  rich  or  poor,  if  so  situated  as  to  be  watered  ;  but  the  best 
situation  is  where  the  surface  is  smooth,  and  the  descent  so 
gentle  as  to  prevent  either  showers,  or  the  rivers  that  overflow 
it,  from  remaining  long,  and  on  the  other  hand  to  allow  the 
water  that  comes  over  it  gently  to  glide  off.  Therefore  if,  in 
any  part  of  a  field  intended  for  a  meadow,  a  pool  of  water  should 
stand,  it  should  be  let  off  by  drains,  for  the  loss  is  equal,  either 
from  too  much  water  or  too  little  grass."  Old  water  meadows 
were  renewed  by  breaking  them  up  and  sowing  them  with  grain 
for  three  years.  The  third  year  they  were  laid  down  with 
vetches  and  grass  seed,  and  then  watered  again,  but  not  with  a 
great  force  of  water,  till  the  ground  had  become  firm  and  bound 
together  with  turf.  Watering,  Pliny  informs  us,  was  com- 
menced immediately  after  the  equinox,  and  restrained  when  the 
grass  sent  up  flower  stalks  ;  it  was  recommended  in  mowing 
grounds,  after  the  hay  season,  and  in  pasture  lands  at  intervals. 
Drainage,  although  an  operation  of  an  opposite  nature  to 
watering,  is  yet  essential  to  its  success.  It  was  particularly 
attended  to  by  the  Romans,  both  to  remove  surface  water,  and 
to  intercept  and  carry  off  under  the  surface  the  water  of  springs. 
Cato  gives  directions  for  opening  the  furrows  of  sown  fields, 
and  clearing  them  so  that  the  water  might  find  its  way  readily 
to  the  ditches ;  and  for  wet-bottomed  lands  he  directs  to  make 
drains  three  feet  broad  at  the  top,  four  feet  deep,  and  a  foot  and  a 
quarter  wide  at  the  bottom  ;  to  lay  them  with  stones,  or,  if  these 
cannot  be  got,  with  willow  rods  placed  contrariwise,  or  twigs  tied 
together.  Columella  directs  both  open  and  covered  drains  to 
be  made  sloping  at  the  sides,  and,  in  addition  to  what  Cato  says 
respecting  the  waterways  of  covered  drains,  directs  to  make  the 


4o6  AGRICULTURE. 

bottom  narrow,  and  fit  a  rope  made  of  twigs  to  it,  pressing  the 
top  firmly  down  and  putting  some  leaves  or  pine  branches  over 
it  before  throwing  in  the  earth.  Pliny  says  that  the  ropes  may 
be  made  of  straw,  and  that  flint  or  gravel  may  be  used  to  form 
the  waterway,  filling  the  excavations  half  full,  or  to  within 
eighteen  inches  of  the  top. 

Fencing  was  performed  by  the  Romans,  but  only  to  a  limited 
extent.  Varro  says  that,  "  the  limit  of  a  farm  should  be  fenced 
by  planting  trees,  that  families  may  not  quarrel  with  their  neigh- 
bors, and  that  the  limits  may  not  want  the  decision  of  a  judge." 
Palladius  directs  to  enclose  meadows,  gardens,  and  orchards. 
Columella  mentions  folds  for  enclosing  the  cattle  in  the  night 
time,  but  the  chief  fences  of  his  time  were  the  enclosures  called 
parks  for  preserving  wild  beasts,  and  forming  agreeable  pros- 
pects from  the  villas  of  the  wealthy.  Pliny  mentions  these,  and 
says  that  they  were  the  invention  of  Fulvius  Lapinus.  Varro 
describes  fences  raised  by  planting  briars  or  thorns,  and  training 
them  into  a  hedge ;  and  these,  he  says,  have  the  advantage  of 
not  being  in  danger  from  the  burning  torch  of  the  wanton  pas- 
senger. Fences  were  also  made  of  stalks  interwoven  with 
twigs,  ditches  of  earthen  dykes,  and  walls  of  stone  or  brick,  or 
rammed  earth  and  gravel. 

Trees  were  pruned  and  felled  at  different  times,  according  to 
the  object  in  view.  The  olives  were  little  cut ;  the  vine  had  a 
winter  dressing  and  one  or  two  summer  dressings.  Green 
branches  or  sprays,  of  which  the  leaves  were  used  as  food  for 
oxen  and  sheep,  were  cut  at  the  end  of  summer ;  copse-wood 
for  fuel,  in  winter ;  and  timber  trees  generally  at  that  season. 
Cato,  however,  directs  that  trees  which  are  to  be  felled  for 
timber  should  be  cut  out  at  different  times,  according  to  their 
natures  ;  such  as  ripen  seed,  when  seeds  are  ripe ;  such  as  do 
not  produce  seed,  when  the  leaves  drop ;  such  as  produce  both 
flowers  and  seeds,  at  the  same  time  also  as  when  the  leaves 
begin  to  drop ;  but  if  they  are  evergreens,  such  as  cypress  and 
pine,  they  may  be  felled  at  any  time. 

Fruits  were  gathered  by  hand.  The  ripest  grapes  were  cut 
first.  Such  as  were  selected  for  eating  were  carried  home  and 
hung  up,  and  those  for  the  press  were  put  into  baskets  and  car- 
ried to  the  wine-press,  to  be  picked  and  then  pressed,     Olives 


ROMAN  AGRICULTURE,  407 

were  picked  by  hand,  and  some  selected  for  eating.  The  rest 
were  laid  up  in  lofts  for  future  bruising,  or  were  immediately 
pressed.  Such  as  could  not  be  reached  by  ladders,  Varro 
directs  to  be  "  struck  with  a  reed  rather  than  a  rod,  for  a  deep 
wound  requires  a  physician."  It  does  not  appear  that  green 
olives  were  pickled  and  used  for  food,  as  in  modern  times. 

Such  are  the  chief  agricultural  operations  of  the  Romans,  of 
which  it  cannot  fail  to  be  observed,  as  most  remarkable,  that 
they  differ  little  from  the  rural  operations  of  the  Jews  and 
Greeks  on  the  one  hand,  and  from  the  practices  of  modern 
times  on  the  other.  The  cereal  grasses  cultivated  by  the 
Romans  were  chiefly  the  triticmn,  or  wheat ;  the  far,  or  spelt ; 
and  the  hordctnn,  or  barley  ;  but  they  sowed  also  the  siligo,  or 
rye ;  the  holciis,  or  mouse-barley ;  the  panic  grass  ;  and  the 
avena,  or  oats.  Of  legumes  they  cultivated  the  faba,  or  bean  ; 
\\\Q pistini,  or  pea;  the  lupinus,  or  lupine;  the  ervum,  or  tare; 
the  lens,  or  flat  tare  ;  the  chickling  vetch  ;  the  chick,  or  mouse 
pea ;  and  the  kidney  bean.  The  bean  was  used  as  food  for  the 
servants  and  slaves  ;  the  others  were  grown  principally  for  food 
to  the  laboring  cattle.  The  sesainum,  an  oily  grain,  was  culti- 
vated for  the  seeds,  from  which  an  oil  was  expressed,  and  used 
as  a  substitute  for  olive  oil,  as  it  still  is  in  India  and  China,  and 
as  the  oil  of  the  poppy  is  in  Holland,  that  of  the  walnut  in 
Savoy,  and  that  of  the  hemp  in  Russia. 

The  herbage  plants  were  chiefly  the  trifolium,  or  clover ;  the 
medica,  or  lucern  ;  and  the  cytisus.  What  the  latter  plant  is, 
has  not  been  distinctly  ascertained.  The  turnip  and  rape  were 
much  esteemed  and  carefully  cultivated.  Pliny  says  that  they 
require  a  dry  soil ;  that  the  rape  will  grow  almost  anywhere ; 
that  it  is  nourished  by  mists,  hoar-frosts,  and  cold ;  and  that  he 
has  seen  some  of  them  upward  of  forty  pounds  in  weight.  The 
turnip,  he  says,  delights  equally  in  cold,  which  makes  it  both 
sweeter  and  larger ;  while  by  heat  they  grow  to  leaves.  He 
adds  :  "  The  more  diligent  husbandmen  plow  five  times  for  the 
turnip,  four  times  for  the  rape,  and  apply  manure  to  both." 
Palladius  recommends  soot  and  oil,  as  a  remedy  against  flies 
and  snails,  in  the  culture  of  the  turnip  and  rape.  While  the 
turnips  were  growing  it  appears  that  persons  were  not  much 
restricted  from  pulling  them.     Columella  observes  that,  in  his 


4o8  AGRICULTURE. 

time,  the  more  religious  husbandmen  still  observed  an  ancient 
custom,  mentioned  by  Varro,  as  being  recorded  by  Demetrius, 
a  slave.  This  was  that,  while  sowing  them,  they  prayed  that 
they  might  grow,  both  for  themselves  and  their  neighbors. 
Pliny  says  that  the  sower  was  naked. 

Of  crops  used  in  the  arts  may  be  mentioned  flax,  the  sesamum 
already  mentioned,  and  the  poppy.  The  two  latter  were  grown 
for  their  seeds,  which  were  bruised  for  oil.  The  ligneous  crops 
were  willows,  both  for  basket  making  and  as  ties  and  poles  for 
olives  and  vines.  Copse-wood  was  grown  in  same  places  for 
fuel,  but  chiefly  in  natural  woods,  which  were  periodically  cut. 
Timber  was  also  procured  from  the  natural  forests,  which  were 
abundant  in  oak,  elm,  beech,  pine,  and  larix.  The  fruit  trees 
cultivated  extensively  were  the  vine  and  olive.  The  figs  were 
grown  in  gardens  and  orchards,  and  also  the  pear ;  and  in  the 
gardens  of  the  wealthy  were  found  most  fruits  in  present  use, 
with  the  exception  of  the  pineapple,  the  gooseberry,  and  per- 
haps the  orange,  though  the  lemon  seems  to  have  been  known 
in  Palladius'  time.  The  vine  was  supported  by  elms  or  poplars, 
or  tied  to  different  sorts  of  trelUses,  as  in  Italy  at  the  present 
day. 

Such  are  the  principal  field  crops  of  Roman  agriculture,  from 
which,  and  from  the  list  given  by  Pliny,  it  appears  that  they 
had  most  plants  and  trees  now  in  use,  with  the  exception  of  the 
potato  and  one  or  two  others  of  less  consequence.  Of  animals 
reared,  the  quadrupeds  were  of  the  same  kind  as  at  present ; 
and  to  the  common  sorts  of  poultry  they  added  thrushes,  larks, 
peacocks,  and  turtle-doves.  They  also  reared  snails,  dormice, 
bees,  and  fish.  The  care  of  the  poultry  was  chiefly  committed 
to  the  wife  of  the  farmer  or  bailiff,  and  it  was  principally  near 
Rome  and  Naples  that  the  more  delicate  birds  were  extensively 
reared.  When  Rome  was  at  her  greatest  height,  in  the  time 
of  the  Caesars,  the  minor  articles  of  farm  produce  bore  a  very 
high  price.  Varro  informs  us  that  fat  birds,  such  as  thrushes, 
blackbirds,  etc.,  were  sold  at  2i-.,  and  sometimes  five  thousand 
of  these  were  sold  in  a  year  from  one  farm.  Pea-fowls  were  sold 
at  ^5  and  upward,  and  an  ^gg  was  sold  at  74  cents.  A  farm 
produced  sometimes  as  many  of  these  fowls  as  would  sell  for 
^2500.     A  fine  pair  of  doves  were  commonly  of  the  same  price 


ROMAN  AGRICULTURE. 


409 


with  a  peacock.  If  very  pretty,  they  were  higher  in  price,  some- 
times selling  for  ^41.60.  Anius,  a  Roman  knight,  refused  to  sell 
a  pair  under  $60.  Some  kinds  of  fish  were  very  highly  valued 
among  the  Romans,  in  the  time  of  Varro.  Hortensius,  whom 
Varro  used  frequently  to  visit,  would  sooner  have  parted  with  a 
pair  of  his  best  coach-mules  than  with  a  bearded  mullet.  Her- 
rius'  fish-ponds,  on  account  of  the  quality  of  fish,  were  sold  for 
$166,666. 

In  every  art  which  has  long  been  practised,  there  are  maxims 
of  management  which  have  been  handed  down  from  one  genera- 
tion to  another,  and  in  no  art  are  there  more  of  these  than  in 
agriculture.  Maxims  of  this  sort  were  held  among  the  Romans 
in  the  greatest  estimation,  and  their  writers  have  recorded  a 
number  from  the  lost  Greek  writers,  and  from  their  own  tradi- 
tionary or  experimental  knowledge. 

A  few  of  these  will  be  noticed,  as  characteristic  of  Roman 
economy,  and  not  without  their  use  in  modern  times.  "To 
sow  less  and  plow  better,"  was  a  maxim  indicating  that  farms 
ought  to  be  kept  within  proper  bounds.  Pliny  and  Virgil  con- 
sider large  farms  as  prejudicial,  and  Columella  says  one  of  the 
seven  wise  men  had  pronounced  that  there  should  be  limits  and 
measures  to  all  things.  "You  may  admire  a  large  farm,  but 
cultivate  a  small  one  "  ;  and  the  Carthaginian  saying  that,  "  The 
land  ought  to  be  weaker  than  the  husbandman,"  were  maxims 
to  the  same  effect. 

The  importance  of  the  master's  presence,  in  every  operation 
of  farming,  was  inculcated  by  many  maxims.  "  Whosoever 
would  buy  a  field  ought  to  sell  his  house,  lest  he  delight  more 
in  the  town  than  in  the  country,"  was  a  saying  of  Mago. 
"  Wherever  the  eyes  of  the  master  most  frequently  approach," 
says  Columella,  "there  is  the  greatest  increase." 

That  more  is  to  be  gained  by  cultivating  a  small  spot  well 
than  a  large  space  indifferently,  is  illustrated  by  many  sayings 
and  stories.  "A  vine  dresser  had  two  daughters  and  a  vineyard. 
When  his  elder  daughter  was  married,  he  gave  her  a  third  of  his 
vineyard  for  a  portion,  notwithstanding  which,  he  had  the  same 
quantity  of  fruit  as  formerly.  When  his  younger  daughter  was 
married  he  gave  her  half  of  what  remained,  and  still  the  produce 
of  his  vineyard  was  not  diminished." 


4 1 0  A  GRICULTURE. 

Pliny  mentions  a  freedman,  who,  having  much  larger  crops 
than  his  neighbors,  was  accused  of  witchcraft,  and  brought  to 
trial.  He  produced  in  the  forum  a  stout  daughter,  and  his 
excellently  constructed  iron  spades,  shears,  and  other  tools, 
with  his  oxen,  and  said:  "These,  Romans,  are  my  charms." 
He  was  acquitted. 

Profuse  culture  was  not  less  condemned  than  imperfect  cul- 
ture. "The  ancients,"  says  Pliny,  "assert  that  nothing  turns 
to  less  account  than  to  give  land  a  great  deal  of  culture.  To 
cultivate  well  is  necessary  ;  to  cultivate  to  an  extraordinary 
manner  is  hurtful."  "In  what  manner  then,"  he  asks,  "are 
lands  to  be  cultivated  to  the  best  advantage } "  To  this  he 
answers :  "  In  the  cheapest  manner,  if  it  is  good  "  ;  or,  "  By 
good  bad  things,"  which,  he  says,  were  the  words  in  which  the 
ancients  used  to  express  this  maxim. 

Industry  is  recommended  by  numerous  maxims.  "The  an- 
cients," says  Pliny,  "considered  him  a  bad  husbandman  who 
buys  what  his  farm  can  produce  to  him ;  a  bad  master  of  a 
family  who  does  in  the  day  time  what  he  may  do  at  night, 
except  in  the  time  of  a  storm  ;  or  worse,  who  does  on  common 
days  what  is  lawful  to  do  on  holidays ;  and  worst  of  all,  who  on 
a  good  day  is  employed  more  within  doors  than  in  the  fields." 

Kindness  and  humanity  to  servants  and  slaves  are  strongly 
recommended.  "Slaves,"  says  Varro,  "must  not  be  timid  nor 
petulant.  They  who  preside  must  have  some  degree  of  learning 
and  education  ;  they  must  be  frugal,  older  than  the  workmen, 
for  the  latter  are  more  attentive  to  the  directions  of  these  than 
they  are  to  those  of  younger  men.  Besides,  it  must  be  more 
ehgible  that  they  should  preside  who  are  experienced  in  agri- 
culture, for  they  ought  not  only  to  give  orders,  but  to  work,  and 
that  they  may  consider  that  he  presides  over  them  with  reason, 
because  he  is  superior  in  knowledge  and  experience.  Nor  is  he 
to  be  suffered  to  be  so  imperious  as  to  use  coercion  with  stripes 
rather  than  words,  if  this  can  be  done.  Nor  are  many  to  be 
procured  of  the  same  country,  for  domestic  animosities  often 
arise  from  this  source.  You  must  encourage  those  who  preside 
by  rewarding  them,  and  you  must  endeavor  to  let  them  have 
some  privilege,  and 'maid  servants  wedded  to  them,  by  whom 
they  may  have  a  family ;  for  by  these  means  they  become  more 


ROMAN  A GRICULTURE.  4 1 1 

steady  and  attached  to  the  farm.  On  account  of  these  connec- 
tions, the  Epirotic  famiUes  are  so  distinguished  and  attached. 
To  give  the  persons  who  preside  some  degree  of  pleasure,  you 
must  hold  them  in  some  estimation  ;  and  you  must  consult  with 
some  of  the  superior  workmen  concerning  the  work  that  is  to 
be  done.  When  you  behave  thus,  they  think  they  are  less 
despicable,  and  that  they  are  held  in  some  degree  of  esteem  by 
their  masters.  They  become  more  eager  for  work  by  liberal 
treatment,  by  giving  them  victuals,  or  a  large  garment,  or  by 
granting  them  some  recreation  or  favor,  as  the  privilege  of 
feeding  something  on  the  farm,  or  some  such  thing.  In  rela- 
tion to  those  who  are  commanded  to  do  the  work  of  greater 
drudgery,  or  who  are  punished,  let  somebody  restore  their  good 
will  and  affection  to  their  master,  by  affording  them  the  benefit 
of  consolation." 

Knowledge  in  matters  relative  to  agriculture  is  inculcated  by 
all  the  rustic  authors.  "Whoever,"  says  Columella,  "would  be 
perfect  in  this  science,  must  be  well  acquainted  with  the  quali- 
ties of  soils  and  plants  ;  must  not  be  ignorant  of  the  various 
climates,  so  that  he  may  know  what  is  agreeable  and  what  is 
repugnant  to  each  ;  he  must  know  exactly  the  successions  of  the 
seasons  and  the  nature  of  each,  lest,  beginning  his  work  when 
showers  and  wind  are  just  at  hand,  his  labor  shall  be  lost.  He 
must  be  capable  of  observing  exactly  the  present  temper  of  the 
sky  and  seasons  ;  for  these  are  not  always  regular,  nor  in  every 
year  do  the  summer  and  winter  bring  the  same  kind  of  weather  ; 
nor  is  the  spring  always  rainy  and  the  autumn  always  dry.  To 
know  these  things  before  they  happen,  without  a  very  good 
capacity,  and  the  greatest  care  to  acquire  knowledge,  is,  in  my 
opinion,  in  the  power  of  no  man."  To  'these  things  mentioned 
by  Columella,  Virgil  adds  several  others :  "  Before  we  plow  a 
field  to  which  we  are  strangers,"  says  he,  "we  must  be  careful 
to  obtain  a  knowledge  of  the  winds ;  at  what  points  they  blow 
at  particular  seasons  ;  and  when  and  from  whence  they  are  most 
violent';  the  nature  of  the  climate,  which  in  different  places  is 
very  different ;  the  customs  of  our  forefathers ;  the  customs  of 
the  country  ;  the  qualities  of  the  different  soils,  and  what  are  the 
crops  that  each  country  produces  and  rejects." 

The  making  of  experiments  is  a  thing  very  strongly  recom- 


41^  AGRICULTURE. 

mended  to  the  farmer,  by  some  authors.  "  Nature,"  says  Varro, 
"  has  pointed  out  to  us  two  paths,  which  lead  to  the  knowledge 
of  agriculture ;  viz.  :  experience  and  imitation.  The  ancient 
husbandmen,  by  making  experiments,  have  estabUshed  many 
maxims.  Their  posterity,  for  the  most  part,  imitate  them.  We 
ought  to  do  both,  —  imitate  others  and  make  experiments  our- 
selves, not  directed  by  chance,  but  by  reason." 

The  topics  of  produce  and  profit  in  agriculture  are  very  diffi- 
cult to  be  discussed  satisfactorily.  In  manufactures,  the  raw 
material  is  purchased  for  a  certain  sum,  and  the  manipulations 
given  by  the  manufacturer  can  be  accurately  calculated ;  but  in 
farming,  though  we  know  the  rent  of  the  land  and  the  price  of 
the  seed-grain,  which  may  be  considered  the  raw  materials,  yet 
the  quantity  of  labor  required  to  bring  forth  the  produce  depends 
so  much  on  seasons,  accidents,  and  other  circumstances,  to 
which  agriculture  is  more  liable  than  any  other  art,  that  its  value 
or  cost  price  cannot  be  easily  determined.  It  is  a  common 
mode  to  estimate  the  profits  of  farming  by  the  numerical  returns 
of  the  seed  sown.  But  this  is  a  most  fallacious  ground  of  judg- 
ment, since  the  quantity  of  seed  given  to  lands  of  different 
qualities  and  of  different  conditions  is  very  different ;  and  the 
acre  which,  being  highly  cultivated  and  sown  with  only  a  bushel 
of  seed,  returns  forty  for  one,  may  yield  no  more  profit  than  that 
which,  being  in  a  middling  condition,  requires  four  bushels  of 
seed,  and  yields  only  ten  for  one.  The  returns  of  the  seed 
sown,  mentioned  by  the  ancients,  are  very  remarkable.  We 
have  noticed  Isaac's  sowing  and  reaping  at  Gerar,  where  he  re- 
ceived a  hundred  for  one.  In  St.  Mark's  gospel,  good  seed  sown 
upon  good  ground  is  said  to  bring  forth  in  some  places  thirty, 
in  others  forty,  in  others  sixty,  and  in  others  even  an  hundred 
fold.  "A  hundred  fold,"  Varro  informs  us,  "was  reaped  about 
Garada,  in  Syria,  and  Byzacium,  in  Africa."  Pliny  adds,  that, 
from  this  last  place,  there  were  sent  to  Augustus,  by  his  factor, 
nearly  four  hundred  stalks,  all  from  one  grain ;  and  to  Nero 
three  hundred  and  forty  stalks.  He  says  that  he  has  "  seen  the 
soil  of  this  field,  which,  when  dry,  the  stoutest  oxen  cannot  plow, 
but  after  rain  I  have  seen  it  opened  up  by  a  share,  drawn  by  a 
wretched  ass  on  one  side  and  an  old  woman  on  the  other." 

The  returns  in  Italy  were  less  extraordinary.     Varro  says : 


ROMAN  AGRICULTURE.  413 

"  There  are  sown,  on  an  acre,  four  pecks  of  beans,  five  of  wheat, 
six  of  barley,  and  ten  of  far,  more  or  less  as  the  soil  is  rich  or 
poor.  The  produce  is  in  some  places  ten  for  one,  but  in  others, 
as  in  Tuscany,  fifteen  for  one."  This  is,  in  round  numbers,  at 
the  rate  of  twenty-one  and  thirty-one  bushels  per  English  acre. 
On  the  excellent  lands  of  Leontinum,  in  Sicily,  the  produce, 
according  to  Cicero,  was  no  more  than  eight  to  ten  for  one.  In 
Columella's  time,  when  agriculture  had  declined,  it  was  still  less. 

The  farmer's  profit  cannot  be  correctly  ascertained ;  but, 
according  to  a  calculation  made  by  the.  Rev.  A.  Dixon,  the  sur- 
plus produce  of  good  land,  in  the  time  of  Varro,  was  about  fif- 
teen pecks  of  wheat  per  acre  ;  and  in  the  time  of  Columella, 
lands  being  worse  cultivated,  it  did  not  exceed  three  and  one- 
third  pecks  per  acre.  What  proportion  of  this  went  to  the  land- 
lord cannot  be  ascertained.  Corn,  in  Varro's  time,  was  from  4</. 
to  5  J^,  per  peck  ;  seventy  years  afterwards,  in  the  time  of  Col- 
umella, it  had  risen  to  i^-.  9^.  per  peck.  Vineyards  were  so 
neglected  in  the  time  of  this  author  that  they  did  not  yield  more 
to  the  landlord,  as  rent,  than  14$-.  or  \^s.  per  acre. 

The  price  of  land,  in  the  time  of  Columella  and  Pliny,  was 
twenty-five  years'  purchase.  It  was  common,  both  these  writers 
inform  us,  to  receive  four  per  cent  for  capital  so  invested.  The 
interest  of  money  was  then  6  per  cent  ;  but  this  6  per  cent  was 
not  what  we  would  call  legal  interest ;  money  among  the  Romans 
being  left  to  find  its  value,  like  other  commodities.  Of  course 
the  interest  was  always  fluctuating. 

Such  is  the  essence  of  what  is  known  as  to  produce,  rent,  and 
the  price  of  lands  among  the  Romans. 

Roman  Agriculture  in  respect  to  General  Science  and  the 
Advancement  of  the  Art.  —  The  sciences  cultivated  by  the 
Greeks  and  Romans  were  chiefly  of  the  mental  and  mathemati- 
cal kind.  They  knew  nothing  of  chemistry  or  physiology,  and 
very  little  of  other  branches  of  natural  philosophy ;  and  hence 
their  progress  in  the  practical  arts  was  entirely  the  result  of 
observation,  experience,  or  accident.  In  none  of  their  agricul- 
tural writers  is  there  any  attempt  made  to  give  the  rationale  of 
the  practices  described  ;  absolute  directions  are  either  given,  as 
is  frequently  the  case  in  Virgil  and  Columella,  or  the  historical 
relation  is  adopted,  and  the  reader  is   informed  what   is   done 


414  AGRICULTURE. 

by  certain  persons,  or  in  certain  places,  as  is  generally  the  case 
with  Varro  and  Pliny. 

Wherever  the  phenomena  of  nature  are  not  accounted  for 
scientifically,  recourse  is  had  to  supernatural  causes,  and  the 
idea  of  this  kind  of  agency  once  admitted  there  is  no  limit  that 
can  be  set  to  its  influence  over  the  mind.  In  the  early  and 
ignorant  ages,  good  and  evil  spirits  were  supposed  to  take  a  con- 
cern in  everything ;  and  hence  the  endless  and  absurd  super- 
stitions of  the  Egyptians,  some  of  which  have  been  already 
noticed,  and  the  equally  numerous,  though  perhaps  less  absurd, 
rites  and  ceremonies  of  the  Greeks,  to  procure  their  favor  or 
avert  their  evil  influences.  Hesiod  considered  it  of  not  more 
importance  to  describe  what  works  were  to  be  done,  than  to 
describe  the  lucky  and  unlucky  days  for  their  performance. 
Homer,  Aristotle,  Theophrastus,  and  all  the  Greek  authors  are 
more  or  less  tinctured  with  this  religion,  —  or  superstition,  as 
we  are  pleased  to  call  it,  —  of  their  age. 

As  the  Romans  made  few  advances  in  science,  they  conse- 
quently made  equally  few  in  divesting  themselves  of  the  su- 
perstitions of  their  ancestors.  These,  as  most  readers  know, 
entered  into  every  action  and  art  of  that  people,  and  into  none 
more  than  agriculture.  In  some  cases  it  is  of  importance  for 
the  general  reader  to  be  aware  of  this  before  perusing  their 
rustic  authors,  as  in  the  case  of  heterogeneous  grafting,  and 
the  spontaneous  generation  and  transmutation  of  plants,  which, 
though  stated  by  Virgil  and  Pliny  and  others  as  facts,  are  known 
to  every  physiologist  to  be  impossible.  Other  relations  are  too 
gross  to  be  entertained  as  truths  by  any  one. 

It  is  curious  to  observe  the  religious  economy  of  Cato.  After 
recommending  the  master  of  the  family  to  be  regular  in  perform- 
ing his  devotions,  he  expressly  forbids  the  rest  of  the  family  to 
perform  any,  either  by  themselves  or  others,  telling  them  that 
they  were  to  consider  that  the  master  performed  sufficient  de- 
votions for  the  household.  This  was  intended  to  save  time,  and 
also  to  prevent  such  slaves  as  had  naturally  more  susceptible  im- 
aginations than  the  others  from  becoming  religious  enthusiasts. 

What  degree  of  improvement  agriculture  received  from  the 
Romans  is  a  question  we  have  no  means  of  answering.  Agri- 
culture appears  obviously  to  have  declined  from  the  time  of 


ROMAN  AGRICULTURE.  415 

Varro  and  Cato  to  Pliny,  and  therefore  any  improvements  it 
received  must  have  taken  place  antecedently  to  their  era.  As 
these  authors,  however,  generally  refer  to  the  Greeks  as  their 
masters  in  this  art,  it  appears  very  doubtful  whether  they 
did  anything  more  than  imitate  their  practice.  As  a  more 
luxurious  people,  they  introduced  new  fruits,  and  probably  im- 
proved the  treatment  of  birds  and  other  minor  products  ;  for 
these  belong  more  to  gardening  and  domestic  economy  than  to 
field  cultivation.  In  the  culture  of  grain,  herbage,  plants,  and 
fruit  trees,  and  in  the  breeding  and  rearing  of  cattle,  Noah  and 
his  sons,  the  Jews,  the  Babylonians,  Egyptians,  and  Greeks, 
may  have  been  as  advanced  as  the  Romans,  for  anything  that 
appears  to  the  contrary.  The  great  agricultural  advantage  which 
mankind  has  derived  from  the  Romans,  is  the  diffusion  of  the 
art  by  their  almost  universal  conquests. 

The  Extent  to  which  Agriculture  was  carried  in  the  Roman 
Provinces,  and  its  Decline.  —  The  art  of  agriculture  was  not 
only  familiar  to,  but  held  in  estimation  by,  every  Roman  soldier. 
It  was  practised  by  him  in  every  foreign  country  where  he  was 
stationary,  and  he  taught  it  to  the  inhabitants  of  such  as  were 
uncultivated.  In  some  countries,  as  in  Carthaginia,  a  large 
part  of  Spain,  and  a  part  of  the  southeast  of  France,  agriculture 
was  as  far  advanced  as  in  Italy ;  because,  at  Carthage  and  Mar- 
seilles, the  Greeks  had  planted  colonies  which  flourished  an- 
terior to  the  Romans,  or  at  least  long  before  they  extended 
their  conquests  to  these  countries ;  but  in  Helvetia,  Germany, 
and  Britain,  it  was  in  a  very  rude  state,  or  unknown. 

In  Germany,  except  on  the  borders  of  the  Rhine,  agriculture 
was  never  generally  practised.  The  greater  part  of  the  country 
was  covered  with  forests,  and  hunting  and  pasturage  were  the 
chief  occupations  of  the  people,  when  not  engaged  in  war.  The 
decline  of  the  Roman  power  in  that  country,  therefore,  could 
make  very  little  difference  as  to  its  agriculture.  In  Britain, 
according  to  Caesar,  agriculture  was  introduced  by  colonies  from 
Belgium,  which  took  shelter  there  from  the  encroachments  of 
the  Belgae  from  Germany,  about  150  B.C.  These  colonies  began 
to  cultivate  the  sea  coasts,  but  the  natives  of  the  inland  parts 
lived  on  roots,  berries,  flesh,  and  milk,  and  it  appears  from 
Dionysius  that  they  never  tasted  fish.     Pliny  mentions  the  use 


4l6  AGRICULTURE. 

of  marl  as  being  known  by  the  Britons,  and  Diodorus  Siculus 
describes  their  method  of  preserving  grain,  by  laying  it  up  in 
the  ear,  in  caves  or  granaries.  But  the  general  spread  of  agri- 
culture in  Britain  was  no  doubt  effected  by  the  Romans.  The 
tribute  of  a  certain  quantity  of  grain,  which  they  imposed  on 
every  part  of  the  country,  as  it  fell  under  their  dominion,  obliged 
the  inhabitants  to  practise  tillage.  And  from  the  example  of 
the  conquerors,  and  the  richness  of  the  soil,  they  soon  not  only 
produced  a  sufficient  quantity  of  grain  for  their  own  use  and 
that  of  the  Roman  troops,  but  afforded  every  year  a  very  great 
surplus  for  exportation.  The  Emperor  Julian,  in  the  fourth 
century,  built  granaries  to  receive  this  grain,  and  on  one  occa- 
sion sent  a  fleet  of  eight  hundred  ships,  *'  larger  than  common 
barks,"  to  convey  it  to  the  mouth  of  the  Rhine,  where  it  was 
sent  up  the  country  for  the  support  of  the  plundered  inhabitants. 
Agriculture  among  the  Romans  themselves  had  begun  to 
decline  in  Varro's  time,  and  was  at  a  low  ebb  in  the  days  of 
Pliny.  Many  of  the  great  men  in  Rome,  trusting  to  their  reve- 
nues from  the  provinces,  neglected  the  culture  of  their  estates 
in  Italy.  Others,  in  want  of  money  to  answer  the  demands  of 
luxury,  raised  all  they  could  upon  credit  or  mortgage,  and  raised 
the  rents  of  their  tenants  to  an  oppressive  height  to  enable 
them  to  pay  the  interest.  The  farmer  was  in  this  manner  de- 
prived of  his  capital ;  his  spirits  were  broken  and  he  ceased  to 
exert  himself ;  or  he  became  idle  and  rapacious,  like  his  land- 
lord. The  civil  wars  in  the  end  of  the  second  century,  the 
tyrannical  conduct  of  the  emperors  in  the  third,  and  the  removal 
of  the  seat  of  empire  to  Constantinople  in  the  middle  of  that 
which  followed,  prepared  the  way  for  the  entrance  of  the  Goths, 
in  the  beginning  of  the  fifth  century,  which  completed  the 
downfall  of  agriculture  and  every  peaceful  art.  It  declined  at 
the  same  time  in  all  the  western  provinces ;  in  Africa  and 
Spain,  from  the  incursions  of  the  Moors ;  in  France,  from  the 
inroads  of  the  Germans ;  in  Germany  and  Helvetia,  from  the  in- 
habitants leaving  their  country  and  preferring  a  predatory  life 
in  other  states  ;  and  in  Britain,  from  the  invasions  of  the  Saxons 
and  the  inroads  of  the  Scots  and  Picts. 


CHAPTER   III. 

AGRICULTURE    DURING   THE    MIDDLE    AGES,    OR    FROM    THE    FIFTH 
TO    THE    SEVENTEENTH    CENTURY. 

In  the  ages  of  anarchy  and  barbarism,  which  succeeded  the 
fall  of  the  Roman  power  in  Europe,  agriculture  appears  to  have 
been  abandoned,  or  at  least  extremely  neglected.  Pasturage, 
in  troublesome  times,  is  always  preferred  to  tillage,  because 
sheep  or  cattle  may  be  concealed  from  an  enemy,  or  driven 
away  on  his  approach ;  but  who  would  sow  without  a  certainty 
of  being  able  to  reap  ?  Happily,  the  weaknesses  of  mankind 
sometimes  serve  to  mitigate  the  effects  of  their  vices.  Thus, 
the  credulity  of  the  barbarians  of  those  times  led  them  to  respect 
the  religious  establishments,  and  in  these  were  preserved  such 
remains  of  letters  and  of  arts  as  have  escaped  utter  destruction. 
These  institutions  were  at  first  very  limited,  both  in  their  build- 
ings and  possessions,  and  the  inhabitants  were  frugal  and  virtu- 
ous in  their  habits ;  but  in  a  very  few  years,  by  the  grants  of 
the  rich  warriors,  they  acquired  extensive  possessions,  erected 
the  most  magnificent  buildings,  and  lived  in  abundance  and 
luxury.  Their  lands  were  cultivated  by  servants,  under  the 
direction  of  the  priests,  who  would  have  recourse  for  information 
to  the  Roman  agricultural  writers,  which,  in  common  with  such 
other  books  as  then  existed,  were  to  be  found  almost  exclusively 
in  their  libraries.  We  know  little  of  the  progress  of  agriculture, 
under  these  circumstances,  for  nearly  ten  centuries,  when  it 
began  to  revive  throughout  Europe,  among  the  lay  proprietors. 

Agriculture  in  Italy  during  the  Middle  Ages.  —  Little  is 
known  of  the  agriculture  of  Italy  from  the  time  of  Pliny  till  that 
of  Crescenzio,  a  senator  from  Bologna,  whose  work,  "  In  Commo- 
dum  Ruralium,"  written  in  1300,  was  first  printed  at  Florence, 
in  1478.  From  some  records,  however,  it  appears  that  irrigation 
had  been  practised  in  Italy  before  the  year  1037.  The  monks 
of  Chiarevalle  had  formed  extensive  works  of  this  kind,  and 
had  become  so  celebrated  as  to  be  consulted  and  employed  as 

417 


41 8  AGRICULTURE. 

hydraulic  engineers,  by  the  Emperor  Frederick  I.,  in  the  thir- 
teenth century.  Silk-worms  were  imported  from  Greece  into 
Sicily,  by  Roger,  the  first  king  of  that  island,  in  1 146,  but  they  did 
not  extend  to  the  continental  states  for  many  years  afterwards. 

In  the  early  part  of  the  fourteenth  century,  the  inhabitants  of 
the  south  of  Italy  were  strangers  to  many  of  the  conveniences 
of  life.  They  were  ignorant  of  the  proper  cultivation  of  the 
vine,  and  the  common  people  were  just  beginning  to  wear 
shirts.  The  Florentines  were  the  only  people  of  Italy  who,  at 
that  time,  traded  with  England  and  France.  The  works  of 
Crescenzio  are,  in  great  part,  a  compilation  from  the  Roman 
authors;  but  an  edition  published  in  Basle,  in  1548,  and  illus- 
trated with  figures,  may  probably  be  considered  as  indicating 
the  implements  then  in  use.  The  plow  is  drawn  by  only  one 
ox,  but  different  kinds,  to  be  drawn  by  two  and  four  oxen,  are 
described  in  the  text.  A  driver  is  also  mentioned,  which  shows 
that  the  plowmen  in  those  days  were  less  expert  than  during 
the  time  of  the  Romans,  ^yho  did  not  use  drivers.  A  wagon  is 
described,  with  a  wooden  axle  and  low  wooden  wheels,  each  wheel 
formed  either  of  one  piece  or  of  four  pieces  joined  together. 
Knives,  scythes,  and  grafting-tools,  as  well  as  their  use,  are 
figured.  Sowing  was  then  performed  exactly  as  it  was  among 
the  Romans,  and  is  still,  in  most  parts  of  Europe,  where  a 
sowing-machine  is  not  employed.  The  various  hand  tools  for 
stirring  and  turning  the  soil  are  described  and  exhibited,  and 
the  Roman  bidens  shown  as  in  use  for  cultivating  the  vine. 
All  the  agricultural  and  horticultural  plants  described  by  Pliny 
are  treated  of,  but  no  others. 

Towards  the  end  of  the  sixteenth  century,  Torrello's  "  Ricordo 
d' Agriculture "  was  published.  In  1584  Pope  Sixtus,  accord- 
ing to  Harte,  forced  his  subjects  to  work,  that  they  might 
pay  the  heavy  taxes  imposed  on  them,  and  by  this  means  ren- 
dered them  contented  and  happy,  and  himself  rich  and  powerful. 
He  found  them  sunk  in  sloth,  overrun  with  pride  and  poverty, 
and  lost  to  all  sense  of  civil  duties  ;  but  he  recovered  them 
from  that  despicable  state,  first  to  industry,  and  next  to  plenty 
and  regularity.  Naples  being  at  that  period  a  Spanish  province, 
the  wars  in  which  Spain  was  engaged  obliged  her  to  put  a  tax 
upon  fruit ;  and  as  fruits  were  not  only  the  chief  delicacies  but 


AGRICULTURE  IN  FRANCE.  419 

articles  of  subsistence  among  the  Neapolitans,  this  imposition 
is  said  to  have  rendered  them  industrious.  But  though  some 
agricultural  books  were  published  at  Naples  during  the  sixteenth 
century,  there  is  no  evidence  that  they  made  much  progress  in 
culture.  Their  best  lands  are  in  Sicily,  and  on  them  a  grain 
crop,  alternating  with  a  fallow,  was,  and  is,  the  rotation,  and  the 
produce  seldom  exceeded  eight  or  ten  for  one,  as  in  the  time  of 
the  Romans.  This  is  the  case  with  Sicily  at  present,  and  it  is 
likely  that  it  was  not  different,  at  least  that  it  was  not  better, 
from  the  fifth  to  the  seventeenth  centuries. 

The  greatest  agricultural  improvements  in  Italy,  which  took 
place  during  the  period  in  question,  were  in  Tuscany  and  Lom- 
bardy.  In  the  former  country,  the  culture  of  the  vine  and  the 
olive  was  brought  to  greater  perfection  than  anywhere  else 
in  Europe.  The  oil  of  Lucca  and  the  wines  of  Florence 
became  celebrated  in  other  countries,  and  the  commerce  in 
these  articles  enriched  the  inhabitants,  and  enabled  the  proprie- 
tors to  bestow  increased  attention  upon  the  cultivation  of  their 
estates.  Lombardy  excelled  in  the  management  of  grain  and 
cattle,  as  well  as  of  the  vine.  The  butter,  cheese,  and  beef  of 
this  country  were  esteemed  the  best  in  Italy.  The  pastures 
were  at  that  time,  and  still  are,  more  productive  than  any  others 
in  Europe,  or  perhaps  in  the  world,  having  the  three  advantages 
of  a  climate  so  temperate  in  winter  that  grass  grows  all  the 
year,  a  soil  naturally  rich,  and  an  abundant  supply  of  river 
water  for  irrigation.  The  irrigati(>n  of  Lombardy  forms  the 
chief  feature  of  its  culture.  It  was  begun  and  carried  on  to  a 
considerable  extent  under  the  Romans,  and  in  the  period  of 
which  we  speak  it  extended  and  increased  under  the  Lombard 
kings  and  wealthy  religious  establishments.  Some  idea  may  be 
formed  of  the  comfort  of  the  farmers  in  Lombardy,  in  the  thir- 
teenth century,  by  the  picture  of  a  farmhouse,  given  by  Cres- 
cenzio,  who  lived  on  its  borders  ;  which,  as  a  French  antiquarian 
has  observed,  differs  little  from  the  best  modern  ones  of  Italy, 
except  in  being  covered  with  thatch. 

History  of  Agriculture  in  France,  from  the  Fifth  to  the 
Seventeenth  Century.  —  The  nations  which  conquered  France 
in  the  fifth  century  were  the  Goths,  Vandals,  and  Franks.  The 
two  former  nations  claimed  two-thirds  of  the  conquered  lands, 


420  AGRICULTURE, 

and  must,  of  course,  have  very  much  altered  the  state  of  prop- 
erty and  the  management  of  the  affairs  of  husbandry.  The 
claim  of  the  Franks  is  more  uncertain.  They  were  so  much  a 
warlike  people  that  they  probably  dealt  more  favorably  with 
those  whom  they  subjected  to  their  dominion. 

All  that  is  known  of  the  agriculture  of  these  nations  of 
France,  till  the  ninth  century,  is  derived  from  a  perusal  of  their 
laws.  These  appear  to  have  been  favorable  to  cultivation,  espe- 
cially the  laws  of  the  Franks.  Horses  are  frequently  mentioned, 
and  a  distinction  is  made  between  the  war  horse  and  the  farm 
horse,  which  shows  that  this  animal  was  at  that  period  more 
common  in  France  than  in  Italy.  Horses,  cattle,  and  sheep 
were  pastured  in  the  forests  and  commons,  with  bells  about  the 
necks  of  several  of  them,  for  their  more  ready  discovery.  The 
culture  of  vines  and  orchards  was  greatly  improved  by  Charle- 
magne, in  the  ninth  century.  He  planted  many  vineyards  on 
the  crown  lands,  which  were  situated  in  every  part  of  the  coun- 
try, and  left  in  his  Capitularies  particular  instructions  for  their 
culture.  One  of  his  injunctions  prohibits  an  ox  and  an  ass 
from  being  yoked  together  to  the  same  plow. 

During  the  greater  part  of  the  ninth  and  the  tenth  centuries, 
France  was  harassed  by  civil  wars,  and  agriculture  declined ; 
but  to  what  extent,  scarcely  any  facts  are  left  us  to  ascertain. 
A  law  passed  at  that  period,  respecting  a  farmer's  tilling  the 
land  of  his  superior,  enacts  that,  if  the  cattle  are  so  weak  that 
four  could  not  go  a  whole  day  in  a  plow,  he  was  to  join  these  to 
the  cattle  of  another  and  work  two  days  instead  of  one.  He 
who  kept  no  cattle  of  his  own  was  obliged  to  work  for  his  supe- 
rior three  days  as  a  laborer.  In  the  eleventh  and  twelfth  centu- 
ries, the  country  enjoyed  more  tranquillity,  and  agriculture  was 
improved.  Judging  from  the  Abbe  Suger's  account  of  the  abbey 
lands  of  St.  Denis,  better  farm-houses  were  built,  waste  lands 
were  cultivated,  and  rents  were  more  than  doubled.  The  Church 
published  several  canons  for  the  security  of  agriculture  during 
this  period,  which  must  have  had  a  beneficial  effect,  as  the 
greatest  proportion  of  the  best  lands  in  every  country  was  then 
in  the  hands  of  the  clergy.  In  the  thirteenth  century,  little 
alteration  took  place  ;  but  the  number  of  holidays  diminished, 
and  mills  driven  by  wind,  for  grinding  grain,  were  introduced. 


NORTHERN  AGRICULTURE,  421 

In  the  fourteenth  and  fifteenth  centuries,  agriculture  suffered 
greatly  by  the  English  wars  and  conquests,  and  by  political 
regulations  relative  to  the  export  and  market  price  of  grain. 

About  the  middle  of  the  sixteenth  century,  the  first  agricul- 
tural work  produced  in  France  made  its  appearance.  It  was 
composed  by  Bernard  de  Palissy,  a  potter,  who  had  written  on 
various  subjects.  It  is  a  very  short  tract,  composed  of  econom- 
ical remarks  on  husbandry,  or  rural  and  domestic  economy. 
Toward  the  end  of  this  century,  under  Henry  IV.  and  his  vir- 
tuous minister  Sully,  considerable  enterprise  was  displayed. 
Canals  were  projected,  and  one  begun,  and,  according  to  Sully, 
France  in  his  time  abounded  with  grain,  pulse,  wine,  cider,  flax, 
hemp,  salt,  wood,  oil,  dyeing  drugs,  cattle,  great  and  small,  and 
everything  else  necessary  or  convenient  for  life,  both  for  home 
consumption  and  exportation. 

Agriculture  of  Germany  and  Other  Northern  States,  from 
the  Fifth  to  the  Seventeenth  Century.  —  The  nations  north 
of  the  Rhine  and  the  Danube,  during  the  first  half  of  these  cen- 
turies, were  chiefly  employed  in  making  inroads  or  conquests  on 
their  southern  neighbors ;  and  during  the  whole  period  they 
were  more  or  less  engaged  in  attacking  one  another.  Under 
such  circumstances,  agriculture  must  either  have  remained  in 
the  state  already  described,  or  must  have  declined.  In  some 
states  or  kingdoms,  it  may  have  been  less  neglected  than  in 
others,  or  even  may  have  improved ;  but,  during  the  whole  of 
this  period,  nothing  was  effected  which  demands  particular 
attention.  The  earliest  German  author  on  husbandry  is  Con- 
radus  Heresbachius,  who  was  born  in  1508,  and  died  in  1576. 
His  work  was  published  after  his  death.  It  is  an  avowed  com- 
pilation from  all  the  authors  who  had  preceded  him,  and  con- 
tains no  information  as  to  the  state  of  agriculture  around  him. 
It  is  a  dialogue  in  four  books,  and  also  includes  gardening.  No 
other  books  on  agriculture,  of  any  note,  appeared  in  Germany 
during  the  period  under  review. 

About  the  middle  of  the  sixteenth  century,  the  Elector  of 
Saxony,  Augustus  II.,  is  said  to  have  encouraged  agriculture, 
and  to  have  planted  the  first  vineyards  in  Saxony ;  but,  from 
the  implements  with  which  he  worked  in  person,  which  are  still 
preserved  in  the  arsenal  of  Dresden,  he  appears  to  have  been 


42  2  AGRICULTURE. 

more  of  a  gardener  than  a  farmer.  It  is  to  be  regretted  that 
the  histories  of  the  arts  in  the  northern  countries,  during  the 
middle  ages,  are  very  few,  and  so  little  known  or  accessible  that 
we  cannot  derive  much  advantage  from  them. 
-  Agriculture  in  Britain,  from  the  Fifth  to  the  Seventeenth 
Century.  —  Britain,  on  being  evacuated  by  the  Romans,  was 
invaded  by  the  Saxons,  a  ferocious  and  ignorant  people,  by 
whom  agriculture  and  all  other  civilized  arts  were  neglected. 
In  the  eleventh  century,  when  the  Saxons  had  amalgamated 
with  the  natives,  and  constituted  the  main  body  of  the  English 
nation,  the  country  was  again  invaded  by  the  Normans,  a  much 
more  civilized  race,  who  introduced  considerable  improvement. 
These  two  events  form  distinct  periods  in  the  history  of  British 
agriculture,  and  two  others  will  bring  it  down  to  the  seventeenth 
century. 

Agriculture  in  Britain  during  the  Anglo-Saxon  Dynasty, 
or  from  the  Fifth  to  the  Eleventh  Century.  —  At  the  arrival 
of  the  Anglo-Saxons,  this  island,  according  to  Fleury,  abounded 
in  numerous  flocks  and  herds,  which  these  conquerors  seized 
and  pastured  for  their  own  use ;  and,  after  their  settlement,  they 
still  continued  to  follow  pasturage  as  one  of  the  chief  means  of 
subsistence.  This  is  evident  from  the  great  number  of  laws 
that  were  made,  in  the  Anglo-Saxon  times,  for  regulating  the 
price  of  all  kinds  of  tame  cattle,  for  directing  the  manner  in 
which  they  should  be  pastured,  and  for  preserving  them  from 
thieves,  robbers,  and  beasts  of  prey.  The  Welsh,  in  this  period, 
from  the  nature  of  their  country  and  other  circumstances, 
depended  still  more  upon  their  flocks  and  herds  for  their  sup- 
port ;  hence  their  laws  respecting  pasturage  were  more  numer- 
ous and  minute  than  those  of  the  Saxons. 

From  these  laws  we  learn,  among  many  other  particulars, 
that  all  the  cattle  of  a  village,  though  belonging  to  different 
owners,  were  to  be  pastured  together  in  one  herd,  under  the 
direction  of  one  person,  with  proper  assistants,  whose  oath  in 
all  disputes  about  the  cattle  under  his  care  was  decisive.  By  one 
of  these  laws  they  were  prohibited  from  plowing  with  horses, 
mares,  or  cows,  and  restricted  to  oxen.  .  Their  plows  seem  to 
have  been  very  light  and  inartificial ;  for  it  was  enacted  that  no 
man  should  undertake  to  guide  a  plow  who  could  not  make  one, 


AGRICULTURE   IN  BRITAIN.  423 

and  that  the  driver  should  make  of  twisted  willows  the  ropes 
with  which  it  was  drawn.  Hence  the  names  still  in  use,  such 
as  ridge-withy,  wanty,  whipping-trees,  tail-withes,  etc.  But 
slight  as  these  plows  were,  it  was  usual  for  six  or  eight  persons 
to  form  themselves  into  a  society  for  fitting  out  one  of  them, 
and  providing  it  with  oxen  and  everything  necessary  for  plowing, 
and  many  curious  and  minute  laws  were  made  for  the  regulation 
of  such  societies.  This  is  a  sufficient  proof,  both  of  the  poverty 
of  the  husbandrnan  and  of  the  imperfect  state  of  agriculture 
among  the  ancient  Britons,  at  that  period.  Certain  privileges 
were  allowed  to  any  person  who  laid  dung  on  a  field,  cut  down 
a  wood,  or  folded  his  cattle  on  another  man's  land  for  a  year. 

Such  was  the  state  of  agriculture  during  this  period,  in  Wales  : 
it  was  probably  in  a  still  more  imperfect  state  among  the  Scots 
and  Picts,  but  this  we  have  no  means  of  ascertaining.  Our 
Anglo-Saxon  ancestors  derived  their  origin  and  manners  from 
the  ancient  Germans,  who  were  not  much  addicted  to  agricul- 
ture, but  depended  chiefly  upon  their  flocks  and  herds  for  their 
subsistence.  These  restless  and  haughty  warriors  esteemed  the 
cultivation  of  their  lands  too  ignoble  and  laborious  an  employ- 
ment for  themselves,  and  therefore  committed  it  wholly  to  their 
women  and  slaves.  They  were  even  at  pains  to  contrive  laws 
to  prevent  their  contracting  a  taste  for  agriculture,  lest  it  should 
render  them  less  fond  of  arms  and  warlike  expeditions. 

The  division  of  landed  estates  into  what  is  called  inlands  and 
outlands,  originated  with  the  Saxon  princes  and  great  men,  who, 
in  the  division  of  the  conquered  lands,  obtained  the  largest 
shares,  and  are  said  to  have  subdivided  their  territory  into  two 
parts,  which  were  so  named.  The  inlands  were  those  which  lay 
most  contiguous  to  the  mansion-house  of  the  owner,  which  he 
kept  in  his  own  immediate  possession,  and  cultivated  by  his 
slaves,  under  the  direction  of  a  bailiff,  for  the  purpose  of  raising 
provisions  for  his  family.  The  outlands  were  those  which  lay 
at  greater  distance  from  the  mansion-house,  and  were  let  to  the 
farmers  of  those  times,  at  a  certain  rent,  which  was  very  mod- 
erate, and  generally  paid  in  kind. 

The  rent  of  lands  in  these  times  was  established  by  law,  and 
not  by  the  owner  of  the  land.  By  the  laws  of  Ina,  king  of  the 
West  Saxons,  who  flourished  in  the  end  of  the  seventh  and 


424  AGRICULTURE, 

beginning  of  the  eighth  century,  a  farm  consisting  of  ten  hides, 
or  plow-lands,  was  to  pay  the  following  rent ;  viz. :  ten  casks  of 
honey,  three  hundred  loaves  of  bread,  twelve  casks  of  strong 
ale,  thirty  casks  of  small  ale,  two  oxen,  ten  wethers,  ten  geese, 
twenty  hens,  ten  cheeses,  one  cask  of  butter,  five  salmon,  twenty 
pounds  of  forage,  and  one  hundred  eels.  The  greatest  part  of 
the  crown-lands,  in  every  country,  was  farmed  in  this  manner, 
by  farmers  who,  in  general,  appear  to  have  been  freemen  and 
soldiers. 

Very  little  is  known  of  the  implements  or  operations  of  hus- 
bandry, during  this  period.  In  one  of  Strutt's  plates  of  ancient 
dresses,  entitled  "Saxon  Rarities  of  the  Eighth  Century,"  may 
be  seen  a  picture  of  a  plow  and  a  plowman.  The  plow  is  suffi- 
ciently rude,  although  it  has  evidently  undergone  some  improve- 
ment from  the  hand  of  the  delineator.  The  laborers  were  no 
doubt  slaves,  and  the  animals  of  draught,  oxen.  The  lands 
belonging  to  the  monasteries  were  by  far  the  best  cultivated, 
because  the  secular  canons  who  possessed  them  spent  much  of 
their  time  in  cultivating  their  own  lands.  The  venerable  Bede, 
in  his  life  of  Esterwin,  Abbot  of  Weremouth,  tells  us  that  "  this 
abbot,  being  a  strong  man  and  of  humble  disposition,  used  to 
assist  his  monks  in  their  rural  labors,  sometimes  guiding  the 
plow  by  its  stilt  or  handle,  sometimes  winnowing  grain,  and 
sometimes  forging  instruments  of  husbandry  with  a  hammer, 
upon  an  anvil ;  for  in  those  times  the  husbandmen  were  under 
a  necessity  of  making  many  implements  of  husbandry  with  their 
own  hands." 

Agriculture  in  Britain  after  the  Norman  Conquest,  or  from 
the  Eleventh  to  the  Thirteenth  Centuries.  —  That  the  con- 
quest of  England  by  the  Normans  contributed  to  the  improve- 
ment of  agriculture,  is  undeniable ;  for,  by  that  event,  many 
thousands  of  husbandmen  from  the  fertile  and  well-cultivated 
plains  of  Flanders,  France,  and  Normandy,  settled  in  this  island, 
obtained  estates  or  farms,  and  employed  the  same  methods  in 
the  cultivation  of  them  that  they  had  used  in  their  native  coun- 
tries. Some  of  the  Norman  barons  were  great  improvers  of  their 
lands,  and  are  celebrated  in  history  for  their  skill  in  agriculture. 
"  Richard  de  Rulos,  Lord  of  Brienne  and  Deepiny,"  says  Ingul- 
phus,   "was   much   addicted   to  agriculture,  and   delighted   in 


AGRICULTURE  IN  BRITAIN.  425 

breeding  horses  and  cattle.  Besides  enclosing  and  draining  a 
great  extent  of  country,  he  embanked  the  river  Wielland,  which 
used  every  year  to  overflow  the  neighboring  fields,  in  a  most 
substantial  manner.  He  built  many  houses  and  cottages  upon 
the  banks,  which  increased  so  much  that,  in  a  little  time,  they 
formed  a  large  town,  called  Deepiny,  from  its  low  situation. 
Here  he  planted  orchards,  cultivated  commons,  converted  deep 
lakes  and  impassable  quagmires  into  fertile  fields,  rich  meadows, 
and  pastures  ;  in  a  word,  rendered  the  whole  country  about  it  a 
garden  of  delight."  From  this  description,  it  appears  that  this 
nobleman,  who  was  chamberlain  to  William  the  Conqueror,  was 
not  only  fond  of  agriculture,  but  also  that  he  conducted  his 
improvements  with  skill  and  success. 

The  Norman  clergy,  and  particularly  the  monks,  were  still 
greater  improvers  than  the  nobility,  and  the  lands  of  the 
Church,  especially  of  the  convents,  were  conspicuous  for  their 
superior  cultivation  ;  for  the  monks  of  every  monastery  retained 
in  their  own  possession  such  of  their  lands  as  lay  most  con- 
venient, which  they  cultivated  with  great  care,  under  their  own 
inspection,  and  frequently  with  their  own  hands.  It  was  so 
much  the  custom  of  the  monks  to  assist  in  the  cultivation  of 
their  lands,  especially  in  seed-time,  harvest-time,  and  hay-time, 
that  the  famous  Thomas  A  Becket,  after  he  was  Archbishop  of 
Canterbury,  used  to  go  out  into  the  field,  with  the  monks  of  the 
monasteries  where  he  happened  to  reside,  and  join  them  in 
reaping  their  grain  and  making  their  hay.  This  is  indeed 
mentioned  by  the  historian  as  an  act  of  uncommon  condescen- 
sion in  a  person  of  his  high  standing  in  the  Church,  but  it  is 
sufficient  proof  that  the  monks  of  those  times  used  to  work 
with  their  own  hands,  at  some  seasons,  in  the  labors  of  the 
field ;  and,  as  many  of  them  were  men  of  genius  and  inven- 
tion, they  no  doubt  made  various  improvements  in  the  art  of 
agriculture. 

The  twenty-sixth  canon  of  the  General  Council  of  Lateran, 
A.D.  1 179,  affords  a  further  proof  that  the  protection  and  en- 
couragement of  all  who  were  concerned  in  agriculture  were 
objects  of  attention  in  the  Church ;  for,  by  that  canon  it  is 
decreed  :  "  That  all  presbyters,  clerks,  monks,  converts,  pilgrims, 
and  peasants,  when  they  are  engaged  in  the  labors  of  husbandry. 


426  AGRICULTURE, 

together  with  the  cattle  in  their  plows,  and  the  seed  which  they 
carry  into  the  field,  shall  enjoy  perfect  security,  and  that  all 
who  molest  or  interrupt  them,  if  they  do  not  desist  when  they 
have  been  admonished,  shall  be  excommunicated." 

The  implements  of  husbandry,  in  this  period,  were  of  the 
same  kind  with  those  that  are  employed  at  present,  though  all 
of  them,  no  doubt,  much  less  perfect  in  their  construction. 
One  sort  of  plow,  for  example,  had  but  one  stilt  or  handle, 
which  the  plowman  guided  with  one  hand,  having  in  his  other 
an  instrument  which  served  both  for  cleaning  and  mending  his 
plow  and  breaking  the  clods.  This  implement  was  probably 
intended  for  breaking  up  strong  lands.  For  such  a  purpose  the 
wheels  would  contribute  much  to  its  steadiness,  which  would 
render  two  handles  unnecessary,  and  thus  leave  the  holder  with 
one  hand  at  liberty  to  use  his  axe-like  instrument,  in  tearing 
away  roots  and  clods,  and  otherwise  aiding  the  operations  pf 
the  plow.  Another  plow  seems  to  have  been  without  wheels, 
and  was  probably  intended  for  light  soil.  The  Norman  plow 
had  two  wheels,  and  in  the  light  soil  of  Normandy  was  com- 
monly drawn  by  one  or  two  oxen  ;  but  in  England  a  greater 
number,  according  to  the  nature  of  the  soil,  was  often  necessary. 

In  Wales  the  person  who  conducted  the  plow  walked  back- 
wards. Their  harrows,  sickles,  scythes,  and  flails,  from  the 
figures  still  remaining,  appear  to  have  been  nearly  of  the  same 
construction  as  those  that  are  now  used.  In  Wales  they  did  not 
use  the  sickle  in  reaping  their  grain,  but  an  instrument  like  the 
blade  of  a  knife,  with  a  wooden  handle  at  each  end. 

Water  mills  for  grinding  grain  were  very  common,  but  they 
had  also  a  kind  of  mill  turned  by  horses,  which  were  chiefly 
used  in  their  armies  and  at  sieges,  or  in  places  where  running 
water  .was  scarce.  The  various  operations  of  husbandry,  as 
manuring,  plowing,  sowing,  harrowing,  reaping,  threshing,  win- 
nowing, etc.,  are  incidentally  mentioned  by  the  writers  of  this 
period ;  but  it  is  impossible  to  collect  from  them  a  distinct 
account  of  the  manner  in  which  these  operations  were  performed. 
Marl  seems  to  have  been  the  chief  manure,  next  to  dung,  em- 
ployed by  the  Anglo-Normans,  as  it  had  been  by  the  Anglo- 
Saxons  and  the  British  husbandry.  Summer  fallowing  of  lands 
designed  for  wheat,  and  plowing  them  several  times,  appear  to 


AGRICULTURE  IN  BRITAIN,  427 

have  been  the  common  practices  of  the  English  farmer  of  this 
period  ;  for  Giroldus  Cambernsis,  in  his  description  of  Wales, 
takes  notice  of  it  as  a  great  singularity  in  the  husbandry  of  that 
country,  "that  they  plowed  their  lands  only  once  a  year,  in 
March  or  April,  in  order  to  sow  them  with  oats,  but  did  not,  like 
other  farmers,  plow  them  twice  in  summer  and  once  in  winter,  in 
order  to  prepare  them  for  wheat."  On  the  border  of  one  of  the 
compartments  of  the  famous  tapestry  of  Bayeux,  we  see  the 
figure  of  one  man  sowing,  with  a  sheet  about  his  neck,  contain- 
ing the  seed  under  his  right  arm,  and  scattering  it  with  his  left 
hand ;  and  of  another  man  harrowing  .with  a  harrow  drawn  by 
one  horse. 

Agriculture  in  Scotland  seems  to  have  been  in  a  very  imper- 
fect state  during  this  period ;  for,  in  a  parliament  held  in  Scone, 
by  King  Alexander  II.,  a.d.  12 14,  it  was  enacted  that  such 
farmers  as  had  four  oxen  or  cows,  or  upwards,  should  labor  their 
lands  by  tilling  them  with  a  plow,  and  should  begin  to  till  fifteen 
days  before  Candlemas ;  and  that  such  farmers  as  had  not  so 
many  as  four  oxen,  though  they  could  not  labor  their  lands  by 
tilling,  should  delve  as  much  with  hand  and  foot  as  would  pro- 
duce a  sufficient  quantity  of  grain  to  support  themselves  and 
their  families.  But  this  law  was  probably  designed  for  the 
highlands,  the  most  uncultivated  parts  of  the  kingdom  ;  for,  in 
the  very  same  parliament,  a  very  severe  law  was  made  against 
those  farmers  who  did  not  extirpate  a  pernicious  weed  called 
guilde  out  of  their  lands,  which  seems  to  indicate  a  more 
advanced  state  of  cultivation.  Their  agricultural  operations,  as 
far  as  can  be  gathered  from  old  tapestries  and  illuminated  mis- 
sals, were  similar  to  those  of  England.  Threshing  appears  to 
have  been  performed  by  women,  and  the  reaping  by  men,  which 
is  the  reverse  of  the  modern  practice  in  that  and  in  most  coun- 
tries.    Such  is  the  account  of  Henry. 

The  field  culture  of  the  vine,  which  had  been  commenced  by 
the  monks  for  their  own  use,  was  more  extensively  spread  by 
the  Normans.  William  of  Malmsbury,  who  flourished  in  the 
early  part  of  the  twelfth  century,  says  there  was  a  greater  num- 
ber of  vineyards  in  the  vale  of  Gloucester  than  anywhere  else, 
and  that  from  the  grapes  was  produced  a  wine  very  little  infe- 
rior to  that  of  France.     Orchards  and  cider  were  also  abund- 


428  AGRICULTURE, 

ant,  and  the  apple  trees,  it  is  said,  lined  the  roads  in  some  parts 
of  the  country,  as  they  still  do  in  Normandy,  whence,  in  all 
probability,  the  plants,  or  at  least  the  grafts,  were  imported. 

Agriculture  in  Britain  from  the  Thirteenth  Century  to 
the  Time  of  Henry  VIII.  —  Agriculture  in  the  thirteenth  and 
fourteenth  centuries,  it  appears,  was  still  carried  on  with  vigor. 
Sir  John  Fortescue,  in  a  work  in  praise  of  the  English  laws, 
mentions  the  progress  that  had  been  made  in  planting  hedges 
and  hedge-row  trees,  before  the  end  of  the  fourteenth  century. 
Judge  Fortescue  wrote  his  "  De  Laudibus  Legum  Angliae  "  in 
the  fifteenth  century,  but  it  was  not  published  till  the  reign  of 
Henry  VIII.  In  the  law  book  called  "Fleta,"  supposed  to  have 
been  written  by  some  lawyers,  prisoners  in  the  Fleet,  in  1340, 
very  particular  directions  are  given  as  to  the  most  proper  times 
and  best  manner  of  plowing  and  dressing  fallows.  The  farmer  is 
there  directed  to  plow  no  deeper  in  summer  than  is  necessary 
for  destroying  the  weeds,  nor  to  lay  on  his  manure  till  a  little 
before  the  last  plowing,  which  is  to  be  with  a  deep  and  narrow 
furrow.  Rules  are  also  given  for  the  changing  and  choosing  of 
seed ;  for  proportioning  the  quantity  of  different  kinds  of  seed 
to  be  sown  on  an  acre,  according  to  the  nature  of  the  soil  and 
the  degree  of  richness ;  for  collecting  and  compounding  manures, 
and  accommodating  them  to  the  grounds  on  which  they  are  to 
be  laid ;  for  the  best  seasons  for  sowing  seeds  of  different  kinds 
on  all  the  varieties  of  soil;  and,  in  a  word,  for  performing 
every  operation  in  husbandry,  at  the  best  time  and  in  the  best 
manner.  In  the  same  work,  the  duties  of  the  steward,  bailiff, 
and  overseer  of  a  manor,  and  all  other  persons  concerned  in  the 
cultivation  of  it,  are  explained  at  full  length,  and  with  so  much 
good  sense  that,  if  they  were  well  performed,  the  manor  could 
not  be  ill  cultivated.  This  work,  as  well  as  others  of  the  kind, 
is  written  in  Latin,  and  even  the  farming  accounts  in  those 
days  were  kept  in  that  language,  as  they  are  still  in  the  greater 
part  of  Hungary. 

During  the  greater  part  of  the  fifteenth  century,  England 
was  engaged  in  civil  wars,  and  agriculture,  as  well  as  other -arts, 
declined.  The  laborers,  called  from  the  plow  by  royal  procla- 
mation or  the  mandates  of  their  lords,  perished  in  battle,  or  by 
accident  and  fatigue,  in  immense  numbers.     Labor  rose  in  price. 


AGRICULTURE  IN  BRITAIN.  429 

notwithstanding  various  laws  for  its  limitation,  and  this  at  last 
produced  a  memorable  revolution  in  the  state  of  agriculture, 
which  made  a  mighty  noise  for  many  years.  The  prelates, 
barons,  and  other  great  proprietors  of  lands,  kept  extensive 
tracts  round  their  castles,  which  were  called  their  demesne 
lands,  in  their  own  immediate  possession,  and  cultivated  them 
by  their  villains,  and  hired  servants,  under  the  directions  of 
their  bailiffs.  But  these  great  landholders  haying  often  led 
their  followers  into  the  fields  of  war,  their  numbers  were  grad- 
ually diminished,  and  hired  servants  could  not  be  procured  on 
reasonable  terms.  This  obliged  the  prelates,  lords,  and  gentle- 
men to  enclose  the  lands  around  their  castle,  and  to  convert 
them  into  pasturage  grounds.  This  practice  of  enclosing  be- 
came very  general  in  England,  about  the  middle  of  this  period, 
and  occasioned  prodigious  clamors  from  those  who  mistook  the 
effects  of  depopulation  for  its  cause.  The  habit  of  enclosing 
lands  and  converting  them  into  pasture  continued  after  the 
cause  had  ceased,  and  an  act  was  passed  to  stop  its  progress,  in 
the  beginning  of  the  reign  of  Henry  VII. 

The  dearths  of  this  period  furnish  another  proof  of  the  low 
state  of  agriculture.  Wheat,  in  1437  and  1438,  rose  from 
I2>^  to  16  cents,  the  ordinary  price  per  bushel,  to  81  cents. 
Stow  observes  that,  in  these  extremities,  the  common  people 
endeavored  to  preserve  their  wretched  lives  by  drying  the  roots 
of  herbs,  and  converting  .them  into  a  kind  of  bread.  Land  in 
those  days  was  sold  for  ten  years'  purchase,  so  great  was  the 
insecurity  of  possession.  Agriculture  in  Scotland  was  at  a  low 
ebb  during  the  thirteenth,  fourteenth,  and  fifteenth  centuries,  on 
account  of  the  long  and  ruinous  wars  in  which  the  country  was 
engaged.  A  law,  passed  in  1424,  enacts  that  every  laborer  of 
"  simple  estate  "  dig  a  piece  of  ground  daily,  seven  feet  square  ; 
another  in  1457,  that  farmers  who  had  eight  oxen  should  sow 
every  year  one  bushel  of  wheat,  half  a  bushel  of  peas,  and 
40  beans,  under  the  pain  of  10  shillings,  to  be  paid  to  the  baron  ; 
and  if  the  baron  did  not  do  the  same  thing  to  the  lands  in  his 
possession,  he  should  pay  the  same  penalty  to  the  king. 

From  the  accession  of  Henry  VII.,  in  1485,  to  nearly  the 
middle  of  the  seventeenth  century,  England  enjoyed  peace.  To 
remove  the  effects  of  former  wars,  however,  required  consider- 


430  AGRICULTURE. 

able  time.  The  high  price  of  labor,  and  the  conversion  of  so 
much  land  to  tillage,  gave  rise  to  different  impolitic  statutes, 
prohibiting  the  exportation  of  grain,  while  a  great  demand  was 
created  for  wool  by  the  manufacturers  of  the  Netherlands,  which 
tended  to  enhance  the  value  of  pasture  lands,  and  to  depopulate 
the  country.  The  flocks  of  individuals,  in  these  times,  some- 
times exceeded  twenty  thousand,  and  an  edict  was  issued  by 
Henry  VIII.  restricting  them  to  a  tenth  of  that  number.  Had 
the  restraints  imposed  upon  the  exportation  of  grain  been  trans- 
ferred to  wool,  the  internal  consumption  would  have  soon  regu- 
lated the  respective  forces  of  those  articles ;  the  proportion 
between  arable  and  pasture  lands  would  soon  have  been 
adjusted,  and  the  declining  cultivation  of  the  country  restored. 
An  improved  cultivation  was  reserved,  however,  for  a  future 
period,  when  persecution  extirpated  manufa(?tures  from  the 
Netherlands ;  then,  when  the  exportation  of  English  wool  had 
subsided,  and  its  price  diminished,  the  farmer  or  landholder, 
disappointed  of  his  former  exuberant  profits,  discovered  the 
necessity  of  resuming  the  plow,  and  restoring  his  pastures  to 
culture. 

Of  the  state  of  agriculture  in  Scotland,  during  the  fifteenth 
and  sixteenth  centuries,  little  can  be  stated.  According  to 
Major,  a  native  of  Berwick,  the  peasants  neither  enclosed,  nor 
planted,  nor  endeavored  to  ameliorate  the  sterility  of  the  soil. 
According  to  Finney's  "Moryson,"  the  produce  of  the  country 
consisted  chiefly  of  oats  and  barley,  but  it  would  appear  from 
Chalmers  that  wheat  was  cultivated  in  Scotland,  at  least  upon 
the  Church  lands,  as  early  as  the  thirteenth  century.  Different 
laws  were  enacted  for  planting  groves  and  hedges,  pruning 
orchards  and  gardens,  and  forming  parks  for  deer ;  but  it  is  not 
the  barren  injunctions  of  statutes  that  will  excite  a  spirit  of 
improvement  in  a  country. 

From  the  Time  of  Henry  VIII.  to  the  Revolution  in  1688.  — 
Agriculture,  soon  after  the  beginning  of  the  sixteenth  century, 
partook  of  the  general  improvement  which  followed  the  inven- 
tion of  the  art  of  printing,  the  revival  of  literature,  and  the 
more  settled  authority  of  government ;  and,  instead  of  the 
occasional  notices  of  historians,  we  can  now  refer  to  regular 
treatises,  written  by  men  who  engaged  eagerly  in  this  neglected 


AGRICULTURE  IN  BRITAIN.  431 

and  hitherto  degraded  occupation.  The  culture  of  hops  was 
either  introduced  or  revived  early  in  the  reign  of  Henry  VIIL, 
and  that  of  flax  was  attempted,  but  without  success,  though 
enforced  by  law. 

The  legislature  at  that  time  endeavored  to  execute,  by  means 
of  penalties,  those  rational  improvements  which  have  since 
been  fostered  by  bounties,  or,  what  is  better,  pursued  from  the 
common  motive  of  self-interest.  The  breeding  of  horses,  was 
now  much  encouraged.  To  the  passion  of  the  age,  and  the 
predilection  of  the  monarch  for  splendid  tournaments,  may  be 
attributed  the  attention  bestowed  upon  a  breed  of  horses  of  a 
strength  and  stature  adapted  to  the  weight  of  the  complicated 
panoply  with  which  the  knight  and  his  courser  were  both 
invested.  Statutes  of  a  singular  nature  were  enacted,  allotting 
for  deer  parks*  a  certain  proportion  of  breeding  mares,  and 
enjoining,  not  the  prelates  and  nobles  only,  but  those  whose 
wives  wore  velvet  bonnets,  to  have  horses  of  a  certain  size  for 
their  saddle.  The  legal  standard  was  fifteen  hands  in  horses, 
thirteen  in  mares,  and  ''  unlikely  tits "  were,  without  distinc- 
tion, consigned  to  execution.  James  the  Fourth  of  Scotland, 
with  more  propriety,  imported  horses  from  foreign  countries,  in 
order  to  improve  the  degenerate  breed  of  his  own.  The  culti- 
vation of  grasses,  for  their  winter  provender,  was  still  unknown, 
nor  were  asses  propagated  in  England  till  a  subsequent  period. 

The  first  English  treatise  on  husbandry  now  appeared,  written 
by  Sir  A.  Fitzherbert,  Judge  of  the  Common  Pleas.  It  is  enti- 
tled **The  Book  of  Husbandry,"  and  contains  directions  for 
drainage,  clearing  and  enclosing  a  farm,  and  for  enriching  and 
reducing  the  soil  to  tillage.  Lime,  marl,  and  fallowing  are 
strongly  recommended.  The  landlords  are  advised  to  grant 
leases  to  farmers,  who  will  surround  their  farms,  and  divide 
them  by  hedges  into  proper  enclosures ;  by  which  operation,  he 
says,  "  If  an  acre  of  land  be  worth  sixpence  before  it  is  enclosed, 
it  will  be  worth  eight  pence  by  reason  of  the  compost  from  the 
cattle."  Another  reason  is,  that  it  will  preserve  the  grain  with- 
out the  expense  of  a  herdsman.  From  the  time  of  the  appear- 
ance of  this  work,  in  1534,  Harte  dates  the  revival  of  husbandry 
in  England.  *'The  Book  of  Surveying  and  Improvements," 
by  the  author  of  the  "Book  of  Husbandry,"  appeared  in   1539. 


432  AGRICULTURE, 

In  the  former  treatise  we  have  a  clear  and  minute  description  of 
the  rural  practices  of  that  period,  and  from  the  latter  may  be 
learned  a  great  deal  of  the  economy  of  the  feudal  system,  in  its 
decline.  The  author  of  the  "Book  of  Husbandry"  writes  from 
his  own  experience  of  more  than  forty  years ;  and  if  we  except 
his  Biblical  allusions,  and  some  vestiges  of  superstition  of  the 
Roman  writers,  about  the  influence  of  the  moon,  there  is  very 
little  in  his  work  that  should  be  omitted,  and  not  a  great  deal  of 
subsequent  science  that  need  be  added,  with  regard  to  the  culture 
of  grain,  in  a  manual  of  husbandry  adapted  to  the  present  time. 
"It  may  surprise  some  of  the  agriculturists  of  the  present 
day,"  an  eminent  agricultural  writer  remarks,  "  to  be  told  that, 
after  the  lapse  of  nearly  three  centuries,  Fitzherbert's  practice, 
in  some  material  branches,  has  not  been  improved  upon ;  and 
that,  in  several  districts,  abuses  still  exist  which 'were  as  clearly 
pointed  out  by  him,  at  that  early  period,  as  by  any  writer  of  the 
present  age."  His  remarks  on  sheep  are  so  accurate  that  one 
might  imagine  they  came  from  a  store-master  of  the  present 
day.  Those  on  horses,  cattle,  etc.,  are  not  less  interesting; 
and  there  is  a  very  good  account  of  the  diseases  of  each  species, 
and  some  just  observations  on  the  advantage  of  mixing  differ- 
ent kinds  in  the  same  pasture.  Swine  and  bees  conclude  this 
branch  of  the  work.  Then  he  points  out  the  great  advantage 
of  enclosures,  recommending  "quyck  settynge,  dychynge,  and 
heddgyng,"  and  gives  particular  directions  about  settes,  and  the 
method  of  training  a  hedge,  as  well  as  concerning  the  planting 
and  management  of  trees.  We  then  have  a  short  information 
"for  a  yonge  gentylman  that  intendeth  to  thryve,"  and  a  "pro- 
logue for  the  wive's  occupation,"  in  some  instances  rather  too 
homely  for  the  present  time.  Among  other  things,  she  is  to 
"  make  her  husband  and  herself  some  clothes,"  and  "  she  may 
have  the  lockes  of  the  shepe,  either  to  make  blankettes  and 
coverlettes  or  both."  This  is  not  so  much  amiss,  but  what  fol- 
lows will  bring  our  learned  judge  into  disrepute,  even  among 
our  most  industrious  housewives.  "  It  is  a  wive's  occupation  to 
wynowe  all  manner  of  grains,  to  make  malte,  to  washe  and 
wrynge,  to  make  heye,  shere  corn,  and  in  time  of  nede,  to 
helpe  her  husbande  to  fyll  the  mucke  wagyne  or  dounge  cart, 
drive  the  ploughe,  to  loade  heye,  corne,  and  suche  other,  and  to 


AGRICULTURE  IN  BRITAIN,  433 

go  or  ride  to  the  market  to  sel  butter,  chese,  mylke,  chikyns, 
capons,  hennes,  pygges,  gese,  and  all  manner  of  grains."  The 
rest  of  the  book  contains  much  useful  advice  about  diligence 
and  economy,  and  concludes  after  the  manner  of  the  age  with 
much  pious  exhortation. 

The  state  of  agriculture  in  England,  in  the  early  part  of  the 
sixteenth  century,  and  probably  for  a  long  time  before,  is  thus 
ascertained ;  for  Fitzherbert  nowhere  speaks  of  the  practices 
which  he  describes  or  recommends,  as  of  recent  introduction. 
The  "  Book  of  Surveying  "  adds  considerably  to  our  knowledge 
of  the  rural  economy  of  that  age.  "  Four  maner  of  commens  " 
are  described,  several  kinds  of  mills  for  grain  and  other  pur- 
poses and  also,  " Guernes  that  goo  with  hand"  ;  different  orders 
of  tenants,  down  to  the  "  Boundmen,"  who,  "in  some  places 
contynue  as  yet,  and  many  tymes,  by  color  thereof,  there  be 
many  freemen  taken  as  boundmen,  and  their  land  and  goods  is 
taken  from  them."  Lime  and  marl  are  mentioned  as  common 
manures,  and  the  former  was  sometimes  spread  on  the  surface 
to  destroy  heath.  Both  drainage  and  irrigation  are  noticed, 
though  the  latter  but  slightly.  The  work  concludes  with  an 
inquiry,  "  How  to  make  a  township  that  is  worth  XX  merke  a 
yere  worth  XXli  a  yere } "  This  is  to  be  done  by  enclosing,  by 
which,  he  says,  live-stock  may  be  better  kept  and  without  herds, 
and  the  closes,  or  fields,  alternately  cropped  with  grain,  and 
"  let  lye  "  for  a  time. 

Agriculture  had  attained  a  considerable  degree  of  respecta- 
bility during  the  reign  of  Elizabeth.  According  to  Tusser,  who 
wrote  in  that  age,  and  whose  work  will  be  presently  noticed, 
agriculture  was  best  understood  in  Essex  and  Suffolk  ;  at  least, 
enclosures  were  more  common  in  these  counties  than  in  any 
other,  which  is  always  a  proof  of  advancement.  "A  farmer," 
according  to  Harrison,  the  geographer,  "  will  think  his  gaine 
very  small  towards  the  end  of  his  terme,  if  he  has  not  six  or 
seven  years*  rent  lying  by  him,  therewith  to  purchase  a  new 
lease,  beside  a  fair  garnish  of  pewter  on  his  cupboard,  with  as 
much  more  in  odd  vessels  going  about  the  house ;  three  or  four 
feather-beds  ;  so  many  coverlets  and  carpets  of  tapestrie ;  a  sil- 
ver salt ;  a  bowle  for  wine,  if  not  a  whole  neast ;  and  a  dozen  of 
spoones  to  finish  oute  the  sute." 


434  AGRICULTURE. 

The  condition  of  a  yeoman,  before  or  about  Elizabeth's  time, 
is  exemplified  in  the  case  of  Bishop  Latimer's  father.  "  My 
father,"  says  Hugh  Latimer,  "  was  a  yeoman,  and  had  no  land 
of  his  own ;  only  he  had  a  farm  of  three  or  four  pounds  by  the 
year  at  the  utmost ;  and  hereupon  he  tilled  so  much  as  kept 
half-a-dozen  men.  He  had  a  walk  for  a  hundred  sheep,  and 
my  mother  milked  thirty  kine,  etc.  He  kept  his  son  at  school 
till  he  went  to  the  university,  and  maintained  him  there.  He 
married  his  daughters  with  five  pounds,  or  twenty  nobles  apiece ; 
he  kept  hospitality  with  his  neighbors,  and  some  alms  he  gave 
to  the  poor;  and  all  this  he  did  out  of  the  said  farm." 

Cattle  were  not  plentiful  in  England,  at  the  beginning  of 
Elizabeth's  reign.  In  1563,  it  was  enacted  that  no  one  should 
eat  flesh  on  Wednesdays  or  Fridays,  on  forfeiture  of  ^3,  unless 
in  case  of  sickness,  or  of  a  special  license,  neither  of  which  was 
to  extend  to  beef  or  veal.  .  Great  pains  were  taken  in  the  act  to 
prove  that  it  was  a  political,  and  not  a  religious  measure. 

The  vast  number  of  parks  in  the  kingdom  are  complained  of 
by  Harrison.  "There  are  not  less,"  he  says,  "than  a  hundred 
in  Essex  alone,  where  almost  nothing  is  kept  but  a  sorte  of 
wilde  and  savage  beasts,  cherished  for  pleasure  and  delight "  ; 
and,  pursuing  the  same  subject,  he  says  that,  "  If  the  world  last 
awhile  after  this  rate,  wheate  and  rie  will  be  no  graine  for  a 
poore  man  to  feed  on."  In  Scotland  the  civil  dissensions,  and 
even  anarchy,  which  prevailed  until  a  late  period  in  the  six- 
teenth century,  operated  as  a  harsh  check  on  every  improvement 
in  agriculture,  and  the  total  expulsion  of  ecclesiastical  land- 
holders increased  this  evil,  as  the  monks  were  easy  landlords, 
and  frequently  not  uninstructed  in  georgical  knowledge. 

The  tillers  of  the  earth  in  Scotland  had  at  least .  their  full 
share  of  their  country's  misfortunes,  when  private  vengeance 
for  private^  wrongs  superseded  the  regular  but  timid  proceedings 
of  public  justice.  A  statute  was  then  formed  for  their  particu- 
lar benefit,  whereby  "the  slayers  and  houchers  of  horses  and 
uther  cattle,"  with  their  employers  and  maintainers,  are  declared 
"to  have  incurred  the  paine  of  death,  and  confiscation  of  alle 
their  gudes  movvabil."  A  second  act  was  passed  in  1587,  for 
the  further  protection  of  husbandmen,  declaring  that  "all  such  as 
destroyed  or  maimed  horses,  oxen,  etc.,  cut  or  destroyed  plows 


AGRICULTURE   IN  BRITAIN,  435 

or  plow-gears,  in  time  of  tilling,  or  trees  and  grain,  should  suf- 
fer death."  Several  acts  of  parliament  were  made,  to  protect 
farmers  from  petulant  tithe-gatherers  ;  the  proper  times  of  notice 
were  herein  pointed  out,  and  liberty  was  given  to  the  tiller  of 
the  land  to  proceed  in  his  work,  if  this  notice  were  neglected. 

Great  attention  was  still  paid  to  the  breeding  of  horses  in 
England  ;  but,  during  the  reign  of  Elizabeth,  it  was  found  neces- 
sary to  lower  the  standard  appointed  by  Henry  VIII.  for  stallions, 
from  fourteen  hands  to  thirteen.  This  modification,  however, 
was  only  to  take  place  in  the  counties  of  Cambridge,  Huntington, 
Northampton,  Lincoln,  Norfolk,  and  Suffolk.  No  stallion  of 
less  height  could  be  turned  out  on  commons,  in  forests,  etc.,  for 
fear  of  deteriorating  the  breed.  Harrison  extols  the  height  and 
strength  of  the  English  draught-horses.  "  Five  or  six  of  them," 
he  says,  "  will  with  ease  draw  three  thousand  weight  for  a  long 
journey."  An  English  traveller,  who  visited  Scotland  in  1598, 
observed  a  great  abundance  of  all  kinds  of  cattle,  and  many 
horses ;  not  large,  but  high-spirited  and  patient  of  labor.  Great 
care,  indeed,  was  taken  by  the  English,  while  the  kingdoms  were 
separate,  to  prevent  the  Scots  from  improving  their  breed.  It 
was  even  made  felony  to  export  horses  thither  from  England. 
This  unneighborly  prohibition  was  answered  by  a  reciprocal 
restriction,  in  1 567,  as  to  the  exportation  of  Scottish  horses : 
but  France  rather  than  England  seems  to  be  aimed  at  by  that 
statute.  One  circumstance,  pointed  out  by  a  curious  antiquary, 
is  a  convincing  proof  of  the  modern  improvement  in  the  breed. 
For  many  years  past  eight  nails  have  been  used  to  each  horse's 
shoe  in  the  north.  Six  used  to  be  the  number.  The  proper 
season  for  turning  horses  to  grass  was  thought  a  consideration 
worthy  the  attention  of  the  Scottish  government,  avowedly  to 
prevent  the  waste  of  grain.  All  horses  were,  therefore,  ordered 
to  be  put  to  grass  from  May  15  to  October  15,  on  pain  of  for- 
feiting each  horse,  or  its  value,  to  the  king. 

In  England,  the  vine  continued  to  be  cultivated  for  wine,  but 
not  generally,  for  the  vineyards  of  Lords  Cobham  and  William 
of  Thames  are  pointed  out  by  Barnaby  Googe  as  eminently 
productive.  It  is  probable  that  this  branch  of  culture  declined 
with  the  suppression  of  the  monasteries,  and  the  more  general 
culture  of  barley ;   as  farmers  and  others  would  soon  find  that 


436  AGRICULTURE. 

good  beer  was  a  better  and  cheaper  drink  than  any  wine  that 
could  be  made  in  this  country.  Though,  in  1565,  in  this  reign, 
the  potato  was  introduced  from  Santa  Fe,  by  Captain  Hawkins, 
yet  it  did  not  come  into  general  use,  even  in  gardens,  for  nearly 
two  centuries  afterward.  The.  principal  agricultural  authors,  in 
Elizabeth's  reign,  are  Tusser,  Googe,  and  Sir  Hugh  Piatt. 

Hops,  which  had  been  introduced  in  the  early  part  of  the 
sixteenth  century,  and  on  the  culture  of  which  a  treatise  was 
published  in  1574,  by  Reynolds  Scott,  are  mentioned  as  a  well- 
known  crop.  Buckwheat  was  sown  after  barley,  and  hemp 
and  flax  are  mentioned  as  common  crops.  Enclosures  must 
have  been  numerou^u  in  several  counties,  and  there  is  a  very 
good  "  comparison  between  champion  (open  fields)  country,  and 
severall." 

The  seventeenth  century  is  distinguished  by  some  important 
improvements  in  agriculture,  among  which  are  the  introduction 
of  clover  and  turnips  into  England,  of  hedges  into  Scotland  and 
Ireland,  and  the  execution  of  extensive  embankments  and  drain- 
ages. Some  useful  writers  also  appeared,  especially  Norden, 
Gabriel  Plattes,  Sir  Richard  Weston,  Hartlibb,  and  Blythe. 
For  the  adoption  of  the  clover,  as  an  agricultural  plant,  we  are 
indebted  to  Sir  Richard  Weston,  who,  in  1645,  gives  an  account 
of  its  culture  in  Flanders,  where  he  says  that  he  "saw  it  cutting 
near  Antwerp  on  the  ist  of  June,  1644,  being  then  two  feet  long 
and  very  thick  ;  that  he  saw  it  cut  again  on  the  29th  of  the  same 
month,  being  twenty  inches  long ;  and  a  third  time  in  August, 
being  eighteen  inches  long."  Blythe,  in  1653,  is  copious  in  his 
directions  for  its  cultivation,  and  Lisle,  in  the  beginning  of  the 
eighteenth  century,  speaks  of  it  as  commonly  cultivated  in 
Hampshire,  Wiltshire,  Gloucestershire,  and  other  counties.  Tur- 
nips were  probably  introduced  as  a  field  crop  by  the  same  patri- 
otic author,  though  they  may  have  been  grown  in  the  gardens 
of  the  church  establishments  long  before.  "They  are  culti- 
vated," he  observes,  "for  feeding  kine  in  many  parts  of  England  ; 
but  there  is  as  much  difference  between  what  groweth  in  Flan- 
ders and  here,  as  between  the  same  thing  which  groweth  in  a 
garden  and  that  which  groweth  wild  in  the  fields."  It  is  proba- 
ble that  the  English  turnips  he  alludes  to  were  rape,  which  is 
mentioned  by  Googe  in  1586;  but  though  Gerarde,  in  1597,  and 


AGRICULTURE  IN  BRITAIN,  437 

Parkinson,  in  1629,  mention  the  turnip  as  a  garden  vegetable, 
neither  of  these  authors  gives  the  least  hint  of  their  field  culture. 
Be  that  as  it  may,  Ray,  in  1686,  informs  us  that  they  are  sown 
everywhere  in  fields  and  gardens,  both  in  England  and  abroad, 
for  the  sake  of  their  roots. 

The  first  notice  of  sheep  being  fed  on  the  ground  with  tur- 
nips, is  given  in  Houghton's  "Collection  on  Husbandry  and 
Trade,"  a  periodical  work  begun  in  168 1.  In  1684,  Worlidge, 
one  of  Houghton's  correspondents,  observes :  "  Sheep  fatten 
very  well  on  turnips,  which  prove  an  excellent  nourishment  for 
them  in  hard  winters,  when  fodder  is  scarce,  for  they  will  not 
only  eat  the  greens,  but  feed  on  the  roots  in  the  ground,  and 
scoop  them  hollow,  even  to  the  very  skin.  Ten  acres,  sown 
with  turnips,  clover,  etc.,  will  feed  as  many  sheep  as  one  hun- 
dred acres  thereof  would  before  have  done." 

Potatoes,  first  introduced  in  1565,  were  at  this  time  beginning 
to  attract  attention.  "The  potato,"  says  Houghton,  "is  a  bac- 
ciferous  herb,  with  esculent  roots,  bearing  winged  leaves  and 
a  bell  flower.  This,  I  have  been  informed,  was  brought  first  out 
of  Virginia,  by  Sir  Walter  Raleigh ;  and  he  stopping  at  Ireland, 
some  was  planted  there,  where  it  thrived  very  well,  and  to  good 
purpose ;  for  in  their  succeeding  wars,  when  all  the  grain  above 
ground  was  destroyed,  this  supported  them ;  for  the  soldiers, 
unless  they  had  dug  up  all  the  ground  where  they  grew,  and 
almost  sifted  it,  could  not  extirpate  them.  From  hence  they 
were  brought  to  Lancashire,  where  they  are  very  numerous, 
and  now  they  begin  to  spread  all  the  kingdom  over.  They  are 
a  pleasant  food,  boiled  or  roasted,  and  eaten  with  butter  and 
sugar.  There  is  a  sort  brought  from  Spain  that  are  of  a  longer 
form,  and  are  more  luscious  than  ours.  They  are  much  set  by, 
and  sold  for  sixpence  to  eightpence  a  pound." 

The  exportation  of  grain  was  regulated  by  various  laws,  during 
the  sixteenth  century,  and  importation  was  not  restricted,  even 
in  plenty  and  cheapness.  In  1663  was  passed  the  first  statute 
for  levying  tolls  at  turnpikes.  Enclosures,  by  consent  and  by 
act  of  parliament,  also  began  to  be  made  during  this  century. 
The  agriculture  of  Scotland,  during  the  fifteenth  and  sixteenth 
centuries,  continued  to  languish,  especially  upon  the  estates  of 
the  barons,  where  the  profession  of  a  soldier  was  regarded  of 


438  AGRICULTURE. 

greater  importance  than  that  of  a  cultivator  of  the  ground.  But 
the  ecclesiastical  lands  were  considerably  improved,  and  the 
tenants  of  them  were  generally  much  more  comfortably  circum- 
stanced than  those  upon  the  estates  of  the  laymen.  The  reforma- 
tion of  religion,  beneficial  as  it  was  in  other  respects,  rather 
checked  than  promoted  agricultural  improvements,  because  the 
change  of  property  which  then  occurred  occasioned  a  similar 
change  of  tenantry,  and  almost  took  husbandry  out  of  the  hands 
of  the  monks,  the  only  class  of  people  by  whom  it  was  practised 
upon  correct  principles.  The  dissolution  of  the  monasteries  and 
other  religious  houses  was  also  attended  with  injurious  conse- 
quences in  the  first  instance ;  though  latterly  the  greatest  bene- 
fit had  been  derived  from  tithes  and  church  lands  having  come 
into  the  hands  of  laymen.  It  is  probable  that,  had  not  these 
circumstances  occurred,  a  tithe  system  would  still  have  remained 
in  force,  and  Scottish  husbandry  would  have  continued  under 
a  burden  which  sinks  and  oppresses  the  cultivators  in  England 
and  Ireland.  But  tithes  having  got  into  the  hands  of  lay 
titulars,  or  impropriators,  were  in  general  collected  or  formed 
with  such  severity  as  to  occasion  the  most  grievous  complaints, 
not  only  from  the  tenantry  but  also  from  the  numerous  class  of 
proprietors,  who  had  not  been  so  fortunate  as  to  procure  a  share 
of  the  general  spoil.  This,  added  to  the  desire  shown  by  the 
crown  to  resume  the  grants  made  when  its  power  was  compara- 
tively feeble,  occasioned  the  celebrated  submission  to  Charles  I., 
which  ended  in  a  settlement  that,  in  modern  times,  has  proved 
highly  beneficial,  not  only  to  the  interests  of  the  proprietors, 
but  likewise  to  general  improvement.  Tithes  are  a  burden, 
which  operate  as  a  tax  upon  industry,  though  it  was  a  long 
time  before  the  beneficial  consequences  of  withdrawing  them 
were  fully  understood. 

Of  the  state  of  agriculture  in  Scotland,  during  the  seventeenth 
century,  very  little  is  known.  No  professed  treatise  on  the 
subject  appeared  till  after  the  revolution.  The  southeastern 
counties  were  the  earliest  improved ;  and  yet,  in  1660,  their 
condition  seems  to  have  been  very  wretched.  Ray,  who  made 
a  tour  along  the  eastern  coast  in  that  year,  says  :  "  We  observed 
little  or  no  fallow  grounds  in  Scotland ;  some  ley  ground  we 
saw,  which  they  manured  with  sea-wrack.     The  men  seemed  to 


AGRICULTURE  IN  BRITAIN.  439 

be  very  lazy,  and  may  be  frequently  observed  to  plow  in  their 
cloaks.  It  is  the  fashion  of  them  to  wear  cloaks  when  they  go 
abroad,  but  especially  on  Sundays.  They  have  neither  good 
bread,  cheese,  nor  drink.  They  cannot  make  them,  nor  will 
they  learn.  Their  butter  is  very  indifferent,  and  one  would 
wonder  how  they  contrive  to  make  it  so  bad.  They  use  much 
pottage  made  of  colewort,  which  they  call  kail ;  sometimes 
broth  of  decorticated  barley.  The  ordinary  country  houses  are 
pitiful  cots,  built  of  stone  and  covered  with  turfs,  having  in 
them  but  one  room,  many  of  them  no  chimneys,  the  windows 
very  small  holes,  and  not  glazed.  The  ground  in  the  valleys 
and  plains  bears  very  good  grain,  but  especially  bears  barley 
and  oats,  but  rarely  wheat  and  rye." 

It  is  probable  that  no  great  change  had  taken  place  in  Scot- 
land from  the  end  of  the  fifteenth  century,  except  that  tenants 
gradually  became  possessed  of  a  little  stock  of  their  own,  in- 
stead of  having  their  farms  stocked  by  the  landlord.  The 
minority  of  James  V.,  the  reign  of  Mary  Stuart,  the  infancy  of 
her  son,  and  the  civil  wars  of  her  grandson,  Charles  I.,  were  all 
periods  of  lasting  waste.  The  very  laws  which .  were  made 
during  successive  reigns,  for  protecting  the  tillers  of  the  soil 
from  spoil,  are  the  best  proofs  of  the  deplorable  state  of  the  hus- 
bandman. The  accession  of  James  VI.  to  the  crown  of  Eng- 
land is  understood  to  have  been  unfavorable  to  the  agricultural 
interests  of  Scotland,  inasmuch  as  the  nobles  and  gentry,  being 
by  that  event  led  into  great  expenses,  raised  the  rents  of  the 
tenantry  considerably,  while  the  very  circumstance  which  occa- 
sioned the  rise  contributed  to  lessen  the  means  of  the  tenant 
for  fulfiUing  his  engagements.  Scotland,  however,  was  much 
benefited  by  the  soldiers  of  Cromwell,  who  were  chiefly  English 
yeomen,  not  only  well  acquainted  with  husbandry,  but,  like  the 
Romans  at  a  former  period,  studious  also  to  iihprove  and  en- 
lighten the  nation  which  they  had  subdued. 

The  soldiers  of  Cromwell's  army  were  regularly  paid,  at  the 
rate  of  eightpence  per  day,  a  sum  equal  to  the  money  value  of 
two  shillings  of  English  currency  ;  and,  as  this  army  lay  in 
Scotland  for  many  years,  there  was  a  great  circulation  of  money 
through  the  country.  Perhaps  the  low  country  districts  were, 
at  this  time,  in  a  higher  state  of  improvement  than  at  any 


440  AGRICULTURE. 

former  period.  In  the  counties  of  Lanark,  Renfrew,  Ayr,  and 
Kirkcudbright,  the  rentals  of  various  estates  were  greater  in 
1660  than  they  were  seventy  years  afterwards  ;  and  the  causes 
which  brought  about  a  declension  in  value  are  ascertained  with- 
out flifficulty.  The  large  fines  exacted  from  country  gentlemen 
and  tenants,  in  these  counties,  during  the  reign  of  Charles  11. 
and  his  brother  James,  were  almost  sufficient  to  impoverish  both 
proprietors  and  cultivators,  had  they  even  been  as  wealthy  as 
they  are  at  the  present  day.  In  addition  to  these  fines,  the 
dreadful  imprisonments,  and  other  oppressive  measures  pursued 
by  those  in  power,  equally  contrary  to  sound  policy  and  to  jus- 
tice and  humanity,  desolated  large  tracts,  drove  the  oppressed 
gentry  and  many  of  their  wealthy  tenants  into  foreign  coun- 
tries, and  extinguished  the  spirit  of  industry  and  improvement 
in  the  breasts  of  those  who  were  left  behind. 

Yet,  in  the  seventeenth  century  were  those  laws  made  which 
paved  the  way  for  the  present  improved  system  of  agriculture 
in  Scotland.  By  statute,  1633,  landholders  were  enabled  to 
have  their  tithes  valued,  and  to  buy  them  either  at  nine  or  at 
six  years'  purchase,  according  to  the  nature  of  the  property. 
The  statute,  1685,  conferring  on  landlords  a  power  to  entail 
their  estates,  was  indeed  of  a  very  different  tendency  as  to  its 
effects  on  agriculture.  But  the  two  acts  in  1695,  for  the  division 
of  commons,  and  the  separation  of  intermixed  properties,  have 
greatly  facilitated  the  progress  of  improvement. 

The  literary  history  of  agriculture,  during  the  seventeenth 
century,  is  of  no  interest,  till  about  the  middle  of  that  period. 
For  more  than  fifty  years  after  the  appearance  of  Googe's  work, 
there  are  no  systematic  works  on  husbandry,  though  there  are 
several  treatises  on  particular  departments  of  it.  From  these  it 
is  evident  that  all  the  different  operations  of  farming  were  per- 
formed with  more  care  and  correctness  than  formerly ;  that  the 
fallows  were  better  worked ;  the  fields  kept  free  of  weeds  ;  and 
much  more  attention  paid  to  manures  of  every  kind.  Bees 
seem  to  have  been  great  favorites  with  these  early  writers  ;  and 
among  others  there  is  a  treatise  by  Butler,  a  gentleman  of  Ox- 
ford, called  the  **  History  of  Bees,"  printed  in  1609.  Markham, 
Mascall,  Gabriel  Plattes,  Weston,  and  other  authors,  belonged 
to  this  period.     In  Sir  Richard  Weston's  discourse  on  the  hus- 


AGRICULTURE  IN  BRITAIN.  441 

bandry  of  Brabant  and  Flanders,  published  by  Hartlibb  in  1645, 
we  may  mark  the  dawn  of  vast  improvements,  which  have  since 
been  effected  in  Britain.  This  gentleman  was  ambassador  from 
England  to  the  Elector  Palatine  and  King  of  Bohemia,  in  1619, 
and  had  the  merit  of  being  the  first  who  introduced  the  great 
clover,  as  it  was  then  called,  into  English  agriculture,  about 
1645,  and  probably  turnips  also.  In  less  than  ten  years  after 
its  introduction  —  that  is,  about  1655,  —  the  culture  of  clover, 
exactly  according  to  the  present  method,  was  well  known  in 
England,  and  had  made  its  way  even  to  Ireland. 

A  great  many  works  on  agriculture  appeared  during  the 
Commonwealth,  of  which  Blythe's  "  Improver  Improved,"  and 
Hartlibb's  "  Legacy,"  are  the  most  valuable.  The  first  edition 
of  the  former  was  published  in  1649,  ^.nd  of  the  latter  in  1650, 
and  both  of  them  were  enlarged  in  subsequent  editions.  In 
the  first  edition  of  the  "  Improver  Improved,"  no  mention  is 
made  of  clover,  nor  of  turnips  in  the  second,  but  in  the  third, 
published  in  1662,  clover  is  treated  of  at  some  length,  and 
turnips  are  recommended  as  an  excellent  cattle  crop,  the  culture 
of  which  should  be  extended  from  the  kitchen  garden  to  the 
field. 

Blythe's  book  is  the  first  systematic  work  in  which  there  are 
some  traces  of  the  convertible  husbandry  so  beneficially  estab- 
lished since,  by  interposing  clover  and  turnips  between  culmif- 
erous  crops.  He  is  a  great  enemy  to  commons  and  common 
fields,  and  to  retaining  land  in  old  pastures,  unless  it  be  of  the 
best  quality.  His  description  of  different  kinds  of  plows  is 
interesting,  and  he  justly  recommends  such  as  were  drawn  by 
two  horses,  —  some  even  by  one  horse,  —  in  preference  to  the 
clumsy,  weighty  machines,  which  required  four  or  more  horses 
or  oxen.  Nearly  all  the  manures  now  used  were  then  well 
known,  and  he  brought  lime  himself  from  a  distance  of  twenty 
miles.  He  speaks  of  an  instrument  which  plowed,  sowed,  and 
harrowed  at  the  same  time  ;  and  the  setting  of  grain  was  then  a 
subject  of  much  discussion.  "It  was  not  many  years,"  says 
Blythe,  "  since  the  famous  city  of  London  petitioned  the  parlia- 
ment of  England  against  two  anusancies  or  offensive  commod- 
ities, which  were  likely  to  come  into  great  use  and  esteem, 
and  that  was  Newcastle  coals,  in  regard  of  their  stench,  etc., 


442  4GRICULTURE. 

and  hops,  in  regard  they  would  spyle  the  taste  of  drinck,  and 
endanger  the  people." 

Worlidge's  "System  of  Agriculture"  was  published  in  1668. 
It  treats  of  improvements  in  general,  of  enclosing  meadows 
and  pastures,  and  of  watering  and  draining  them ;  of  clovers, 
vetches,  spurry,  Wiltshire  long-grass,  (probably  that  of  the 
meadows  of  Salisbury,)  hemp,  flax,  rape,  turnips,  etc.  A  Per- 
sian wheel  was  made  by  his  direction,  in  Wiltshire,  in  1665,  that 
carried  water  in  good  quantity  above  twenty  feet  high,  for 
watering  meadows,  and  another  near  Godalming  in  Surrey. 
Sowing  clover  and  other  seeds  preserved  the  cattle  in  the  fatal 
winter  of  1673,  in  the  southern  parts  of  England;  whereas,  in 
the  western  and  northern,  through  defect  of  hay  and  pasture, 
the  greater  part  of  their  cattle  perished.  Hops  enough  were 
not  planted,  but  were  imported  from  the  Netherlands,  of  a 
quality  not  so  good  as  those  grown  in  the  country. 

Among  other  writers  of  this  century  may  be  mentioned 
Bacon,  who,  in  his  natural  history,  has  some  curious  observa- 
tions on  agriculture  ;  Ray,  the  botanist,  whose  works  are  rich  in 
facts  ;  and  Evelyn,  a  great  entourager  of  all  manner  of  improve- 
ments, as  well  as  a  useful  writer  on  planting.  Some  of  the 
works  of  the  sixteenth  and  seventeenth  centuries  are  now  very 
scarce,  and  most  of  them  little  known  to  the  agriculturists  of 
the  present  day.  In  almost  all  of  them  there  is  much  that  is 
now  useless,  and  not  a  little  that  is  trifling  and  foolish  ;  yet  the 
labor  of  perusal  is  not  altogether  fruitless.  He  who  wishes 
to  view  the  condition  of  the  great  body  of  the  people,  during 
this  period,  as  well  as  the  cultivator  who  still  obstinately  resists 
every  new  practice,  may  be  gratified  and  instructed  in  tracing 
the  gradual  progress  of  improvement,  both  in  enjoyment  and 
useful  industry. 

Agriculture  began  to  be  studied,  as  a  science,  in  the  principal 
countries  of  Europe,  about  the  middle  of  the  sixteenth  century. 
The  works  of  Crescenzio  in  Italy,  Olivier  de  Serres  in  France, 
Heresbach  in  Germany,  Herrera  in  Spain,  and  Fitzherbert  in 
England,  all  published  at  about  that  time,  supplied  the  materials 
for  study,  and  led  to  improved  practices  among  the  reading 
agriculturists.  The  art  of  farming  received  a  second  impulse, 
about  the  middle  of  the  seventeenth  century,  after  the  general 


AGRICULTURE  IN  THE  UNITED  STATES.        445 

Captain  John  Smith,  who  visited  Virginia  in  1609,  says:  "The 
greatest  labor  they  take  is  in  planting  their  corn,  for  the  coun- 
try is  naturally  overgrown  with  wood.  To  prepare  the  ground 
they  bruise  the  bark  of  trees  near  the  roots,  then  do  they  scorch 
the  roots  with  fire  that  they  grow  no  more."  This  custom  of 
theirs,  it  probably  was,  that  suggested  to  our  ancestors  the  pro- 
cess of  belting  or  girdling,  which  killed  the  larger  trees  by  cut- 
ting through  the  sap-wood,  caused  the  fall  of  spray  and  lesser 
branches,  and  thereby  admitted  the  sun  and  air  to  the  crop  culti- 
vated in  their  intervals  —  a  practice  which,  as  compared  with 
the  method  of  clearing  off  the  entire  growth,  enables  the  settler 
of  new  lands  to  increase  the  area  of  virgin  soil  under  culture  in 
more  than  geometrical  ratio ;  which  has  kept  pace  with  our  ever 
advancing  frontier,  and  which,  more  than  any  other,  has  enabled 
the  white  race  "  to  enter  in  and  possess  the  good  land  that  lay 
before  them." 

The  land  being  cleared  —  and  a  field  once  thus  prepared  was 
used  for  many  successive  years  —  the  squaws  would  make  prep- 
arations for  planting,  early  each  spring.  First  burning  the  dead 
wood  on  the  ground,  and  often  bringing  dry  branches  to  burn, 
that  they  might  obtain  their  fertilizing  ashes,  they  would  then 
cultivate,  or  rather  root  up  the  surface,  with  the  flat  shoulder- 
blades  of  the  moose,  or  with  crooked  pieces  of  wood.  They 
would  then  mark  the  future  hills  by  making  small  holes  (about 
four  feet  apart),  with  rude  wooden  hoes  or  clam-shells ;  put  into 
each  one  an  alewife  from  some  adjoining  stream,  or  a  horse-shoe 
crab  from  the  sea-shore ;  and  on  this  stimulant  drop  and  cover 
a  half-dozen  grains  of  corn.  The  land  thus  planted  was  guarded 
against  the  depredations  of  the  birds,  and  as  the  corn  grew  the 
earth  was  laboriously  scraped  up  around  the  stalks  with  clam- 
shells, until  the  hills  were  two  feet  high.  To  u^e  the  words  of 
Smith,  "They  hill  it  like  a  hop-field."  While  the  stalk  and 
leaves  were  yet  green,  the  ears  were  plucked.  The  next  year's 
seed  was  selected  from  those  stalks  which  produced  the  most 
ears,  and  was  triced  up  in  their  wigwams.  The  remainder  of 
the  crop  was  carried  in  back-baskets  to  stagings,  where  it  was 
dried  in  the  husk,  on  stagings,  over  smouldering  fires  ;  then 
husked,  shelled,  packed  in  large  birch-bark  boxes,  and  buried  in 
the  ground,  below  the  action  of  the  frost.     "  O-mo-nee "  was 


44^  AGRICULTURE, 

this  dried  corn,  cracked  in  a  stone  mortar,  and  then  boiled ; 
when  pounded  into  meal  and  sifted  through  a  basket,  to  be 
made  into  ash-cakes,  it  was  caHed  "  Sup-paun."  The  warriors, 
when  on  a  war-path,  subsisted  on  parched  corn,  which  they 
called  "Nokake."  Roger  Williams,  the  founder  of  Rhode 
Island,  speaks  of  having  "  travelled  with  two  hundred  Indians 
at  once,  nearly  two  hundred  miles  through  the  woods,  every 
man  carrying  a  little  basket  of  this  at  his  back,  sufficient  for 
one  man  three  or  four  days."  "  With  their  corn,"  says  Smith, 
"they  plant  also  peas  they  call  assentamus,  which  are  the 
same  they  call  in  Italy  fagiolia.  Their  beans  are  the  same 
the  Turks  call  garnaness,  but  these  they  much  esteem  for  dain- 
ties." "In  May,  also,  among  their  corn  they  plant  pumpeons, 
and  a  fruit  like  unto  a  musk-melon,  but  less  and  worse,  which 
they  call  macocks."  These  additional  crops  not  only  keep  the 
ground  around  the  roots  of  the  growing  corn  moist,  but  they 
supply  materials  for  the  celebrated  Indian  dish  called  "  mu-si- 
quatush,"  which  has  been  changed  into  succotash.  This  was  not 
then,  however,  simply  composed  of  corn  and  beans,  for  we  are 
told,  by  Gordkin,  that  they  boiled  in  it  "  fish  and  flesh  of  all 
sorts,  either  new  taken  or  dried  —  venison,  bear's  flesh,  beaver, 
moose,  otter,  or  raccoon,  cut  into  small  pieces ;  Jerusalem  arti- 
chokes, ground-nuts,  acorns,  pumpkins,  and  squashes."  At  the 
northwest  wild  rice  was  gathered  and  kept  for  winter  use ;  and 
Barlowe,  who  visited  North  Carolina  in  1584,  asserted  that  he 
saw  there  "  both  wheat  and  oats."  It  is  not  improbable  that 
oats  were  found  growing  wild  there,  as  they  are  known  to  grow 
wild  on  other  portions  of  the  continent ;  but  doubts  may  be 
entertained  as  to  the  wheat,  although  he,  an  Englishman,  should 
have  known  that  grain.  Dr.  Hawks  thinks,  however,  that  he 
saw  some  variety  of  the  triticum,  and,  without  critical  examina- 
tion, pronounced  it  wheat.  The  sunflower  was  also  cultivated 
for  its  seeds,  of  which  bread  was  made. 

" Mish-i-min,"  in  the  Algonquin  tongue,  signifies  apple;  al- 
though it  is  the  opinion  of  some  learned  writers  that  this  fruit 
was  unknown  among  them  before  the  arrival  of  the  Europeans. 
Several  old  printed  compilations  of  early  voyages,  however, 
reckon  apples  among  the  early  native  fruits ;  and,  unless  crab- 
stocks  were  found,  it  does  not  appear  how  the  large  orchards. 


AGRICULTURE  IN  THE  UNITED  STATES.        447 

mentioned  by  early  writers,  could  have  been  made  productive 
so  soon.  Mr.  Walcott,  a  distinguished  Connecticut  magistrate, 
wrote  in  1635  (certainly  not  more  than  five  years  after  his 
colony  was  first  planted),  "  I  made  five  hundred  hogsheads  of 
cider  out  of  my  own  orchard  in  one  year."  This  would  have 
been  almost  impossible,  had  he  been  obliged  to  raise  his  orchard 
from  the  seed,  or  had  he  planted  trees  of  such  a  size  as  could 
have  been  transported  through  the  trackless  wilderness.  The 
apple  may  not  be  indigenous  to  this  country,  and  yet  the  Ind- 
ians may  have  possessed  it,  as  they  did  corn,  which  is  not  a 
native  of  their  soil.  Certain  it  is  that  they  had  orchards  of 
cherries  and  of  plums,  large  stores  of  which  were  dried  for 
winter  use.  Tobacco  was  everywhere  cultivated  ;  huge  grape- 
vines entwined  many  a  forest  tree,  and  there  was  an  abundance 
of  berries  in  the  woods.  Gourds  were  raised  in  great  numbers, 
and  of  all  sizes,  from  the  large  "  cal-a-bash-es  "  that  would  hold 
two  or  three  gallons  each,  to  the  tiny  receptacles  of  pigments 
used  in  painting  for  war. 

From  the  sap  of  the  maple  they  made  a  coarse-grained  sugar, 
which,  when  mixed  with  freshly-pounded  **  sap-paun,"  and  sea- 
soned with  dried  whortleberries,  was  baked  into  a  dainty  dish 
for  high  festivals.  The  dried  meats  of  oil-nuts,  pounded  and 
boiled  in  a  decoction  of  sassafras,  was  their  only  beverage  at 
such  feasts ;  and  from  the  green  wax  of  the  bayberry  they  made 
candles,  with  rush  wicks,  which  gave  clear  lights,  and  yielded  a 
pleasant  fragrance  while  burning. 

Their  wigwams  were  constructed  of  saplings,  set  into  the 
ground  in  a  circle,  and  then  drawn  together  at  the  top  until  they 
formed  a  conical  frame  some  nine  or  ten  feet  high  at  the  apex. 
This  was  covered  with  thick  mats  of  woven  grass,  or  with  large 
sheets  of  birch-bark,  sewed  together  with  the  dried  sinews  of 
the  deer,  and  then  calked  with  some  resinous  gum.  A  mat 
served  as  a  door ;  in  the  centre  was  a  stone  hearth,  with  an 
opening  above  it  for  the  escape  of  the  smoke.  The  only  article 
of  furniture  was  a  large  couch,  elevated  about  a  foot  from  the 
ground,  and  spread  with  dressed  skins  and  mats.  Birch-bark 
boxes  were  used  to  hold  finery  and  provisions,  while  the  frame- 
work of  the  wigwam  was  hung  with  war-clubs,  bows,  bundles  of 
arrows,  fish-spears,  hoes,  axes,  and  other  rude  implements  which 


448  AGRICULTURE. 

the  Indians  possessed.  Unacquainted  with  the  use  of  iron, 
their  cutting  instruments  aiad  sharp  weapons  were  pointed  with 
flint-stone,  shells,  or  bones,  and  their  earthen  vessels  were  of 
the  coarsest  description.  They  had  no  domestic  animals  except 
a  few  small  dogs,  and  no  poultry. 

Such  was  the  primitive  agricultural  life  of  the  Indians,  who 
have  been  gradually  blotted  out  from  their  pleasant  homes,  to 
make  way  for  the  "pale  faces."  On  many  sunny  slopes  now 
smiling  with  cultivation  were  their  cheerless  wigwams,  their, 
crabbed  orchards,  and  their  ill-tinted  corn-patches.  Beneath 
the  shade  of  forests  long  since  felled,  and  where  flourishing 
communities  now  dwell,  they  tracked  the  wild  beast  to  his  lair, 
or  reposed,  weary  of  the  chase,  to  partake  of  their  slaughtered 
game.  Where  spires  now  point  heavenward,  and  the  doors  of 
school-houses  "swing  on  their  golden  hinges,"  the  war-hatchet 
was  unburied,  or  the  "  calumet "  of  peace  was  whiffed,  or  the 
"  pow-wows  "  went  through  their  mystic  incantations.  And  as 
we  meet  at  cattle-shows  and  agricultural  anniversaries,  so  the 
Indians,  in  their  day,  celebrated  the  "green  corn  dance,"  or  the 
"feast  of  the  chestnut  moon." 

"  Alas  for  them  —  their  day  is  o'er ; 
Their  fires  are  out  from  hill  and  shore. 
No  more  for  them  the  red  deer  bounds, 
The  plow  is  in  their  hunting  grounds. 
The  pale  man's  axe  rings  through  their  woods, 
The  pale  man's  sail  skims  o'er  their  floods, 
Their  pleasant  springs  are  dry." 

Spanish  Colonial  Agriculture.  —  Spain  having  discovered 
America,  endeavored  to  colonize  the  regions  of  which  so  many 
wonderful  and  mysterious  accounts  were  circulated  by  the  early 
navigators.  As  early  as  1520  a  royal  edict,  "in  order  the  better 
to  facilitate  the  emigration  and  permanent  establishment  of  col- 
onists," offered  to  all  who  wished  to  go,  provisions  for  a  year ; 
to  defray  the  transportation  of  their  supplies  and  persons ; 
exemption  from  all  duties  and  imposts ;  and  the  perpetual 
ownership  of  the  houses  they  might  construct,  and  the  lands 
they  might  cultivate.  But  the  needy  adventurers  who  flocked 
to  the  New  World  sought  gold  and  glory  rather  than  homes 
and  lands,  especially  those  who  landed  on  the  shores  of  Florida. 


AGRICULTURE  IN  THE  UNITED  STATES.        449 

The  adventurers  who  landed  at  Tampa  Bay,  and  followed  the 
stern  De  Soto  to  the  Mississippi  River,  were  in  search  of  El 
Dorado,  and  had  no  desire  to  cultivate  any  of  the  fertile  regions 
over  which  they  passed  during  their  toilsome  march.  But  the 
home  government  desired  a  more  permanent  colonization,  and, 
in  1565,  we  find  that  Spain  granted  to  Francisco  de  Eraso 
"  twenty-five  leagues  square  (3,600,000  acres),  to  be  located 
wherever  he  pleased,  in  Florida,  with  the  office  of  governor,  and 
various  other  titles  and  privileges  for  himself  and  heirs,  exempt- 
ing them  from  imposts  and  duties,  on  condition  that  he  should 
provide  several  caravals  for  exploration,  and  colonize  his  tract, 
within  three  years,  with  500  settlers,  most  of  whom  should  be 
husbandmen,  500  slaves,  100  horses  and  mares,  200  heifers,  400 
swine,  and  400  ewes."  Several  colonies  were  thus  established, 
but  they  did  not  prosper,  and  little  was  done  to  improve  the 
cultivation  of  the  soil  until  the  English  took  possession  in  1763. 
When  the  Spaniards  regained  possession,  agriculture  was  again 
neglected,  fields  were  allowed  to  grow  up  with  briers,  and  sugar- 
houses  to  rot  down. 

The  Puritan  English  Colonists. — The  English  Puritans,  who 
settled  in  New  England,  were  men  who  regarded  civil  and  relig- 
ious liberty  as  the  primary  object  of  rational  beings.  To  use 
their  own  words,  **  They  left  their  pleasant  and  beautiful  homes 
in  England  to  plant  their  poor  cottages  in  the  wilderness,"  that 
they  might  worship  God  as  revelation  and  conscience  might  teach, 
and  found  a  free  agricultural  state  equal  to  Palestine  in  its  palmi- 
est days,  when  Israel's  kings  had  "  herds  of  cattle,  both  in  the  low 
country  and  on  the  plains,  granaries  for  their  abundant  crops, 
husbandmen  also,  and  vine-dressers  in  the  mountains."  The 
sacred  light  of  Biblical  history  was  not  to  them  like  the  stern- 
light  of  a  vessel,  only  illuminating  what  had  been  passed  over, 
but  rather  the  pillar  of  cloud  and  the  pillar  of  fire  moving  before 
them  on  the  path  of  life,  giving  guidance  by  day  and  assurance 
by  night.  The  fate  of  Babylon,  of  Nineveh,  of  Carthage,  of 
Venice,  of  Genoa,  and  many  commercial  governments  of  Central 
Europe,  warned  them 

*'  That  trade's  proud  empire  hastes  to  swift  decay. 
As  ocean  sweeps  the  labored  mole  away." 


450  AGRICULTURE, 

In  England,  agriculture  has  long  been  regarded  as  the  most 
favorable  occupation  for  the  development  of  Christianity,  and 
had,  prior  to  the  Reformation,  received  the  special  attention  of 
the  clergy.  The  first  gardens  and  orchards  were  those  of  the 
Benedictine  monks,  and  the  general  council  of  Lateran  decreed 
that,  "  all  presbyters,  clerks,  monks,  converts,  pilgrims,  and  peas- 
ants, when  they  are  engaged  in  the  labors  of  husbandry,  shall, 
together  with  the  cattle  in  their  plows  and  the  seed  which  they 
carry  into  the  field,  enjoy  perfect  security ;  and  that  all  who 
molest  and  interrupt  them,  if  they  do  not  desist  when  admon- 
ished, shall  be  excommunicated."  Nor  were  the  followers  of 
Luther  less  devoted  to  agriculture  than  their  Roman  predeces- 
sors, especially  when  it  was  found  that  the  doctrines  of  the 
reformed  Church  made  but  slow  progress  in  the  cities  and  towns. 
Dorsetshire  and  Wiltshire,  the  English  homes  of  the  Puritans 
ere  they  made  their  exodus  to  a  transatlantic  Canaan,  are  even 
now  remarkable  for  their  almost  total  absence  of  the  usual 
signs  of  trade  and  manufactures ;  and  we  are  informed  by  Ban- 
croft, that  those  who  first  went  to  Holland  were  anxious  to  emi- 
grate again  because  they  "  had  been  bred  to  agricultural 
pursuits,"  yet  were  there  "compelled  to  learn  mechanical 
trades."  "  They  sought  our  shores,"  said  Mr.  Webster,  "  under 
no  high-wrought  spirit  of  commercial  adventure,  no  love  of 
gold,  no  mixture  of  purpose,  warlike  or  hostile,  to  any  human 
being.  Accustomed  in  their  native  land  to  no  more  than  a 
plain  country  life  and  the  innocent  trade  of  husbandry,  they  set 
the  example  of  colonizing  New  England,  and  formed  the  mould 
for  the  civil  and  religious  character  of  its  inhabitants." 

This  desire  on  the  part  of  the  Puritans  that  "  New  England  " 
should  be  an  agricultural  community  was  strikingly  manifested 
by  the  corporation  of  Massachusetts  Bay,  whose  charter  ex- 
tended from  a  line  three  miles  south  of  Charles  River  to  another 
three  miles  north  of  "  any  and  every  part "  of  the  Merrimac. 
Each  contributor  and  each  stockholder  received  two  hundred 
acres  of  land  for  every  £,^0  sterling  paid  in,  while  stock- 
holders and  others  who  emigrated  at  their  own  expense  received 
fifty  acres  for  each  member  of  their  family  and  each  ''  indented 
servant."  This  shows  that  it  was  a  rural  home  in  this  land  of 
freedom,  and  not  town  lots  or  semi-annual  dividends,  that  these 


AGRICULTURE  IN  THE  UNITED  STATES,        45 1 

liberal  adventurers  sought,  and  we  find  further  confirmation  of 
their  agricultural  proclivities  in  the  inventories  of  the  supplies 
sent  by  the  corporation  to  the  new  colony.  **Vyne  planters" 
are  mentioned  usually  after  "  ministers  "  ;  then  come  hogsheads 
of  wheat,  rye,  barley,  and  oats,  unthreshed ;  beans,  peas,  and 
potatoes  ;  stones  of  all  kinds  of  fruits  ;  apple,  pear,  and  quince 
kernels  ;  hop,  licorice,  and  madder  roots ;  flax  and  woad  seed ; 
currant  plants  and  tame  turkeys.  Cattle  were  imported  by  the 
colonists,  not  only  from  various  parts  of  England,  but  from 
Holland,  Denmark,  and  the  Spanish  Main,  forming  a  noble 
foundation  for  that  "  native  stock  "  which,  when  carefully  reared 
and  well  fed,  is  at  least  equal  to  many  of  the  vaunted  imported 
breeds.  Horses,  sheep,  swine,  and  goats  were  also  imported 
from  Europe  in  large  numbers.  Neither  was  horticulture  neg- 
lected, for  we  find  that  Governor  Endicott  had  a  vegetable  gar- 
den and  vineyard  in  1629,  and  two  years  afterwards  he  planted 
the  famous  pear  orchard  of  which  one  venerable  survivor  still 
bears  the  patriarchal  honors. 

The  immigrants  found  that  Boston  had  "  sweet  and  pleasant 
springs,  and  good  land  affording  rich  corn  grounds  and  fruitful 
gardens "  ;  but,  as  their  numbers  and  the  numbers  of  their 
cattle  increased,  they  formed  colonies  in  various  directions, 
especially  in  **  Wonne-squam-sauke  "  (now  Essex  County),  for 
amid  its  "pleasant  waters"  were  unwooded  meadows  suitable 
for  pasturage  and  for  grass-cutting,  while  the  uplands  were  well 
adapted  for  tillage.  Squatter  sovereignty  was  unknown,  for  no 
individuals  were  permitted  to  establish  theniselves  within  the 
limits  of  the  colony.  Each  body  swarmed  out  in  community, 
with  a  regular  allotment  of  individual  farms,  based  in  extent 
upon  the  wealth  of  the  settlers,  and  a  great  pasture,  a  peat 
meadow,  a  salt  marsh,  and  fishing-grounds  held  in  common. 
These  farms  were  so  laid  out  that  no  house  was  over  half  a  mile 
from  the  meeting-house,  and  it  was  with  astonishing  rapidity 
that  agricultural  communities  sprang  up,  like  the  fabled  war- 
riors of  Cadmus,  into  full-armed  life.  Like  those  mythological 
knights,  they  were  armed  with  weapons,  not  for  their  own 
destruction,  but  for  the  defence  of  their  liberties  and  their 
homes.  From  these  small  farming  hamlets  have  grown  up 
most  of  the  towns  and  cities  of  our  country,  and  from  one  of 


452  AGRICULTURE, 

them  afterwards  went  forth  the  Alpha  of  colonization  in  the 
Great  West.  In  the  log  cabin  of  that  agricultural  era  were  first 
cultivated  the  true,  though  austere  religion,  the  domestic  virtues, 
the  sturdy  habits  of  frugal  industry,  the  daring  spirit,  and  the 
devoted  love  of  liberty  that  have  so  advanced  the  prosperity 
and  the  glory  of  this  Western  Continent.  The  acorns  planted 
by  our  fathers  have  become  stately  trees,  under  whose  umbra- 
geous foliage  thousands  of  their  descendants  and  others,  whom 
the  grateful  shade  has  invited  from  less  favored  lands,  find  pro- 
tection, shelter,  and  repose. 

The  immigrants  were  supplied  with  carts,  chains,  shovels, 
hoes,  and  rakes,  but  it  was  some  years  before  a  plow  was  intro- 
duced ;  and  even  so  late  as  1637  there  were  but  30  plows  in 
Massachusetts.  A  yeoman  in  Salem  that  year  made  complaint 
that  "he  had  not  sufficient  ground  to  maintain  a  plow"  on  his 
tract  of  300  acres,  and  he  was  allowed  an  addition  of  20 
acres  to  his  original  grant,  if  he  would  ''set  up  plowing."  The 
plows  first  used  were  the  imported  English  wheel-plows,  but 
somewhat  lighter  although  clumsy  kinds  were  in  time  made  by 
the  village  wheelwright  and  blacksmith.  Then  came  what  was 
long  known  as  the  Gary  plow,  with  clumsy  wrought-iron  share, 
wooden  landside  and  standard,  and  wooden  mould-board  plated 
over  with  sheet-iron  or  tin,  and  with  short,  upright  handles, 
requiring  a  strong  man  to  guide  it.  The  bar-share  plow  was 
another  form,  still  remembered  by  many  for  its  rudely  fitted 
wooden  mould-board  and  coulter,  and  immense  friction,  from  the 
rough  iron  bar  which  formed  the  landside. 

Massachusetts  was  the  first  among  the  colonies  to  introduce 
the  manufacture  of  scythes  and  other  agricultural  implements. 
In  1646  the  General  Court  granted  to  Joseph  Jenckes,  of  Lynn, 
a  native  of  Hammersmith,  in  England,  and  connected  with  the 
first  iron  works  in  that  colony,  the  exclusive  privilege  for  four- 
teen years  "  to  make  experience  of  his  abillityes  and  inventions 
for  making,  among  other  things,  of  mills  for  the  making  of 
sithes  and  other  edge  tooles."  His  patent  "for  ye  more  speedy 
cutting  of  grass"  was  renewed  for  seven  years,  in  May,  1655. 
The  improvement  consisted  in  making  the  blade  longer  and 
thinner,  and  in  strengthening  it  at  the  same  time  by  welding  a 
square  bar  of  iron  to  the  back,  as  in  the  modern  scythe,  thus 


AGRICULTURE  IN  THE  UNITED  STATES.        453 

materially  improving  upon  the  old  English  scythe  then  in  use, 
which  was  short,  thick,  and  heavy,  like  a  bush  scythe.  A  cen- 
tury later,  a  Scotchman  named  Hugh  Orr  came  to  Massachusetts 
and  erected  at  Bridgewater  the  first  trip  hammer  in  the  colony, 
with  which  he  manufactured  scythes,  shovels,  axes,  hoes,  and 
other  implements,  for  which  that  place  has  since  enjoyed  a 
deserved  reputation. 

Thanks  to  the  industrious  antiquarians  who  have  gleaned 
from  manuscripts,  traditions,  and  old  publications  almost  every 
detail  of  the  domestic  life  of  the  first  settlers,  we  can  constitute 
ourselves  a  "committee  on  farms,"  and  in  imagination  visit  one 
of  the  early  yeomen.  Riding  along  a  "trail"  indicated  by 
marked  trees,  we  find  his  horse  and  cattle  shed  standing  near 
an  old  Indian  clearing,  encircled  by  a  high  palisade,  which  also 
includes  the  spring,  that  water  may  be  brought  without  danger 
from  the  "bloody  savages."  The  house,  which  is  over  a  small, 
deep  cellar,  is  built  of  logs,  notched  where  they  meet  at  the 
corners,  with  a  thatched  roof,  and  a  large  chimney  at  one  end, 
built  of  stones  cemented  with  clay.  The  small  windows  are 
covered  with  oiled  paper,  with  protecting  shutters,  and  the 
massive  door  is  thick  enough  to  be  bullet-proof.  Pulling  the 
"latch  string"  we  enter,  and  find  that  the  floor,  and  the  floor  of 
the  loft  which  forms  the  ceiling,  are  made  of  "rifted"  or  split 
pine,  roughly  smoothed  with  the  adze,  while  the  immense  hearth, 
occupying  nearly  an  entire  side  of  the  house,  is  of  large,  flat 
stones.  There  are  no  partition  walls,  but  thick  serge  curtains 
are  so  hung  that  at  night  they  divide  off  the  flock  beds,  upon 
which  there  are  piles  of  rugs,  coverlets,  and  flannel  sheets.  A 
high-backed  chair  or  two,  a  massive  table,  a  large  chest  with  a 
carved  front,  and  some  Indian  birch-bark  boxes  for  wearing 
apparel,  are  ranged  around  the  walls,  while  on  a  large  dressoir 
we  see  wooden  bowls  and  trenchers,  earthen  platters,  horn 
drinking-cups,  and  a  pewter  tankard.  The  corselet,  matchlock, 
and  bandoliers  are  ready  for  defence,  with  a  halberd,  if  the 
senior  occupant  of  the  house  holds  a  commission  in  "ye  train 
band,"  and  from  a  "lean-to"  shed  comes  the  hum  of  the  great 
wheel,  or  the  clang  of  the  loom,  as  the  busy  "  helpmates  "  hasten 
to  finish  their  "stents."  High  on  the  mantel  shelf,  with  a 
"cresset  lamp"  on  one  side  and  the  time-marking  hour-glass  on 


454  AGRICULTURE. 

the  other,  is  the  well-thumbed  Bible,  which  was  not  left  for  show. 
''Our  especial  desire  is,"  say  the  company's  instructions,  ''that 
you  take  especial  care  in  settling  these  families  that  the  chief 
in  the  family  be  grounded  in  religion,  whereby  morning  and 
evening  family  duties  may  be  duly  performed,  and  a  watchful 
eye  held  over  all  in  each  family  by  one  or  more  in  each  family 
appointed  thereto,  that  so  disorders  may  be  prevented,  and  ill 
weeds  nipt  before  they  take  too  great  a  head." 

The  fare  of  the  Puritan  farmers  was  as  frugal  as  it  was  whole- 
some :  Pease  porridge  for  breakfast ;  bread,  cheese,  and  beer  or 
cider  for  luncheon ;  a  "  boiled  dish,"  or  "  black  broth,"  or  salt 
fish,  or  broiled  pork,  or  baked  beans,  for  dinner ;  hasty  pudding 
and  milk  for  supper,  and  a  constant  succession  of  fruit  or  berry 
pies  at  every  meal,  when  the  housewife  had  time  to  make  them 
in  addition  to  her  other  cooking,  her  dairy,  washing,  mending, 
carding,  spinning,  weaving,  and  knitting.  Swedish  turnips 
were  the  staple  vegetable.  The  bread  was  generally  made  of 
corn,  barley,  or  rye  meal,  and  if  the  diet  was  rather  farinaceous 
than  animal,  there  was  less  demand  for  medicine,  and  a  larger, 
longer-lived  growth  of  men  and  women  than  in  these  degenerate 
days  of  luxury  and  "progress." 

The  Cavalier  English  Colonies.  —  The  tide-water  regions  of 
Maryland  and  Virginia,  and  the  Carolinas,  were  originally  settled 
by  the  cavalier  aristocracy  of  England,  with  their  servants  and 
their  slaves.  Next  came  the  Scotch  merchants  and  mechanics, 
a  moral,  industrious,  and  honest  race,  who  located  themselves 
in  the  towns.  Afterwards  there  was  an  immigration  of  French 
Huguenots,  of  high  character  and  attainments ;  and  in  later 
years,  the  unsuccessful  rebellions  of  the  elder  and  younger  Pre- 
tenders forced  large  numbers  of  Scotch  Jacobins  to  seek  new 
homes  on  the  Western  Continent.  Many  indentured  white  ser- 
vants, and  some  transported  convicts,  were  also  sent  over  from 
England ;  but  after  a  generation  or  so  all  of  these  became 
blended  into  a  homogeneous  race  of  "cavaliers";  aristocratic, 
because  they  had  an  inferior  race  beneath  them. 

An  idea  of  the  immigration  by  which  Virginia,  the  mother  of 
the  South  Atlantic  States,  was  colonized,  may  be  formed  from 
the  response  of  Governor  Sir  William  Berkeley  to  one  of  the 
many  interrogatories  propounded  to  him  by  the  British  Lords 


AGRICULTURE  IN  THE  UNITED  STATES,        455 

Commissioners  of  Foreign  Affairs ;  viz. :  "  What  number  of  Eng- 
lish, Scotch,  and  Irish  have  for  these  seven  years  last  past  come 
yearly  to  plant  and  inhabit  with  your  government ;  and  also," 
what  blacks  or  slaves  have  been  brought  in  within  the  same  ? " 
^*  Yearly  there  comes  in  of  servants  about  fifteen  hundred  ;  most 
are  English,  few  Scotch,  and  fewer  Irish,  and  not  above  two  or 
three  ships  of  negroes  in  seven  years !  "  He  says  nothing  of 
the  free  immigrants,  though  included  in  the  interrogatory,  and 
their  number  was  doubtless  too  inconsiderable  for  notice. 

The  feudal  system  was  transplanted  to  Virginia,  and  the  royal 
grants  of  land  gave  the  proprietors  baronial  power.  One  of 
these  grants,  or  "patents,"  as  they  were  called,  gave  the  paten- 
tee the  right  *'to  divide  the  said  tract  or  territory  of  land  into 
counties,  hundreds,  parishes,  tithings,  townships,  hamlets,  and 
boroughs ;  and  to  erect  and  build  cities,  towns,  parish  churches, 
colleges,  chapels,  free  schools,  almshouses,  and  houses  of  correc- 
tion, and  to  endow  the  same  at  their  free  will  and  pleasure,  and 
,did  appoint  them  full  and  perpetual  patrons  of  all  such  churches 
so  to  be  built  and  endowed  ;  with  power  also  to  divide  any  part 
or  parcel  of  said  tract  or  territory,  or  portion  of  land,  into  manors, 
and  to  call  the  same  after  their  own  or  any  of  their  names,  or  by 
other  name  or  names  whatsoever ;  and  within  the  same  to  hold 
a  court  in  the  nature  of  a  court  baron,  and  to  hold  pleas  of  all 
actions,  trespasses,  covenants,  accounts,  contracts,  detinues, 
debts,  and  demands  whatsoever,  when  the  debt  or  thing  de- 
manded exceed  not  the  value  of  forty  shillings,  sterling  money 
of  England ;  and  to  receive  and  take  all  amercements,  fruits, 
commodities,  advantages,  perquisites,  and  emoluments  whatso- 
ever, to  such  respective  court  barons  belonging  or  in  any  wise 
appertaining ;  and  further,  to  l>old  within  the  same  manors  a 
court  leet  and  view  of  frank  pledge  of  all  the  tenants,  residents, 
and  inhabitants  of  the  hundred  within  such  respective  manors," 
etc.,  etc. 

The  Maryland  and  Virginia  estates  were  large,  extending  far 
back  in  the  country,  from  their  fronts  on  the  Chesapeake  Bay  or 
its  tributaries,  near  which  the  buildings  were  located.  .  Tide- 
water was  at  every  cavalier  planter's  door,  and  ships  from  Eng- 
land brought  him  his  annual  supplies  of  merchandise  in  exchange 
for  his  crop  of  tobacco,  while  smaller  crafts  came  with  the  prod- 


456  AGRICULTURE. 

ucts  of  the  New  England  fisheries  and  of  the  West  India  planta- 
tions, to  barter  for  his  tobacco,  cotton,  wheat,  or  corn.  The 
neighboring  waters  swarmed  with  many  varieties  of  wild  fowl, 
and  abounded  with  fish,  oysters^  soft  crabs,  and  turtle,  while  in 
the  woods  was  an  abundance  of  game. 

Tobacco  became  the  staple  product  of  Virginia  soon  after  the 
first  settlement  of  the  British  colonists,  and  although  many  and 
stringent  laws  were  enacted  to  prevent  its  cultivation,  little 
attention  was  paid  to  any  other  crops  beyond  what  was  needed 
for  home  consumption.  Attempts  were  made  to  encourage  other 
branches  of  rural  industry.  But  the  Virginia  landowners  pre- 
ferred the  exhausting  tobacco  plants,  with  a  continuous  cropping, 
shallow  plowing,  and  no  supplies  of  fertilizers,  until  every  parti- 
cle of  nourishment  had  been  drawn  from  the  soil  by  the  plants, 
or  washed  out  by  the  rains.  The  implements  used  were  small 
plows  and  heavy  hoes ;  and  when  the  tobacco  had  been  gath- 
ered, cured,  and  packed  into  hogsheads,  these  were  rolled  to  the 
nearest  inspection  wharf.  The  roads  were  bad,  and  there  were 
but  few. wagons,  so  a  pole  and  whiffletrees  were  attached  to  each 
hogshead,  by  an  iron  bolt  driven  in  the  centre  of  each  head,  and 
it  was  converted  into  a  large  roller.  For  many  years  the  places 
for  deposit  and  inspection  of  tobacco  on  the  river  were  called 
*'  rolling  houses." 

King  James  the  First,  prompted  doubtless  by  his  antipathy 
to  "the  Virginia  weed,"  and  "having  understood  that  the  soil 
naturally  yieldeth  store  of  excellent  mulberries,"  gave  instruc- 
tions to  the  Earl  of  Southampton  to  urge  the  cultivation  of  silk 
in  the  colony,  in  preference  to  tobacco,  "which  brings  with  it 
many  disorders  and  inconveniences."  In  obedience  to  the  com- 
mand, the  earl  wrote  an  express  letter  on  the  subject  to  the 
governor  and  council,  in  which  he  desired, them  to  compel  the 
colonists  to  plant  mulberry  trees,  and  also  vines.  Accordingly, 
"as  early  as  th^  year  1623,  the  colonial  assembly  directed  the 
planting  of  mulberry  trees;  and  in  1656  another  act  was  passed, 
in  which  the  culture  of  silk  is  described  as  the  most  profitable 
commodity  for  the  country,  and  a  penalty  of  ten  pounds  of 
tobacco  is  imposed  upon  every  planter  who  shall  fail  to  plant  at 
least  ten  mulberry  trees  for  every  hundred  acres  of  land  in  his 
possession.     In  the  same  year  a  premium  of  4000  pounds  of 


AGRICULTURE  IN  THE  UNITED  STATES.        457 

tobacco  was  given  to  a  person,  as  an  inducement  to  remain  in 
the  country  and  prosecute  the  trade  in  silk ;  and  in  the  next 
year  a  premium  of  10,000  pounds  of  tobacco  was  offered  to 
any  one  who  should  export  ;£^200  worth  of  the  raw  material 
of  silk."  About  the  same  time,  5000  pounds  of  the  same  article 
were  promised  "to  any  one  who  should  produce  1000  pounds  of 
wound  silk  in  one  year." 

Cotton,  which  is  the  staple  of  the  Southern  States  settled  by 
Virginians,  was  first  grown  by  the  early  colonists  in  1621,  but  it 
was  not  an  article  of  general  home  consumption,  or  of  export, 
for  many  years.  In  1748  seven  bags  of  cotton-wool,  valued  at 
;£'3  I  IS.  ^d.  a  bag,  were  among  the  exports  of  Charleston,  South 
Carolina ;  and  after  the  Revolution  the  growth  and  exportation 
of  the  sea-island  cotton  was  commenced,  seed  having  been 
obtained  from  one  of  the  Leeward  Isles.  Originally  the  cotton 
was  separated  from  the  seed  with  the  fingers,  and  afterwards 
there  were  several  contrivances  used,  among  them  the  employ- 
ment of  a  long  bow  fitted  with  a  number  of  strings,  which,  being 
vibrated  by  the  blows  of  a  wooden  mallet  while  in  contact  with 
a  bunch  of  cotton,  shook  the  seed  and  dust  from  the  mass.  In 
1742,  M.  Dubreuil,  a  wealthy  planter  of  New  Orleans,  invented 
a  cleaning-machine,  which  was  so  far  successful  as  to  give  quite 
an  impulse  to  the  cotton  culture  in  Louisiana,  and  several  other 
inventions  were  subsequently  used  in  other  sections  of  the 
South  ;  but  none  of  them  accomplished  the  desired  work.  In 
1794,  Eli  Whitney,  a  native  of  Massachusetts,  then  residing  in 
Georgia,  invented  the  saw-gin,  which  completely  removes  all 
extraneous  matters  without  injury  to  the  fibre,  and  enables 
a  man  to  clean  300  pounds  a  day  instead  of  one  pound,  as 
he  had  been  able  to  do  by  hand.  This  wonderful  labor-saving 
machine  has  exerted  an  influence  on  the  industrial  interests  of 
the  world,  and  has  placed  cotton  foremost  among  our  national 
exports. 

The  production  of  wine  in  the  Atlantic  colonies  was  believed 
to  be  practicable  by  many  of  the  early  settlers,  and  several  of  the 
governors  endeavored  to  encourage  the  planting  of  vineyards. 
In  1758,  the  ''London  Society  for  the  Encouragement  of  Arts, 
Commerce,  and  Manufactures  "  proposed  the  following  premium 
for  the  wine  itself  :  "  As  producing  wines  in  our  American  colo- 


45^  AGRICULTURE. 

nies  will  be  of  great  advantage  to  those  colonies,  and  also  to  this 
kingdom,  it  is  proposed  to  give  to  that  planter,  in  any  of  our  said 
colonies,  who  shall  first  produce,  within  seven  years  from  the  date 
hereof,  from  his  own  plantation,  five  tuns  of  white  or  red  wine, 
made  of  grapes,  the  produce  of  these  colonies  only,  and  such  as 
in  the  opinion  of  competent  judges,  appointed  by  the  society  in 
London,  shall  be  deemed  deserving  the  reward — not  less  than 
one  tun  thereof  to  be  imported  at  London  —  one  hundred  pounds." 
This  premium  was  continued  to  be  advertised  to  1765,  the  period 
appointed  for  bringing  in  the  claims,  and  then  dropped.  After 
the  year  1759,  a  nota  befie  was  added  to  the  advertisement,  which 
expressed  "  that  the  method  of  cultivating  vines  for  wines,  and 
the  manner  of  making  wines  in  different  countries,  were  to  be 
found  in  *  Miller's  Dictionary,'  edit.  1758." 

The  **  London  Society  for  the  Encouragement  of  Arts,  Com- 
merce, and  Manufactures "  also  offered  premiums  for  hemp, 
opium,  olives,  pot  and  pearl  ashes,  barilla,  logwood,  scammony 
(produced  from  the  Convohndus  Scauwtonia) ,  myrtle  wax  (pro- 
duced from  the  candleberry  myrtle),  sarsaparilla  root,  and  gum 
from  the  persimmon  tree.  It  was  thought  that  this  gum  might 
take  the  place  of  gum-arabic,  and  directions  were  given  for 
gathering,  but  it  was  ascertained  that  the  cost  would  be  three 
shillings  sterling  a  pound,  and  as  gum-arabic  could  be  bought  at 
London  for  less  than  one-sixth  of  that  price,  the  premiums  were 
discontinued  after  having  been  offered  for  three  years. 

The  French  Colonists.  —  While  the  tide-water  region  of  the 
Atlantic  coast  was  being  colonized,  from  the  Penobscot  to  the 
Altamaha,  by  the  British,  by  the  Dutch,  and  by  the  Swedes,  the 
French  ascended  the  St.  Lawrence  and  the  Great  Lakes,  crossed 
to  the  head-waters  of  the  Mississippi,  and  descended  that  river 
to  its  mouth.  They  were  explorers,  not  settlers,  —  and  when  they 
established  posts  it  was  for  hunting,  rather  than  agriculture. 
Their  leaders,  stamped  with  martial  virtues  and  martial  faults, 
ambitiously  endeavored  to  grasp  the  entire  Western  Continent, 
rather  than  to  cultivate  a  portion  of  it,  and  the  historian's  account 
of  their  adventures  is  a  romance.  Plumed  helmets  gleamed  in 
the  shade  of  the  forests  which  bordered  the  lakes  and  rivers  of 
what  was  then  the  far  West,  and  priestly  vestments  were  to  be 
seen  around  the  fitful  light  of  the  camp-fires.     Men  of  courtly 


d 


AGRICULTURE  IN  THE  UNITED  STATES.        459 

nurture,  heirs  to  the  polish  of  a  far-reaching  ancestry,  established 
their  "seigniories"  here  and  there,  but  paid  little  attention  to 
the  cultivation  of  the  soil. 

Louisiana  was  the  only  French  colony  in  which  especial  atten- 
tion was  paid  to  agricultural  pursuits.  A  variety  of  crops  was 
tried  successively,  but  none  proved  as  remunerative  as  the 
sugar-cane,  which  had  been  taken  from  India  to  Spain,  by  the 
Saracens,  thence  to  Madeira,  and  thence  to  the  West  India  Isl- 
ands. In  1 75 1  a  French  transport,  having  on  board  200  troops 
for  the  garrison  of  the  colony  of  Louisiana,  touched  at  St. 
Domingo.  The  Jesuits  located  in  the  bay  of  Port-au-Prince 
obtained  leave  to  send  on  board,  for  their  branch  establishment 
at  New  Orleans,  a  supply  of  cane,  with  a  few  negroes  used  to 
its  cultivation  and  the  manufacture  of  sugar.  These  canes  were 
landed  and  planted,  but  for  several  years  the  Jesuits,  and  those 
to  whom  they  gave  canes,  were  equally  unsuccessful  either  in 
their  cultivation  or  in  the  manufacture  of  sugar. 

A  quaint  engraving,  executed  in  Germany,  represents  the 
process  of  manufacture.  The  cane  was  stripped  of  its  leaves 
and  ground,  or  rather  crushed,  by  a  heavy  stone,  made  to  revolve 
by  manual  force.  The  expressed  juice,  after  having  been  boiled 
in  a  cauldron,  was  ladled  into  large  stone  jars,  which  were  ex- 
posed to  the  rays  of  the  sun  until  the  sugar  crystallized. 

In  1764  the  Chevalier  De  Mazan  tried  the  experiment  on  his 
plantation,  on  the  opposite  shore  of  the  Mississippi  River,  with 
more  success.  In  the  following  year,  Destrehan  (then  treasurer 
of  the  king  of  France,  in  the  colony),  and  several  other  planters, 
put  up  works  below  the  city,  on  the  left  bank,  but  with  the  same 
result.  The  planters  were  disheartened,  and  in  1769  the  manu- 
facture of  sugar  in  Louisiana  was  entirely  abandoned,  and  the 
planters  turned  their  attention  to  the  cultivation  of  indigo,  cot- 
ton, tobacco,  rice,  corn,  etc.  A  few  small  gardeners  continued 
the  planting  of  sugar-cane  in  the  neighborhood  of  the  city,  which 
they  retailed  in  the  market  for  the  use  of  children,  or  expressed 
the  juice,  making  syrup,  which  they  sold  in  bottles.  More  than 
twenty-five  years  elapsed  before  further  efforts  were  made  in  its 
cultivation. 

.  In  1 79 1  A.  Mendez,  of  New  Orleans,  purchased  the  apparatus, 
land,  etc.,  which  now  forms  a  part  of  the  Oluren  plantation,  at 


46o  AGRICULTURE. 

Terre  aux  Boeufs,  below  the  city,  and,  nothing  daunted,  resolved 
to  carry  on  the  manufacture  of  sugar.  He  secured  the  services 
of  M.  Morie,  who  had  gained  some  experience  in  the  manufacture 
at  St.  Domingo.  He  was  more  successful ;  and  at  a  grand  din- 
ner with  Don  Reindin  (then  Spanish  Intendant  of  Louisiana), 
given  to  the  public  authorities  of  New  Orleans,  he  exhibited  as 
a  curiosity  a  few  small  loaves  of  refined  sugar,  the  first  ever  pro- 
duced in  Louisiana. 

In  1792  Etienne  Bord,  a  planter  living  a  few  miles  above  the 
city,  finding  his  indigo  crops  a  failure,  determined,  as  a  dernier 
resort,  to  try  the  cultivation  of  sugar.  At  length,  in  1795,  his 
success  was  partial,  and  in  the  following  year,  under  the  auspices 
of  Morie,  it  was  rendered  complete.  He  was  induced  to  make 
further  improvements  and  essay  new  experiments,  until  he 
fully  established  this,  one  of  the  most  productive  branches  in 
Louisiana. 

At  that  time  there  were  but  two  varieties  of  cane  in  Louisiana 
—  the  Malabar  or  Bengal,  and  the  Otaheite ;  these  have  disap- 
peared, or  nearly  so,  and  have  given  place  to  the  purple  or  red- 
ribbon  cane  of  Java  or  Batavia.  The  Dutch  introduced  it,  about 
the  middle  of  the  last  century,  to  St.  Eustatius,  Curagoa,  Guiana, 
and  Surinam,  whence  it  spread  all  over  the  West  Indies,  and 
over  a  portion  of  the  South  American  continent. 

In  1 8 14  an  American  schooner  imported  a  few  bundles  of  this 
cane  into  Georgia,  and  in  18 17  about  a  dozen  of  these  plants 
were  brought  to  New  Orleans  by  John  Joseph  Coiron,  who 
planfed  them  in  his  garden  at  Terre  aux  Boeufs.  Meeting  with 
the  most  gratifying  success  in  their  cultivation,  Mr.  Coiron,  in 
1825,  imported  a  sloop  load  from  Savannah,  which  he  planted  on 
his  estate,  known  as  the  St.  Sophie  plantation,  about  thirty-six 
miles  below  the  city.  Thence  originated  the  ribbon-cane,  or 
Javanese,  now  most  generally  grown  throughout  Louisiana  and 
Texas. 

The  French  were  the  first  to  collect  agricultural  statistics  on 
this  continent.  The  governors  of  Canada  and  of  Louisiana,  from 
the  year  1689  until  the  termination  of  the  French  rule  in  those 
colonies,  obtained  every  year  the  number  of  acres  cultivated,  the 
amount  of  crops  raised,  the  number  of  horses,  cows,  sheep,  and 
swine,  and  the  success  which  attended  the  cultivation  of  new 


AGRICULTURE  IN  THE  UNITED  STATES.        46 1 

crops  introduced  by  order  of  the  home  government.  These 
interesting  agricultural  statistics,  with  the  exception  of  a  few- 
missing  years,  are  now  in  the  archives-  of  France. 

The  Revolutionary  Period.  —  The  American  colonists  not 
only  subdued  the  wilderness,  but  conquered  its  savage  occupants, 
and  carried  on  expensive  wars,  fighting  bravely  at  Quebec  and 
at  Louisburg,  at  Ticonderoga  and  at  Fort  Duquesne.  As  they 
advanced  in  civilization,  attempts  were  made  to  improve  their 
cultivation  of  the  soil,  being  stimulated  by  the  premiums  offered 
in  England.  In  1747  Jared  Elliot,  a  Connecticut  clergyman, 
published  a  useful  work  on  field  husbandry,  and  the  invoices  of 
the  London  tobacco  factors  show  that  there  was  a  demand  for 
the  works  of  Jethro  Tull,  by  the  Virginia  planters. 

When  Dr.  Franklin  went  to  England,  as  the  agent  of  Penn- 
sylvania, he  was  not  unmindful  of  its  greatest  interest,  and  he 
sent  home  for  distribution,  in  1770,  seeds,  mulberry  cuttings, 
silkworms'  eggs,  etc.,  thus  initiating  that  system  of  government 
supply  which  has  been  productive  of  such  important  results. 

The  glorious  aid  given  by  the  planters  and  farmers  in  the 
Revolutionary  struggle  of  1776  forms  a  bright  chapter  in  the 
annals  of  American  agriculture.  Had  we  had  many  large  cities 
then,  as  now,  it  is  doubtful  if  independence  would  have  been 
declared,  for  we  should  have  been  so  accessible  to  attack  that  it 
would  have  been  madness  to  have  commenced  that  "  resistance 
to  tyrants "  which  is  "obedience  to  God."  As  it  was,  Tories 
abounded  in  the  cities,  each  of  which  was  in  turn  occupied  by 
the  redcoats ;  and  all  must  admit  that  British  power  was  pros- 
trated on  this  continent  by  the  hard-handed  operatives  of  iron 
nerve,  a  majority  of  them  yeomen,  who  left  their  plows  in  the 
furrows  to  aid  the  farmer  of  Mount  Vernon  in  unyoking  their 
land  from  tyranny.  In  recalling  the  patriotic  devotion  of  our 
forefathers,  which  has  since  been  imitated  again  and  again,  when 
the  war-trumpet  has  been  heard  in  the  land,  let  us  bear  in  mind 
that  when  Rome  —  that  victorious  imperial  mother  of  nations  — 
suffered  her  noble  urban  citizens  to  "crush  out"  the  cultivators 
by  unjust  taxation  and  the  free  admission  of  agricultural  prod- 
ucts, her  power  began  to  wane.  Long  before  the  race  of  the 
patricians  had  become  extinct,  the  free  cultivators  had  disap- 
peared from  the  fields,  leaving  no  recruits  for  the  once  victorious 


462  AGRICULTURE. 

cohorts,  who  now  fled  before  the  invading  Goths.     Truly  Gold- 
smith said :  — 

"  Princes  or  kings  may  flourish  or  may  fade, 
A  breath  can  make  them  as  a  breath  has  made ; 
But  a  bold  yeomanry,  their  country's  pride, 
When  once  destroyed,  can  never  be  suppHed," 

General  Washington,  while  ''first  in  war,"  never  "virtually 
ceased,"  we  are  told  by  Irving,  **to  be  the  agriculturist. 
Throughout  all  his  campaigns  he  had  kept  himself  informed  of 
the  course  of  rural  affairs  at  Mount  Vernon.  By  means  of 
maps,  on  which  every  field  was  laid  dowri  and  numbered,  he 
was  enabled  to  give  directions  for  their  several. cultivation,  and 
receive  account  of  their  several  crops.  No  hurry  of  affairs  pre- 
vented a  correspondence  with  his  overseer  or  agent,  and  he  ex- 
acted weekly  reports.  Thus  his  rural  were  interwoven  with  his 
military  cares  ;  the  agriculturist  was  mingled  with  the  soldier ; 
and  those  strong  sympathies  with  the  honest  cultivators  of  the 
soil,  and  that  paternal  care  of  their  interests,  to  be  noted  through- 
out his  military  career,  may  be  ascribed,  in  a  great  measure,  to 
the  sweetening  influence  of  Mount  Vernon." 

The  deplorable  condition  of  the  agriculture  of  the  republic 
was  not  unnoticed  by  the  "fathers  of  the  country."  Washing- 
ton commenced  making  experiments  on  his  farm  at  Mount 
Vernon,  and  John  Adams  on  his  farm  at  Quincy,  and  Jefferson 
on  his  estate  at  Monticello.  Many  of  the  reverend  clergy  made 
their  parsonage  farms  and  glebe  lands  models  to  the  counties 
round,  and  there  was  a  great  demand  for  agricultural  literature. 
Mr.  Jefferson  also  exercised  his  mechanical  tastes  in  improving 
the  mould-board  of  plows,  which  he  afterwards  adapted  to  an 
improved  plow  sent  him  by  the  Agricultural  Society  of  the 
Department  of  the  Seine,  in  France.  His  son-in-law,  Mr.  Ran- 
dolph, whom  Mr.  Jefferson  thought  the  best  farmer  in  Virginia, 
invented  a  side-hill  plow,  adapted  to  the  hilly  regions  of  that 
State. 

Mr.  Jefferson  advocated  an  adherence  to  scientific  principles 
in  the  construction  of  the  plow.  The  first  attempt  to  carry  out 
these  suggestions  was  made  by  Robert  Smith,  of  Pennsylvania, 
who  took  out  the  first  patent  for  the  mould-board  alone  of  a 
plow.     Peace  spread  her  wings  over  the  new  republic,  and  her 


AGRICULTURE  IN  THE  UNITED  STATES.        463 

soldiers  returned  to  their  farms.  Their  system  of  agriculture, 
however,  was  of  a  low  order  and,  as  such,  was  deprecated  by 
all  who  understood  its  importance.  Washington,  Adams,  and 
others,  both  by  precept  and  example,  sought  to  instruct  and 
encourage  the  farmers  to  more  methodical  habits  and  better 
cultivation. 

It  was  not,  however,  until  after  the  War  of  18 12  that  such  an 
idea  was  seriously  considered  ;  but  when  it  did  come  it  took  a 
strong  hold,  and  the  improvements  of  the  present  are  the  results 
of  it.  There  were  many  causes  for  this.  The  rich  and  abun- 
dant lands  of  the  United  States,  the  variety  of  soil  and  climate, 
together  with  the  rapid  increase  in  immigration,  and  the  almost 
universal  desire  to  be  independent  in  every  sense  of  the  word, 
led  the  bulk  of  the  people  to  choose  agriculture  as  a  calling.  It 
required  but  little  skill,  and  was  cheap,  and  the  idea  of  having  a 
home  of  their  own  seemed  to  obtain  quite  generally  among  the 
people.  Then,  too,  each  farmer  was  a  pioneer,  and  as  such 
learned  to  do  without  many  of  those  helps  and  conveniences 
that  are  now  seen  on  every  hand. 

After  peace  had  again  been  secured,  the  real  work  of  building 
a  nation  began.  Statesmen  were  not  wanting  who  could  clearly 
discern  the  potent,  conservative  force  that  waited  upon  a  perma- 
nent and  contented  element  of  farmers.  The  purchase  of  lands 
was  made  comparatively  easy,  the  interests  of  the  farmer  cared 
for,  and  a  general  desire  was  manifested  to  aid  and  protect  that 
industry.  The  growth  of  agriculture  in  the  United  States  has 
been  marvellous,  and  is  yet  really  in  its  infancy.  The  possibil- 
ities of  this  branch  of  the  economy  of  the  nation,  under  kindly 
laws,  would  be  difficult  to  conceive.  With  the  invention  of  farm 
machinery  has  come  a  rapid  increase  in  production.  New  terri- 
tory has  been  opened  up,  and  the  railroad  has  almost  eliminated 
the  idea  of  distance.  Taken  altogether,  American  farmers,  with 
a  proper  and  just  method  of  distribution,  would  stand  at  the 
head  of  the  world's  producers. 

There  have  been  several  periods  of  great  prosperity  among 
the  farmers,  and  again  like  periods  of  distress.  The  farmers  of 
America  are  at  the  present  time  suffering  from  a  series  of  years 
of  business  depression,  and  are  calling  loudly  for  a  change  of 
conditions.     They  assert  that,  during  the  last  quarter  of  a  cen- 


464  AGRICULTURE. 

tury,  laws  have  been  made  that  bear  unevenly  upon  their  inter- 
ests, in  consequence  of  which  they  are  the  losers.  They  show, 
by  statistics,  that,  notwithstanding  their  production  has  in- 
creased, the  remuneration  that  should  follow  has  been  dimin- 
ished. President  L.  L.  Polk,  of  the  National  Farmers'  Alliance 
and  Industrial  Union,  said,  in  his  speech  before  the  Committee 
on  Agriculture :  — 

**  With  kindly  climatic  conditions ;  with  varieties  of  soil  admirably  adapted 
to  the  successful  cultivation  of  all  the  staple  products  demanded  by  commerce ; 
with  transportation  facilities  equal  to  the  productive  power  of  the  country ; 
with  the  world  as  his  customer ;  with  all  the  natural  facilities  and  conditions 
for  making  his  home  the  happiest,  the  most  prosperous,  the  proudest  heritage 
which  the  God  of  nature  ever  vouchsafed  to  man ;  urgent  and  extraordinary 
indeed  must  be  the  exigencies  which  thus  impel  the  farmer  to  break  his  long 
and  wonted  silence. 

"Never  in  our  history  have  we  witnessed  such  marvellous  progress  and 
development  as  have  marked  the  two  past  decades.  The  flourishing  growth 
of  cities,  towns,  and  villages  ;  the  rapid  expansion  of  our  railway  system  ;  the 
unparalleled  prosperity  of  manufacturing  enterprise,  in  all  its  departments ; 
the  easy  and  ready  accumulation  of  prodigious  fortunes;  —  all  conspire  to 
impress  the  superficial  observer  with  the  happy  belief  that  all  departments  of 
effort,  and  all  interests,  share  in  common  this  apparently  unparalleled  condi- 
tion of  prosperity.  We  are,  therefore,  not  wholly  unprepared  for  the  argument 
presented  by  some,  even  in  high  official  position,  that  our  straitened  financial 
condition,  as  farmers,  is  largely,  if  not  entirely,  due  to  the  munificent  and 
bounteous  provisions  of  a  merciful  Providence.  Nor,  indeed,  in  the  wild  rush 
of  this  almost  bewildering  progress,  are  we  surprised  to  hear,  in  response  to 
our  earnest  protestations  of  suffering  and  distress,  a  proposition  to  send  a 
commission,  at  heavy  expense,  throughout  the  country,  to  visit  money  centres 
and  marts  of  trade,  to  investigate  and  report  whether  or  not,  after  all,  this 
universal  cry  for  relief,  by  the  wealth  producers  all  over  the  land,  does  not 
proceed  from  their  total  misconception  of  the  situation. 

**  In  justification,  therefore,  of  this  most  unusual  proceeding  on  the  part  of 
the  farmers,  in  applying  to  the  law-making  power  for  relief,  we  must  appeal  to 
facts  and  truth  —  facts  as  substantiated  by  statistics,  and  to  the  truth  of  his- 
tory—  and  I  shall  endeavor  to  present  nothing  which  is  not  derived  from,  and 
supported  by,  official  records.  Testimony  carrying  with  it  the  argument, 
rather  than  argument  itself,  is  what  is  desired. 

**  In  1850  the  farmers  of  the  United  States  owned  70  per  cent  of  the  total 
wealth  of  the  country.  In  i860  they  owned  about  one-half  of  the  wealth  of 
the  country.  In  1880  they  owned  about  one-third  of  the  wealth  of  the  coun- 
try. In  1889  they  owned  a  fraction  less  than  one-fourth  of  the  wealth  of  the 
country. 


AGRICULTURE  IN  THE  UNITED  STATES.        465 


'*  Depreciation  in  the  Value  and  Acreage  of  Farms. 

In  i860  the  value  of  farms $6,645,045,007 

In  1850  the  value  of  our  farms 3,271,575,421 

Total  increase  of  value  in  10  years     .     .     $3,373,469,586 
Average  yearly  increase  in  value 337.346,958 

•*  Now  take  the  20  years  following :  — 

In  1880  the  value  of  farms $10,197,096,776 

In  i860  the  value  of  farms 6,645,045,007 

Total  increase  of  value  in  20  years  .     .       $3,552,051,769 
Average  yearly  increase  in  value 177,602,588 

"That  is,  the  average  yearly  increase  in  the  value  of  our  farms  dropped 
from  10^  per  cent,  as  in  the  years  1850  to  i860,  to  2^  per  cent,  as  in  the 
years  i860  to  1880.  And  this  fearful  depreciation  in  the  value  of  our  farms 
occurred  during  a  period  of  unexampled  prosperity  and  development  in  the 
commercial,  financial,  and  manufacturing  enterprises  of  the  country. 

Acres. 
Again,  increase  of  the  acreage  of  farms  from  1850 

to  i860,  was 113,640,000 

Average  yearly  increase 11,364,000 

Increase  from  i860  to  1880,  20  years 128,881,835 

Average  yearly  increase 6,444,090 

♦'  That  is,  the  increase  in  the  farm  acreage,  from  1850  to  i860,  was  38 

per  cent,  while,  from  i860  to  1880,  it  dropped  to  31  per  cent.     This  heavy 

decrease   took  place   during  the   same   prosperous  period  to  which  I  have 

referred,  and  during  which  the  population   of  the  country  had  more   than 

doubled. 

Per  cent. 

From  1850  to  i860,  farm  values  increased loi 

From  i860  to  1870,  farm  values  increased 43 

From  1870  to  1880,  farm  values  increased 9 

*' Yet  notwithstanding  this  alarming  decline  in  farm  values,  the  aggregate 
wealth  of  the  country  increased,  from  1870  to  1880,  45  per  cent,  and  the 
agricultural  population  increased  over  29  per  cent. 

"AGRICULTURE   AND    MANUFACTURING. 

'*  It  may  not  be  uninteresting  or  uninstructive  to  notice,  in  this  connection, 
the  comparative  progress  between  agriculture  and  manufacturing. 

"From  1850  to  i860,  agriculture  led  manufacturing,  in  increased  value  of 
products,  10  per  cent.  From  1870  to  1880,  manufacturing  led  agriculture  27 
per  cent ;  showing  a  difference  of  zy  per  cent  in  favor  of  the  growth  of  manu- 
facturing. 


466        .  AGRICULTURE, 

*'  The  exports  of  American  labor  products  show  equally  disparaging  and 
discouraging  exhibits :  — 

Agriculture.  Manufactures. 

In  1881 $730»394.943         $89,219,380 

In  1888 500,840,086         130,300,087 

"  An  increase  during  these  seven  years,  in  our  exports  of  manufactures,  of 
46  per  cent,  and  a  decrease  in  those  years,  of  agricultural  products,  of  31  per 
cent. 

•  '*  Values  of  Staple  Crops. 

In  1866  the  wheat,  corn,  rye,  barley,  buckwheat,  hay,  oats, 

potatoes,  cotton,  and  tobacco  sold  for $2,007,462,231 

The  same  crops  for  the  year  1884,  eighteen  years  later,  sold 

for 2,043,500,481 

"Notwithstanding  the  cultivated  acreage  had  nearly  doubled,  and  farm 
hands  had  doubled,  and  agricultural  implements  and  machinery  had  vastly 
improved,  yet  the  crops  named  for  the  year  1884  sold  for  only  thirty-six 
millions,  or  less  than  2  per  cent  more  than  they  did  for  the  year  1866. 

•'  The  average  price  of  our  cereal  crops,  in  1867,  was  very  nearly  one  dollar 
per  bushel,  and  in  the  year  1887  it  was  less  than  fifty  cents  per  bushel.  The 
loss  on  the  crop  of  1887,  as  compared  with  that  of  1867,  was  over  thirteen 
hundred  million  dollars. 

"  For  ten  years  from  1867,  the  average  value  of  yield  per  acre  of  oats  was 
$12.10.  For  the  past  six  years  the  average  value  has  been  less  than  eight 
dollars,  and  is  lower  to-day  than  ever  before  in  our  history.  For  the  period 
named,  the  average  value  per  acre,  in  yield  of  wheat,  was  $14.39;  ^•'^^  the 
past  six  years  it  has  been  less  than  $9.  For  the  period  named,  the  average 
value  per  acre,  in  yield  of  corn,  was  $14.16;  for  the  past  six  years  it  has 
averaged  less  than  $9  per  acre.  The  average  value  per  acre,  in  yield  of  all 
our  crops,  in  1867,  was  $19;  in  1887,  twenty  years  later,  it  was  about  nine 
dollars. 

"  To  show  that  this  depression  in  prices,  this  shrinkage  in  values,  does  not 
proceed  from  local  conditions,  and  is  not  confined  to  any  section,  or  crop,  or 
department  of  husbandry,  let  us  examine  the  statistics  of  the  four  leading 
staple  crops  of  the  country  :  — 

"  Wheat. 

Crop.  Bushels.  Price.  Value. 

1885 421,086,160      $1.10  $463,194,776 

1889 490,560,000         .86  to-day.       421,881,600 

"  As  will  be  seen,  the  crop  of  1889  exceeded  the  crop  of  1885  by  69,473,840 
bushels,  yet  the  crop  of  1885  would  have  brought,  at  point  of  export, 
$41,313,186  more  than  that  of  1889. 

"  The  wheat  crop  of  1880,  although  41,090,595  bushels  less  than  the  crop 
of  1889,  would  have  brought,  at  point  of  export,  $280,036,551  more  money. 


AGRICULTURE  IN  THE  UNITED  STATES.        467 

i860  to  1870,  average  price  per  bushel $1.99 

1870  to  1880,  average  price  per  bushel 1.38 

1880  to  1887,  average  price  per  bushel 1.07 

Price  to-day,  86  cents  at  point  of  export. 

•'  So  that  the  wheat  farmer  to-day  pays,  of  the  products  of  his  labor,  two 
and  one-third  times  as  much  for  a  dollar  as  he  did  from  i860  to  1870. 

"Corn. 

Crop.  Bushels.  Value. 

1888 1,987,790,000        $677,561,580 

1889 2,112,892,000  597,918,820 

•'  So,  while  the  crop  of  1889  exceeded  that  of  1888  by  125,102,000  bushels, 
yet  it  would  have  brought,  at  point  of  export,  $79,642,760  less  money. 

Cents. 

i860  to  1870,  average  price  per  bushel     . 96 

1870  to  1880,  average  price  per  bushel 63 

1880  to  1887,  average  price  per  bushel 46 

Price  to-day 37 

"So  that  the  corn  farmer  to-day  pays,  in  the  products  of  his  labor,  over 
two  and  one-half  times  as  much  for  a  dollar  as  he  did  during  the  years  i860 
to  1870.  Indeed,  throughout  the  great  corn  belt  of  the  Northwest  and  West, 
it  is  claimed  that  he  cannot  sell  it  to-day  at  a  price  covering  the  cost  of  its 
production.  The  State  Board  of  Agriculture  of  the  great  corn  State  of  Illinois 
recently  published,  officially,  that  the  farmers  of  that  State  lost  on  the  corn 
crop  of  last  year  $9,935,823;  that  is,  it  cost  that  much  more  to  produce  it 
than  it  is  worth  on  the  market. 

"The  yield  of  the  three  great  staple  crops  of  corn,  wheat,  and  oats,  for 
1889,  exceeded  the  yield  of  1888  by  242,355,840  bushels,  and  yet  the  crop  of 
1888  was  worth  $144,599,178  more  to  the  farmers. 

"  Cotton. 

Crop.  Dales.  Price.  Value. 

1871 4,352,317     20  cents.      $391,708,630 

1887 6,513,623     10  cents.        293,093,035 

"  So  that  the  crop  of  1871  was  2,161,306  bales  less  than  the  crop  of  1887, 
yet  it  brought  the  cotton  farmers  $98,613,595  more  money.  The  two  crops 
of  1886  and  1887  aggregated  13,063,838  bales,  three  times  ^s  many  bales 
as  the  crop  of  1871,  and  yet  these  two  crops  brought  our  farmers  only 
$196,164,080,  or  about  50  per  cent  more  than  the  crop  of  1871. 

"In  1870  the  value  of  agricultural  lands,  in  the  ten  cotton  States,  was 
$1,478,000,000.  In  1880  they  were  $1,019,000,000,  a  decrease  of  $459,000,- 
000,  or  3 1-  per  cent. 

Cents. 

i860  to  1870,  average  price  per  pound 48} 

1870  to  1880,  average  price  per  pound I5tV 

1880  to  1887,  average  price  per  pound Il 

Price  to-day Ii 


468  AGRICULTURE. 

••  So  that  the  cotton  farmer  pays,  in  the  products  of  his  labor,  over  four 
times  as  much  for  a  dollar  as  he  did  in  the  years  i860  to  1870. 

*♦  If  a  farmer  had  given  a  mortgage,  in  1870,  for  $1000,  he  could  have  paid 
it  with  1052  bushels  of  corn ;  but  if  he  has  paid  one-half  of  it,  the  remaining 
$500,  without  interest,  would  now  require  135 1  bushels  of  corn  to  pay  it.  He 
could  have  paid  the  $1000  with  606  bushels  of  wheat,  in  1870;  but  if  he  owed 
$500  of  the  debt  to-day,  it  would  require  593  bushels  to  pay  it.  He  could 
have  paid  the  $1000,  in  1870,  with  10  bales,  or  5000  pounds  of  cotton; 
but  if  he  owed  $500  of  it  to-day,  it  takes  10  bales,  or  5000  pounds,  to  pay 
it.  In  other  words,  the  farmer  must  pay  his  debts  with  the  products  of  his 
labor,  and  he  must  work  twice  as  hard,  and  give  twice  as  much  cotton,  corn, 
or  wheat  to-day,  as  was  required  in  1870,  to  pay  the  same  debt.  But  we  are 
told,  by  those  high  in  position,  that  the  law  of  supply  and  demand  controls 
prices.  That  may  have  been  true  before  the  operations  of  this  ancient  law  of 
trade  were  practically  supplanted  by  the  more  imperious  law  of  greed,  as  now 
enforced  under  the  mandates  of  monopolistic  combinations  for  the  pillage  of 
honest  labor. 

**  In  1881  we  produced  498,549,867  bushels  of  wheat,  or  9J  bushels  per 
capita,  and  its  price  was  $1.15  per  bushel.  In  1889  we  produced  490,560,000, 
or  7J  per  capita,  and  its  price  is  79  cents  per  bushel.  We  should  not  forget 
that  the  financial  history  of  all  countries  and  of  all  ages  shows  that  the  law  of 
supply  and  demand,  as  applied  to  money,  is  inexorable  and  never-failing  in 
its  operations.  Scarcity  of  money  has  never  failed  to  enhance  its  price ;  a 
plentiful  supply  means  cheap  money,  A  contraction  of  the  circulating  medium 
always  raises  the  price  of  the  dollar,  and,  as  a  natural  result,  it  always  depre- 
ciates the  price  of  labor  products.  Nothing  can  so  surely  control  or  annul  the 
law  of  supply  and  demand  in  labor  products,  as  a  reduction  of  the  volume  of 
currency  below  the  legitimate  requirements  of  business  and  trade. 

♦•  But,  granting  that  the  law  of  supply  and  demand  is  in  full  force  and 
effect,  there  are  two  ways  in  which  prices  change  under  this  law :  Either  a 
change  in  demand,  supply  remaining  the  same ;  or  a  change  in  supply,  demand 
remaining  the  same.  But  I  assert,  and  statistics  will  sustain  the  assertion, 
that  there  has  been  no  change  in  the  great  staple  products,  relatively  to 
demand  or  to  population,  to  justify  this  great  depreciation  in  prices ;  unques- 
tionably the  demand  has  not  diminished.  Where  then  has  been  the  change.? 
Has  the  weight  of  the  dollar  been  increased?  Has  the  area  of  our  acre  of 
land  been  curtailed,  that  it  should  have  fallen  in  value  from  33  to  50  per  cent  ? 
Does  not  a  pound  of  beef  weigh  now  16  ounces?  Do  we  not  now  measure 
our  wheat  or  corn  by  the  same  measure  ?  Does  not  the  cotton  farmer  give 
now  the  same  number  of  ounces  to  every  pound  ?  Has  the  change  been  made 
in  the  quantity  or  quality  of  the  commodity,  or  has  it  been  made  in  money, 
the  measure  of  its  value  ?  This  is  the  great  question  that  the  farmers  of  the 
country  desire  and  expect  this  Congress  to  explain. 

"  But  I  apprehend  that  the  most  zealous  advocate  of  the  theory  that  the 
law  of  supply  and  demand  controls  the  prices  of  products,  would  not  attempt 
to  claim  that  it  is  applicable  to  all  farm  values.     Farm  lands,  all  over  the 


AGRICULTURE  IN  THE  UNITED  STATES.        469 

country,  have  shared  the  general  depreciation  or  shrinkage  in  values,  and  in 
this,  perhaps,  is  to  be  found  the  clearest  and  most  undeniable  proof  of  the 
alarming  depression  which  prevails  among  the  agriculturists  of  the  country. 
Let  us  look  briefly  at  the  condition  of  the  farmers,  in  some  of  the  representa- 
tive States  of  the  different  sections  of  the  country. 

"  In  Massachusetts,  the  value  of  the  farm  lands,  in  1875,  was  $1 16,629,849. 
In  1885  it  was  $110,700,707;  a  loss,  in  ten  years,  of  $5,929,142.  In  1865 
that  State  produced  70,000,000  pounds  of  beef;  and  in  1885,  twenty  years 
later,  it  produced  only  10,000,000  pounds.  In  1845  it  produced  1,015,000 
pounds  of  wool;  in  1865,  609,000  pounds,  and  in  1885,  255,000  pounds. 
"  The  farm  lands  of  the  New  England  States  :  — 

Value. 

1850 j55  372,348,543 

i860 476,303,837 

1870 585,167,473 

1880 580,579,418 

"Showing  a  yearly  increase,  for  twenty  years  —  1850  to  1870  —  of 
$10,69®, 946,  ^^^  t^^  yearly  decrease,  from  1870  to  1880,  was  $458,850. 

"Take  Georgia,  one  of  the  most  progressive  and  enterprising  States  of 
the  South.  In  i860  the  value  of  agricultural  lands,  returned  for  taxation, 
$157,000,000.  In  1886  it  was  $105,000,000,  a  loss  of  33  per  cent.  In  1866 
the  farmers  of  Georgia  owned  72  per  cent  of  the  wealth  of  the  State ;  in  1888 
they  owned  only  24  per  cent ;  yet  during  that  time  the  population  increased 
60  per  cent.  In  a  recent  address,  made  by  Hon.  L.  F.  Livingston,  of  that 
State,  he  said,  that,  during  the  past  ten  years,  the  property  in  the  towns  and 
cities  of  that  State  had  increased  in  value  $60,000,000,  while  in  the  agri- 
cultural districts  it  had  decreased  $50,000,000. 

"  From  this  State,  great  in  resources  and  enterprise,  let  us  turn  to  its  peer 
in  the  Northwest :  — 

"In  Illinois. 

All  mortgages  and  totals  of  indebtedness,  principal,  and  interest. 

1880  —  Lands $112,367,054 

Lots 79,346,851 

Chattels 12,747,429 

Total $204,461,334 

1887  — Lands $147,320,054 

Lots 246,704,827 

Chattels 22,354,187 

Total $416,379,068 

"An  increase  of  this  class  of  indebtedness,  in  seven  years,  of  $211,917,734, 
or  103  per  cent. 

"  On  land  alone,  the  increase  of  indebtedness,  in  seven  years,  was 
$44,953,000,  or  40  per  cent. 


470  AGRICULTURE. 

"According  to  the  report  of  Hon.  J.  R.  Dodge,  the  surplus  of  the  corn 
and  wheat  crops  over  home  consumption,  for  the  last  year,  was :  — 

Bushels.  Value. 

Corn     . 64,781,250         $14,899,687 

Wheat 20,907,700  14,635,390 

Total  value  of  surplus  corn  and  wheat     ....     $29,535,077 

**  If  every  bushel  of  surplus  corn  and  wheat  of  last  year's  crop  were  applied 
to  the  mortgage  indebtedness  in  1887,  on  the  farm  lands  of  the  State,  there 
would  still  remain  $117,784,977  to  be  paid  out  of  other  crops  or  earnings. 
Or,  after  applying  every  bushel  of  the  surplus  to  the  mortgage  indebtedness 
of  1887  on  lands,  lots,  and  chattels,  there  would  still  remain  $386,843,991 
unpaid.  Or,  applying  every  bushel  of  the  surplus  wheat  and  corn  to  the 
interest  for  one  year,  at  8  per  cent,  on  the  mortgage  indebtedness,  there 
would  still  remain  unpaid,  of  interest,  $3,875,250.  Of  this  mortgage  indebt- 
edness, non-residents  and  building  and  loan  associations  hold  claims  to  the 
amount  of  $69,355,639,  or  over  double  the  amount  of  the  surplus  corn  and 
wheat. 

**  The  increase  in  mortgage  indebtedness  on  lands,  for  loans,  from  1870  to 
1880,  was  21  per  cent,  and  from  1880  to  1887  it  was  23  per  cent. 

'*  The  great  State  of  Pennsylvania  is  not  exempt  from  the  general  depres- 
sion which  has  been  indicated  by  the  cases  before  cited.  In  Lancaster 
County,  the  largest  in  agricultural  products  of  all  counties  in  the  United 
States,  the  farmers  are  feeling  most  keenly  the  pressure.  From  one  of  the 
leading  attorneys  of  Lancaster,  I  obtain  the  following  statement :  *  The 
assessed  valuation  of  all  the  real  estate  of  Lancaster  County,  including  city, 
town,  and  farm  property,  is  about  $82,000,000.  The  amount  of  indebtedness 
on  this  property  is  about  $25,000,000.  The  depreciation  in  farm  values, 
in  the  past  ten  years,  in  Lancaster  County,  is  fully  40  per  cent,  and  still 
decreasing.' 

'*  Recently  one  of  the  assessors  for  the  State  of  New  York  reported  to  the 
New  York  Tribune  that  he  had  visited  fourteen  counties,  in  one  of  its  finest 
agricultural  districts,  and  that,  while  city  property  is  advancing,  farm  property 
is  growing  less  and  less  valuable. 

"  Why  multiply  proofs?     The  depression  is  widespread  and  universal. 

*'  In  a  somewhat  elaborate  presentation  of  *  agricultural  depression  and  its 
causes,'  in  his  March  report,  Hon.  J.  R.  Dodge,  agricultural  statistician, 
says:  'Diversification  is  essential  to  agricultural  salvation.'  That  is,  to 
secure  reasonable  reward  for  labor  and  investment,  the  farmers  should  culti- 
vate a  greater  variety  of  crops.  To  arrest  the  downward  tendency  in  the 
market  values  of  crops,  and  to  restore  the  values  of  lands,  a  greater  effort 
should  be  made  to  meet  all  the  demands  for  all  kinds  of  food  products.  Has 
this  system  been  tried,  and  has  it  failed?  Let  us  see.  Take  the  energetic 
and  enterprising  State  of  Michigan,  than  which  no  State  in  the  Union, 
perhaps,  has  a  broader  system  of  diversified  farming.  Its  whole  surface  is 
dotted  with  thriving  villages,  towns,  and  cities,  and  the  farmers  have  easy 


AGRICULTURE  IN  THE  UNITED  STATES.        471 

access  to  large  outside  markets.  The  State  Labor  Bureau  of  Statistics 
reports  that  the  farms  of  that  State  are  mortgaged  to  the  amount  of 
$130,000,000,  or  47  per  cent  of  them,  and  at  an  average  interest  of  7  per 
cent.  The  wheat  crop  of  that  State,  for  1889,  was  23,709,000  bushels; 
required  for  home  consumption,  9,246,510  bushels;  leaving  net  amount  for 
sale,  14,462,490  bushels.  To  pay  the  interest  on  farm  mortgages  for  one  year, 
at  7  per  cent,  would  require  455,544  bushels  more  than  the  entire  net  crop. 

"  The  Commissioner  says  in  his  report:  *  The  indications  are  that  mort- 
gage indebtedness  is  rapidly  increasing,  and  that  farmers  are  not  getting  out 
of  debt.'     From  his  investigations  he  deduces  .the  following  facts  :  — 

"  '  I .  That  one-half  of  the  farms  of  Michigan  are  mortgaged,  and  are  paying 
a  double  tax. 

*' '  2.  That  by  reason  of  this  mortgage  indebtedness  and  double  taxation, 
business  of  all  kinds  is  seriously  affected. 

"  '  3.  That  men  who  loan  money  do  not  bear  their  just  proportion  of  public 
expenses,  in  return  for  the  protection  given  them,  while  the  majority  escape 
taxation.' 

"In  the  year  1887  there  were  1667 mortgages  foreclosed,  and  of  that  number 
only  131  were  redeemed.  This,  briefly  stated,  is  the  condition  of  a  people 
who  possess  peculiarly  favorable  facilities  for  the  prosecution  of  diversified 
farming.  But  it  may  be  said  that  it  is  a  Western  State,  one  of  the  younger 
in  the  great  family  of  States,  and  is,  therefore,  not  a  criterion.  We  might 
grant  the  exception,  but  it  applies  as  well  to  the  great  States  of  Kansas  and 
Nebraska.  I  quote  from  the  Alliance  Motor,  published  at  Broken  Bow, 
Nebraska,  and  dated  April  17,  1890:  — 

'• '  The  denial  that  the  State  is  heavily  covered  with  mortgages,  is  met 
with  the  following  table,  compiled  from  the  official  record  of  Saline  County, 
one  of  the  wealthiest  counties  in  the  State.' 

"  'Real  estate  mortgages  unsatisfied,  on  record. 

Lands $1,816,388  23 

Town  lots 370*963  23 

Total  amount  real  estate  mortgages $2,187,351  46 

Bonded  debt,  cities  and  schools 97.739  15 

Bank  loans  and  discounts 1,418,954  41 

Chattel  mortgages   held  by  private   parties  (banks  not  in- 
cluded), unreleased,  filed  since  January  i,  1889  ....  332,584  44 

Total $4,036,629  46 

"  *  The  assessors'  value  of  property  against  this  indebtedness  is,  viz. :  — 

Lands $1,234,958  00 

Lots 425,773  00 

Personalty 808,266  00 

Total $2,468,997  00 


472  AGRICULTURE, 

♦'  So  that,  in  this  single  county,  the  assessed  value  of  the  property  is 
$1,567,649.96  less  than  the  recorded  indebtedness  of  that  county. 

"Let  us  come,  then,  to  a  State  possessing,  pre-eminently,  advantages 
superior  to  any  other  State  in  the  Union,  for  the  successful  and  profitable 
prosecution  of  that  '  diversification '  which  is  '  essential  to  our  agricultural 
salvation.'  I  refer  to  that  beautiful  garden  spot  in  the  broad  field  of  American 
agriculture,  the  State  of  New  Jersey.  Diversified  farming,  I  presume  no  one 
will  deny,  should  be  most  profitable  where  it  has  easy  access  to  ready  mar- 
kets, or  to  great  centres  of  population.  Not  only  have  the  farmers  of  New 
Jersey  advanced  to  the  front  rank  in  all  the  appliances  and  most  improved 
systems  of  agriculture,  but  the  whole  State  is,  or  should  be,  the  kitchen 
garden  of  a  population,  in  towns  and  cities,  within  and  immediately  on  its 
borders,  of  not  less  than  four  and  three-quarter  millions  of  people.  The 
County  of  Salem  has  splendid  facilities  for  reaching  markets.  It  is  adapted 
to  truck  growing.  The  board  of  agriculture  of  that  county  made  an  official 
report  to  the  governor  of  the  State,  only  a  few  weeks  since,  in  response  to 
inquiries  propounded  by  him  to  the  various  boards,  in  which  it  was  stated 
that  the  lands  of  that  county  had  decreased  in  value  40  per  cent. 

"Go  to  the  States  of  Vermont  and  New  Hampshire,  whose  every  farm, 
almost,  is  within  the  sound  of  the  bells  or  whistles  of  villages,  towns,  cities, 
workshops,  mills,  or  factories  —  the  land  where  the  farmer  is  peculiarly  blessed 
with  what  are  popularly  known  as  '  home  markets.'  Where  are  the  picturesque 
beauty  and  charming  loveliness  that  once  crowned  those  hills,  in  the  glories 
of  *  diversified  farming '  ?  The  doleful  answer  comes  back  from  fields  aban- 
doned to  brier  and  brush,  and  from  thousands  of  once  happy  homes,  now 
given  over  to  the  spider  and  the  bat.  I  hold  in  my  hand  a  pamphlet  of  104 
pages,  descriptive  of  some  of  these  abandoned  farms  in  New  Hampshire,  and 
issued  by  the  Commissioner  of  Agriculture  and  Immigration  for  that  State. 
On  page  9  he  tells  us :  *  There  have  been  reported  to  us,  by  the  selectmen 
of  the  various  towns  (townships),  1442  vacant  farms,  with  tenantable  build- 
ings.' The  reasons  given  for  the  abandonment  of  these  farms,  whose  *  large 
and  comfortable  buildings,  substantial  fences,  and  permanent  improvements 
make  them  in  every  way  desirable,'  is,  in  some  instances,  by  death  of  former 
occupant,  but  chiefly  the  occupants  have  gone  into  other  business.  He  dis- 
tinctly states  that  it  is  for  *  reasons  traceable  to  other  sources  than  inferiority 
of  soil.' 

"  I  hold  in  my  hand  a  circular  from  the  *  Commissioner  of  the  Agricultural 
and  Manufacturing  Interests'  of  the  State  of  Vermont,  *  prepared,'  as  he  says, 
*  in  answer  to  the  many  letters  of  inquiry  relative  to  the  unoccupied  lands  of 
Vermont,'  and  it  is  but  a  repetition  of  the  same  sad,  sad  story. 

"  The  same  appalling  story  may  be  told  of  the  farms  tributary  to  the  Balti- 
more market. 

"  The  Philadelphia  Times  of  last  week  asserted  that  the  farm  lands  in 
the  vicinity  of  that  city  had  depreciated  in  value  33  to  50  per  cent,  within  the 
past  decade. 

"  Within  the  sweep  of  vision  from  the  dome  of  this  Capitol,  with  its  300,000 


AGRICULTURE  IN  THE  UNITED  STATES.        473 

mouths  in  this  city  to  feed,  hundreds  and  thousands  of  acres  of  as  fine  farm 
land  as  may  be  found  on  the  Atlantic  slope,  have  depreciated  in  value  from  33 
to  50  per  cent.  What  do  these  startling  facts  and  figures  demonstrate  ?  They 
do  not  disprove  that,  under  ordinarily  favorable  conditions,  a  judicious  diver- 
sification in  farm  husbandry  is  most  conducive  to  comfort,  prosperity,  and 
success,  but  they  do  conclusively  demonstrate  that,  with  our  present  environ- 
ments and  surroundings,  to  adopt  it  as  a  factor  '  essential  to  our  agricultural 
salvation '  would  be  to  follow  a  fatal  delusion. 

"  But,  Mr.  Chairman,  there  are  other  and  still  more  serious  and  important 
phases  of  this  subject  to  be  considered. 

"  From  1870  to  1880  the  number  of  farms  in  the  United  States,  under  3 
acres,  decreased  38  per  cent,  while  those  of  100  to  500  acres  increased  300 
per  cent.  The  number  of  farms  of  3  to  10  acres  decreased  21  per  cent, 
while  those  from  500  to  1000  acres  increased  478  per  cent.  The  number 
of  10  to  20  acres  decreased  13  per  cent,  while  those  of  1000  or  more  acres 
increased  770  per  cent.  In  1880  we  had  145,553  less  farms  under  50  acres 
than  we  had  in  1870,  and  yet  our  agricultural  population  had  increased,  during 
that  decade,  29  per  cent. 

•'  To  my  mind,  no  more  serious  aspect  of  the  situation,  or  of  the  downward 
tendency  of  the  times,  can  be  found  than  is  presented  in  these  figures.  They 
stand  as  a  strong  witness  to  the  fearful  and  deplorable  truth  that,  through  the 
rapid  congestion  of  wealth,  enriching  the  few  at  the  expense  of  the  many,  our 
population  is  being  rapidly  resolved  into  two  classes  —  the  extremely  rich  and 
the  extremely  poor  —  classes  which,  in  all  ages,  have  proven  themselves  to  be 
the  weakest  defenders  of  civil  liberty.  To  the  student  of  history,  and  to  those 
who  have  given  thought  to  the  theory  of  our  government  and  the  genius  of  our 
free  institutions,  this  rapid  absorption  of  the  small  farms,  and  this  rapid  ex- 
pansion of  large  landed  estates,  portends  the  sure  approach  of  the  crucial  era 
of  our  republican  form  of  government.  And  when  that  day  shall  come,  upon 
whom  will  devolve  the  responsibility  and  task  of  preserving  and  perpetuating 
the  blessings  of  free  government  and  of  civil  liberty,  but  the  great  conserva- 
tive, patriotic  middle  class  of  our  population?  Will  that  people  be  pre- 
pared to  meet  it?  In  seeking  a  true  answer,  we  cannot  turn  a  deaf  ear  to 
the  ominous  declaration  proclaimed  in  the  following  figures,  which  point  un- 
erringly the  road  which  is  strewn  with  the  ruins  of  wrecked  republics :  — 

"  Wealth  of  the  United  States. 

1850. 

Total  value  of  taxed  and  untaxed  property      .     $13,500,000,000 

Assessed  value  of  property 5,275,000,000 

Of  which  the  farmers  were  assessed      .     .     .         4,500,000,000 

i860. 

Total  value  of  taxed  and  untaxed  property     .  $31,000,000,000 

Assessed  value  of  property 12,000,000,000 

Of  which  the  farmers  were  assessed       .     .     .  10,500,000,000 


474  AGRICULTURE. 

1870. 

Total  value  of  taxed  and  untaxed  property      .  $30,000,000,000 

Assessed  value  of  property 15,350,000,000 

Of  which  the  farmers  were  assessed      .     .     .  12,500,000,000 

1880. 

Total  value  of  taxed  and  untaxed  property     .  $43,500,000,000 

Assessed  value  of  property 17,000,000,000 

Of  which  the  farmers  were  assessed       .     .     .  14,000,000,000 

**  In  1850  the  farmers  of  the  United  States  owned  70  per  cent  of  the  total 
wealth  of  the  country,  and  paid  85  per  cent  of  its  taxes.  In  i860  they  owned 
half  the  wealth  of  the  country,  and  they  paid  87  per  cent  of  its  taxes.  In 
1880  they  owned  only  one-fourth  of  the  wealth  of  the  country.  The  increase 
in  their  farm  values,  during  the  twenty  years  from  i860  to  1880,  had  dropped 
from  10 1  per  cent  to  only  9  per  cent,  and  yet,  in  this  desperately  reduced  and 
weakened  condition,  they  paid  80  per  cent  of  the  taxes  of  the  country. 

**  Mr.  Chairman,  is  the  agricultural  interest  of  the  country  depressed?  And 
is  it  due  to  a  want  of  energy,  of  industry,  and  of  economy,  on  the  part  of  the 
farmer?  All  over  the  country,  he  has  been  told  for  years,  by  a  certain  school 
of  political  economists,  that  indolence,  inattention  to  business,  and  extrava- 
gance were  the  prime  causes  of  his  increasing  poverty.  But  when  he  comes 
to  the  capitol  of  the  nation,  venerable  Senators  and  prominent  government 
officials  inform  him  that  his  financial  ruin  has  been  wrought  through  his 
industry  and  the  merciful  providence  of  nature's  God ;  that  he  is  absolutely 
bowed  to  the  earth  under  a  crushing  load  of  overproduction.  Are  either  of 
his  advisers  correct?  In  answer  to  the  first,  I  assert,  without  hesitation,  that 
no  class  of  citizens  in  our  country  work  so  hard,  live  so  hard,  and  receive  so 
little  reward  for  their  labor,  as  the  average  American  farmer.  In  answer  to 
the  second,  I  ask  :  Overproduction  in  what  ?  Is  it  in  breadstuffs  ?  We  pro- 
duced 9]  bushels  of  wheat,  per  capita,  in  1888,  which  was  worth  $1.15  cents 
per  bushel.  We  produced,  in  1889,  only  7I  bushels  per  capita,  and  it  was 
worth  only  79  cents  per  bushel.  Our  exports  of  food  products,  under  proper 
and  just  conditions,  should  be  the  true  measure  of  our  production.  But  is  it 
so  ?  The  normal  ration  of  flour,  as  established  by  our  government,  and  which 
has  been  kindly  furnished  me  by  the  Secretary  of  War,  is  i^  pounds  per  day, 
or  410  pounds  per  year.  Assuming  that  our  population  numbers  65,000,000, 
to  give  each  one  a  normal  ration  would  require  26,650,000,000  pounds,  whereas 
we  produced  last  year  (deducting  56,000,000  bushels  for  seed),  only  17,282,- 
400,000  pounds,  a  deficit  of  7,267,600,000  pounds.  But  if  our  population 
had  consumed  2\  ounces  per  day,  per  capita,  more  than  they  did  consume, 
nothing  would  have  remained  for  export.  Will  any  sane  man  doubt,  with  our 
millions  of  people  in  our  crowded  cities,  in  our  towns,  in  our  mines,  and  all 
over  the  land,  in  their  hovels  of  poverty,  who  are  existing  in  a  state  of  semi- 
starvation,  that  we  could  have  consumed  this  additional  pittance?  And  if  the 
ruinous  decline  in  prices  be  due  to  overproduction,  why  should  it  not  be  con- 
fined to  those  commodities  for  which  a  surplus  is  claimed  ?     Why  should  all 


AGRICULTURE  IN  THE  UNITED  STATES.        475 

departments  of  labor  share  this  universal  depression  in  prices?  No,  Mr. 
Chairman,  it  is  not  overproduction,  but  under-consumption.  There  can  be 
no  overproduction  in  a  land  where  the  cry  for  bread  is  heard. 

"But  we  are  told  that  we  should  be  content  and  happy;  that  'a  dollar 
will  buy  more  to-day  than  ever  before.'  Mr.  Chairman,  the  American  farmer 
stands  a  faithful  and  sorrowing  witness  of  the  truth  of  that  declaration.  No 
man  living  knows  better  than  he  the  purchasing  power  of  the  dollar.  He 
knows  that  its  power  has  been  so  augmented  that  it  now  demands  double  the 
amount  of  his  labor,  and  the  surrender  of  his  profits,  to  meet  its  unjust  and 
cruel  exactions.  Indeed,  so  arbitrary  and  domineering  has  its  power  become, 
that  it  has  forced  upon  the  public  mind  the  grave  question,  whether  the 
citizen  or  the  dollar  is  to  be  the  sovereign  in  this  country.  But  with  all  its 
power,  will  it  pay  for  the  farmer  more  interest.'*  Will  it  pay  more  on  his 
mortgage?  Will  it  pay  more  debt?  Will  it  pay  more  taxes?  Will  it  pay 
more  physicians'  and  lawyers'  fees  ? 

*'  From  all  sections  of  this  magnificent  country  comes  the  universal  wail 
of  hard  times  and  distress.  The  farmer  sows  in  faith,  he  toils  in  hope,  but 
reaps  in  disappointment  and  despair.  He  sees  a  4  per  cent  United  States 
bond,  due  in  1907,  selling  at  a  premium  of  28  per  cent ;  a  bond  that  would  be 
valueless,  but  for  the  sturdy  blows  of  his  strong  arm ;  and  yet  he  knows  that 
there  are  few  farms  in  all  this  country  that  could  be  mortgaged  for  one-third" 
their  value,  at  7  per  cent,  for  the  same  length  of  time,  which  mortgage  would 
sell  for  its  face  value.  He  sees  centralized  capital  allied  to  irresponsible 
corporate  power,  overriding  individual  rights,  controlling  conventions,  corrupt- 
ing the  ballot-box,  subsidizing  the  press,  invading  our  temples  of  justice, 
intimidating  official  authority,  fostering  official  corruption,  robbing  the  many 
to  enrich  the  few,  destroying  legitimate  competition,  dictating  legislation, 
defying  the  Constitution,  and  annulling  the  law  of  supply  and  demand.  In 
vain  do  the  people  plead  for  relief.  In  vain  have  they  suffered  and  endured  — 
patiently,  submissively,  uncomplainingly.  Over  one  thousand  years  ago  the 
old  Shiek  Ilderim,  of  Medina,  said  to  certain  Romans  :  '  Do  you  dream  that, 
because  the  prophet  of  Allah  dwells  now  beyond  the  bridge  of  Al  Sirat,  there- 
fore, he  is  deaf,  and  dumb,  and  blind?  I  tell  you,  by  the  splendor  of  God,  that 
a  tempest  is  brooding  on  his  brow ;  there  is  lightning  gathering  in  his  soul 
for  you.'  Do  men  dream  that,  because  the  sovereign,  oppressed  people  have 
thus  suffered,  thus  endured,  therefore  they  have  become  deaf,  and  dumb,  and 
blind?  But  we  are  told  that  these  forms  of  oppression  are  not  prohibited  by 
law.  There  are  no  people  on  earth  who  have  greater  reverence  for  law  than 
the  farmers  of  these  United  States,  but  they  know  that  no  tyranny  is  so 
degrading  as  legalized  tyranny ;  that  no  injustice  is  so  oppressive  as  that 
which  stands  entrenched  behind  the  forms  of  law ;  and,  worthy  descendants 
as  they  are  of  a  grand  old  revolutionary  ancestry,  they  may  not  forget  that  the 
tyrannical  mandates  of  George  the  Third  were  accompanied  by  the  boastful 
declaration  that  he,  too,  was  the  rightful  occupant  of  the  British  throne,  under 
the  forms  of  law. 

*'Mr.  Chairman,  retroo;ression   in  American   agriculture   means   national 


476  AGRICULTURE, 

decline,  national  decay,  and  ultimate  and  inevitable  ruin.  The  glory  of  our 
civilization  cannot  survive  the  neglect  of  our  agriculture ;  the  power  and 
grandeur  of  this  great  country  cannot  survive  the  degradation  of  the  American 
farmer. 

"Struggle,  toil,  and  suffer  as  he  may,  each  recurring  year  has  brought  to 
him  smaller  reward  for  his  labor,  until  to-day,  surrounded  by  the  most  won- 
derful progress  and  development  the  world  has  ever  witnessed,  he  is  confronted 
and  appalled  with  impending  bankruptcy  and  ruin.  Crops  may  fail,  disaster 
may  come  and  sweep  away  his  earnings  as  by  a  breath,  prices  may  go  below 
the  cost  of  production,  but  the  inevitable  tax-collector  never  fails  to  call  upon 
him  with  increased  demands.  Is  it  any  wonder  that  these  struggling  and 
oppressed  millions  are  organizing  for  relief  and  protection  ? 

"THE   CAUSES. 

**  We  protest,  and  with  all  reverence,  that  it  is  not  God's  fault.  We  protest 
that  it  is  not  the  farmers'  fault.  We  believe,  and  so  charge,  solemnly  and 
deliberately,  that  it  is  the  fault  of  the  financial  system  of  the  government  —  a 
system  that  has  placed  on  agriculture  an  undue,  unjust,  and  intolerable  pro- 
portion of  the  burdens  of  taxation,  while  it  makes  that  great  interest  the 
helpless  victim  of  the  rapacious  greed  and  tyrannical  power  of  gold :  —  a 
system  through  which,  despite  the  admonitions  of  history  and  the  experience 
of  all  countries,  in  all  ages ;  despite  the  teachings  and  warnings  of  the  ablest 
men  in  the  science  of  political  economy,  in  this  and  in  all  countries;  our 
currency  has  been  contracted  to  a  volume  totally  inadequate  to  the  necessities 
of  the  people  and  the  demands  of  trade,  and  with  the  natural  and  inevitable 
result  —  high-priced  money  and  low-priced  products." 

Such  is  the  condition  of  American  agriculture  at  the  present 
time,  as  given  by  the  president  of  the  greatest  farmers*  organi- 
zation the  world  ever  saw.  And  here  we  will  leave  it,  hoping 
that  those  who  shall  come  after  may  be  able  to  give  a  more 
gratifying  statement  of  the  condition  of  agriculture  in  America. 


4 

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1 

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f 


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CHAPTER  V. 

THE   FARM   AND    FARM   BUILDINGS. 

**  There  is  more  difference  between  farmers  than  there  is 
between  farms,"  wrote  a  veteran  agriculturist  to  his  son,  many 
years  ago.  That  this  statement  is  true  the  most  superficial 
observer  must  admit.  A  poor  farmer  always  has  a  poor  farm, 
while  a  good  farmer,  in  nearly  all  cases,  will  have  a  good  farm 
in  the  end.  The  one  begins  in  ignorance,  and,  as  a  rule,  ends 
in  disaster,  while  the  other  begins  with  a  desire  to  learn,  and 
forces  success  by  persistency  and  increased  intelligence.  The 
successful  farmer  is  the  inquiring,  intelligent,  careful  farmer. 
No  matter  if  he  knows  but  little  outside  his  farm,  he  is  always 
sure  to  know  at  least  what  pertains  to  its  successful  conduct. 
Usually  such  a  person  works  hard,  observes  closely,  and  remem- 
bers his  own  and  others'  experiences.  He  is  quick  to  perceive 
an  advantage,  and  is  always  content  with  his  calling. 

Another  class,  greater  in  number,  and  usually  found  enjoying 
the  blessings  of  life,  are  those  who  read,  think,  and  make  care- 
ful deductions.  Their  homes  are  filled  with  books  and  papers, 
and  their  evenings  are  spent  in  profitable  and  pleasant  com- 
munion with  the  best  thoughts  of  others,  on  general  topics  of 
information.  This  is  the  class  of  American  citizens  that  make 
up  that  conservative  element  of  society,  alike  valuable  in  times 
of  peace  and  plenty,  as  in  periods  of  trouble  and  distress.  It 
may  seem  humiliating  to  other  classes  who  assume  superiority, 
but  it  is  none  the  less  true  that  these  farmers  are  the  final  adju- 
dicators of  all  legislation.  Disciplined  in  the  school  of  cause 
and  effect,  always  seeking  for  legitimate  results,  their  minds  are 
peculiarly  fitted  to  analyze  and  bring  to  light  the  ultimate  bear- 
ing and  final  effect  of  measures,  either  material  or  economic. 
It  is  true,  their  conclusions  are  not  rapidly  matured,  and  in  not 
a  few  instances  have  been  deferred  much  longer;  than  seemed 
necessary ;  but  when  once  formed,  they  were  a  fiat  against  which 
nothing  could  prevail. 

477 


478  AGRICULTURE. 

It  is  in  the  hands  of  this  class  of  farmers,  and  its  counterpart 
found  in  other  branches  of  productive  industry,  that  the  future 
of  this  nation  Ues.  And  it  is  through  them  that  the  glory  and 
perpetuity  of  this  government  must  be  secured.  The  grandeur 
of  this  republic  is  not  reflected  by  a.  few  mighty  intellects,  a 
certain  number  of  immense  cities,  or  here  and  there  examples 
of  vast  accumulations  of  wealth.  These  serve  only  as  objects 
of  emulation  or  envy,  and,  in  either  case,  may  lead  to  vicious 
rivalry.  The  greatness  of  our  country,  and  the  results  of  its 
free  institutions,  are  disclosed  in  the  thousands  of  happy  farm 
homes,  and  their  millions  of  intelligent,  conservative,  and  indus- 
trious inhabitants. 

The  careless  observer  is  often  led  to  look  with  wonder  upon 
the  rapid  advancement  in  the  arts  and  sciences,  during  the  cen- 
tury, and  fall  into  the  error  of  consenting  that  it  is  the  greatest 
of  all.  The  railroad,  the  steamship,  the  telegraph  and  tele- 
phone, are  considered  the  acme  of  intellectual  research  and, 
without  farther  inquiry,  placed  at  the  head  of  all  modern  im- 
provements. Such  conclusions  are  erroneous,  and  \yill  not  bear 
the  test  of  candid  reflection.  During  the  last  three-quarters  of 
a  century,  there  has  been  going  on,  among  the  agricultural  por- 
tion of  our  people,  a  silent  but  constant  evolution  that  is  truly 
wonderful  in  its  extent.  Dotted  here  and  there,  over  hill  and 
valley,  across  the  boundless  prairie,  and  among  the  mountains 
and  sterile  portions  of  our  country,  can  be  seen  the  dwellings 
of  the  farmers.  These  men  are  industriously  plying  their  voca- 
tion ;  nature  is  being  successfully  combated  at  every  point,  and 
forced  to  yield  fruit  and  products  for  the  feeding  and  clothing 
of  the  nation.  The  very  elements  even  are  made  to  serve  them 
in  beneficial  capacities,  not  in  their  regular  sphere.  This  pur- 
suit is  so  intelligently,  manfully,  and  successfully  carried  on 
that  the  idea  must  honestly  obtain  among  the  thoughtful,  and 
find  expression  through  honest  convictions,  that  the  American 
farmer  is  the  finished  product  of  the  nineteenth  century. 

This  conclusion  may  seem  unwarranted,  but  the  proof  is  abun- 
dant and  at  hand.  For  example,  it  has  taken  greater  skill, 
required  more  persistent  effort^  and  a  much  larger  outlay  of 
time  and  money,  to  evolve  from  the  kinds  of  farm  stock  known 
and  used  at  the  beginning  of  the  present  century,  the  magnifi- 


THE  FARM  AND  FARM  BUILDINGS.  479 

cent  specimens  now  seen  on  every  hand,  than  it  did  to  perfect 
the  present  system  of  railways.  It  has  taken  brains  and  busi- 
ness aptitude  to  accompUsh  this,  as  well  as  to  build  up  the 
greatest  of  modern  improvements.  Then  why  should  the  call- 
ing of  the  farmer  be  considered  as  conducive  to  a  lower  order 
of  intelligence,  or  as  being  barren  of  intellectual  results  ?  Such 
conclusions  are  wanting,  both  in  common  sense  and  a  proper 
conception  of  human  effort,  and  disclose  a  prejudice  equalled 
only  by  its  folly,  and  the  ultimate  harm  that  it  may  produce. 
"  But,"  says  one,  "  the  life  of  a  farmer  is  isolat<id,  and  he  is  of 
necessity  prevented  from  sharing  in  the  benefits  of  society." 
While  this  is  true  to  some  extent,  he  has  the  more  time  for 
study  and  reflection,  which  are  the  natural  adjuncts  to  a  higher 
and  better  education.  That  modernized  society  is  not  a  promoter 
of  these  conditions,  no  one  should^  dispute. 

Considered  from  every  point,  a  proper  system  of  agriculture, 
with  just  and  reasonable  remuneration,  will  afford  better  oppor- 
tunities for  educational  advancement  to  the  man  of  business 
than  any  other  calling.  Men  in  such  conditions,  if  they  so 
elect,  can  enjoy  a  continued  intellectual  growth  that  is  denied 
any  other  class  that  labors  in  production  or  exchange.  The 
danger  which  threatens  to  prevent  such  results  lies  in  the  farm- 
er's becoming  negligent,  of  his  getting  into  the  habit  of  delaying 
investigation  for  a  more  convenient  time,  thereby  losing  interest 
and  falling  into  the  rear  ranks  of  his  fellows.  Again,  constant 
toil,  which  brings  no  adequate  reward,  or  which  brings  a  burden 
of  debt  that  labor  will  not  remove,  resulting  from  unkindly  laws 
or  a  want  of  business  judgment,  does  not  conspire  to  add  pleas- 
ures to  farm  life,  but  does  drive  men  to  the  cities. 

A  careful,  intelligent  farmer,  under  proper  and  equitable  eco- 
nomic conditions,  is  the  most  independent,  self-reliant,  and 
conservative  man  of  all  classes  or  professions.  The  curse  of 
agriculture,  at  the  present  time,  is  the  assumed  superiority  of 
other  occupations.  It  is  this  that  is  drawing  the  sons  and 
daughters  of  the  farmers  to  the  cities  and  villages.  It  is  a  desire, 
to  exchange  the  coarse  boot  for  the  patent  leather  shoe,  the 
coarse  woollen  for  the  smooth  broadcloth,  and  the  discolored, 
horny  hands  of  the  farm  for  the  soft,  white  ones  of  the  city.  It 
is  this  fetish,  this  unreasonable  desire,  that  drains  the  country 


480  A  GRICUL  TURE. 

and  burdens  the  city.  Such  people  forget  that  less  than  three 
out  of  each  hundred  business  men  succeed.  They  little  dream 
of  the  ceaseless,  brain-racking,  nerve-destroying  labor  that  awaits 
the  one  who  plunges  into  the  whirlpool  of  modern  business. 
The  impecunious,  briefless  lawyer  ;  the  half-starved,  patientless 
doctor  ;  the  churchless  preacher ;  and  the  tramping  mechanic, 
seem  to  make  no  impression  upon  the  calculations  or  intentions 
of  the  man  or  boy  who  has  become  dissatisfied  with  farm  life  — 
some  succeed,  but  it  is  the  exception  and  not  the  rule. 

It  is  unnecessary  and  quite  impossible  to  give  anything  but 
general  advice  upon  the  subject  of  farm  duties.  It  might  be 
well  to  say  that  the  judgment  of  the  farmer  should  always  be 
supported  by  an  intelligent  consideration  of  all  the  surrounding 
circumstances  and  conditions.  With  this  rule  for  a  guide,  a 
failure  must  be  a  matter  of  accident.  The  farm  itself  should  be 
purchased  with  judgment,  its  numerous  adjuncts  and  its  condi- 
tion considered  with  care,  and  its  labor  applied  and  directed  with 
intelligence  and  discretion.  While  the  profits  of  agriculture, 
under  favorable  conditions,  are  quite  sure,  they  are  never  large 
enough  to  warrant  the  taking  of  many  risks  ;  hence  conservatism 
is  usually  wise  and  generally  brings  better  results.  To  this  end, 
and  for  this  purpose,  the  farmer  should  seek  for  the  best  infor- 
mation, which  is  only  found  in  the  recorded  experiences  of 
others. 

Apart  from  any  question  of  economy  or  interest,  I  would 
strongly  urge  every  man  who  finds  it  possible  for  him  to  do  so, 
and  who  means  to  end  his  days  on  a  farm,  to  buy  his  land.  Let 
the  farm  be  smaller,  and  even  less  convenient  than  he  could 
hire ;  let  him  go  in  debt,  if  necessary ;  but  I  deem  him  to  be  a 
happier  man  who  owns  a  small  place,  even  with  a  mortgage  for 
his  shadow,  than  he  who,  with  better  facilities  for  his  daily  occu- 
pations, and  better  conveniences  for  his  daily  life,  has  hanging 
before  his  eyes  the  fact  that  some  day,  when  he  is  older  and  less 
able  to  commence  farming  again,  he  must  resign  his  improve- 
ments to  his  landlord,  turn  his  keys  on  his  home,  and  pitch  his 
tent  in  strange  fields.  The  question  of  economy,  however,  can- 
not be  set  aside.  There  are  many  farmers  who  aim  to  see  how 
much  money  can  be  obtained  from  the  land  to  invest  in  bonds 
and  mortgages ;  but  every  man  who  means  to  take  a  broader 


THE  FARM  AND  FARM  BUILDINGS.  481 

view  of  farming,  and  recognizes  the  fact  that  the  most  substan- 
tial part  of  the  returns  of  his  labor  and  of  his  outlay  consists 
in  better  buildings,  better  soil,  and  better  stock,  will  see  a  suffi- 
cient reason  for  wishing  to  become  the  owner  of  the  fee  of  his 
farm. 

In  the  other  transactions  of  life,  where  the  principle  holds 
good  that  anything  is  worth  what  it  will  bring  in  the  market, 
business  men  invest  money  with  a  view  to  the  chances  of  its 
return,  at  any  time  when  they  shall  choose  to  sell.  In  farming, 
the  principle  does  not  hold  good  ;  at  least,  not  with  regard  to  the 
farm  itself.  It  is  better  that  the  question  of  selling  be  not  at  all 
considered,  for  a  valuable  farm  is  always  a  very  difficult  thing 
to  sell,  and  rarely  brings  as  much  as  it  is  worth.  There  are 
persons  who  speculate  in  farms,  who  buy  worn  out  land  at  a  low 
price,  and,  after  improving  it,  sell  it  at  a  high  price.  They  often 
make  money  by  the  operation,  and  they  generally  do  good. 
They  are  a  useful  class  of  enterprising  men,  but  they  are  not 
the  kind  of  men  I  have  in  my  mind  now,  —  men  who  intend  to  fol- 
low farming  as  a  permanent  occupation,  who  have  made  up  their 
minds  that  it  is  the  thing  to  do,  and  who  regard  it  not  so  much  as 
an  enterprise  as  a  living.  To  such  I  say,  buy  your  farm  judi- 
ciously and,  of  course,  as  cheaply  as  you  can.  Make  up  your 
mind  whether  it  will  suit  you,  before  you  buy,  and,  having 
bought  it,  don't  entertain  the  idea  of  selling  it,  nor  consider  the 
money  you  invest  in  improvements  in  the  light  of  the  selling- 
value  they  will  add  to  the  farm,  so  much  as  with  reference  to  the 
annual  return  they  will  bring  in  convenience,  economy,  or  fer- 
tility. In  short,  consider  your  farm  as  a  part  of  yourself,  and 
let  it  "grow  with  your  growth,  and  strengthen  with  your 
strength."     You  will  find  your  yearly  advantage  in  so  doing. 

The  first  thing  to  be  decided  is,  whether  to  remain  in  well 
settled  parts  of  the  country,  or  to  emigrate  to  virgin  land.  In 
the  latter  case,  the  question  should  be  ;  How  far  will  large  crops 
and  lighter  work  compensate  for  want  of  good  schools,  good 
society,  and  good  home  markets  t  In  the  former  case,  the  ques- 
tion should  be ;  How  far  will  the  social,  educational,  and  com- 
mercial advantages  make  up  for  the  poorer  quality  of  the  soil } 
The  far  West,  with  its  newer  and  more  fertile  lands,  is  very 
tempting  to  one  class  of  men,  and  the  older  settled  parts  of  the 


482  AGRICULTURE. 

country,  with  their  older  civilization  and  their  more  dense  popu- 
lation, have  equal  charms  for  another  class.  There  is  much  to 
be  said  in  favor  of  both ;  but,  as  the  broader  culture  and  more 
careless  feeding,  which  are  practised  on  the  larger  farms  of  new 
countries,  require  less  exact  knowledge  and  less  close  economy 
than  is  indispensable  on  high-priced  lands,  the  object  of  this 
work  will  be  best  attained  if  attention  is  confined  to  the 
requirements  of  the  more  thorough  system  of  agriculture 
that  small  farms  make  necessary.  These  are  based  on  uni- 
versal principles,  and  the  extent  to  which  they  may  be,  or 
must  be,  modified,  as  land  grows  cheaper,  farms  larger,  labor 
dearer,  and  produce  less  valuable,  must  be  decided  by  every 
man  for  himself. 

While  the  settlement  of  wild  lands  is  often  a  good  thing  for 
the  settler,  and  always  a  good  thing  for  the  country,  it  is  often 
undertaken  with  the  mistaken  idea  that  it  offers  the  only  chance 
for  a  man  of  small  capital.  Choose  a  small  farm,  small  in  pro- 
portion to  your  capital.  No  man  is  wise  who,  in  the  East,  goes 
in  debt  for  more  than  50  acres.  With  plenty  of  capital,  a  farmer 
of  good  executive  ability  can  hardly  have  too  much  land.  Any 
one  who  has  to  work  himself  out  of  debt,  mainly  by  the  labor 
of  his  own  hands,  will  find  50  acres  better  than  more.  His 
chances  will  be  better  with  10  acres  than  with  100.  So  far  as 
one  man's  work  is  concerned,  especially  with  small  means  for 
the  purchase  of  stock,  implements,  and  manure,  the  more  it  is 
concentrated,  the  better  it  will  tell  in  the  end ;  and  50  acres, 
brought  to  the  highest  state  of  cultivation  of  which  the  land  is 
susceptible,  will  produce  more,  at  much  less  cost,  than  will  100 
acres  only  half  so  well  cultivated. 

Buy  a  farm  that  is  very  much  run  down  and  out  of  repair, 
rather  than  a  good  farm  with  good  improvements  which  are  not 
exactly  what  you  will  require,  unless  you  can  get  the  improve- 
ments for  much  less  than  it  would  cost  you  to  replace  them. 
Better  pay  ^50  an  acre  for  a  place  that  ^50  will  make  exactly 
right,  than  ^100  for  a  place  that  will  never  be  exactly  right. 
Remember  that  to  clear  up  swamps,  build  stone  walls,  and  dig 
out  rocks  and  stumps  costs  much  labor  and  delays  legitimate 
farm  operations.  Farmers  are  not  apt  to  reckon  these  things 
at  their  full  cost,  because  they  do  not  usually  pay  out  money  to 


THE  FARM  AND  FARM  BUILDINGS,  483 

have  them  done ;  forgetting  that  their  own  labor,  thus  spent, 
might  be  more  advantageously  applied  to  better  land.  The  tile 
drainage  of  wet  clays  may  be  undertaken  with  more  confidence, 
because  such  soils  when  thoroughly  drained  are  usually  the 
most  profitable  of  all  for  cultivation ;  still,  in  purchasing  land  of 
this  sort,  we  should  calculate  to  pay  out  from  ;^30  to  $60  an 
acre  for  draining  tiles  and  labor, — an  expenditure  which  not 
unfrequently  comes  back  in  two  or  three  years,  from  the  in- 
creased production,  while  the  improvement  is  permanent,  and 
often  increases  yearly  for  a  long  time,  yet  does  not  consume 
capital.  Be  sure  that  the  place  is  adapted  to  the  sort  of  farm- 
ing you  mean  to  follow.  Do  not  hope  to  raise  the  best  fruit  on 
moist,  cold  land,  exposed  to  the  highest  winds,  nor  to  raise  the 
best  grass  on  a  ground  that  is  too  high  and  dry.  If  your  soil 
will  require  heavy  manuring,  and  your  system  of  farming  will 
not  produce  such  manure,  you  should  be  near  enough  to  a 
town  to  haul  out  stable  manure,  or  other  fertilizers,  without 
too  great  cost. 

Bear  in  mind  that  the  farm  is  to  be  your  home.  You  are  a 
man,  and  your  work  is  out  of  doors.  If  you  have  comfortable 
lodgings  and  sufficient  shelter,  you  may  get  on  without  being 
made  unhappy  by  a  dismal  house.  But  your  wife  and  children 
have  equal  claims  to  consideration,  and  you  make  a  grave  mis- 
take if  you  compel  them  to  live  in  an  uncomfortable  or  cheerless 
house,  with  no  pleasant  surroundings  and  no  hope  of  having 
them.  Unhappily,  a  very  large  majority  of  farmers  do  make 
this  mistake,  and  they  are  rewarded  for  it  by  the  promptness 
with  which  their  children  run  from  the  old  homestead  as  soon 
as  their  age  and  circumstances  will  allow  it ;  not  always,  it  is 
true,  to  better  their  condition,  but  always  in  the  hope  of  a  more 
agreeable  life.  It  will  be  better  for  agriculture  in  America,  and 
therefore  better  for  America  and  for  the  world,  when  farmers' 
children  can  find  no  pleasanter  home  than  the  place  where  they 
were  born,  and  when  they  realize  the  fact  (for  it  is  a  fact),  that 
the  life  of  a  farmer  may  be  as  comfortable  and  as  elegant  as  that 
of  a  merchant  or  manufacturer.  Buy  a  good  farm,  or  one  that 
you  can  afford  to  make  good,  in  a  good  situation,  with  schools, 
churches,  and  society  for  your  family,  and  you  will  have  a  good 
prospect  of  a  happy  life. 


4^4  AGRICULTURE. 

Farmers  who  have  gone  before  you  —  for  thousands  of  years 
—  have  learned  a  good  deal,  and  what  they  have  learned  has 
been  written  and  printed.  Other  farmers  are  trying  experi- 
ments, as  valuable  for  you  as  for  them.  Men  in  other  walks  of 
life  have  applied  their  knowledge  to  finding  out  how  plants 
grow,  and  what  influence  is  exerted  upon  them  by  soils  and 
manures.  Their  discoveries  have  been  published,  and  many  of 
them  have  been  approved  by  practice  on  farms.  Altogether, 
this  constitutes  more  knowledge  about  the  operations  of  the 
farm  than  you  could  gain  by  experience  if  you  lived  ten  lives, 
and  spent  every  day  of  all  of  them  in  the  most  energetic  work 
on  your  farm ;  more  than  you  could  think  out  for  yourself,  if 
you  were  to  keep  up  a  steady  thinking  until  doomsday ;  and  it 
is,  very  much  of  it,  knowledge  which  you,  as  a  farmer,  need  to 
have,  just  as  much  as  a  doctor  needs  to  know  what  others  have 
learned  of  medicine.  The  best  use  you  can  make  of  a  portion 
of  your  money  is  to  spend  it  for  agricultural  books  and  papers  ; 
and  the  best  use  you  can  make  of  your  leisure  time  is  to  spend 
a  fair  share  of  it  in  reading  them.  Let  your  neighbors  call  you 
a  book  farmer,  if  they  will,  and  let  them  decry  theories ;  you 
will  work  none  the  less  faithfully  for  anything  learned  out  of 
agricultural  books,  and,  in  the  end,  you  will  find  that  a  ton  of 
hay  will  cost  no  more  because  you  know  something  of  the  prin- 
ciples of  haymaking,  and  of  the  laws  which  operate  in  the 
growth  of  grass.  The  condition  of  your  farm  ten  years  hence 
will  be  a  sufficient  answer  to  those  who  have  ridiculed  the  habit 
of  reading  about  farming.  Still,  you  should  read  with  great 
caution  and  with  judgment.  There  is  a  great  deal  in  agricul- 
tural books,  and  still  more  in  agricultural  papers,  which  is  crude 
and  fanciful,  and  which  cannot  be  successfully  applied  in  prac- 
tice. Read  faithfully,  making  use  of  what  is  read  with  great 
care,  and  avoid  trying,  at  least  on  a  large  scale,  anything  which 
is  not  actually  proven  to  be  suited  to  your  case. 

The  first  out-of-doors  operation  should  be  to  make  a  map  of 
cleared  land,  with  division  fences  and  the  location  of  the  build- 
ings. This  map  need  not  be  very  accurate.  What  is  necessary 
is  to  have  something  that  will  serve  as  a  reminder,  when  study- 
ing over  future  operations  in  the  house,  in  bad  weather.  It  will 
cost  very  little  to  have  a  surveyor  make  a  diagram  of  your  boun- 


THE  FARM  AND  FARM  BUILDINGS.  485 

dary  lines,  from  description  in  the  deed  ;  and  you  can  pace  off 
the  starting  points  of  division-fences,  so  as  to  make  a  map  good 
enough  for  your  own  use.  When  the  winter  has  really  set  in, 
and  you  have  long  evenings  and  stormy  days  for  house-work, 
study  well  this  map,  and  develop  a  plan  for  future  operations  : 
what  to  do  about  fieldings ;  what  fences  to  remove,  so  as  to 
enlarge  fields  ;  what  to  rebuild ;  what  land,  if  any,  to  drain ; 
what  crops  to  plant ;  what  stock  to  keep ;  how  to  improve  the 
pastures ;  which  meadows  to  break  up ;  which  to  top-dress  and 
bring  into  better  mowing  condition.  These,  and  a  hundred  other 
questions,  will  present  themselves,  and  they  must  all  be  decided 
with  the  most  careful  judgment.  Though  you  do  your  best, 
many  mistakes  will  occur ;  and  when,  in  the  spring,  you  come 
to  review  in  the  field  the  winter's  work  in  the  house,  you  will 
see  many  reasons  for  changing  plans.  But,  for  all  that,  these 
plans  will  be  profitable  in  many  ways,  and  you  will  be  in  a 
better  position  to  decide  on  the  best  course,  after  having  made 
them. 

FENCES. 

It  will  be  a  happy  day  for  American  farmers  when  they  can 
escape  the  necessity  for  building  expensive  fences,  and  can 
bring  into  their  fields,  and  into  clean  cultivation^  the  weedy 
headlands  which  are  now  worse  than  wasted.  But  that  day 
will  not  come  in  many  long  years,  and,  for  the  present,  we  must 
content  ourselves  with  making  them  with  as  little  expense,  and 
as  little  of  a  nuisance  as  possible. 

In  the  ordinary  management  of  a  farm,  fences  must  be  had 
around  all  fields,  and  in  whole  or  in  part  for  pasture.  Lawful 
fences  must  also  be  built  around  the  entire  farm  and  along  the 
roads.  The  smallest  amount  of  fencing  that  will  accomplish 
this  should  be  carefully  considered.  In  the  usual  methods  of 
farming,  pasture-lands  should  be  divided  into  smaller  lots  than 
the  lands  to  be  used  for  raising  crops.  In  fact,  lands  used  for 
cultivation  need  not  be  burdened  with  inside  fences.  Fences 
are  always  in  the  way  of  the  plow  and  other  machinery,  and 
should  be  eliminated  wherever  possible.  It  is  impossible  to 
establish  any  universal  rule  for  all  farms,  or  for  all  farmers  ;  but 
it  may  be  stated,  as  a  general  rule,  that  fences  are  an  expensive 


486  A  GRICUL  TURE, 

nuisance,  and  should  be  built  only  when  necessary.  The  kind 
of  fence  should  depend  entirely  upon  the  cost  of  material  and 
labor,  and  should  be  the  subject  of  careful  consideration. 


FARM    BUILDINGS. 

Although  the  dwelHng  is  a  very  important  element  of  farm 
economy,  the  tastes  of  individuals,  and  their  ability  to  spend 
money  for  ornament  and  for  convenience,  vary  so  greatly  that 
even  a  tolerably  full  discussion  of  the  architecture  of  farm  dwell- 
ing-houses would  require  very  much  more  space  than  could  here 
be  given  to  it.  In  the  vicinity  of  towns,  there  are  always  architects 
and  builders  whose  services  can  be  commanded  when  necessary. 
In  the  more  remote  frontier  districts,  the  simpler  style  of  dwell- 
ing, which  is  all  that  the  opportunities  of  the  situation  allow,  is 
usually  built  without  the  aid  of  skilled  labor,  and  for  temporary 
purposes  only. 

Barns,  sheds,  poultry-houses,  etc.,  belong  more  properly  to 
the  range  of  subjects  under  consideration.  The  first  principle 
to  be  observed  is,  so  far  as  possible,  to  bring  everything  within 
the  same  four  walls,  and  under  the^ame  roof,  and  to  adjust  the 
size  of  the  structure,  not  so  much  to  the  present  requirements 
as  to  the  future  needs  of  the  farm.  In  a  very  large  majority  of 
cases  it  is  not  practicable  to  follow  this  rule.  It  would  require 
a  larger  investment  at  the  outset  than  most  farmers  would  be 
able  to  make,  especially  in  view  of  the  many  other  expenses, 
which  must  be  defrayed  from  their  usually  limited  capital ;  yet, 
in  all  cases  when  such  a  complete  barn  as  is  above  referred  to 
cannot  be  built  at  once,  the  possibility  of  building  it  at  a  future 
day,  and  the  importance  of  approaching  it  as  nearly  as  possible 
at  the  outset,  should  be  kept  constantly  in  view.  A  given 
amount  of  space  can  be  more  cheaply  enclosed  in  one  large 
building  than  in  several  small  ones ;  while  the  concentration  of 
stock  and  food  under  one  roof,  the  greater  ease  with  which  the 
barn-work  may  be  done  in  a  conveniently  arranged  large  barn, 
and  the  much  more  complete  supervision  which  a  farmer  is 
enabled  to  have  over  the  indoor  work  of  his  assistants,  are  strong 
arguments  in  favor  of  the  plan. 

Formerly,  when  hay-wagons  had  to  be  unloaded  entirely  by 


THE  FARM  AND  FARM  BUILDINGS,  487 

hand,  the  height  of  the  hay-bays  of  a  barn  had  to  be  regulated 
by  the  height  to  which  it  was  practicable  to  pitch  hay  ;  but  the 
rapidly  extending  iise  of  the  hay-fork  or  elevator  has  done  away 
with  this  restriction.  Hay  can  now  be  easily  and  rapidly  raised 
to  any  height,  and  not  only  may  we  gain  the  extra  space  which 
the  greater  height  of  the  bay  gives,  but  a  considerably  greater 
capacity  in  proportion  to  the  height,  which  comes  from  the 
closer  packing  at  the  bottom  of  a  high  bay.  That  it  is  much 
more  convenient,  easier,  and  cheaper  to  feed  stock  in  the  build- 
ing in  which  all  of  the  hay  and  other  fodder  is  stored,  every 
farmer  knows  without  being  told.  How  much  easier  it  is,  is 
only  known  to  those  who  have  spent  their  lives  in  foddering 
cattle  in  sheds  and  yards,  from  distant  hay-barns,  from  which 
every  forkful  of  hay  must  be  carried  in  bundles  or  on  a  cart. 
Furthermore,  the  more  the  hay  has  to  be  carried  about  the 
more  it  is  wasted,  and  the  more  liable  it  is  to  be  injured  by  bad 
weather,  while  the  convenience  of  keeping  manure  is  in  exact 
proportion  to  the  concentration  of  the  stock,  under  the  most 
favorable  circumstances. 

Mr.  Thomas,  in  the  "  Register  of  Rural  Affairs,"  gives  the 
following  very  useful  hints  to  those  who  are  about  building 
barns :  "  Estimating  the  capacity  of  barns,  very  few  farmers 
are  aware  of  the  precise  amount  of  shelter  needed  for  their 
crops,  but  lay  their  plans  of  out-buildings  from  vague  conjecture 
and  guessing.  As  a  consequence,  much  of  their  products  has 
to  be  stacked  outside,  after  their  buildings  have  been  completed  ; 
and  if  additions  are  made,  they  must  of  necessity  be  put  up  at 
the  expense  of  convenient  arrangement.  A  brief  example  will 
show  how  the  capacity  of  the  barn  may  be  accurately  adapted  to 
the  size  of  the  farm.  Suppose  that  the  farm  contains  100  acres, 
of  which  90  are  good,  arable  land,  and  that  one-third  each  is 
devoted  to  meadow,  pasture,  and  grain.  Ten  acres  of  the  latter 
may  be  corn,  stored  in  a  separate  building.  The  meadow  should 
afford  2  tons  per  acre  and  yield  60  tons.  The  sown  grain,  20 
acres,  may  yield  a  corresponding  bulk  of  straw,  or  40  tons. 
The  barn  should,  therefore,  besides  other  matters,  have  a  capac- 
ity for  100  tons,  or  over  i  ton  per  acre,  as  an  average.  Allow- 
ing 500  cubic  feet  for  each  ton  (perhaps  600  would  be  nearer), 
it  would  require  a  bay,  or  mow,  40  feet  deep  and  19  feet  wide. 


4^8  AGRICULTURE. 

for  a  ton  and  a  half  to  each  foot  of  depth.  If  20  feet  high,  it 
would  hold  about  30  tons.  If  the  barn  were  40  feet  wide,  with 
18  feet  posts,  and  8  feet  of  basement,  about  45  tons  could  be 
stowed  away  in  a  bay  reaching  from  basement  to  peak.  Two 
such  bays,  or  equivalent  space,  would  be  required  for  the  prod- 
ucts of  90  well  cultivated  acres.  Such  a  building  is  much 
larger  than  is  usually  allowed  ;  and  yet,  without  it  there  must 
be  a  large  waste,  as  every  farmer  is  aware,  who  stacks  his  hay 
out,  or  a  large  expenditure  of  labor  in  pitching  and  repitching 
sheaves  of  grain  in  threshing. 

"  In  addition  to  this,  there  should  be  ample  room  for  the 
shelter  of  domestic  animals.  In  estimating  the  space  required, 
including  feeding,  alleys,  etc.,  a  horse  should  have  75  square 
feet ;  a  cow,  45  feet ;  and  sheep,  about  10  square  feet  each. 
The  basement  of  a  barn,  therefore,  40  by  75  feet  in  the  clear, 
will  stable  30  cattle  and  150  sheep,  and  a  row  of  stalls  across 
one  end  will  afford  room  for  eight  horses.  The  30  acres  each 
of  pasture  and  meadow,  and  the  10  acres  of  corn  fodder  already 
spoken  of,  with  a  portion  of  grain  and  roots,  would  probably 
keep  about  this  number  of  animals,  and  consequently  a  barn 
with  a  basement  of  less  size  than  40  by  75,  would  be  insufficient 
for  the  complete  accommodation  of  such  a  farm  in  its  highest 
state  of  cultivation." 

Form  of  Barn  Buildings.  —  It  was  formerly  a  practice, 
highly  commended  by  writers,  and  adopted  by  farmers,  to  erect 
a  series  of  small  buildings  in  form  of  a  hollow  square,  affording 
an  open  space  within  this  range,  sheltered  from  severe  winds. 
But  later  experience,  corroborated  by  reason,  indicates  the 
superiority  of  a  single  large  building.  There  is  more  economy 
in  the  materials  for  walls,  more  in  the  construction  of  roofs,  — 
a  most  expensive  portion  of  farm  structures, — and  a  saving  in 
the  amount  of  labor  in  feeding,  threshing,  and  transferring  straw 
and  grain,  when  all  are  placed  more  compactly  together.  The 
best  barns  are  those  with  three  stories,  and  nearly  three  times 
as  much  accommodation  is  obtained  thus  under  a  single  roof,  as 
with  the  old  mode  of  erecting  only  low  and  small  buildings. 

An  important  object  is  to  avoid  needless  labor  in  the  transfer 
of  the  many  tons  of  farm  produce  which  occupy  a  barn.  This 
object  is  better  secured  by  a  three-story  barn  than  by  any  other, 


THE  FARM  AND  FARM  BUILDINGS.  489 

where  a  side  hill  will  admit  of  its  erection.  The  hay  and  grain 
are  drawn  directly  to  the  upper  floor,  and  nearly  all  is  pitched 
downward.  If  properly  arranged,  the  grain  is  all  threshed  on 
this  floor,  and  both  grain  and  straw  go  downward ;  the  straw  to 
a  stack  or  bay,  and  the  grain  through  an  opening  into  the 
granary  below.  Hay  is  thrown  down  through  shoots  made  for 
this  purpose,  to  the  animals,  and  oats  are  drawn  off  through  a 
tube  to  the  horse's  manger.  The  cleanings  of  the  horse  stables 
are  cast  through  a  trap-door  into  the  manure  heap  in  the  base- 
ment. These  are  the  principal  objects  gained  by  such  an 
arrangement,  and,  as  the  labor  of  attendance  must  be  repeated 
perpetually,  it  is  very  plain  how  great  the  saving  must  be  over 
barns  with  only  one  floor,  where  hay,  grain,  manure,  etc.,  have 
to  be  carried  many  feet  horizontally,  or  thrown  upward. 

How  to  plan  a  Barn.  —  The  first  thing  the  farmer  should  do, 
who  is  about  to  erect  a  barn,  is  to  ascertain  what  accommodations 
he  needs.  How  to  determine  the  amount  of  space  has  already 
been  pointed  out.  He  should  next  make  a  list  of  the  different 
apartments  required,  which  he  may  select  from  the  following, 
comprising  most  of  the  objects  usually  sought :  i.  Bay  or  mow 
for  hay ;  2.  Bay  or  mow  for  unthreshed  grain  ;  3.  Bay  or  mow 
for  straw;  4.  Threshing-floor;  5.  Stable  for  horses;  6.  Stable 
for  cattle  and  calf  pens ;  7.  Shelter  for  sheep  ;  8.  Root  cel- 
lar;  9.  Room  for  heavy  tools  and  wagons;  10.  Manure  sheds; 
II.  Granary;  12.  Harness  room;  13.  Cisterns  for  rain  water; 
14.  Space  for  horte  power. 

If  these  are  all  placed  on  one  level,  care  should  be  taken  that 
those  parts  oftenest  used  should  be  nearest  of  access  to  one 
another,  and  that  arrangements  are  made  for  drawing  with  a 
cart  or  wagon  in  removing  or  depositing  all  heavy  substances, 
as  hay,  grain,  and  manure.  In  filling  the  barn,  for  example, 
the  wagon  should  go  to  the  very  spot  where  it  is  unloaded;  the 
cart  should  pass  in  the  rear  of  all  stalls  to  carry  off  manure ; 
and,  if  many  animals  are  fed  in  stables,  the  hay  should  be  carted 
to  the  mangers,  instead  of  doing  all  these  labors  by  hand.  If 
there  are  only  two  stories  in  the  barn,  the  basement  should 
contain:  i.  Stables  for  cattle;  2.  Shelter  for  sheep;  3.  Root 
cellar;  4.  Manure  shed ;  5.  Cistern;  6.  Horse  power;  7.  Coarse 
tool  room.     The  second  floor  should  contain;   i.  Bays  for  hay 


490  AGRICULTURE. 

and  grain  ;    2.  Threshing-floor ;  3.  Stables  for  horses ;  4.  Gran- 
ary ;  5.  Harness  room. 

For  three  stories,  these  should  be  so  arranged  that  the  base- 
ment may  be  similar  to  the  two-story  plan,  and  the  second  story 
should  contain  :  i.  Bay  for  hay;  2.  Stable  for  horses;  3.  Gran- 
ary ;  4.  Harness  room.  The  third,  or  upper,  story  should  con- 
tain:  I.  Threshing-floor;  2.  Continuation  of  hay -bay ;  3.  Bays 
for  grain,  including  space  over  floor;  4.  Opening  to  granary 
below.  In  all  cases,  there  should  be  ventilators,  shoots  for  hay, 
ladders  to  ascend  bays,  and  stairs  to  reach  quickly  to  every 
part,  besides  which  every  bin  in  the  granary  should  be  gradu-* 
ated  like  the  chemist's  assay-glass,  so  that  the  owner  may,  by  a 
glaijce  at  the  figures  marked  inside,  see  precisely  how  many 
bushels  there  are  within. 

A  blackboard  should  be  in  every  granary,  for  marking  or  cal- 
culating ;  one  in  the  stable,  to  receive  directions  from  the  owner 
in  relation  to  feeding  or  keeping  accounts  of  the  same ;  and  a 
third  should  face  the  threshing-floor  for  recording  any  results. 
In  conclusion,  I  would  say  that  I  have  found  it  to  be  to  my  own 
advantage,  and  I  am  sure  all  farmers  would,  to  employ  a  com- 
petent architect  to  make  complete  plans  of  the  whole  work 
before  commencing  operations.  It  saves  material,  saves  time, 
and  saves  the  cost  and  annoyance  of  many  alterations,  which 
are  sure  to  suggest  themselves  during  the  progress  of  the  work, 
unless  the  details  have  been  previously  studied  as  they  only  can 
be  with  the  assistance  of  complete  drawings,  made  to  a  scale. 

Barn-yards. — The  barn-yard  must  necessarily  be  regulated 
by  the  character  of  the  land  on  which,  largely  for  other  consid- 
erations, it  has  been  found  necessary  to  locate  the  buildings ; 
yet  it  should  have  its  due  weight  in  determining  the  location. 
As  the  cattle  are  at  pasture,  at  least  during  the  daytime,  in 
summer,  it  should  be  a  very  good  reason  that  induces  a  farmer 
to  so  place  his  barn  that  he  cannot  have  his  yard  on  the  warm- 
est and  sunniest  side  of  it.  Ordinarily  the  coldest  winds  of 
winter  blow  from  the  north  and  northwest,  while  the  warmth  of 
the  morning  sun  in  winter  falls  best  into  nooks  whose  lookout 
is  toward  the  southeast ;  therefore  a  southeast  exposure  is  usually 
the  best.  If  there  are  several  buildings,  they  should  be  so 
arranged  as  to  shelter  the  yard  from  the  north  and  the  west. 


THE  FARM  AND  FARM  BUILDINGS.  49 1 

Shelter  from  the  east  is  not  so  important,  but  if  it  can  be  con- 
veniently procured,  it  has  a  certain  advantage,  if  so  arranged  as 
to  allow  the  early  morning  sun  to  fall  into  the  yard.  A  close 
fence,  six  or  seven  feet  high,  would  be  better  than  a  high  build- 
ing. When  a  shed  is  to  be  used,  it  is  a  good  plan  to  build  the 
barn  on  the  north  side  and  the  shed  on  the  wiest  side  of  the 
yard.  The  barn-yard  ought  always  to  have  sufficient  slope  for 
surface  drainage,  but  the  wash  should  be  collected  in  a  pit  or 
deep  pond  hole  at  one  side  ;  and  into  this,  straw,  leaves,  and 
muck  may  be  thrown,  to  absorb  the  liquids  reaching  it. 

If  cattle  are  to  be  fed  in  the  yard,  and  are  expected  to  make 
manure  of  a  large  amount  of  corn-fodder  and  straw,  it  is  well 
to  have  nearly  a  level  yard,  with  a  slight  depression  in  the  cen- 
tre, and  to  give  them  a  dry  footing  by  a  profuse  feeding  of  these 
materials,  of  which  they  will  consume  the  best  parts,  trampling 
the  refuse  under  foot.  Such  an  accumulation,  properly  com- 
posted during  the  summer,  will  make  excellent  manure  for 
autumn  use.  No  farmer,  however,  who  has  once  learned  the 
feeding  value  of  both  corn-fodder  and  straw,  when  cut  and 
mixed  with  other  food,  will  continue  to  waste  them  under  the 
feet  of  his  animals,  unless  he  is  entirely  careless  of  his  own 
interests,  or  has  a  superabundance  of  fodder  that  he  cannot  sell 
to  advantage.  By  hook  or  by  crook,  he  will  contrive  in  some 
way  to  make  them  available  for  food.  Whatever  plan  is  pursued, 
the  surface  of  the  barn-yard  should  receive  no  water,  save  such 
as  falls  upon  it  directly  from  the  clouds.  Surface  gutters  should 
protect  it  against  the  flow  of  the  watei'from  the  other  ground, 
and  the  roofs  should  be  supplied  with  eave-troughs,  discharging 
into  cisterns,  or  outside  of  the  yard.  It  will  always  pay  to  build 
a  rough  shed  over  that  part  of  the  yard  which  is  to  contain  the 
pit  or  hollow  for  the  manure  and  the  yard  drainage,  especially 
if  the  droppings  of  the  cattle  are  daily  removed  from  the  rest 
of  the  yard  and  added  to  a  compost  under  the  sheds. 

Farm  Roads.  —  I  would  not  feel  justified  in  recommending 
that  "extra  men  and  teams  be  employed  to  make  substantial 
farm  roads,  but  there  are  at  least  a  hundred  half  days  in  the 
year  when  the  regular  force  of  the  farm  can  be  occupied  with 
such  work,  adding  by  every  hour's  work  to  the  permanent  future 
efficiency   of    the   teaming   appliances.      Anything  which   will 


492  AGRICULTURE. 

enable  each  team,  in  all  future  time,  to  carry  a  heavier  load  than 
is  now  practicable,  or  to  carry  the  same  load  more  easily,  must 
add  to  the  permanent  money  value  of  the  farm. 

What  is  Underdraining  ?  —  It  is  an  axiom  of  good  farming 
that  all  land  shall  be  thoroughly  underdrained  ;  underdrained, 
of  course,  either  naturally  or  artificially.  There  is  nothing 
mysterious,  either  in  the  operation  or  in  its  effects.  The  ability 
to  plow  and  plant  early  in  the  spring  ;  the  perfect  germina- 
tion of  seeds,  and  rapid  and  luxuriant  growth  of  healthy  plants ; 
the  ability  to  plow  and  otherwise  cultivate  growing  crops  ;  and 
the  opportunity  for  seasonable  harvesting  and  for  fall  plowing, 
all  depend  more  upon  the  condition  of  the  soil  as  to  moisture 
than  on  any  other  single  circumstance.  For  the  purpose  of  illus- 
tration, we  will  suppose  an  acre  of  land  to  be  enclosed  in  a 
water-tight  box,  its  bottom  being  four  feet  below  the  surface, 
with  no  outlet  at  any  point.  The  whole  acre  lies  open  to  the 
rain,  and  the  whole  depth  is  saturated  by  every  heavy  storm. 
This  acre  of  land  may  have  the  most  thorough  cultivation  of 
which  it  is  capable,  and  may  be  manured  as  land  was  never  ma- 
nured yet,  and  its  produce  will  inevitably  be  precarious.  In  very 
good  seasons  it  may  be  fair  ;  in  wet  seasons  it  will  be  weak  and 
badly  matured ;  and  in  dry  ones  it  will  be  mean  and  stunted. 
Now  let  us  knptk  the  bottom  out  of  our  box  and  see  the  result. 
Of  course  we  must  assume  that  it  is  underlaid  by  a  stratum  of 
gravel  or  other  porous  material.  The  water  which  has  filled 
the  spaces  between  the  particles  of  the  soil,  lying  there  until 
evaporated  at  the  surface,  sinks  slowly  away  and  leaves  the 
whole  mass  pervaded  by  air,  the  particles  themselves  holding 
by  absorption  enough  water  to  make  them  sufficiently  moist  for 
the  highest  fertility,  but  affording  very  little  for  the  cooling 
operation  of  evaporation  at  the  surface.  When  a  heavy  rain  falls, 
the  soil  may  be  for  a  short  time  saturated  with  water,  and  this 
drives  out  all  of  the  air  it  has  contained.  As  the  water  settles 
away  after  the  rain,  fresh  air  follows  and  embraces  every  atom 
with  its  active,  fertilizing  oxygen,  and  deposits,  in  the  upper 
layers,  carbonic  acid  and  ammonia,  and  all  else  that  makes  air 
impure  and  soil  rich.  Indeed,  the  water  itself  has  washed  the 
air  clean,  and  then,  on  filtering  through  the  loose  soil,  has  depos- 
ited all  of  its  impurities  near  enough  to  the  surface  to  be  within 


THE   FARM  AND  FARM  BUILDINGS,  493 

easy  reach  of  the  roots.  Seed  planted  now  finds  as  much 
moisture  as  it  needs  for  germination,  and  only  as  much.  Its 
rotting  in  the  ground  is  impossible ;  and  if  we  follow  all  of  the 
processes  of  growth,  and  all  of  the  operations  of  cultivation  and 
harvesting,  we  shall  find  that  the  former  are  never  impeded  by 
too  great  wetness  of  the  soil,  and  that  the  latter  may  be  per- 
formed always  in  good  season  and  with  the  best  effect.  Neither 
are  the  crops  destroyed,  or  even  greatly  injured,  by  drought ; 
for  if  there  is  one  effect  of  underdraining  that  is  established 
beyond  doubt,  it  is  that  it  is  at  least  the  basis  of  all  those  opera- 
tions by  which  we  most  successfully  attempt  to  overcome  the 
effects  of  a  drought.  Instead  of  being  a  pest  to  the  farmer, 
disappointing  half  of  his  hopes  and  baffling  his  best  skill,  this 
acre  of  land  has  become  a  pliant  tool  in  his  hands.  So  far  as 
it  is  possible  for  him  to  be  independent  of  the  changes  of  the 
weather,  he  has  become  independent  of  them,  and  he  works 
with  a  certainty  of  the  best  reward,  which  changes  his  occupa- 
tion from  a  game  of  hazard  to  a  work  of  fair  promise. 

To  answer  the  question,  then,  which  stands  at  the  head  of 
this  article,  underdraining  is  knocking  the  bottom  out  of  the 
water-tight  box  in  which  our  soil  is  encased.  If  we  are  the 
happy  occupiers  of  land  through  which  the  water  settles  away 
as  it  falls,  we  have  no  need  of  the  operation  ;  but  if  our  only  or 
chief  outlet  is  at  the  surface,  with  the  drying  sun  and  wind  for 
draining  tiles,  we  do  need  it,  and  can  never  hope  for  the  success 
to  which  our  seed,  our  manure,  and  our  labors  entitle  us,  until 
we  adopt  it.  How  it  is  best  to  do  the  work  depends  upon  the 
soil,  situation,  price  of  labor,  price  of  material,  and  depth  of 
outlet  that  can  be  secured.  Stone  drains,  tile  drains,  brush 
drains,  board  drains,  mole-plow  tracks,  and  all  other  conduits 
are  proven  pretty  good,  so  long  as  they  continue  to  afford  a 
channel  through  which  the  water  can  run  freely.  The  choice 
between  them  is  based  upon  questions  of  durability,  cost,  and 
availability.  The  only  positive  rules,  applicable  to  all  cases,  are 
that  the  drain  should  be  a  covered  one.  and  not  an  open  ditch, 
and  that  it  should  be,  whenever  possible,  at  least  three,  and 
better  four,  feet  deep. 

Farm  Drainage.  —  While  it  would  be  hardly  fair  to  say  that 
farmers  are  slower  than  men  of  other  classes  to  adopt  improve- 


494  AGRICULTURE. 

ments  in  the  methods  of  their  trade,  hardly  any  other  industry 
has  been  within  the  same  time  so  completely  revolutionized  as 
has  farming,  in  the  single  item  of  hay-making,  since  the  introduc- 
tion of  the  mowing-machine.  Yet  there  are  some  improvements 
whose  practical  usefulness  and  applicability  are  universally 
acknowledged,  which  find  it  hard  work  to  fight  their  way  to 
general  adoption.  The  drainage  of  moist  land  is  one  of  these. 
We  use  the  expression  moist  land,  because  land  which  is  abso- 
lutely wet  is  either  drained  or  let  alone,  as  a  matter  of  course. 
Every  farmer  knows  that  his  swamps  must  either  be  made  dry, 
or  at  least  only  moist,  or  be  left  to  the  bulrushes.  The  far 
larger  part  of  our  cultivated  farms,  which  come  under  the  desig- 
nations "late,"  "naturally  cold,"  "heavy,"  "sour,"  "springy," 
(the  larger  part  of  our  fertile  lands,  that  is),  are  cultivated  year 
after  year,  under  heavy  disadvantages,  their  half  crops,  and  the 
extra  labor  and  "catching"  work  that  they  entail,  being  ac- 
cepted as  a  sort  of  doom  from  which  there  is  no  available  means  ^ 
of  relief.  Almost  every  farmer  of  such  land  is  ready  to  admit 
that  it  would  be  better  for  being  drained,  but  he  has  got  on  so 
long  without  it,  and  draining  is  such  expensive  work,  that  hav- 
ing no  example  of  its  benefits  before  his  eyes  he  "  gets  on  " 
without  it  to  the  end  of  his  days.  It  does  seem  hard  to  believe 
that,  on  solid  upland,  that  only  costs  ^$o  an  acre  in  the  first 
instance,  and  produces  fair  crops  fair  seasons,  it  will  pay  to  spend 
from  ;^50  to  ;^ioo  an  acre  to  make  it  a  little  drier,  when  more  of 
the  same  sort  can  be  bought  at  the  original  price.  But  exactly 
this  must  be  believed  before  farming  can  become,  in  America, 
what  it  has  already  become,  by  means  of  drainage,  in  England, 
and  before  our  farmers  can  be  as  successful  as  they  ought  to  be, 
and  as  they  have  the  means  of  becoming.  Land  that  remains  wet 
so  far  into  the  spring  as  often  to  delay  the  plowing  until  it  is  time 
to  plant,  after  being  drained,  may  often  be  plowed  in  March  in- 
stead of  May.  When  the  seed  is  planted,  it  will  never  be  rotted  in 
the  ground  and  call  for  a  new  planting,  if  the  water  can  find  its 
way  to  the  drains  below.  Weeds,  which  grow  while  the  land  is 
too  clammy  to  be  hoed,  and  get  beyond  control,  so  that,  when 
the  ground  is  dry,  hoes  and  horse-hoes  have  to  wage  an  unequal 
warfare  against  them,  may,  on  drained  land,  be  attacked  on 
almost  any  sunny  day,  and  killed  with  little  work.     And  when 


THE  FARM  AND  FARM  BUILDINGS.  495 

the  time  comes  for  hauling  off  the  crop,  as  in  spring  in  hauling 
on  manure,  it  will  not  be  necessary  to  wait  weeks  for  the 
ground  to  be  solid  enough  for  the  teams  to  work,  nor  will  the 
ground  be  so  much  injured  in  the  operation.  In  short,  work 
can  be  done  in  proper  season,  done  in  proper  manner,  and  done 
with  a  definite  certainty  of  a  fair  return,  and  with  very  much 
less  dependence  upon  the  weather,  than  when  the  water  of 
heavy  rains  has  to  lie  soaking  in  the  soil  until  dried  up  by  the 
sun  and  wind.  What  is  needed  is  more  general  information  upon 
the  subject,  more  practical  examples  of  the  beneficial  effects  of 
draining,  and  cheaper  draining  tiles.  All  of  these  will  come 
slowly  at  first,  but  they  are  coming  surely,  and  they  cannot  fail 
to  increase  in  rapid  progression,  by.  the  very  effect  of  their  own 
influence. 

Underdraining  versus  Drought.  — That  land  should  be  made 
damper  by  being  made  drier ;  that  underdraining  should  be  one 
of  the  best  preventives  of  the  ill  effects  of  drought,  — this  is 
the  apparently  anomalous  proposition  on  which  one  of  the 
strongest  arguments  in  favor  of  draining  is  based.  When  we 
see  a  field  baked  to  the  consistence  of  a  brick,  gaping  open  in 
wide  cracks,  and  covered  with  a  stunted  growth  of  parched  and 
stunted  plants,  it  seems  hard  to  believe  that  the  simple  laying 
of  hollow  tiles  four  feet  deep  in  the  dried-up  mass  would  do 
anything  at  all  toward  the  improvement  of  its  condition.  For 
the  present  season  it  would  not,  but  for  the  next  it  would,  and 
for  every  season  thereafter,  and  in  an  increasing  degree,  so  long 
as  the  tiles  acted  as  effective  drainage.  The  baking  and  crack- 
ing, and  the  unfertile  condition  of  the  soil,  are  the  result  of  a 
previous  condition  of  entire  saturation.  Clay  cannot  be  moulded 
into  bricks,  nor  can  it  be  dried  into  lumps,  unless  it  is  made 
soaking  wet.  Dry  or  only  damp  clay,  once  made  fine,  can  never 
again  be  made  lumpy  unless  it  is  first  made  thoroughly  wet, 
and  is  pressed  together  while  in  its  wet  condition.  Neither  can 
a  considerable  heap  of  pulverized  clay,  kept  covered  from  the 
rain  but  exposed  to  sun  and  air,  ever  become  even  apparently 
dry,  except  within  an  inch  or  two  of  its  surface.  Underdrain- 
ing, if  the  work  is  properly  done,  of  course,  after  it  has  had 
time  to  bring  the  soil,  for  a  depth  of  two  or  three  feet,  to  a 
thoroughly  well-drained  condition,  will  equally  prevent  it  from 


496  AGRICULTURE. 

becoming  baked  into  lumps,  or  from  being,  for  any  considerable 
depth  below  the  surface,  too  dry  for  the  purpose  of  vegetation. 

In  the  first  place,  the  water  of  heavy  spring  rains,  instead  of 
lying  soaking  in  the  soil  until  the  rapid  drying  of  summer  bakes 
it  into  coherent  clods,  settles  away  and  leaves  the  clay,  within 
a  few  hours  after  the  rainfall  ceases,  and  before  rapid  evapora- 
tion commences,  too  much  dried  to  crack  into  masses.  Of 
course,  this  is  only  the  beginning  of  the  operations  of  improve- 
ment. It  is  merely  the  foundation,  but  on  heavy  soils  it  is  the 
necessary  foundation  of  the  processes,  natural  and  artificial,  by 
which  the  improvement  is  effected  and  made  permanent.  The 
only  direct  effects  of  draining  are  to  prevent  the  soil  from  ever 
being  completely  saturated. for  any  considerable  time,  and  to 
remove  from  below  water  which,  if  not  so  removed,  would  evap- 
orate from  the  surface.  The  formation  of  a  crust  on  the  sur- 
face of  the  ground  is  in  direct  proportion  to  the  quantity  of 
water  that  is  removed  by  evaporation,  and  the  crust  constitutes 
a  barrier  against  the  admission  of  air,  in  direct  proportion  to  its 
thickness.  Consequently,  the  larger  the  quantity  of  water  that  is 
removed  by  the  drains,  the  smaller  is  the  obstacle  offered  to  the 
entrance  of  air.  The  more  constantly  the  lower  parts  of  the 
soil  are  relieved  from  excess  of  water  and  supplied  with  air, 
the  more  deeply  will  roots  descend  ;  and  the  easier  its  communi- 
cation with  the  atmosphere,  the  more  frequently  will  the  air  in 
the  lower  soil  be  changed.  On  these  two  principles  depend  the 
immunity  from  drought  which  underdraining  helps  secure. 

In  dry  weather,  the  soil  gets  its  moisture  from  the  deposit  of 
dew  on  the  surface,  during  the  night,  and  on  the  surfaces  of  the 
particles  of  the  lower  soil  constantly,  day  and  night.  The 
familiar  example  of  the  sweating  of  a  cold  pitcher  that  stands 
in  the  sun  and  wind,  on  a  hot  July  day,  illustrates  the  manner 
in  which  the  dew-laden  air  of  our  driest  weather  gives  up  its 
moisture  (greater  than  at  any  other  time),  to  the  particles  of  the 
cool,  shaded  lower  soil  with  which  it  comes  in  contact.  A  box 
of  finely  pulverized  earth,  two  feet  deep,  previously  dried  in  an 
oven,  placed  in  the  sun  and  wind  on  the  driest  and  hottest  days 
of  summer,  would  soon  become  sufficiently  moist  for  the  growth 
of  plants,  by  the  deposit  of  dew  among  its  lower  and  cooler 
particles.     Let   the  same  earth   be    saturated   with  water  and 


THE  FARM  AND  FARM  BUILDINGS,  497 

closely  compressed,  and  it  would,  under  the  same  circumstances, 
be  baked  and  dry  throughout  its  whole  depth.  No  air  could 
enter  for  the  deposit  of  dew,  and,  from  its  compact  condition, 
all  of  the  moisture  that  it  contains  would  move,  by  capillary 
attraction,  from  particle  to  particle,  to  supply  the  evaporation  at 
the  surface,  while  the  crust  thus  formed  on  the  surface  would 
prevent  the  free  admission  of  air,  even  if  the  lower  soil  were 
loose  and  porous. 

It  is  the  same  in  the  field.  A  heavy  clay  soil,  saturated  with 
water,  dries  up  to  a  condition  that  will  not  admit  of  the  circula- 
tion of  air.  Even  if  the  thin  surface  soil,  containing  much 
vegetable  matter,  is  loose  enough,  it  is  soon  heated  to  such  a 
depth  that  the  little  moisture  it  receives  during  the  cooler  parts 
of  the  day  is  dried  out  by  the  midday  sun,  while  the  compact 
subsoil  is  impervious  to  all  atmospheric  influence.  Plants  grow 
well  enough  during  the  weeks  that  separate  the  rains  of  early 
spring  from  the  heat  of  midsummer,  but  when  the  drought  sets 
in,  the  roots  being  only  in  the  surface  soil,  —  for  roots  will  not 
enter  a  cold,  saturated  subsoil,  —  vigorous  vegetation  ceases,  and 
we  accuse  Providence  of  having  sent  us  a  scourge  for  our  sins. 
As  well  blame  Providence  for  our  loss  if  we  neglected  to  plow, 
and  harrow,  and  plant  at  seed  time,  as  for  loss  from  neglect  to 
drain  away  the  water  that  places  us  at  the  mercy  of  the  drought. 
If  we  underdrain  the  land,  even  without  the  use  of  the  subsoil 
plow,  —  but  better  with  it,  —  the  early  growth  will  be  less  pre- 
carious and  more  uniform,  and  the  roots  of  our  crops  will  push 
down  into  the  subsoil,  where  they  will  find,  all  through  the  dri- 
est summer,  enough  moisture  for  their  uses.  For  the  first  year 
or  two,  of  course,  we  could  only  hope  to  modify  our  evils,  but  in 
time  we  should  find  that,  if  we  keep  the  surface  of  our  under- 
draining  ground  well  stirred,  a  six  weeks'  drought,  that  lays  the 
whole  country-side  bare,  has  little  power  to  diminish  our  crops. 


CHAPTER   VI. 

LIVE-STOCK. 

Live-stock  is  more  or  less  important  to  the  farmer,  accord- 
ing to  the  circumstances  under  which  his  business  is  carried  on. 
In  extensive  grain-growing  regions,  where  the  policy  is  simply 
to  raise  the  largest  possible  crops,  rather  by  extent  of  cultivation 
than  by  excessive  production  per  acre,  and  where  it  is  intended 
either  to  trust  to  luck  for  fertility  of  land,  or  deliberately  to  ex- 
haust and  abandon  it,  live-stock  forms  no  important  part  of  the 
farm  interest,  it  being  necessary  to  keep  only  such  teams  as  are 
required  for  plowing  and  harvesting.  In  other  extensive  regions, 
where  the  chief,  almost  the  entire,  business  of  the  farmer  is 
confined  to  the  grazing  of  large  flocks  and  herds  on  natural 
pastures,  he  cares  for  little  else  than  live-stock ;  but,  at  the  same 
time,  his  animals  live  almost  in  a  state  of  nature,  require  scarcely 
any  attention  beyond  the  annual  branding  and  the  annual  selec- 
tion of  droves  for  market,  and  he  needs  to  know  almost  nothing 
concerning  their  management,  as  understood  by  skilful  husband- 
men. Live-stock  becomes  an  important  element  in  the  economy 
of  the  farm  only  when  our  object  is  to  raise  fine  animals,  to  raise 
beef  for  market,  or  wool,  or  dairy  products,  or  poultry,  as  a 
means  for  converting  the  production  of  the  land  into  a  market- 
able form. 

Mixed  farming  requires  close  attention  and  a  knowledge  of 
means,  methods,  and  results,  that  can  only  be  acquired  through 
practice.  Everything  raised  on  the  farm  should  be  consumed 
on  the  farm,  if  possible.  Skill  in  feeding  stock  economically  is 
one  necessary  requirement  in  a  successful  farmer.  Care  in 
handling  stock  is  another,  and  the  judicious  selection  of  kind, 
age,  and  number,  is  perhaps  the  most  difficult  of  all.  One  farm 
is  adapted  to  cattle,  another  to  sheep,  a  third  to  ^leither,  and  a 
fourth  to  them  all.  To  make  a  wise  selection  as  to  the  farm, 
the  kind  of  stock  to  keep,  and  the  proper  number,  supplemented 
with  convenient  buildings,  careful  management,  and  economical 
498 


LIVE-STOCK.  499 

feeding,  requires  a  quality  of  judgment  that  would  conduct 
almost  any  other  branch  of  productive  industry.  To  be  a  suc- 
cessful stock-raiser,  one  must  read,  think,  calculate,  and  work. 
It  is  no  easy  task,  but  requires  constant  application.  The  sloth- 
ful or  negligent  never  succeed  at  this  business.  As  the  country 
becomes  older  and  more  settled,  the  quality  of  all  kinds  of  stock 
becomes  improved,  for  men  learn  that  the  best  are  always  in 
demand,  while  the  poorest  are  hard  to  sell.  There  is  a  great 
future  for  the  American  stock-raiser;  and  the  progress  in  that 
line  during  the  past  half  century  is  only  an  example  of  what 
may  be  expected  in  the  years  to  come.  Nature  has  placed  all 
the  requirements  for  success  in  this  line  within  easy  reach  of 
the  farmer,  and  those  who  neglect  these  opportunities  will  surely 
repent  when  too  late.  Horses,  cattle,  sheep,  swine,  and  poultry, 
should  all  reach  the  highest  types  of  perfection  here  in  the 
United  States.  The  choice  of  breeds  must  be  a  matter  of  judg- 
ment with  the  farmer,  and  no  definite  rules  can  be  laid  down. 
Suffice  it  to  say,  that,  be  the  number  more  or  less,  they  should 
be  selected  with  discretion,  cared  for  attentively,  and  fed  eco- 
nomically. 

If  these  rules  fail  to  bring  success,  the  cause  must  be  looked 
for  elsewhere.  For  the  purpose  of  showing  the  importance  of 
stock-raising,  I  quote  from  the  last  report  of  the  Department  of 
Agriculture,  upon  that  subject.  These  tables  should  be  studied 
with  care. 

There  has  been  a  feeling  for  a  number  of  years  that  more 
accurate  data  should  be  obtained  in  regard  to  the  number  of 
the  range  cattle  in  the  various  States  and  Territories.  It  is 
probable  that  no  accurate  census  of  the  range  cattle  has  ever 
been  secured,  and  nearly  all  the  estimates,  on  account  of  the 
inherent  difficulties  of  the  case,  have  varied  widely  from  one 
another,  and  probably  from  the  true  figures.  In  order  to  clear  up 
this  question  somewhat,  an  effort  was  made  during  the  year 
1888  to  obtain  reliable  data  from  the  Western  States  and 
Territories.  Accordingly,  trusted  agents  of  the  Bureau,  well 
acquainted  with  the  range-cattle  industry,  were  sent  into  the  field 
to  gather  the  most  accurate  figures  possible  from  the  cattle- 
owners'  organizations  and  from  other  sources  of  information. 
The  estimates  of  the  Statistical  Division  of  this  Department 


500 


AGRICULTURE. 


have,  as  a  rule,  been  taken  as  approximately  correct  for  the 
number  of  cattle  in  the  States ;  but  in  some  cases  these  esti- 
mates have  been  revised  in  accordance  with  more  recent  infor- 
mation received  from  the  agents  of  this  Bureau.  The  population 
since  1 880  has  been  estimated  on  a  basis  of  a  2  per  cent  annual 
increase,  in  addition  to  the  immigration. 

Taking  our  figures  from  these  sources,  we  obtain  the  follow- 
ing table :  — 

Table  showing  population,  total  number  of  cattle,  and  number  of  cattle  per 
1000  of  population  {estimated  since  1880)  in  the  United  States  and 
Territories. 


Population. 

Total  Cattle, 

Ykafs. 

Number. 

Per  iooo  of 
Population. 

1850 

i860 

1870 

i88e 

1881 

1882 

1883 

1884 

1885 

1886 

1887 

1888 

1889 

23,191,876 
31.443.321 
38.558,371 
50,155.783 
51,828,330 

53.653,889 
55,330,289 

56,955.487 
58,489,943 
59.993,945 
61,683,933 
63,464,501 
65,172,405 

17,778,907 
25,620,019 
23,820,608 
37,008,453 

38,551.471 
40,672,765 
42,777,898 
44,800,674 
46,794,256 
47,612,283 
48,308,623 
48,923,880 
49,417,101 

767 
815 
618 
738 

744 
758 
77Z 
7^7 
800 

794 
783 
771 

758 

This  table  shows  some  interesting  facts.  At  the  first  approx- 
imately accurate  census  of  cattle,  in  1850,  there  were  y6y  cattle 
to  the  IOOO  of  population.  This  number  increased  in  i860  to 
815,  showing  a  large  stock  of  cattle  on  hand.  In  1870,  partly 
from  the  effects  of  the  war,  and  partly  from  an  underestimate  by 
the  census  of  that  year,  we  find  the  number  of  cattle  reduced  to 
618  per  IOOO  of  population.  In  1880  the  number  per  1000 
increases  to  the  extent  of  120,  and  reaches  738.  In  1881  there 
is  an  increase  of  6  per  1000;  from  1881  to  1882,  the  increase  is 
14  per  1000;  from   1882  to   1883,  it  is   15  per  1000,  being  the 


LIVE-STOCK. 


501 


largest  apparent  increase  in  any  one  year;  from  1883  to  1884, 
the  increase  is  14  per  1000;  and  from  1884  to  1885  it  is  13  per 
1000,  reaching  the  highest  point  since  i860,  or  800  cattle  per 
1000  population. 

Since  1885  there  has  been,  according  to  the»e  estimates,  a 
steady  decrease  in  the  relative  number  of  cattle.  From  1885  to 
1886,  this  was  6  per  1000;  from  1886  to  1887,  it  was  11  per 
1000;  from  1887  to  1888,  it  was  12  per  1000;  and  from  1888 
to  1889,  it  was  13  per  1000.  The  total  decrease  in  cattle,  per 
1000  population,  from  1885  to  1889,  amounted  to  42,  and  the 
proportion  was  then  as  758  to  1000. 

A  somewhat  clearer  presentation  of  the  beef  supply  is  obtained 
by  considering  the  other  cattle  by  themselves.  These  figures 
will  be  found  in  the  table  which  is  given  below :  — 

Table  showing  the  total  number  of  milch  cows  and  of  other  cattle^  and  the 
7iutnber  of  each  per  1000  of  population. 


Years. 


Milch  Cows. 


Number. 


Per  iooo  of 
Population. 


Other  Cattle. 


Number. 


Per  iooo  of 
Population. 


1850 
i860 
1870 
1880 
1881 
1882 
1883 
1884 
1885 
1886 
1887 
1888 
1880 


6,385,094 

8,585735 

8,935^332 
12,443,120 
12,538,216 
12,666,031 
13,127,267 
13,502,899 
13,906,534 
14,237,327 
14,524,158 
14,858,634 
15.300,934 


275 

273 
232 
248 
242 
236 
237 
237 
238 
237 
235 
234 
235 


11,393.813 
17,034,284 
14,885,276 

24,565,333 
26,013,255 
28,006,734 
29,650,631 
31.297,775 
32,887,722 
33.374,956 
33,784,465 
34,065,246 
34,116,167 


491 
542 
386 
490 
502 
522 
536 
550 
562 
556 
548 
537 
523 


One  of  the  remarkable  facts  brought  out  by  this  table  is  that, 
since  1870,  the  proportion  of  milch  cows  to  population  has  been 
practically  constant.  In  1850  there  were  275  per  iooo,  and  in 
i860,  273  per  IOOO.  In  1870  this  number  decreases  to  232,  or 
about  15  per  cent,  and  increased  in  the  ten  years  from   1870 


502  AGRICULTURE. 

to  1880  to  248,  being  at  the  rate  of  1.6  per  annum.  In  the 
seven  years  from  1882  to  1889  there  has  been  a  variation  of 
only  2  per  1000  in  either  direction  from  the  number  in  the  first- 
named  year.  The  reduction  from  275  per  1000  in  1850  to  235 
per  1000  in  1889,  or  about  15  per  cent,  has  undoubtedly  been 
more  than  counterbalanced  by  improvements  in  the  quality  of 
the  stock,  so  that  the  quantity  of  dairy  products  yielded  in  pro- 
portion to  the  population  is  greater  instead  of  being  less  than  in 
1850. 

If  we  turn  our  attention  now  to  the  "  other  cattle,"  from 
which  our  beef  supply  is  mostly  obtained,  we  find,  in  1850,  491 
per  1000  of  population.  In  i860,  this  number  increased  to  542 
per  1000,  or  over  10  per  cent,  and  in  consequence  of  the  war  and 
an  incorrect  estimate  had  dropped  by  1870  to  386,  a  decrease 
in  ten  years  of  28.7  per  cent.  In  1880,  the  number  of  this 
class  of  cattle  per  1000  of  population  had  increased  to  490,  the 
proportion  being  almost  exactly  the  same  as  in  1850.  From 
1880  to  1885,  there  was  a  continuous  and  rapid  increase,  which 
was  due  to  the  rernarkable  development  of  the  range-cattle 
industry  in  that  period.  Thus,  in  1881,  there  were  502  per 
1000;  in  1882,  there  were  522  per  1000;  in  1883,  536  per  1000; 
in  1884,  550  per  1000;  and  in  1885,  562  per  1000.  The  increase 
in  the  five  years,  from  1880  to  1885,  was  72  per  1000  of  popula- 
tion, or  about  15  per  cent. 

Since  1885  there  has  been  a  perceptible  and  continuous 
decrease  in  the  proportion  of  cattle  to  population.  From  1885 
to  1886,  this  decrease  was  only  6  per  1000  of  population ;  from 
1886  to  1887,  it  was  8  per  1000;  from  1887  to  1888,  it  was  11 
per  1000;  and  from  1888  to  1889,  it  was  14  per  1000.  In  the 
four  years  the  decrease  amounted  to  39  per  1000  of  population, 
or  about  7  per  cent  of  the  number  given  for  1885.  The  propor- 
tion of  cattle  to  population  in  1889  was  almost  exactly  the  same 
as  in  1882. 

In  considering  the  proportion  of  cattle  to  population,  and  in 
drawing  conclusions  as  to  the  relative  beef  supply  in  different 
years,  the  fact  should  not  be  overlooked  that  there  has  been  a 
great  change  within  the  last  twenty  years,  in  the  character  of 
steers  that  have  been  sent  to  market.  New  and  better  blood 
has  been  infused  into  the  old  stock,  and  the  result  is  that  steers 


LIVE-STOCK. 


503 


are  marketed  younger,  weigh  more,  and  yield  a  larger  proportion 
of  carcass  than  formerly.  The  beef  supply  obtained  from  a  given 
number  of  cattle  is  for  this  reason  considerably  larger  than  it 
was  a  few  years  ago.  The  increased  number  of  cattle  per  1000 
of  population  does  not,  therefore,  represent  the  whole  increase 
in  the  beef  supply  which  has  taken  place  since  1870.  There  is, 
in  addition,  an  increase  resulting  from  early  maturity,  size,  and 
quality,  which  can  only  be  estimated  with  great  difficulty  and 
uncertainty. 

It  is  impossible  to  obtain  accurate  imformation  as  to  the  num- 
ber of  steers  slaughtered  annually  in  this  country  for  beef,  or  to 
reach  this  number  by  even  an  approximate  estimate.  For  this 
reason,  the  actual  beef  supply  which  yearly  goes  upon  the  mar- 
ket is  an  unknown  quantity.  It  becomes  necessary,  therefore, 
to  judge  of  the  supply  by  the  total  stock  of  cattle  on  hand  in  the 
country.  Such  deductions  are  subject  to  grave  errors,  which 
are  liable  to  arise  from  a  larger  proportion  of  cattle  being  mar- 
keted one  year  than  another,  in  order  to  meet  financial  emer- 
gencies, because  of  lack  of  feed,  or  because  of  a  better  price 
for  cattle,  as  compared  with  the  price  of  corn  and  hay. 

The  demand  for  meat  for  home  consumption  should  be  toler- 
ably constant  in  a  series  of  years  like  those  of  the  present 
decade,  during  which  there  has  been  no  marked  financial  de- 
pression. There  is  undoubtedly,  however,  a  considerable  influ- 
ence exerted  upon  the  demand  for  beef  by  the  quantity  and 
price  of  pork  products.  In  other  words,  when  the  production 
of  pork  is  abundant  and  the  price  low,  there  will  be  less  beef 
consumed  than  when  these  conditions  are  reversed.  The  quan- 
tity of  beef  exported  must  also  have  an  important  influence 
upon  the  demand  and  upon  the  price. 

With  the  facts  mentioned  above  in  mind,  the  following  table 
is  presented  to  show  the  relation  between  the  relative  number 
of  cattle  in  the  country  and  the  mean  price  of  steers.  It  is  im- 
possible to  give  a  true  average  price  of  steers  from  the  data  on 
hand,  but  the  mean  price  is  a  sufficient  indication  of  the  extent 
and  direction  of  the  fluctuations  from  year  to  year.  The  mean 
prices  of  cattle  and  hogs  given  in  the  tables  which  follow  are 
computed  from  quotations  given  in  the  Drovers'  Journal. 


504 


AGRICULTURE, 


Table  showing  the  proportion  of  cattle  to  population,  the  value  of  cattle  and 
beef  products  exported,  and  the  mean  price  of  beef  steers  in  Chicago. 


1878 
1879 
1880 
1881 
1882 
1883 
1884 
1885 
1886 
1887 
1888 


Years. 


No.  OF  Cattle  (ex- 
cluding Milch 
Cows)  per  iooo 
OF  Population. 


490 
502 
522 

562 
548 

537 
523 


Exports  of  Cattle 
AND  Beef  Prod- 
ucts. 


$31,544,360 
32,801,705 
22,680,272 
25,004,746 
36,286,626 
32,014,002 
27,320,390 
21,853,718 
25,764,994 

35»S35.i34 


Mean  Price  of 
Steers  in  Chi- 
cago, per  100 
Pounds. 


$4.25 
4.60 

5-75 
5.90 

6.77 
5.67 
6.05 
515 
4-75 
4.60 

4.87 

4-35 


The  above  table  shows  that,  in  1880,  with  a  steady  increase  in 
the  price  of  steers  since  1878,  with  490  cattle  other  than  milch 
cows  to  the  IOOO  of  population,  and  with  an  export  of  cattle 
and  beef  products  amounting  to  ;^3 1,544,360,  the  mean  price 
of  butchers'  steers  in  the  Chicago  market  was  t^.J^  per  100 
pounds.  From  1880  to  1881,  there  was  an  increase  in  the 
number  of  cattle  of  12  per  1000  of  population,  the  exports  in- 
creased over  ;^  1,000,000,  and  the  mean  price  of  steers  increased 
15  cents  per  100  pounds. 

In  1882,  we  find  a  remarkable  increase  in  the  price  of  steers, 
which  cannot  be  explained  by  the  data  furnished.  With  an 
increase  of  20  cattle  other  than  milch  cows,  per  1000  of  popu- 
lation, and  a  falling  off  in  the  export  trade  of  over  $10,000,000, 
the  price  of  cattle  not  only  advanced,  but  reached  the  highest 
point  of  the  decade.  The  increase  in  the  mean  price  of  steers, 
from  1 88 1  to  1882,  was  87  cents  per  100  pounds. 

The  mean  price  of  steers  in  1883  '^vas  $1.10  per  100  pounds 
lower  than  in  1882.  The  exports  for  the  year  had  increased 
$2,500,000,  and  the  number  of  cattle  other  than  milch  cows,  per 
IOOO  of  population,  was  14  greater  than  in  the  preceding  year. 
Here  again  the  fluctuation  of  price  is  much  greater  than  the 


LIVE-STOCK. 


505 


table  would  lead  us  to  expect.  In  1884,  with  an  increase  of 
;^i  1,500,000  in  the  exports,  and  with  14  more  cattle  per  1000  of 
population,  the  price  advanced  42  cents,  and  reached  $6.05  per 
100  pounds.  In  1885,  with  the  number  of  cattle  per  1000  of  pop- 
ulation at  the  highest  point,  and  with  a  falling  off  of  1^4,000,000 
in  exports,  the  price  dropped  to  $5.15  per  100  pounds.  In  1886 
and  1887,  with  a  slight  decrease  in  the  relative  number  of  cattle, 
and  with  a  large  reduction  in  exports,  the  price  of  steers  de- 
creased 35  cents  in  1886,  and  15  cents  in  1887.  The  export 
trade  revived  somewhat  in  1888,  and  the  number  of  cattle  in 
proportion  to  population  continued  to  decrease ;  we  are  not  sur- 
prised to  find,  therefore,  an  advance  of  27  cents  per  100  pounds 
in  the  mean  price  of  beef  steers.  In  1889,  with  an  increase  of 
nearly  ;^  10,000,000  in  the  exports,  and  a  decrease  of  14  cattle 
other  than  milch  cows,  per  1000  of  population,  the  mean  price 
of  steers  declined  52  cents  per  100  pounds. 

Having  examined  the  table  given  above  somewhat  critically, 
we  are  forced  to  the  conclusion  that  the  fluctuation  in  the  price 
of  steers  cannot  be  explained  by  the  simple  consideration  of 
the  number  of  cattle  in  proportion  to  the  population,  or  by  com- 
bining this  information  with  the  statistics  of  the  export  trade. 
The  chief  disturbing  condition,  and  one  to  which  we  have  al- 
ready referred,  is  the  price  of  hogs.  To  illustrate  the  influence 
of  these  conditions,  the  following  table  is  added  :  — 


Table  showing  the  mean  price  of  hogs  and  beef  steers  in  Chicago,  for  the  years 
from  iSyg  to  1889,  inclusive. 


Years. 

Mean  Price  of  Hogs  in 
Chicago,  per  ioo  Pounds. 

Mean  Price  of  Steers  in 
Chicago,  per  ioo  Pounds. 

1879 

1880 

$3-52 
5.05 

5-95 
7.32 
6.07 

5-75 
4.12 
4.25 
4.88 
5.82 
4-38 

$4.60 

5-75 
5.90 

5-67 
6.05 

5.15 

4-75 
4.60 
4.87 
4.35 

1881 

1882 

1883 

1884 

1885 

1886 

1887 

1888 

1889 

5o6  AGRICULTURE. 

Now,  comparing  the  mean  price  of  hogs  and  steers,  we  find 
that  the  extraordinary  advance  in  the  price  of  steers,  in  1882, 
coincided  with  the  even  greater  advance  in  the  price  of  hogs. 
The  largely  decreased  price  of  steers  in  1883  also  coincided 
with  the  equal  decrease  in  the  price  of  hogs.  In  1884,  we  find 
a  decrease  of  32  cents  per  100  pounds  in  the  price  of  hogs,  and 
an  increase  of  38  cents  per  100  pounds  in  the  price  of  steers  ; 
this  would  appear  to  be  due  to  the  large  exports  of  cattle  and 
beef  products  in  that  year.  In  1885  and  1886,  the  large  number 
of  cattle  in  proportion  to  population,  the  falling  off  in  the  export 
trade,  and  the  low  price  of  hogs,  all  exerted  a  downward  influence 
on  the  price  of  cattle. 

The  price  of  hogs  increased  considerably  in  1887,  but  the 
price  of  steers  declined  still  further.  This  was  no  doubt  the 
result  of  the  falling  off  in  our  export  trade,  from  ^27,320,390  in 
1886  to  ^21,853,718  in  1887.  The  slight  advance  in  cattle 
prices,  in  1888,  coincides  with  the  much  greater  advance  in  the 
price  of  hogs,  but  must  have  been  also  influenced  by  the  in- 
creased exports  of  cattle  and  beef  products.  In  1889,  the  mean 
price  of  hogs  dropped  ^1.44  per  100  pounds,  and  this  coincided 
with  the  decline  in  the  mean  price  of  steers  of  52  cents  per  100 
pounds,  a  greater  decline  in  the  price  of  steers  being  evidently 
prevented  by  the  large  increase  in  the  export  trade.  It  has 
been  evident,  from  the  receipts  of  cattle  at  the  leading  stock- 
yards of  the  country,  that  a  very  large  number  of  such  animals 
have  been  marketed  in  proportion  to  the  stock  on  hand,  and 
this  has  been  one  of  the  leading  factors  which  operated  to  de- 
crease the  price  of  steers.  With  the  decline  in  the  prices  the 
profits  in  cattle-raising  have  been  greatly  reduced,  and  in  many 
localities  this  industry  has  been  conducted  at  a  positive  loss. 
The  inevitable  tendency  has  therefore  been  to  sell  off  the  stock 
and  reduce  the  business,  and  consequently  the  proportionate 
number  of  cattle  marketed  has  been  much  greater  than  during 
the  years  from  1881  to  1884,  when  the  industry  was  paying  and 
the  stock  on  hand  was  being  increased.  For  this  reason  the 
markets  of  the  country  have  not  felt  the  influence  of  the  re- 
duction of  the  stock  of  cattle  in  proportion  to  the  population, 
which  the  tables  plainly  show  has  occurred,  and  which  must 
continue  at  an  increasing  rate  from  year  to  year. 


LIVE-STOCK. 


507 


The  tendency  of  prices  with  cattle  will  probably  be  to  advance 
within  the  next  year  or  two,  on  account  of  the  improbability  of 
increasing  the  stock  of  cattle  as  rapidly  as  the  population  is  aug- 
menting, but  this  advance  will  be  slow  and  uncertain  for  a  num- 
ber of  years.  It  will  be  at  least  two  years  before  the  stock  of 
cattle  has  been  reduced  to  the  proportion,  as  compared  to  popu- 
lation, which  existed  in  1878,  and  then  the  mean  price  of  steers 
was  but  ^4.25  per  100  pounds,  or  ten  cents  less  than  in  1889.  In 
other  words,  the  price  of  steers  for  several  years  in  the  future 
will  depend  more  on  the  price  of  hogs,  upon  the  value  of  the 
exports  of  cattle  and  beef  products,  and  upon  the  proportion  of 
steers  marketed,  than  upon  any  changes  likely  to  occur  in  the 
number  of  cattle  per  1000  of  population  existing  in  the  country. 

The  Export  Trade  in  Animals  and  Meat  Products.  —  During 
the  calendar  year  1889,  the  exports  of  animals  and  meats  were 
unusually  large.  The  number  of  cattle  exported  reached  329,- 
271.  The  largest  number  sent  abroad  in  any  preceding  year 
was  190,518,  in  1884.  The  large  exports  of  1889  were  due  pri- 
marily, no  doubt,  to  the  low  price  of  cattle  in  the  United  States. 
The  active  demand  in  Great  Britain  has  been  an  important  fac- 
tor, as  also  the  freedom  of  nearly  the  whole  of  the  United  States 
from  any  dangerous  contagious  disease.  With  the  rapid  eradica- 
tion of  pleuro-pneumonia  in  this  country,  the  confidence  in' 
American  beef  cattle  has  increased,  and  there  is  greater  willing- 
ness to  receive  and  handle  them.  The  following  tables  show 
the  exports  of  animals  and  meat  products  for  the  calendar  years 
1888  and  1889:  — 

lad/e  showing  mwiber  and  value  of  animals  exported  for  the  calendar  years 
ending  December  31,  1888  and  1889. 


Animals. 


Cattle  . 
Hogs  . 
Horses 
Mules  . 
Sheep  . 


Number. 


154,813 

19,396 

2,287 

2,902 

117,718 


Value. 


$12,998,977 
159,198 

417,483 
362,674 

243,483 


Number. 


329,271 

87,353 
4,288 

3,197 
143,161 


Value. 


55^25,673,366 
741,264 
689,964 

376,391 
393,185 


5o8 


AGRICULTURE, 


Table  showing  exports  of  meat  products  for  the  calendar  years  ending  Decem- 
ber 2,1,  1888  ««^  1889. 


1888. 

1889. 

Pounds. 

Value. 

Pounds. 

Value. 

Beef  products : 

Beef,  canned  .     .     . 

Beef,  fresh     .     .     . 

Beef,  salted  or  pickled 

Beef,  other  cured     . 

Tallow 

Hog  products : 

Bacon  

Hams 

Pork,  fresh     ...     . 

Pork,  pickled .     .     . 

Lard 

Mutton 

45,298,849 

106,411,092 

50,377,426 

106,255 

75,470,826 

302,128,689 

40,243,275 

47,265 

57,772,922 

270,245,146 

205,822 

$3,807,685 

9,591,481 

2,819,047 

10,665 

3,736,488 

25,958,915 
4,622,032 

3,354 

4,414,923 

23,516,097 

16,955 

71,769,708 

170,992,606 

72,915,854 

209,968 

99,637,118 

471,743,869 
55,469,050 

227,735 

77,231,712 

398,337,428 

350,779 

$6,026,970 
13,002,713 

3,881,077 
18,658 

4,717,229 

36,320,774 

5,990,570 

13,080 

4,997,687 

30,422,370 

30,642 

The  following  tables,  showing  the  exports  for  eleven  years 
ending  with  1889,  are  added  for  reference  and  comparison.  It 
should  be  observed  that  the  years  referred  to  in  these  tables  are 
fiscal  years  ending  June  30,  while  in  the  preceding  tables  they 
are  for  the  calendar  year  ending  December  31. 

Table  showing  number  and  valne  of  animals  exported  for  each  year  from 
1879  ^^  1889,  inclusive. 


Cattle. 

Hogs. 

Horses. 

Mules. 

Sheep. 

Years. 

NUM- 

Value. 

Num. 

Value. 

Num. 

Value. 

Num- 

Value. 

Num. 

Value. 

BER. 

ber. 

1879.  . 

136,720 

$8,379,200 

75,129 

$700,262 

3,915 

$770,742 

4,153 

$530,989 

215,680 

$1,082,938 

1880.  . 

182,756 

13,344,195 

83,434 

421,089 

3,060 

675,139 

5,198 

532,362 

209,137 

892,647 

1881.  . 

185,707 

14,304,103 

77,456 

572,138 

2,523 

390,243 

3,207 

353,924 

179,919 

762,932 

1882.  . 

108,110 

7,800,227 

36,368 

509,651 

2,248 

470,183 

2,632 

320,130 

139,676 

603,778 

1883.  . 

104,444 

8,341,431 

16,129 

272,516 

2,800 

475,806 

4,237 

486,560 

337,251 

1,154,856 

1884.  . 

190,518 

17,855.493 

46,382 

627,480 

2,721 

424,317 

3,742 

498,80^ 

273,874 

850,146 

1885.  . 

135,890 

12,906,690 

55,025 

579,183 

1,947 

377,692 

1,028 

127,580 

23^,509 

512,568 

1886.  . 

119,065 

10,958,954 

74,187 

674,297 

1,616 

348,323 

1,191 

148,711 

177.594 

329,844 

1887.  . 

106,459 

9,172.136 

75,383 

564,753 

1,611 

351,607 

1. 754 

214,734 

121,701 

254,725 

1888.  . 

140,208 

",577,578 

23,755 

193,017 

2,263 

412,774 

2,971 

378,765 

143,817 

280,490 

1889.  . 

205,786 

16,616,917 

45,128 

356,764 

3,748 

592,469 

2,980 

356,333 

128,852 

366,181 

LIVE-STOCK. 


509 


Table  showing  quantity  of  beef  products  exported  for  each  year  from  1879  to 

i88q,  inclusive. 


879 

880 
881 
882 
883 
884 
885 
886 
887 


Years. 


Beef,  Canned, 


Pounds. 


43,050,588 
40,458,375 
51,025,254 


Beef,  Fresh. 


Pounds. 
54,025,832 

84,717,194 

106,004,812 

69,586,466 

81,064,373 

120,784,064 

115,780,830 

99,423,362 

83,560,874 

93,498,273 

137,895.391 


Beef,  Salted, 
Pickled,  and 
Other  Cured. 


Pounds. 
36,950.563 
45,237,472 
40,698,649 

45,899.737 
41,680,623 
43,021,074 
48,716,138 
59,728,325 
36,479,379 
49,084,420 
55,200,435 


Tallow. 


Pounds. 
99.963752 
110,767,627 
96,403.372 
50,474,210 
38,810,098 
63,091,100 
50,431,719 
40,919,951 
63,278,403 
92,483,052 
77,844,555 


Table  showing  value  of  beef  products  exported  for  each  year  from  1879  to 

1889,  inclusive. 


Years. 

Beef, 
Canned. 

Beef, 
Fresh. 

Beef,  Salted 
OR  Pickled. 

Beef,  Other 
Cured. 

Tallow. 

1879       .... 

$7,311,408 

M,883,o8o 

^5^2,336,378 

.      .      .      . 

$6,934,940 

1880 

7,877,200 

7,441,918 

2,881,047 

. 

7,689,232 

1881 

5-971,557 

9,860,284 

2,665,761 

.      .      ,      . 

6,800,628 

1882 

4.208,608 

6,768,881 

3,902,556 

.      .      .      . 

4,015.798 

1883 

4,578,902 

8,342,131 

3,742,282 

.      .      .      . 

3,248,749 

1884 

3,173,767 

11,987,331 

3,202,275 

$67,758 

4,793,375 

1885 

4,214,791 

11,199,481 

3,619,145 

73,895 

3,322,476 

1886 

3.436,453 

9,291,011 

3,544,379 

89.593 

2,144,499 

1887 

3,462,982 

7,228,412 

1,972,246 

17,942 

2,836,300 

1888 

3,339,077 

8,231,281 

2,608,479 

9,204 

4,252,653 

1889 

4,375,213 

11,481,861 

3,043,324 

17,819 

3,942,024 

5IO 


AGRICULTURE, 


Table  showing  quantity  and  value  of  pork  products  exported  for  each  year 
frotn  1879  to  1889,  inclusive. 


Years. 


Bacon  and  Hams. 


Pounds. 


Value. 


Pork,  Fresh  and 
Pickled. 


Pounds. 


Value. 


Lard. 


Pounds. 


Valui 


879 
880 
881 
882 
883 
884 
885 
886 
887 


732,249 
759.773 
746,944 
468,026 
340,258; 
389,499 
400,127 
419,788 
419,922 

375,439 
400,224 


$51 

61: 
46 
38, 

39: 

37. 
3I; 

33: 

32, 
34, 


413 
,623 
205 
774 
,952 
.845 
948 
211 

,^70 
633 

847 


84,401,676 
95,949,780 
107,928,086 
80,447,466 
62,116,302 
60,548,730 
72,073,468 
87,267,715 

85,893,297 
58,900,153 

64,133,639 


807,568 
930,252 
272,285 
201,270 
192,268 
762,715 
203,943 
123,411 
641,327 
373, "4 
735,077 


326,658,686 
374,979,286 
378,142,496 
250,367,740 
224,718,474 
265,094,719 
283,216,339 
293,728,019 
321.533,746 
297,740,007 
318,242,990 


$22,856,673 
27,920,367 
35,226,575 
28,975,902 
26,618,048 

25,305,953 
22,595,219 
20,361,786 
22,703,921 
22,751,105 
27,329,173 


The  large  export  trade  of  the  year  just  ended  has  done  much 
to  relieve  the  markets  of  this  country,  and  to  maintain  the  price 
of  cattle  and  beef.  While  cattle  have  sold  somewhat  lower  than 
during  1888,  the  decline  has  been  very  much  less  than  in  pork, 
as  has  been  shown  in  the  preceding  section  of  this  report.  The 
enormous  corn  crop  of  this  year,  with  the  low  average  price  of 
this  important  article  of  animal  food,  has  been  a  most  important 
factor  in  depressing  the  price  of  both  hogs  and  cattle.  Accord- 
ing to  the  estimates  of  the  statistical  division  of  this  department, 
the  average  price  of  the  last  corn  crop  is  but  28.3  cents  per 
bushel,  being  much  the  lowest  average  of  any  crop  raised  during 
the  last  ten  years. 


I 


fi" 


NIAGARA    FALLS. 


CHAPTER  VII. 

FRUITS. 

Fruit  is  one  of  the  first  considerations  of  a  good  farmer,  and 
usually  one  of  the  most  pleasant  and  profitable  departments  of 
the  farm.  In  a  work  of  this  character,  no  extended  details  can 
be  expected,  but  a  few  hints  in  that  direction  will  not  be  out  of 
place. 

Planting.  —  The  tree  to  be  planted  should  be  as  young  as 
circumstances  will  allow.  The  season  is  just  when  the  leaves 
become  yellow,  or  as  early  as  possible  in  the  spring.  The 
ground  being  prepared  and  the  tree  taken  up,  prune  the  roots 
with  a  sharp  knife,  so  as  to  leave  none  more  than  about  a  foot 
long ;  and  if  any  have  been  torn  oflF  near  the  stem,  prune  the 
part,  so  that  no  bruises  or  ragged  parts  remain.  Cut  off  all  the 
fibres  close  to  the  roots,  for  they  never  live,  and  they  mould  and 
do  great  injury.  If  cut  off,  their  place  is  supplied  by  other  fibres 
more  quickly.  Dig  the  hole  to  plant  in  three  times  as  wide,  and 
six  inches  deeper  than  the  roots  actually  need  as  mere  room. 
And  now,  besides  the  fine  earth  generally,  have  some  good 
mould  sifted.  Lay  some  of  this  six  inches  deep  at  the  bottom 
of  the  hole.  Place  the  roots  upon  this,  in  their  natural  order, 
and  hold  the  tree  perfectly  upright  while  you  put  more  sifted 
earth  upon  the  roots.  Sway  the  tree  backward  and  forward  a 
little,  and  give  it  a  gentle  lift  and  shake,  so  that  the  fine  earth 
may  find  its  way  among  the  roots  and  leave  not  the  smallest 
cavity.  Every  root  should  be  closely  touched  by  the  earth  in 
every  part.  When  you  have  covered  all  the  roots  with  the 
sifted  earth,  and  have  seen  that  your  tree  stands  just  as  high, 
with  regard  to  the  level  of  the  ground,  as  it  did  in  the  place 
where  it  stood  before,  allowing  about  three  inches  for  sinking, 
fill  up  the  rest  of  the  hole  with  the  common  earth  of  the  plat, 
and  when  you  have  about  half  filled  it,  tread  the  earth  that  you 
put  in,  but  not  very  hard.  Put  on  the  rest  of  the  earth,  and 
leave  the  surface  perfectly  smooth.     Do  not  water  by  any  means. 

5" 


512  AGRICULTURE. 

Water  poured  on  in  this  case  sinks  rapidly  down,  and  makes 
cavities  among  the  roots  and  lets  in  air.  Mould  and  canker 
follow,  and  great  injury  is  done. 

Cultivation.  —  In  the  first  place,  the  ground  is  always  to  be 
kept  clear  of  weeds,  for  whatever  they  take  is  just  so  much 
taken  from  the  fruit,  either  in  quantity  or  quality,  or  in  both. 
It  is  true  that  very  fine  orchards  have  grass  covering  all  the 
ground  beneath  the  trees ;  but  these  orchards  would  be  still 
finer  if  the  ground  were  kept  clear  from  all  plants  except  the 
trees.  Such  a  piece  of  ground  is  at  once  an  orchard  and  a  pas- 
ture. What  is  lost  in  one  way  is  probably  gained  the  other; 
but  if  we  come  to  fine  and  choice  fruits,  there  can  be  nothing 
that  can  grow  beneath  to  balance  the  injury  done  to  the  trees. 
The  roots  of  trees  go  deep ;  but  the  principal  part  of  their  nour- 
ishment comes  from  the  top  soil.  The  ground  should  be  loose 
to  a  good  depth,  which  is  the  certain  cause  of  constant  moisture  ; 
but  trees  draw  downward  as  well  as  upward,  and  draw  more 
nourishment  in  the  former  than  in  the  latter  direction. 

If  crops  be  grown  under  trees  in  orchards,  they  should  be 
wheat,  rye,  winter  barley,  or  something  that  does  not  demand  a 
plowing  of  the  ground  in  the  spring.  In  the  garden,  dig  the 
ground  well  and  clean,  with  a  fork,  late  in  November.  Go  close 
to  the  stems  of  the  trees,  but  do  not  bruise  the  large  roots. 
Clean  and  clear  all  well  close  around  the  stem.  Make  the 
ground  smooth  just  there.  Ascertain  whether  there  are  insects 
of  any  sort  there ;  and  if  there  are,  take  care  to  destroy  them. 
Pull  or  scrape  off  all  the  rough  bark  at  the  bottom  of  the  stem. 
If  you  even  peel  oft  the  bark  a  foot  or  two  up,  in  case  there  are 
insects,  it  will  do  all  the  better.  Wash  the  stems  in  water  in 
which  tobacco  has  been  soaked,  and  do  this  whether  you  find 
insects  or  not.  Put  the  tobacco  into  hot  water  and  let  it  soak 
twenty-four  hours,  before  you  use  the  water ;  this  will  destroy 
or  drive  away  all  insects.  But  for  the  purpose  of  removing  all 
harbor  for  insects,  make  the  ground  smooth  just  around  the 
stem  of  the  tree,  and  let  the  rest  of  the  ground  lie  as  rough  as 
you  can ;  for  the  rougher  it  lies  the  more  it  will  be  broken  by 
frost,  which  is  a  great  enricher  of  all  land.  When  the  spring 
comes,  and  the  ground  is  dry  at  the  top,  give  the  whole  of  the 


FRUITS,  513 

ground  a  good  deep  hoeing,  which  will  make  it  level  and  smooth 
enough. 

GROWING   APPLES    IN    THE    NURSERY    ROW. 

In  every  kind  of  business  there  is  a  right  way  and  a  wrong 
way.  This  is  as  true  in  the  growing  of  apple  trees  as  it  is  in 
any  other  business  process.  My  aim  shall  be  to  outline  the 
right  way. 

Seed.  — This  may  be  procured  from  cider  mills  in  the  fall,  and 
kept  until  about  the  first  of  January,  when  it  should  be  mixed  with 
sand  and  placed  where  it  will  freeze.  If  it  can  be  kept  frozen 
solid  till  planting  time,  it  will  be  all  the  better  for  it ;  but  if  not, 
it  must  be  shovelled  over  once  a  day  after  thawing  out,  to  prevent 
heating  and  subsequent  destruction  of  the  seed. 

Growing  the  Seedlings.  —  Ground  should  be  ploughed  about 
eight  inches  deep,  and  subsoiled  in  the  bottom  of  this  furrow  to 
a  further  depth  of  about  nine  inches.  At  least  seventeen  inches 
of  mellow  soil  are  needed  to  grow  the  proper  length  of  root  in  an 
apple  seedling.  A  number  one  apple  seedling  root  is  from  eight 
to  fifteen  inches  long,  and  in  hard  ground  the  roots  branch  so 
much  that  they  are  of  little  use  for  grafting.  For  budding, 
however,  the  branched  root  is  preferred,  as  it  is  likely  to  grow 
faster.  In  the  fall  the  seedlings  should  be  taken  up  and  stored 
in  a  cellar,  out  of  danger  from  heat  or  frost,  until  the  time  for 
grafting. 

Grafting.  —  Scions  should  be  cut  in  November,  or  early  in 
December,  before  the  arrival  of  cold  weather,  and  packed  in 
sawdust  in  the  cellar.  The  time  for  grafting  will  depend  mainly 
on  the  amount  of  help  and  the  quantity  of  work  to  be  done.  It 
can  be  done  at  any  time  during  late  winter  and  early  spring. 
For  grafting,  the  roots  of  seedlings  are  cut  into  sections  about 
four  inches  long,  and  the  scions  into  pieces  of  about  the  same 
length.  The  upper  end  of  the  section  of  root  is  cut  smooth  and 
sloping,  and  the  lower  end  of  the  scion  is  cut  at  about  the  same 
angle.  In  each  of  these  bevelled  ends  a  tongue  is  cut,  so  that 
when  the  cut  surfaces  of  the  root  and  scion  are  in  contact  these 
tongues  shall  hold  them  firmly  together.  The  secret  of  success 
in  this  operation  is  to  secure  an  intimate  contact  of  the  cambium 
layer  or  inner  bark  of  root  and  scion.     Without  this  no  union 


514  AGRICULTURE, 

of  the  two  can  occur.  To  secure  this,  careful  and  observant 
experience  is  essential,  and  therein  lies  the  skill  of  the  grafter. 
For  tying  the  grafts,  the  best  material  is  crochet  cotton  No.  20, 
prepared  by  boiling  the  balls  in  melted  wax,  composed  of  one- 
fourth  lard  and  three-fourths  rosin.  With  this  the  grafts  are 
wound  to  hold  the  scion  in  place  until  it  has  united  with  the 
stock.  Only  a  few  turns  around  the  joint  are  necessary  ;  many 
grafters  do  not  even  tie  the  ends  of  the  cotton,  trusting  to  the 
adhesive  power  of  the  wax  to  hold  it  in  place.  After  winding, 
the  grafts  should  be  tied  in  small  bunches,  50  or  100  in  each,  la- 
belled, and  packed  in  boxes  of  sawdust  in  the  cellar.  Boot  boxes 
are  a  convenient  size,  and  nothing  but  pine  sawdust,  slightly 
moistened,  should  be  used.  If  stored  in  this  way,  they  can  be 
left  until  time  to  plant  out  in  the  spring. 

Planting  the  Grafts.  —  Ground  should  be  plowed  and  sub- 
soiled  as  for  growing  seedlings,  and  should  be  harrowed  and 
rolled  until  thoroughly  pulverized  and  compacted,  forming  a  fine 
but  solid  bed.  In  planting,  use  steel  dibbles  one  foot  in  length. 
Plunge  the  dibble  into  the  soil,  and  press  to  one  side  to  leave 
room  for  the  graft.  Insert  the  graft  alongside  the  dibble,  leav- 
ing only  about  an  inch  of  the  scion  above  the  surface.  Press 
the  soil  firmly  against  the  graft  with  the  dibble,  and  it  may  be 
expected  to  grow  if  conditions  are  favorable. 

For  budding,  the  seedlings  are  planted  out  at  the  same  time 
with  grafts,  and  are  budded  in  the  following  August  or  Septem- 
ber. The  next  spring  the  top  of  the  seedling  is  cut  off  close 
above  the  bud,  and  any  seedling  sprouts  that  may  come  out  are 
removed.  With  some  varieties  much  nicer  trees  can  be  grown 
by  budding  than  by  grafting. 

Growing  the  Tree.  —  Whether  budded  or  grafted,  after  the 
desired  varieties  are  secured  they  must  be  thoroughly  cultivated, 
trimmed,  and  headed,  and  at  the  end  of  three  or  four  years  they 
are  ready  for  the  orchard. 

APPLE  ORCHARD  AND  ITS  MANAGEMENT. 

That  location  and  soil  have  much  to  do  with  the  success  or 
failure  of  an  apple  orchard,  no  observing  person  will  deny.  My 
ideal  location  is  a  plat  sloping  toward  the  south.     The  soil,  — any 


FRUITS.  515 

that  will  produce  good  crops  of  wheat  and  corn,  and  that  nat- 
urally drains  itself.  A  sandy  loam,  rich  in  vegetable  matter, 
containing,  also,  a  large  quantity  of  lime,  is  most  excellent  for 
this  purpose.  The  subsoil  should  be  somewhat  of  the  same 
nature,  so  that  no  artificial  drainage  is  needed.  There  are  also 
a  variety  of  soils,  running  from  the  light  blow  sand  of  the  plains 
to  the  heavy,  undrained  clay  bottoms,  much  of  which  may  be 
made  to  produce  good  apples  by  making  such  places  conform, 
as  nearly  as  possible,  to  our  ideal.  The  orchard  should  have 
perfect  drainage  and  sunlight.  Trees  will  not  thrive  in  shaded 
places,  or  in  soils  containing  an  excess  of  water.  With  our  best 
soils  and  locations,  and  good  varieties,  it  is  hardly  possible  not 
to  grow  an  abundance  of  choice  fruit  in  favorable  years.  Such 
soils  contain  a  large  amount  of  plant  food  at  present,  but  the 
process  of  exhaustion  is  going  on,  and  many  of  our  best  apple 
crops  are  obtained  without  seeming  effort  on  the  part  of  the 
grower. 

Varieties.  —  In  selecting  varieties  one  should  be  governed 
greatly  by  a  knowledge  of  good  varieties  that  are  vigorous  grow- 
ers, and  bear  well  in  his  own  locality.  Many  sad  failures  could 
be  cited  where  persons  setting  new  orchards  ignored  this  prin- 
ciple. A  few  thoughts  about  some  of  the  leading  established 
varieties  may  prove  acceptable.  That  the  Baldwin  heads  the 
list  of  commercial  apples  there  is  little  doubt.  Indeed,  it  is 
really  a  good  family  apple,  and  combines  more  good  qualities, 
taking  tree  and  apple  together,  than  any  other  apple  I  know  of. 
The  Greening  is  another  widely  known  and  popular  apple,  and 
notwithstanding  its  antics  in  bearing,  no  one  seems  willing  to 
ostracize  it.  The  Northern  Spy  completes  the  trio  of  popular 
winter  apples.  A  very  good  reason  for  setting  largely  of  these 
varieties  is  that,  while  all  of  them  are  really  good,  consumers 
have  learned  their  names  and  ask  for  them,  often  because  they 
do  not  know  the  names  of  other  varieties.  The  Pippin  family 
contains  some  excellent  fall  varieties ;  chief  among  them  is 
Hubbardston's  Nonesuch.  They  are  all  good  family  apples,  and 
the  trees  are  vigorous  growers  and  good  bearers.  The  Che- 
nango Strawberry  is  a  most  excellent  late  harvest  apple.  For  an 
early  harvest,  it  is  rather  unfortunate  that  we  have  nothing  bet- 
ter to  offer  than  the  Red  Astrachan.     Like  most  of  its  Russian 


5 1 6  A  GRICULTURE. 

neighbors,  it  has  nothing  to  recommend  it  save  hardiness  and 
color.  For  a  permanent  orchard  of  looo  trees,  I  would  set  the 
following  varieties  :  5  Astrachans,  25  Chenango  Strawberry,  50 
Hubbardston's,  50  20-ounce  and  Fall  Pippins,  100  each  of  Green- 
ings, Spys,  and  Jonathans,  and  500  Baldwins.  I  would  set  a  few 
Seek-no-furthers,  for  those  who  believe  it  to  be  the  best  eating 
apple  on  earth ;  the  remainder  I  would  set  to  new  varieties,  as 
an  educational  feature.  I  have  given  more  early  varieties  than 
are  generally  given  for  an  orchard  of  this  size,  because  the  time 
is  at  hand  when  really  good  early  apples  will  be  in  demand. 

How  to  Plant.  —  The  distance  apart  to  set  apple  trees  in  an 
orchard  can  never  be  arbitrarily  fixed.  The  difference  in  soils 
and  treatment  is  so  great  that  what  would  prove  too  close  in 
one  case  would  give  plenty  of  room  in  another.  Trees  should 
never  crowd  one  another  in  the  orchard.  Where  they  do  so,  it 
is  economy  to  remove  some  of  them.  The  distance  varies  from 
two  to  four  rods  —  there  are  some  varieties  for  which  two  rods 
apart  is  far  enough.  Mr.  Granger  has  a  scheme  of  utilizing  the 
ground  while  the  orchard  is  growing,  by  planting  between  the 
trees  that  make  up  what  he  calls  the  permanent  orchard,  vari- 
eties that  bear  early  in' life  —  notably  the  Wagener  —  to  be 
removed  when  they  crowd  themselves  or  the  other  trees.  In 
this  way  he  recommends  setting  the  trees  not  farther  than  one 
rod  apart.  This,  to  be  practicable  and  economical,  should  be 
followed  by  good  tillage. 

Before  commencing  on  this  part  of  the  subject,  however,  let 
it  be  understood  that  the  great  object  in  tillage,  aside  from 
destroying  weeds,  is  husbanding  the  moisture  of  the  soil,  the 
importance  of  which  may  be  readily  seen  if  we  consider  only 
briefly  some  of  the  functions  of  water  in  vegetable  life.  Water 
enters  largely  into  the  constitution  of  all  living  plants,  and  forms 
more  than  one-half  of  the  newly  gathered  vegetable  substances 
we  are  in  the  habit  of  cultivating.  In  the  midst  of  abundant 
spring  showers,  plants  shoot  forth  with  an  amazing  rapidity, 
while  they  wither  and  die  when  water  is  withheld.  It  contains 
great  solvent  power  over  solids,  and  especially  decayed  animal 
and  vegetable  matter.  Its  great  affinity  for  these  substances, 
such  as  are  supposed  to  be  capable  of  ministering  to  the  growth 
of  plants,  brings  them  within  easy  reach  of  their  roots.     It  is 


FRUITS. 


517 


only  by  having  it  in  excess  that  the  circulation  of  the  sap  of 
plants  is  carried  on,  and  the  exhalation  of  a  medium-sized  apple 
tree,  on  a  hot  summer's  day,  is  truly  astonishing.  It  is  quite 
evident,  then,  that  water  is  a  very  necessary  article  to  have  and 
to  husband,  by  every  owner  of  an  apple  orchard.  In  seasons 
when  showers  come  frequently  and  regularly,  there  is  moisture 
enough,  with  fair  care,  for  the  trees  to  mature  good  crops  of 
apples.  It  is  only  in  protracted  droughts  that  irrigation  or  til- 
lage becomes  imperative.  By  tillage  it  is  not  meant  that  any 
moisture  is  added  to  the  soil ;  it  only  prevents  it  from  evapo- 
rating too  suddenly,  and  thereby  husbands  it  to  be  drawn  on  by 
the  plant  when  needed. 

Cultivation.  —  There  continues  to  be  considerable  difference 
of  opinion  whether  fruit  orchards  should  be  cultivated  or  not, 
after  they  are  four  or  five  years  old.  All  are  agreed  that  they 
should  receive  the  best  tillage  up  to  that  time.  Standard  pear 
trees  seem  to  do  decidedly  better  in  grass,  after  arriving  at  a 
stage  where  they  are  able  to  take  care  of  themselves.  Instances 
can  be  given  where  such  trees,  believed  to  be  one  hundred  and 
fifty  years  old,  standing  in  sod  which  has  not  been  disturbed  in 
fifty  years,  produce  abundant  crops  of  fine  fruit,  and  the  trees 
are  yet  in  a  thrifty  condition.  But  as  to  dwarf  pear  and  apple 
trees,  the  treatment  should  be  quite  different.  Such  orchards 
should  be  as  well  cultivated  as  our  corn  fields,  or  any  portion  of 
our  vegetable  garden.  I  cannot  believe,  however,  that  tillage 
is  all ;  that  we  can  obtain  good  fruit  by  this  means  alone,  any 
more  than  we  can  good  butter  and  beef  from  wind  and  water  — 
in  other  words,  something  for  nothing ;  although  farmers  come 
as  near  doing  this  in  the  management  of  their  orchards  as  is 
done  in  any  other  business  that  I  know  of.  Trees  must  be  fed, 
and  if  the  food  is  not  already  in  the  soil,  it  must  be  put  there. 
A  large  crop  of  apples  taken  from  an  orchard  draws  immensely 
on  the  plant  food  in  the  soil,  and  if  the  practice  of  taking  from 
and  never  giving  back  is  continued,  the  soil  will  become  ex- 
hausted, the  trees  refuse  to  bear,  and  finally  die  of  starvation. 
We  must  not  cheat  the  soil  out  of  any  portion  belonging  to  it, 
if  we  expect  fine  orchards  and  fine  fruit.  I  know  of  nothing 
better  for  an  apple  orchard  than  good  stable  manure,  spread 
evenly  over  the  entire  surface.     It  is  better  that  this  manure 


5i8  AGRICULTURE. 

should  be  well  worked  into  the  soil  by  good  tillage  ;  but,  put  on 
as  a  top-dressing  on  sod,  it  will  do  a  great  deal  of  good.  Un- 
leached  wood  ashes  are  recommended  as  specially  good  for 
nearly  all  kinds  of  fruit,  and  where  they  can  be  easily  obtained 
may  be  used.  Apple  trees  require  less  frequent  renewal  than 
other  fruit  trees,  and  under  the  best  management  will  grow  and 
bear  fruit  a  great  number  of  years. 

Pruning.  —  A  moderate  amount  of  pruning,  especially  of  dead 
limbs,  may  be  done  in  the  fall  of  the  year,  but  if  the  trees  are 
to  receive  much  cutting,  it  makes  them  tender  for  the  time,  and 
should  be  left  till  early  spring.  There  can  be  no  fixed  rule  for 
pruning  apple  trees  ;  remembering  only  that  sunlight  is  abso- 
lutely necessary  to  the  health  and  growth  of  the  tree,  and  the 
production  of  good  fruit,  and  that  stove  wood  cut  from  healthy 
trees  is  the  dearest  ever  paid  for.  There  is  much  work  that 
may  be  done  in  an  apple  orchard.  Moss  will  accumulate  on 
trees  in  wet  seasons,  no  matter  how  good  the  treatment  or  cul- 
tivation, and  the  task  of  removing  it  is  a  tedious  one.  But  the 
destruction  of  nests  and  rings  of  eggs  on  the  branches,  as  well 
as  cocoons  and  insects  in  the  crevices  of  the  rough  bark  removed, 
will  undoubtedly  prevent  much  damage  to  the  foliage  in  the 
spring,  and  recompense  for  all  trouble. 

Spraying  apple  trees  with  the  arsenites  to  destroy  the  codlin 
moth,  I  am  satisfied,  from  the  testimony  of  those  who  have  tried 
it,  and  the  common  sense  there  is  in  it,  we  shall  all  have  to  prac- 
tise, either  voluntarily  or  by  statutory  compulsion.  I  think  it  is 
settled  beyond  question  that  spraying  apple  trees  in  early  spring 
destroys  th^  codlin  moth.  I  am  not  so  positive  about  its  destroy- 
ing the  moth  crop  in  August,  after  the  apple  is  pretty  well 
grown.  However,  it  is  claimed  by  the  advocates  of  spraying 
that  it  will  kill  the  August  crop  of  worms.  It  was  also  claimed 
that  spraying  with  arsenites  would  destroy  curcuho  in  plums. 
Now  the  same  persons,  after  years  of  experience,  believe  the 
jarring  process  the  only  effective  one.  It  may  prove  to  be  the 
case  with  spraying  apple  trees  in  August. 

PICKING,    GRADING,    AND    PACKING   APPLES    FOR   MARKET. 

It  is  of  great  importance  that  the  apple  be  picked  as  soon  as 
ripe.     Most  fruit-growers  delay  too  long.     My  experience  would 


FRUITS.  519 

indicate  that  all  varieties  of  fall  and  winter  fruit  should  be  picked 
about  two  weeks  earlier  than  we  ordinarily  pick  them.  The 
apples  exhibited  at  a  fair  held  previous  to  the  middle  of  Sep- 
tember, three  years  ago,  were  placed  in  my  cellar  after  the  fair, 
and  were  compared,  at  different  times  during  the  winter  and 
spring,  with  those  picked  at  the  regular  picking  season  in  Octo- 
ber. The  early  picked  fruit  kept  better  and  was  of  a  more 
delicate  color.  Perhaps  as  good  a  way  as  any  to  pick  fruit  is  to 
use  a  common  grain-bag  with  the  corners  tied  together  and 
passed  over  the  shoulder  and  under  the  opposite  arm.  Strong, 
light  ladders  are  needed,  long  enough  to  reach  high  limbs. 

Grading.  —  In  seasons  of  comparative  failure,  we  grade  closer 
than  commonly,  but  ordinarily  we  should  not  make  more  than 
two  grades.  The  man  who  packs  honestly  and  grades  well  will 
sometimes  profit  thereby,  though  not  always ;  certainly  not 
always  when  his  name  is  unknown  on  the  market.  In  market- 
able apples  there  should  be  three  grades,  —  good,  better,  best. 
Not  many  shippers  can  pack  the  "  best,"  but  large  growers 
would  find  it  profitable  to  do  so.  Below  the  standard,  the  fruit 
may  be  said  to  grade  bad,  worse,  worst,  and  worthless.  These 
sometimes  get  on  the  market,  but  should  go  to  the  evaporators 
and  cider-mills. 

Marketing.  —  The  conditions  of  growers  vary,  and  so  no 
invariable  rule  for  marketing  can  be  given.  Where  men  grow 
a  variety  of  fruits,  and  so  are  aquainted  with  the  market  through 
the  season,  they  can  often  do  best  by  shipping  their  apples  on 
their  own  account.  As  a  rule,  however,  the  farmer  can  do 
better  by  selling  to  shippers,  either  in  the  orchard  or  at  the 
shipping-point. 

SMALL    FRUITS. 

Cherries.  —  Cherries  are  budded  or  grafted  upon  stocks  raised 
from  cherry  stones  of  any  sort.  If  you  want  the  tree  tall  and 
large,  the  stock  should  come  from  the  small  black  cherry  tree, 
that  grows  wild  in  the  woods.  If  you  want  it  dwarf,  sow  the 
stones  of  a  Morrello  or  a  May-duke. 

Currants. — There  are  red,  white,  and  black — all  well  known. 
Some  persons  like  one  best,  and  some  another.  The  propaga- 
tion of  all  sorts  is  the  same.     The  currant  tree  is  propagated 


520  AGRICULTURE. 

from  cuttings.  When  the  tree  has  stood  two  years  in  the  nur- 
sery, plant  it  where  it  is  to  remain  permanently.  Take  care  that 
it  has  only  one  stem.  Let  no  limb  come  out  to  grow  nearer 
than  six  inches  to  the  ground.  Prune  the  tree  every  year. 
Keep  it  thin  of  wood.  Keep  the  middle  open  and  the  limbs 
extended,  and  when  these  get  to  about  three  feet  in  length,  cut 
off  last  year's  shoots  every  winter.  If  you  do  not  attend  to 
this,  the  tree  will  be  nothing  but  a  great  bunch  of  twigs,  and 
you  will  have  but  little  fruit,  and  that  of  an  inferior  quality. 
Cultivate  and  manure  the  ground  as  for  other  fruit  trees.  In 
this  country  the  currant  requires  shade  in  summer.  If  exposed 
to  the  full  sun,  the  fruit  is  apt  to  become  too  sour.  Plant  it, 
therefore,  in  the  south  border. 

Grapes.  —  The  grape  vine  is  raised  from  cuttings  or  from 
layers.  As  to  the  first,  you  cut  off,  as  early  as  the  ground  is 
open  in  the  spring,  a  piece  of  the  last  year's  wood ;  that  is  to 
say,  a  piece  of  a  shoot  which  grew  last  summer.  This  cutting 
should,  if  convenient,  have  an  inch  or  two  of  the  former  year's 
wood  at  the  bottom  of  it ;  but  this  is  by  no  means  absolutely 
necessary.  The  cutting  should  have  four  or  five  buds  or  joints. 
Make  the  ground  rich  ;  move  it  deep  and  make  it  fine.  Then 
put  in  the  cutting  with  a  setting  stick,  leaving  only  two  buds  or 
joints  above  ground.     Keep  it  cool  and  moist. 

Layers  from  grape  vines  are  obtained  with  great  ease.  You 
have  only  to  lay  a  shoot  or  limb,  however  young  or  old,  upon 
the  ground,  and  cover  any  part  of  it  with  earth.  It  will  strike 
out  roots  the  first  summer,  and  will  become  a  vine  to  be  carried 
and  planted  in  any  other  place.  But  observe  that  vines  do  not 
transplant  well.  For  this  reason,  both  cuttings  and  layers,  if 
intended  to  be  removed,  are  usually  set  or  laid  in  flower-pots, 
out  of  which  they  are  turned,  with  the  ball  of  earth  with  them, 
into  the  earth  where  they  are  intended  to  grow  and  produce 
fruit. 

Peach.  —  The  soil  should  be  a  light,  warm,  sandy,  or  gravelly 
loam,  in  a  sunny  exposure,  protected  from  bleak  winds.  Thus 
situated,  and  in  favorable  latitudes,  it  often  flourishes  in  luxuri- 
ance, and  produces  the  most  luscious  fruit.  Transplanted  at 
two  or  three  years  of  age,  they  are  worn  out,  cut  down,  and 
burned,  at  the  age  of  from  six  to  twelve  years.     They  should  be 


FRUITS.  521 

planted  at  from  16  to  20  feet  apart,  according  to  situation,  soil, 
and  exposure.  Constant  cultivation  of  the  ground,  without 
cropping,  is  necessary  for  their  best  growth  and  bearing. 

The  peach  tree  is  liable  to  many  diseases  and  to  the  depreda- 
tion of  numerous  enemies.  The  yellows  is  the  most  fatal  dis- 
ease, and  this  can  only  be  checked  by  the  immediate  removal  of 
the  tree  from  the  orchard.  Of  the  insects,  the  grub,  or  peach 
worm,  is  the  most  destructive.  It  punctures  the  bark  and  lays 
its  tgg  beneath  it  at  the  surface  of  the  earth,  and  when  dis- 
covered it  should  be  killed  with  a  penknife  or  pointed  wire.  A 
good  prevention  is  to  form  a  cone  of  earth  around  the  trunk 
about  the  first  of  June.  If  made  of  leached  ashes  it  would  be 
better.  Remove  this  heap  in  October,  and  the  bark  will  harden 
below  the  reach  of  the  fly  the  following  year. 

Pears.  —  Pears  are  grafted  on  pear  stocks  or  quince  stocks,  or 
on  those  of  the  white  thorn.  The  last  is  best  because  the  most 
durable ;  and  for  dwarf  trees  much  the  best,  because  they  do 
not  throw  up  wood  so  big  and  so  lofty.  For  orchards,  pear 
stocks  are  best ;  but  not  from  suckers  on  any  account.  They 
are  sure  to  fill  the  orchards  with  suckers.  The  pruning  for 
your  pear  trees  in  the  garden  should  be  the  same  as  that  for 
the  peach.  The  pears  will  grow  higher,  but  they  may  be  made 
to  spread  at  the  bottom,  and  that  will  keep  them  from  towering 
too  much. 

Raspberry.  —  They  are  raised  from  suckers,  though  they  may 
be  raised  from  cuttings.  The  suckers  of  this  year  are  planted 
out  in  rows  six  feet  apart,  and  the  plants  two  feet  apart  in  rows. 
This  is  done  in  the  fall  or  early  in  the  spring.  At  the  time  of 
planting,  they  should  be  cut  down  to  within  a  foot  of  the 
ground.  They  will  bear  a  little  late,  and  will  send  out  several 
suckers  which  will  bear  the  next  year.  About  four  are  enough 
to  leave,  and  those  of  the  strongest.  These  should  be  cut  off 
in  the  fall,  or  early  in  the  spring,  to  within  four  feet  of  the 
ground,  and  should  be  tied  to  a  small  stake.  A  straight  branch 
of  locust  is  best,  and  then  the  stake  lasts  a  lifetime  at  least, 
let  the  life  be  as  long  as  it  may.  The  next  year  more  suckers 
come  up,  which  are  treated  in  the  same  way. 

Strawberry.  —  They  are  propagated  from  young  plants  which 
grow  out  of  old  ones.     In  the  summer  the  plant  sends  forth 


522  AGRICULTURE, 

runners.  When  these  touch  the  ground,  at  a  certain  distance 
from  the  plant  come  roots,  and  from  these  roots  a  plant  springs 
up.  This  plant  is  put  out  early  in  the  fall.  It  takes  root  before 
winter,  and  the  next  year  will  bear  a  little  and  send  out  runners 
of  its  own.  To  make  a  strawberry  bed,  plant  three  rows  a  foot 
apart,  and  at  eight  inches  apart  in  the  rows.  Keep  the  ground 
clean,  and  the  new  plants  coming  from  runners  will  fill  up  the 
whole  of  the  ground,  and  will  extend  the  bed  on  the  sides.  Cut 
off  the  runners  at  six  inches  distance  from  the  sides,  and  then 
you  have  a  bed  three  feet  wide,  covering  all  the  ground.  This 
is  the  best  way,  for  the  fruit  then  lodges  on  the  stems  and 
leaves,  and  is  not  beaten  into  the  dirt  by  heavy  rains,  which  is 
apt  to  be  the  case  if  the  plants  stand  in  clumps,  with  clear 
ground  between  them. 

The  Garden.  —  If  it  be  practicable,  make  a  garden  near  to 
running  water,  and  especially  to  water  that  may  be  turned  into 
the  garden.  Watering  with  a  watering-pot  is  seldom  of  much 
use,  and  cannot  be  practised  upon  a  large  scale.  It  is  better  to 
trust  to  judicious  tillage,  and  to  the  dews  and  rains.  The 
moisture  which  these  do  not  supply  cannot  be  furnished  to  any 
extent  with  the  watering-pot.  A  man  will  raise  more  moisture 
with  a  hoe  or  spade  in  a  day,  than  he  can  pour  on  the  earth  out 
of  a  watering-pot  in  a  month. 

Soil. — The  plants  which  grow  in  a  garden  prefer  the  best 
soil  that  can  be  found.  The  best  is  loam,  several  feet  deep, 
with  a  bed  of  limestone,  sandstone,  or  sand  below.  But  we 
have  to  take  what  we  find,  or  rather  what  we  happen  to  have. 
If  we  have  a  choice,  we  ought  to  take  that  which  comes  nearest 
to  perfection  ;  and,  if  we  possibly  can,  we  ought  to  reject  clay 
and  gravel,  not  only  as  top  soil  but  as  a  bottom  soil,  however 
great  their  distance  from  the  surface.  Having  fixed  upon  the 
spot  for  the  garden,  the  next  thing  is  to  prepare  the  ground. 
This  may  be  done  by  plowing  and  harrowing  until  the  ground 
at  the  top  is  perfectly  clean ;  and  then,  by  double  plowings,  — 
that  is  to  say,  by  going  with  a  strong  plow  that  turns  a  large 
furrow  and  turns  it  clearly,  twice  in  the  same  place,  and  thus 
moving  the  ground  to  the  depth  of  14  or  16  inches.  The  ad- 
vantage of  deeply  moving  the  ground  is  very  great  indeed. 

A  Hot-bed.  —  If  it  can  be  so  arranged,  it  should  be  built 


FRUITS.  523 

against  a  shed  or  board  fence,  with  its  face  to  the  southeast  or 
south.  Horse  manure  is  the  best  to  use  for  this  purpose. 
Make  a  frame  of  boards  or  planks,  as  large  as  desired,  and  a 
foot  and  a  half  higher  at  the  back  than  at  the  front,  so  as  to 
furnish  a  slanting  support  for  the  glass  to  rest  upon.  It  should 
be  two  feet  high  i<n  front.  Place  the  manure  in  the  bottom,  to 
the  depth  of  a  foot  and  a  half.  It  should  be  well  fermented 
and  warmed.  Over  it  spread  a  few  inches  of  good  garden  soil, 
in  which  is  a  fair  mixture  of  sand.  Cover  the  bed  with  the 
window-sash,  and  let  the  sun  blaze  in  upon  it  through  two  or 
three  bright  days,  having  taken  the  precaution  to  bank  the  bed 
on  the  outside  with  soil  and  manure.  Plant  the  seeds  in  rows, 
with  labelled  sticks  between  the  different  kinds.  Sprinkle 
warm  water  over  the  bed,  with  a  garden  sprinkler,  and  adjust 
the  sashes.  Give  the  bed  fresh  air  at  noon  on  every  fair  day, 
and  see  that  the  young  plants  do  not  suffer  for  water.  When 
the  plants  come  up,  they  will  soon  tell  you  all  about  air ;  for, "if 
they  have  not  had  enough,  they  will  draw  up  long-legged,  and 
will  have  small  seed-leaves.  Indeed,  if  they  are  too  much 
deprived  of  air,  they  will  droop  down  and  die.  Take  care  in 
time  to  prevent  this.  Let  them  grow  strong  rather  than  tall. 
Short  stems,  broad  seed-leaves,  very  green,  —  these  are  the 
signs  of  good  plants  and  proper  management.  When  necessary 
to  water,  take  off  a  light  at  a  time,  and  water  with  a  watering- 
pot  that  does  not  pour  out  heavily.  Water  at  just  about  sun- 
set, and  then  shut  down  the  lights  :  the  heat  will  then  rise,  and 
make  the  plants  grow  prodigiously. 

Saving  and  Preserving  Seed. — This  is  a  most  important 
branch  of  the  gardener's  business.  As  to  the  saving  of  seeds, 
the  truest  plants  should  be  selected ;  that  is  to  say,  such  as  are 
of  the  most  perfect  shape  and  quality.  In  the  cabbage,  seek 
small  stem,  well-formed  leaf,  few  spare,  or  loose  leaves  ;  in  the 
turnip,  large  bulb,  small  neck,  slender-stalked  leaves,  solid  flesh 
or  pulp ;  in  the  radish,  high  color  (if  red  or  scarlet),  small  neck, 
few  and  short  leaves  and  long  top.  The  marks  of  perfection 
are  well  known,  and  none  but  perfect  plants  should  be  saved  for 
seed.  They  should  stand  -till  perfectly  ripe,  if  possible.  They 
should  be  cut,  or  pulled,  or  gathered,  when  it  is  dry ;  and  they 
should,  if  possible,  be  as  dry  as  dry  can  be,  before  they  are 


524  AGRICULTURE, 

threshed  out.  If,  when  threshed,  any  moisture  remains  about 
them,  they  should  be  placed  in  the  sun,  or  near  a  fire  in  a  dry 
room  ;  and,  when  quite  dry,  they  should  be  put  into  bags  and 
hung  up  in  a  very  dry  room,  against  a  dry  wall  or  dry  boards, 
where  they  will  not  accidentally  get  damp.  The  best  place  is 
some  room  where  there  is,  occasionally  at  least,  a  fire  kept  in 
winter. 

Sowing.  —  The  first  thing  relating  to  sowing  is  the  prepara- 
tion of  the  ground.  It  may  be  more  of  less  fine,  according  to 
the  sort  of  seed  to  be  sown.  Peas  and  beans  do  not,  of  course, 
require  the  earth  as  fine  as  small  seed  do ;  but  still,  the  finer 
the  better  for  everything,  for  it  is  better  if  the  seed  be  actually 
pressed  by  the  earth  in  every  part.  Many  seeds,  if  not  all,  are 
best  situated  when  the  earth  is  trodden  down  upon  them. 

Transplanting.  —  The  best  weather  for  transplanting,  whether 
of  table  vegetables  or  of  trees,  is  the  same  as  that  for  sowing. 
If  you  do  this  work  in  wet  weather,  or  when  the  ground  is  wet, 
the  work  cannot  be  well  done.  It  is  no  matter  what  the  plant 
is,  whether  it  be  a  cucumber  plant  or  an  oak  tree.  It  has  been 
observed,  as  to  seeds,  that  they  like  the  earth  to  touch  them  in 
every  part,  and  to  lie  close  about  them.  It  is  the  same  with 
roots.  If  possible,  therefore,  transplant  when  the  ground  is 
not  wet.  But  here  again,  as  in  the  case  of  sowing,  let  it  be 
dug  or  deeply  moved,  and  well  broken,  immediately  before  you 
transplant  into  it.  If  you  transplant  in  hot  weather,  the  leaves 
of  the  plant  will  be  scorched,  but  the  hearts  will  live ;  and  the 
heat,  assisting  the  fermentation,  will  produce  new  roots  in  twenty- 
four  hours,  and  new  leaves  in  a  few  days.  Then  it  is  that  you 
see  fine  vegetation  come  on. 

Cultivation.  —  If  the  subject  be  from  seed,  the  first  thing  to 
see  to  is,  that  the  plants  stand  at  proper  distances  from  one 
another.  Carrots,  parsnips,  and  lettuce  ought  to  be  thinned  out 
in  seed-leaf.  Hoe  or  weed  immediately.  Weeds  ought  never 
to  be  suffered  to  reach  any  size,  either  in  field  or  garden,  and 
especially  in  the  latter.  But,  besides  the  act  of  killing  weeds, 
cultivation  means  removing  the  earth  between  the  plants,  while 
growing.  This  assists  them  in  their  growth  ;  it  feeds  them  ; 
it  raises  food  for  their  roots  to  live  upon.  A  mere  flat  hoeing 
does  nothing  but  keep  down  the  weeds.     The  hoeing,  when  the 


FRUITS.  525 

plants  are  becoming  stout,  should  be  deep.  Deep  hoeing  is 
enough  in  some  cases  ;  but  in  others,  digging  is  necessary  to 
produce  a  fine  and  full  crop. 

A  good  garden  and  plenty  of  fruits  are  necessary  adjuncts  to 
a  good  farm.  When  once  arranged  and  set  out,  the  orchard 
will  soon  begin  to  bring  in  returns.  Small  fruits  should  not  be 
forgotten,  and  with  little  care  will  furnish  many  delicious  dishes 
for  the  table,  or  berries  for  canning  and  preserving.  In  fact, 
apples,  small  fruits,  and  a  well  kept  garden,  will  supply  many 
things  for  the  family  use  that  cost  but  a  trifle,  yet  are  necessary 
for  health  and  comfort.  The  farm,  under  ordinary  conditions, 
can  be  made  the  ideal  home,  where  comfort,  intelligence,  con- 
servatism, and  health  may  always  be  found. 


CHAPTER   VIII. 

FERTILIZERS. 
By  M.  G.  Ellzey,  M.D. 

The  chapter  on  fertilizers  has  been  assigned  to  me  by  the 
editor-in-chief.  I  shall  endeavor  to  make  it  simple,  practical, 
and  useful.  The  yalue  of  a  fertilizer  depends  upon  the  use 
which  is  made  of  it.  The  fertilization  of  land  must  be  regarded, 
not  merely  as  a  science,  but  as  both  a  science  and  a  practical 
art.  The  attempt  to  reduce  the  deductions  of  science  strictly 
to  practice  may  result  in  pecuniary  disaster.  Practice  which 
does  violence  to  the  principles  of  the  science  may  be  tempora- 
rily successful,  but  the  final  result  will  be  inevitable  loss. 

It  is  universally  known  that  land  cannot  be  continuously 
cropped  without  deterioration,  unless,  by  some  means,  the  ele- 
ments of  its  fertility,  removed  by  the  crops,  are  restored  to  the 
soil.  This  cannot  be  fully  accomplished  by  hap-hazard  and  ran- 
dom methods.  Systematic  practice,  based  upon  scientific  princi- 
ples, is  absolutely  essential  to  anything  like,  complete  success. 
Let  us  not  forget  our  responsibility  as  temporary  occupiers  and 
users  of  the  national  domain.  We  are  bound  to  acquit  our- 
selves of  the  charge  of  spoliation  of  the  natural  inheritance  of 
posterity.  With  a  great  scientific  establishment  under  control 
of  a  department  of  the  national  government ;  with  endowed  col- 
leges and  experiment  stations  in  almost  every- State,  the  knowl- 
edge of  the  scientific  principles  upon  which  the  art  of  culture 
must  be  based  is  not  beyond  the  reach  of  any. 

The  systematic  and  scientific  use  of  fertilizers  is  necessarily 
based  on  a  scientific  and  systematic  farm  practice.  At  the 
foundation  of  this  lies  a  systematic,  scientific,  and  judicious 
rotation  of  crops.  Such  a  rotation  of  crops  is  the  foundation  of 
all  systematic  farming.  The  rotation  must  depend  upon  climate, 
soil,  and  access  to  market.  One  crop  in  the  rotation,  every- 
where, should  be  a  resting,  or  fallow  crop,  for  the  recuperation 
and  benefit  of  the  soil ;  but  the  fallow-crop  may  also  be  of  great 
value  for  feeding  or  depasturing,  the  resulting  manure  to  be 
526 


FERTILIZERS,  527 

returned  also  to  the  field.  Manuring  by  fallows  and  by  animal 
manures,  are  merely  different  methods  of  returning  to  the  soil  a 
portion  of  its  own  product,  and  so  reducing  to  the  lowest  prac- 
ticable point  the  deportation  of  the  elements  of  fertility  which 
are  sold  off  the  farm.  It  is  true  that  the  fallow  plant,  during  its 
growth,  increases  the  amount  of  combined  nitrogen  in  the  soil, 
and  thus,  if  wholly  returned  to  the  soil,  increases  the  aggregate 
fertility.  But  if  the  products  of  the  soil  be  fed  out  to  animals, 
there  will  be  retained  by  the  animals  some  of  the  elements  of 
fertility ;  and  some  further  loss  necessarily  occurs  in  handling 
the  manure.  So  the  feeding  of  animals,  unless  a  considerable 
portion  of  their  food  be  bought  and  brought  onto  the  farm  from 
outside  sources,  depletes  the  soil  to  some  extent,  though  by  feed- 
ing out  the  product  of  the  land  upon  the  land,  depletion  will  be 
minimized.  A  complete  system  of  fertilization  must  embrace  a 
fallow-crop ;  the  feeding  of  animals,  not  only  with  as  much  as 
possible  of  the  products  of  the  farm,  but  also  with  as  large  an 
amount  as  possible  of  bought  feed  ;  and  the  fallow  and  farm- 
yard manure  so  produced  must  be  supplemented  by  the  skilful 
use  of  commercial  fertilizers.  The  formula  is  in  the  order  of 
importance :  green  fallows,  animal  manures,  and  commercial 
fertilizers. 

But  a  scientific  system  of  fertilization  may  cost  more  than  the 
product  will  sell  for,  and  in  that  case  it  is  simply  impracticable. 
Under  such  circumstances,  the  pressure  of  necessity  may  drive 
the  skilled  and  scientific  farmer  to  rely  upon  skill  in  plundering 
the  soil  of  its  natural  fertility,  and  of  transmitting  it  to  those 
who  come  after  him,  in  a  ruinous  condition.  Science  and  prac- 
tice cannot  be  divorced,  but  we  must  not  despoil  the  national 
domain,  the  natural  inheritance  of  posterity,  by  divine  right 
theirs. 

The  fallow-crop  has  called  forth  much  discussion  as  to  its 
true  function  and  place  in  agriculture.  It  appears  to  be  now 
fully  established  that  the  legumes,  used  for  such  crops,  possess 
the  power  to  produce  combined  nitrogen,  in  connection  with 
certain  microbes,  during  their  growth.  That  growing  plants 
arrest  the  escape  of  nitric  acid  from  the  soil  by  leaching,  is  per- 
fectly clear,  for  they  actively  absorb  and  assimilate  it  during  their 
growth.     This  nitric  acid  of  soils  is,  in  small  part,  of  atmospheric 


528  AGRICULTURE. 

origin ;  in  greater  part,  the  result  of  the  nitric  ferment,  acting 
upon  the  organic  matter  of  the  soil.  The  action  of  the  fallow 
crop,  therefore,  results  in  the  considerable  increase  in  the  soil  of 
combined  nitrogen,  available  for  the  nutrition  of  future  crops. 
The  carbon,  hydrogen,  and  oxygen  of  plants,  which  in  connection 
with  nitrogen  constitute  the  organic  parts  of  all  plants,  are,  as 
far  as  is  at  present  known,  of  atmospheric  origin. 

The  fallow  crop  cannot,  of  course,  produce  ash  minerals  of 
plants ;  nevertheless,  its  effects  upon  the  condition  and  position 
of  such  minerals  in  the  soil  may  be,  and  are,  very  important.  In 
the  first  place,  the  roots  of  the  legumes,  as  a  rule,  penetrate  the 
subsoil,  whence  they  draw  their  mineral  food,  from  depths  far 
below  the  portion  of  the  soil  reached  by  the  plow,  or  drawn  upon 
by  the  roots  of  cereal  crops  to  any  great  extent.  The  effect  of 
this  is  that  the  fallow  plant  brings  up  from  the  subsoil,  and  de- 
posits near  the  surface,  within  reach  of  succeeding  cereal  crops, 
a  large  store  of  mineral  food,  in  precisely  that  condition  easiest 
of  assimilation  by  the  cereals.  Moreover,  it  appears  that  the 
legumes  possess  a  much  greater  power  for  the  absorption  and 
assimilation  of  the  crude  and  less  soluble  forms  of  minerals  than 
is  possessed  by  cereals.  The  obvious  importance  of  this  fact 
has,  I  think,  been  too  much  overlooked  by  writers  on  scientific 
agriculture.  Suppose,  for  example,  we  desire  to  manure  a  wheat 
crop  with  insoluble  and  crude  raw  phosphate.  Experience  estab- 
lishes the  fact  that  phosphates  of  that  sort  are  assimilated  by 
wheat  with  difficulty,  and  to  a  limited  extent.  Let  us  apply 
such  phosphates  to  clover,  which  assimilates  them  greedily,  and 
brings  them  into  a  condition,  and  into  a  position  in  the  soil 
where  they  are  readily  reached  and  assimilated  by  the  wheat 
which  succeeds  the  clover  in  rotation.  Such  a  treatment  of 
crude  raw  phosphate  is,  in  my  opinion,  more  scientific,  more 
economical,  and  more  effectual  than  chemical  treatment  of  it  by 
the  ordinary  manipulations  with  acid  and  drier,  as  practised  in 
the  manufacture  of  so-called  soluble,  or  dissolved,  or  super-phos- 
phates of  commerce. 

Attention  is  particularly  invited  to  the  point  here  made.  It 
is  believed  that  herein  is  disclosed  a  function  of  the  fallow  crop, 
by  no  means  the  least  important.  In  British  agriculture,  phos- 
phates are  not  applied  to  cereals  in  any  form,  but  only  .to  crops 


FERTILIZERS.  529 

in  the  rotation  which  precede  the  cereals.  In  this  country,  the 
direct  application  of  phosphates  to  the  cereals  may  be  said  to  be 
the  universal  practice.  Is  this  the  best  practice  ?  Certainly 
it  may  be  doubted.  This  question  may  well  be  propounded 
to  our  experiment  stations. 

The  effect  of  the  presence  of  organic  matter  in  our  soils  is 
a  matter  of  much  importance,  profoundly  altering,  as  it  does, 
color,  texture,  capacity  for  heat  and  moisture,  and  other  phys- 
ical characters.  This  question  must  be  studied  in  its  relations 
to  the  meteorology  of  the  season  of  active  development  of  our 
cereals,  for  it  is  certain  that  the  conditions  of  their  growth  in 
America  are  all  widely  different  from  those  of  other  countries. 
It  is  only  necessary  to  point  out  that,  in  England,  wheat  is 
seeded  during  the  same  weeks  as  in  Maryland  and  Virginia ; 
whereas  we  reap  ours  in  June,  and  they  reap  theirs  in  Septem- 
ber. This  is  obviously  due  to  different  meteorological  conditions 
there  and  here ;  but  it  shows  that  we  cannot  accept,  as  appli- 
cable here,  the  result^,  of  their  experience,  or  deductions  from 
their  data,  until  fully  tested  with  us.  The  results  of  English, 
French,  or  German  experiments  may  prove  misleading  here, 
and  cannot  be  safely  adopted  without  strict  verification,  subject 
to  all  the  conditions  which  prevail  with  us.  I  believe  that  the 
importance  of  abundant  organic  matter  in  the  soil  is  very  much 
greater  in  this  country  than  in  either  of  those.  The  results 
obtained  with  chemical  salts,  by  their  experimenters,  have  never 
been  equalled  here,  nor  do  I  believe  it  to  be  possible.  The 
huge  rains,  alternating  with  intense  sunshine  and  parching  heat, 
which  prevail  here  in  late  spring  and  early  summer,  have  no 
counterpart  there.  The  effects  of  such  alternations  are  of 
themselves  disastrous,  and  are  greatly  intensified  by  the  absence 
of  abundant  organic  matter,  the  effect  of  which  is  to  intensify 
the  injury  to  crops  by  parching  heat  and  drought,  and  by  leach- 
ing rains.  Abundant  organic  matter  increases  the  hygroscopic 
powers  of  the  soil,  or  its  retentiveness  of  moisture,  and  lessens 
its  capacity  for  heat.  In  view  of  the  foregoing  facts,  the  con- 
clusion is  easily  reached  that  the  weak  point  of  American  agri- 
culture is  the  depletion  of  our  arable  land  of  organic  matter, 
resulting  from  the  too  exclusive  reliance  upon  commercial  fer- 


5  30  AGRICUL  rURE. 

tilizers,  and  the  consequent  neglect  of  fallow  crops  and  animal 
manures. 

Farm-yard  manure  contains  an  immense  amount  of  water,  but 
if  dry  matter  alone  be  considered,  the  nature  and  proportion  of 
the  materials  added  by  it  to  the  soil  do  not  usually  differ  very 
widely  from  those  in  the  fallow  crop ;  the  effects  of  its  appli- 
cation are  substantially  the  same  as  are  produced  by  the  turning 
under  of  a  fallow  crop.  The  value  of  farm-yard  manure  depends 
upon  the  composition  of  the  feeding-stuff,  the  manner  of  saving 
and  applying  the  manure,  and,  in  some  measure,  upon  the  kind, 
age,  and  breed  of  animals  kept.  No  animal  adds  anything  to 
the  feeding-stuff  in  converting  it  into  manure.  Young  and 
growing  animals  extract  from  the  feed  the  elements  which  form 
their  bones  and  other  tissues.  Mature  animals,  whose  bones 
are  complete,  and  whose  growth  has  ceased,  practically  return 
the  whole  of  the  valuable  fertilizing  elements  of  their  food 
supply  in  the  manure.  Young  animals,  reared  on  the  farm  and 
sold  off,  make  much  larger  draught  upon  the  soil  than  mature 
animals  bought  to  be  fattened  and  sold.  This  important  con- 
sideration is  frequently  left  entirely  out  of  view. 

It  is  perfectly  clear  that  those  animal  industries  which  involve 
the  handling  of  mature  animals  make  larger  returns  to  the  soil, 
from  a  given  amount  of  feeding-stuff,  than  those  which  involve 
the  rearing  of  young  animals  for  sale.  To  put  the  matter  in 
simpler  form,  it  may  be  said  that  the  manure  of  mature  animals 
is  of  more  value  than  that  of  young  and  actively  growing  ani- 
mals. Of  course  the  value  of  a  ton  of  farm-yard  manure  will 
depend  largely  upon  the  amount  of  coarse  fodder,  straw,  and 
water  it  contains,  besides  the  excreta,  or  food  residue,  of  the 
animals  fed.  Dollar  and  cent  valuations  of  farm-yard  manure 
serve  well  enough  for  comparison,  but  they  depend  so  largely 
upon  a  multitude  of  ever-varying  factors  that  they  are  delusive. 
The  same  remark  applies,  with  greater  force,  to  dollar  and  cent 
valuations  of  chemical  or  commercial  fertilizers. 

Feeding-stuffs,  like  cotton  seed,  linseed,  and  the  like,  which 
abound  in  combined  nitrogen,  and  also  in  the  ash  minerals  re- 
quired by  crops,  yield  manure  of  great  value  ;  whereas,  ensilage, 
or  dry  fodder,  straw,  and  hay,  yield  manure  of  little  value.  To 
understand  such  facts,  no  recourse  is  necessary  to  any  other 


FERTILIZERS.  531 

source  of  information  than  common  knowledge  and  common 
sense.  No  display  of  technical  formulae,  nor  of  learned  termi- 
nology, is  needed  to  convince  a  man  of  common  sense  that, 
when  he  feeds  rich  rations,  he  gets  rich  manure,  and  when  he 
feeds  poor  rations,  he  gets  poor  manure.  There  are  many  pub- 
lished tables  of  analyses  of  feeding-stuffs,  exhibiting  their  con- 
tents of  nitrogen  and  phosphates,  upon  which  the  value  of  the 
manure  largely  depends.  The  question  of  the  comparative 
manure  value  of  a  ration  may  be  settled  by  an  inspection  of  one 
of  these  tables,  and  no  extended  discussion  of  the  point  is  called 
for  here. 

Without  attempting  exact  money  valuations,  it  may  be  stated 
that  the  manure  produced  by  a  ton  of  bran  is  nearly  30  per 
cent  more  valuable  than  that  produced  by  a  ton  of  corn ;  that 
produced  by  linseed  is  three  times  as  valuable  ;  and  that  by  de- 
corticated cotton  seed,  worth  five  times  as  much.  The  practical 
farmer  knows  that  the  purchase  of  the  best  of  the  above  articles, 
to  be  combined  with  ensilage,  or  chopped  hay,  fodder,  or  straw, 
steamed  together,  and  fed  to  selected  animals  of  the  best  breeds, 
will  pay  if  well  managed.  I  repeat  it ;  I  understand  perfectly 
well  that  pecuniary  considerations  may  compel  a  farmer  to  adopt 
a  practice  which  his  judgment  condemns. 

It  is  easy  to  advise  a  farmer  to  buy  good  animals  and  feed 
them  well,  for  the  sake  of  profit  on  the  animals,  and  the  value 
of  their  manure.  But  if  he  has  no  money  and  no  credit,  —  and 
too  many  have  neither,  —  how  can  he  buy  }  In  this  place  it  is 
supposed  to  be  best  not  to  discuss  economic  questions,  not  a 
part  of  the  subject  immediately  in  hand.  On  the  other  hand, 
the  practical  man  should  understand  that  unfavorable  economic 
conditions,  due  to  causes  foreign  to  our  discussion,  may  render 
scientific  conclusions  null  and  void  in  practice,  for  the  time 
being,  but  cannot  set  them  aside. 

Much  has  been  written  on  the  subject  of  feeding  animals  for 
profit,  and,  incidentally,  for  the  value  of  the  manure  ;  neverthe- 
less, a  thoroughly  practical  treatise  on  the  subject,  in  the  light 
of  the  latest  knowledge,  is  wanting.  "  Feeding  Animals,"  by 
E.  W.  Stewart,  is  the  best  we  have ;  but  if  the  health  of  the 
author  admits  of  it,  it  should  be  revised,  brought  down  to  date, 
condensed,  and  a  new  edition  published. 


532  AGRICULTURE. 

The  limits  of  the  present  chapter  are  such  that  it  must  be 
suggestive  only.  It  advances  no  pretension  to  be  either  learned 
or  exhaustive.  The  design  is  to  present  an  outline  sketch  of  a 
scientific  system  of  fertilization,  the  details  of  which  will  vary 
with  circumstances,  but  always  answering  to  the  demands  of 
science,  by  making  restitution  to  the  soil  of  the  elements  of  fer- 
tility deposited  in  the  crops. 

The  economical  saving  and  application  of  farm-yard  manure 
demands  methodical  and  judicious  practice.  Extravagance  and 
neglect  are  the  two  extremes  of  wastefulness.  Having  expen- 
sive buildings  and  arrangements,  the  interest  on  the  cost  of 
which,  and  the  expense  for  repairs  of  which,  exceed  the  annual 
value  of  all  the  manure  saved,  resembles  the  policy  of  saving  at 
the  spile  and  losing  at  the  bung.  Allowing  valuable  manure  to 
be  leached  out,  and  washed  away,  and  then  hauling  out  the 
mere  carbonaceous  residue,  may  be  likened  to  a  cask  which 
leaks  at  both  spile  and  bung,  and  the  contents  of  which  run 
wholly  to  waste.  Farm-yard  manure  accumulating  in  well  lit- 
tered yards  during  winter,  suffers  very  little  loss  from  leach- 
ing, because  the  fermentation  is  not  very  active  and  it  is  by 
means  of  this  process  that  the  valuable  constituents  are  ren- 
dered soluble ;  but  the  manure  must  be  gotten  out  early  in  the 
spring,  for  as  the  temperature  rises  the  fermentation  is  hastened, 
and  the  loss  will,  in  a  short  time,  be  very  great. 

The  plan  of  allowing  the  manure  to  accumulate  in  stalls  under 
the  animals  all  winter,  and  keeping  the  stalls  well  littered  so  as 
to  cover  up  the  manure  as  fast  as  formed,  and  keep  the  animals 
clean,  is  to  be  condemned  as  doing  violence  to  hygienic  law,  and 
not  saving  labor.  The  arrangement  of  the  manure  is  largely  a 
matter  of  judicious  common  sense.  I  have  kept  it  in  pens  of 
stout  poles  or  logs,  about  8  feet  by  1 8  or  20  feet,  and  about  3  feet 
high,  mounding  it  over  above  the  top  of  the  pen,  and  by  this 
plan  have  not  found  it  to  "fire-fang"  ;  whereas,  it  is  sufficiently 
rotted  to  be  applied  early  in  spring.  There  is  no  doubt  that 
the  plan  of  chaffing  the  roughness  of  the  farm  and  steaming  it 
with  meal,  or  cake,  or  bran,  or  a  mixture  of  all,  and  also  using 
chaffed  fodq^r  for  litter  and  bedding,  is  a  great  advantage  to 
the  manure ;  for  not  only  does  the  steaming  destroy  fungi  and 
larvae,  and  eggs  of  destructive  insects,  but  the  manure  is  sooner 


FERTILIZERS.  533 

well  rotted,  and  far  more  easily  handled.  Steamed  food,  and 
mixed  and  well-balanced  rations,  doubtless  pay  well  for  the 
labor  and  expense  involved,  in  the  increased  relish  of  the  ani- 
mals, and  their  more  rapid  improvement.  This  may  be  said, 
without  saying  that  a  bushel  of  cooked  meal  will  produce  three 
times  as  much  beef  or  pork  as  a  bushel  of  raw  meal.  This  has 
been  said,  and  often  times  repeated ;  but  no  confidence  should 
be  placed  in  statements  so  extravagant,  and  having  no  carefully 
verified  inductive  basis.  To  the  experiments  of  most  amateurs, 
it  is  the  element  of  verification  that  is  lacking. 

That  part  of  a  scientific  system  of  fertilization  which  rests  on 
the  basis  of  fallow  crops  and  animal  manure,  has  now  been  sug- 
gestively sketched.  If  such  a  system  has  been  carried  to  the 
highest  development  of  which  it  proves  capable,  under  the  gen- 
eral plan  of  farming,  and  the  pecuniary  condition  of  the  farmer, 
the  foundation  has  been  laid  for  the  successful  use  of  chemical 
salts  and  manipulated  manures,  or  natural  guanos.  I  am  satis- 
fied that  a  condition  precedent  to  the  scientific  and  successful 
use  of  this  class  of  fertilizers,  in  this  country,  is  the  presence  of 
an  ample  store  of  organic  matter  in  the  soil.  And  this  condi- 
tion being  secured,  in  the  manner  suggested,  by  green  fallows 
and  animal  manures,  the  skilful  and  scientific  use  of  commercial 
fertilizers  may  be  made  profitable  instead  of  ruinous.  Green 
fallows  and  animal  manures,  supplemented  by  commercial  fer- 
tilizers to  sustain  the  rotation  at  its  weak  point,  will  constitute 
a  complete  scientific  system  of  fertilization. 

Under  normal  and  just  financial  conditions,  with  the  con- 
sumption of  normal  rations  by  the  great  mass  of  industrial 
workers,  and  the  honest  middle  classes,  which  will  insure  fair 
prices  for  the  products  of  the  farm,  we  shall  be  once  more  able 
to  live  by  agriculture ;  to  pay  our  taxes,  to  improve  our  lands, 
to  beautify  and  embellish  our  homesteads.  We  shall  be  able  to 
introduce  into  our  houses  modern  conveniences  and  sanitary 
improvements,  and  thus  to  restore  to  our  families  that  social 
prestige  of  which  existing  conditions  have  deprived  them. 

If  it  has  now  been  shown  that  the  weak  point  in  American 
agriculture  is  the  depletion  of  our  soils  of  organic  matter ;  if  it 
is  true  that  we  cannot  use  chemical  salts,  guanos,  or  manipu- 
lated commercial  manures  with  profit,  until  the  deficiency  of 


534  AGRICULTURE. 

organic  matter  be  remedied,  and  if  it  is  true  that  we  must 
depend  upon  fallow  crops  and  animal  manures  to  resupply  the 
organic  matter,  we  may  pass  on  to  the  brief  discussion  of  the 
scientific  use  of  commercial  fertilizers. 

We  must  pass  by  the  question  of  the  disposal  of  town  sewage, 
without  meaning  by  any  means  to  ignore  its  prodigious  impor- 
tance. Thirty-five  millions  of  urban  population  consume,  includ- 
ing waste,  more  than  1 50,000,000  pounds  daily  of  the  products 
of  the  soil  of  the  national  domain,  of  which  the  merest  trifle  is 
in  any  form  returned  to  the  soil.  A  distinguished  English 
scientist  is  said  to  have  abandoned  the  study  of  agricultural 
chemistry,  because  he  said  it  afforded  no  scope  for  his  genius, 
"being  a  mere  matter  of  nitrogen  and  phosphates."  If  his 
genius  had  not  scope  to  see  any  further  into  the  subject  than 
that,  it  was  well  that  he  went  no  further.  The  scope  which 
was  lacking  appertained  rather  to  the  genius  than  to  the  chem- 
istry of  agriculture.  It  is  true,  however,  that  the  nutrition  of 
plants  can  never  be  well  understood  as  long  as  the  solution  of 
its  infinitely  complex  problems  is  attempted  exclusively  from  the 
chemical  side.  The  plant,  no  less  than  man  himself,  is  a  living 
organism.  The  presumption  that  its  acts  of  imbibition,  circu- 
lation, assimilation,  secretion,  excretion,  respiration,  are  purely 
chemical  phenomena,  under  the  dominion  of  purely  chemical 
and  physical  laws,  has  led  many  minds  far  from  the  truth.  All 
the  phenomena  in  which  the  plant  is  concerned,  which  culmi- 
nate in  the  production  of  living  matter  from  non-living  mineral 
matter,  are  vital  phenomena,  and  under  the  dominion  of  physio- 
logical law,  which,  within  the  sphere  of  its  action,  subordinates 
or  supplants  the  ordinary  chemical  and  physical  laws  of  nature. 

The  ordinary  chemical  view  is  that  the  valuable  constituents 
of  commercial  fertilizers  are  nitrogen,  phosphoric  acid,  and 
potash.  This  dictum  is  accepted  generally  in  an  absolute  sense, 
and  the  deductions  drawn  from  it  are  consequently  elaborately 
erroneous.  Nitrogen,  phosphoric  acid,  and  potash,  are  arbitrarily 
valued  at  so  much  per  pound ;  the  number  of  pounds  of  each  in 
a  ton  is  determined  approximately  by  the  approximate  deter- 
minations of  an  analyzed  sample,  and  the  errors  of  analysis 
affecting  a  few  grains  are  multiplied  into  errors  affecting  tons  ; 
the  resulting  figures  are  multiplied  by  the  arbitrary  prices  per 


I 


FERTILIZERS.  535 

pound,  and  the  gross  result  is  the  scientific  valuation  per  ton. 
Physical  condition,  and  original  sources  of  the  materials,  are 
left  out  of  account ;  and  yet  these  very  considerations  affect  the 
value  of  the  fertilizers  to  an  extent  often  greater  than  the  facts 
disclosed  by  the  analysis.  Upon  this  basis  rests  much  legislation 
in  behalf  of  the  farmer. 

The  chemist  makes  an  arbitrary  distinction  between  three 
forms  of  phosphoric  acid ;  viz.  :  soluble,  insoluble,  and  what  he 
calls  "reverted,"  for  which  distinctions  the  chemist  has,  of 
course,  his  fee.  In  some  cases,  and  by  the  laws  of  some  States, 
the  insoluble  acid  is  classed  with  sand  and  water,  as  valueless 
material.  On  this  point  it  is  only  necessary  to  remark  that, 
under  that  law,  raw  ground  bones  contain  nothing  of  value, 
except  80  pounds  of  nitrogen  per  ton,  and  would  be  valued  at 
about  $14  per  ton;  the  11 00  pounds  per  ton  of  phosphate  of 
lime  which  bones  contain  being  classed  under  the  law  with 
sand  and  water,  as  valueless  material.  In  one  State,  Georgia, 
the  law  is,  or  was,  that  any  goods  containing  no  soluble  phos- 
phoric acid,  offered  for  sale  in  the  State,  shall  be  confiscated  ; 
so  that  a  man  offering  to  sell  to  the  farmers  of  that  State  prob- 
ably the  best  and  most  honest  fertilizer  for  the  money  now  to 
be  found  in  the  market,  is  made  a  law-breaker  and  a  criminal, 
subject  to  pains  and  penalties.  Or  else,  if  an  exception  is  made 
of  the  insoluble  phosphoric  acid  in  raw  bone,  the  law  is  self- 
contradictory,  and  the  state  stultifies  itself.  The  law  and  the 
State  of  North  Carolina  are  obnoxious  to  the  same  criticism. 

Phosphoric  acid,  combined  with  three  equivalents  of  lime, 
commonly  called  tri-calcic  phosphate,  is  the  sort  styled  insolu- 
ble, and  said  to  be  "  invaluable  "  to  plants.  When  this  tricalcic 
phosphate  is  treated  with  sulphuric  acid,  a  portion  of  the  lime 
leaves  its  combination  with  the  phosphoric  acid,  and  forms,  with 
the  sulphuric  acid,  sulphate  of  lime.  The  remaining  biphos- 
phate  of  lime  is  soluble  in  water,  and  this  yields  the  so-called 
soluble  phosphoric  acid  of  the  chemist.  But  what  is  reverted 
phosphoric  acid  }  No  man  is  able  to  say  what  it  is.  It  is 
a  chemical  nonentity.  If  a  sample  of  commercial  manure  is 
treated  with  pure  cold  water,  the  soluble  phosphoric  acid  is 
removed.  If  the  residue  be  treated  with  a  solution  of  ammo- 
nium citrate,  an  additional  quantity  of  the  phosphoric  acid  will 


536  AGRICULTURE. 

be  removed,  and  this  is  called  "reverted."  The  residue,  which 
can  only  be  dissolved  out  by  acid,  is  called  insoluble. 

But  what  is  the  character  of  the  phosphate  soluble  in  solution 
of  ammonium  citrate  .''  No  chemist  is  able  to  say.  It  is  certain 
that  some  portion  of  it  is  the  tricalcic,  so  called  ** insoluble"  ; 
the  quantity  of  which  taken  up  will  vary,  and  depends  largely 
upon  the  fineness  of  the  grinding,  and  the  length  of  time  the 
material  is  exposed  to  the  solvent ;  and  also  to  some  extent 
upon  the  relative  volume  of  the  phosphate  and  the  ammonium 
citrate  solution.  All  that  can  be  said  is  that  the  "  reverted  " 
phosphoric  acid  is  that  which  is  dissolved  out  of  the  fertilizer 
by  the  ammonium  citrate  solution.  That  this  determination,  if 
correctly  made,  is  without  the  importance  attached  to  it  is  cer- 
tain. The  practice  of  English  analysts  ignores  this  determina- 
tion, and  in  their  analyses  are  reported  only  phosphoric  acid 
soluble  in  water,  and  insoluble  in  water. 

In  the  case  of  nitrogen,  the  analytical  practice  is,  to  reduce 
all  forms  of  it  to  ammonia,  by  incineration  of  a  sample  of  the 
fertilizer  in  a  combustion  tube,  along  with  a  mixture  of  caustic 
soda  and  lime  ;  to  estimate  this  ammonia,  and  calculate  the 
nitrogen  from  the  ammonia.  This  process  wholly  fails  to  dis- 
criminate between  the  different  materials  yielding  this  ammonia, 
all  being  classed  under  one  head  and  subjected  to  one  valuation, 
which  is  based  upon  the  cost  of  the  highest  priced  and  most 
valuable  ammoniating  materials  found  in  the  market.  So  the 
manufacturer  is  invited  to  cheat  the  farmer,  under  the  protect- 
ing panoply  of  the  law,  and  the  indorsement  of  a  defective 
and  crude  analysis.  He  is  invited  to  "ammoniate"  his  goods 
with  cheap  and  worthless  trash,  like  parched  leather  scrap, 
which  yields  ammonia  freely  to  the  analytical  process,  but  does 
the  crop  no  good.  It  places  his  goods  on  an  equality  with  those 
ammoniated  with  valuable  and  costly  material,  such  as  steam- 
dried  blood.  This  proceeding  misleads  and  deceives  every  one 
concerned,  and  does  so  with  the  solemn  sanction  of  the  law.  It 
is  high  time  that  there  should  be  an  end  of  it.  It  is  not  within 
the  power  of  any  chemist  to  furnish  the  data  upon  which  the 
cost  of  the  materials  in  any  fertilizer  can  be  computed  with  any 
approach  to  certainty  or  accuracy. 

With  regard  to  the  potash,  the  tendency  has  been  to  exagger- 


FERTILIZERS.  537 

ate  its  practical  value,  in  the  minds  of  farmers  generally.  On 
many  soils  it  has  been  shown  that  very  large  additions  of  vari- 
ous potassic  compounds  fail  to  increase,  in  any  way,  the  growth 
of  the  crop.  There  may  be  coastwise  soils,  of  a  sandy  charac- 
ter, and  tertiary  or  more  modern  origin,  lacking  potash,  and 
upon  which  potassic  fertilizers  may  be  made  to  pay.  On  good 
clay  loams,  containing  much  decomposed  feldspar  and  mica,  it 
is  a  mere  waste  to  apply  potash.  One  of  the  best  and  most 
experienced  farmers  in  Piedmont,  Virginia,  informed  the  writer 
that  he  had  applied  the  German  potash  salts  to  his  land,  to 
various  crops,  and  in  various  quantities,  ranging  as  high  as 
1000  pounds  per  acre,  without  the  smallest  perceptible  effect  in 
any  case ;  or  upon  any  crop,  grass,  legume,  cereal,  root,  or  to- 
bacco. He  said  he  would  not  give  $2  a  shipload  for  it,  delivered 
in  his  barn-yard.  And  yet  the  old  statements  are  everywhere 
repeated  by  misled  scientific  men,  without  any  effort  at  verifica- 
tion. The  time  of  the  experiment  stations  is  largely  given  to 
analyzing  and  reporting  after  the  old  fashion,  and  the  pretence 
is  still  advertised,  that  millions  are  hereby  saved  to  the  farmers, 
by  driving  out  of  the  markets  worthless  goods.  No  such  thing 
is  true ;  but  it  is  true  that  a  tax  is  laid  upon  the  fertilizer  trade, 
ultimately  paid  by  the  farmers,  which  tax  goes  mainly  to  pay 
the  salaries  and  other  expenses  of  the  station.  There  never 
was  any  difficulty  in  detecting  gross  fraud  in  a  fertilizer,  either 
by  analysis  or  without  it,  from  results  in  the  field.  But  as  the 
matter  now  stands,  the  dealer  has  only  to  make  the  stuff  analyze 
well,  and,  backed  up  by  the  station  certificate,  he  goes  into  court 
and  enforces  collections  for  utterly  worthless  trash.  This  whole 
subject  has  been  worked  onto  a  false  basis,  and  it  needs  to  be 
reformed  from  bottom  to  top. 

There  is  no  room  to  doubt  that,  for  twenty  years  past,  there 
has  been  a  pretty  steady  decline  in  the  crop-producing  value  of 
manipulated  commercial  fertilizers ;  due,  in  part,  unquestion- 
ably, to  the  exhaustion  of  the  organic  matter  from  our  soils,  by 
neglect  of  fallow  crops  and  animal  manures,  and  continual 
dependence  upon  fertilizers  ;  but  due,  in  greater  measure,  to 
the  use  of  inferior  materials,  which  analyze  well  in  compounding 
the  manipulated  goods.     This  result  has  been  encouraged,  and 


538  AGRICULTURE, 

sustained,  and  mainly  brought  about,   by  the  public  analysts, 
and  the  laws  passed  at  their  instance. 

The  chief  ammoniating  materials,  used  in  the  manufacture  of 
ammoniated  superphosphates,  are  various  nitrogenized  organic 
matters,  mainly  of  animal  origin  ;  sulphate  of  ammonia,  and 
nitrate  of  soda;  rarely,  nitrate  of  potash  is  used.  The  phos- 
phates used  in  making  this  class  of  goods  are  exclusively  of 
mineral  origin.  Animal  bone  costs  more  than  double  as  much 
as  mineral  phosphate,  and  no  manufacturer  using  bone  could 
compete  in  this  trade.  The  term  "bone  phosphate  of  lime," 
often  used  in  the  report  of  the  analysis,  has  led  many  to  sup- 
pose that  bone  is  the  source  of  the  phosphate ;  but  "  so  much 
phosphoric  acid  equivalent  to  so  much  bone  phosphate  of  lime" 
means  only  that  that  quantity  of  acid  would  combine  with  three 
equivalents  of  lime  to  form  that  quantity  of  tribasic  phosphate, 
which  is  the  form  existing  in  bone.  The  statement  is  of  no' 
possible  value,  for  the  phosphoric  acid  referred  to  is  the  aggre- 
gate of  soluble,  insoluble,  and  so-called  **  reverted,"  found  in  the 
sample.  The  actual  meaning  is,  that  this  quantity  of  phosphoric 
acid  is  chemically  capable  of  forming  the  stated  quantity  of 
"  bone  "  or  tricalcic  phosphate. 

Among  the  "ammoniates"  of  organic  origin  used  in  this  line 
of  goods,  undoubtedly  the  best  is  steam-dried  blood,  known  to 
the  trade  as  red  blood ;  the  fire-dried  or  black  blood  is  partially 
charred,  and  of  less  value.  Fish-scrap,  or  the  refuse  of  fish-oil 
factories,  is  an  excellent  "  ammoniate "  ;  as  is,  also,  slaughter- 
house refuse  of  one  sort  or  another,  sold  as  "  Animal  Fibre," 
"  Flesh  Dust,"  and  by  other  names.  Woollen  refuse,  hair,  hoof 
and  horn  shavings,  form  a  secondary  class,  which  analyze  well 
but  produce  very  little  effect  in  the  field.  Finally,  parched  and 
ground  leather  scrap,  which  is  the  refuse  of  shoe  and  harness 
factories,  which  analyzes  remarkably  well,  is  almost  entirely 
worthless,  and  is  unfortunately  largely  sold  and  used. 

It  is  here  that  the  false  and  misleading  results  of  the  work  of 
analysts,  as  published,  produce  great  mischief.  All  these  am- 
moniates  are  indiscriminately  reduced  to  ammonia,  by  the  ana- 
lytical process,  and  reported  as  of  identical  value,  and  that  value 
deduced  from  the  cost  of  such  materials  as  steam-dried  blood 
and  sulphate  of  ammonia.     That  that  which  is  inferior  should  be 


FERTILIZERS.  539 

made  equal  to  that  which  is  good ;  that  which  is  cheap  to  that 
which  is  expensive ;  that  which  is  fraudulent  to  that  which  is 
honest ;  and  this  under  authority  of  law  and  by  sanction  of  an 
ofhcer  of  the  law,  is  not  defensible. 

Ammonia  sulphate,  and  sodium  nitrate,  are  both  costly  and 
valuable  articles.  For  application  in  the  fall  to  a  crop  which 
lies  dormant  in  winter,  the  sodium  nitrate  should  not  be  used, 
on  account  of  the  fact  that  it  leaches  out  of  the  soil  somewhat 
rapidly,  and  a  very  large  portion  of  it  will  be  lost  in  the  drainage 
water,  before  the  crop  begins  to  grow  in  spring.  On  the  other 
hand,  the  ammonia  salt  does  not  leach  out  to  any  appreciable 
extent,  and  should  always  be  used  in  preference  to  a  nitrate  for 
fall-sown  crops.  But  the  manipulator  is  compelled  to  work  for 
an  analysis,  and  he  desires  to  get  the  best  analysis  at  the  lowest 
cost ;  therefore,  if  the  sodium  nitrate  is  cheaper  than  the  ammo- 
nia salt,  he  uses  the  nitrate,  regardless  of  whether  it  goes  into 
the  drainage  water  or  not.  Upon  this  highly  important  matter 
the  station  report  is  silent.  The  analyst,  if  interrogated,  says 
he  does  not  know  anything  more  than  what  is  stated  in  his 
report,  which  report  complies  fully  with  the  law  defining  his 
duties.  Under  such  circumstances,  it  is  not  remarkable  that 
farmers  by  the  thousand  —  nay,  by  the  million  —  have  been 
ruined  by  the  use  of  these  commercial  fertilizers. 

The  supply  of  the  natural  ammoniated  guanos  is  so  nearly 
exhausted  that  they  need  scarcely  be  separately  discussed.  The 
phosphatic  guanos,  from  which  all  the  organic  matter  and  am- 
monia salts  have  been  leached  out,  still  constitute  important 
sources  of  phosphates  for  manipulated  manures,  and  some  of 
them  have  been  found  profitable  in  their  natural  condition. 
These  phosphates  are  known  in  the  markets  by  the  names  of 
the  places  where  they  are  found  ;  as  the  Navassa,  Orchilla,  etc. 
However,  the  chief  source  of  mineral  phosphate  is  at  present 
the  vast  deposits  of  the  State  of  South  Carolina,  which  consist 
mainly  of  very  ancient  bones  and  teeth  of  marine  animals. 
These  materials  are  thoroughly  fossilized,  or  mineralized ;  only 
a  trace  of  organic  matter  is  left.  The  proportion  of  actual  tri- 
calcic  phosphates,  or  so-called  bone  phosphate,  in  them,  is  nearly 
the  same  as  in  recent  bone.  It  may  be  inferred  that  the  organic 
matter  has  been  replaced  by  mineral  matter,  derived  from  the 


540  AGRICULTURE, 

surrounding  soil.  There  are,  in  most  countries,  large  quantities 
of  mineral  phosphates,  —  notably  in  Canada  and  Spain,  —  but 
no  great  deposit  is  so  favorably  located,  with  regard  to  com- 
merce, as  that  of  South  Carolina.  One  of  the  most  important 
sources  of  phosphate  for  agriculture  is,  and  must  continue  to  be, 
animal  bone ;  not,  as  has  been  by  many  supposed,  that  the  phos- 
phate of  animal  origin  is  more  valuable  than  that  of  mineral 
origin. 

The  great  and  increasing  exportation  of  our  live-stock  is 
deporting  from  our  fields  vast  and  increasing  quantities  of  phos- 
phates. The  wise  and  well  informed  would  be  glad  to  see  this 
trade  replaced  by  a  normal  home  consumption  of  meat,  by  our 
own  working  people  and  the  great  middle  class,  which  is  ren- 
dered impossible  under  existing  financial  and  industrial  condi- 
tions. The  time  will  come  when  the  phosphate  thus  exported 
will  have  to  be  brought  back  to  us,  if  our  wheat  area  is  to  pro- 
duce bread  sufficient  for  our  own  people. 

Many  will  still  dissent  from  the  remark  just  made,  that  phos- 
phate of  mineral  origin  is  fully  equal,  as  a  fertilizer,  to  that  of 
animal  origin ;  but  the  fact  has  been  fully  demonstrated,  in  a 
series  of  field  trials,  conducted  by  Professor  Jaimison  on  behalf 
of  the  Highland  and  Agricultural  Society  of  Scotland ;  which 
experiments,  for  scientific  accuracy  and  fulness  of  detail,  can- 
not be  surpassed.  These  same  experiments  have  established 
the  fact  that,  instead  of  the  tribasic,  or  insoluble,  phosphate 
being  classed  with  sand  and  water,  as  not  **  available  "  to  plants 
and  worthless  as  a  fertilizer,  the  dissolved  phosphate  does  not 
exceed  it  by  more  than  lo  per  cent,  in  the  increase  of  crop 
produced. 

The  question  is  no  longer  whether  tribasic  phosphate  is 
"available"  to  plants,  but  how  much  its  "availability"  is  in- 
creased by  the  usual  treatment  with  sulphuric  acid,  converting 
it  into  superphosphate.  The  answer  to  that  question,  according 
to  present  information,  is  —  not  exceeding  lO  per  cent.  That 
is,  if  a  ton  of  raw  phosphate  will  produce  increase  of  crop  worth 
;^io,  the  same  phosphate,  subjected  to  the  usual  treatment,  will 
produce  increase  worth  $\\.  The  manipulation  consists  in  the 
addition  of  a  ton  of  sludge  acid,  and  of  about  500  pounds  of 
sodium  chloride,  as  drier.     Thus  the  one  ton  of  raw  phosphate. 


FERTILIZERS.  5  4  r 

after  drying,  produces  rather  more  than  two  tons  of  dissolved 
phosphate.  The  cost  of  the  acid,  the  drier,  and  the  expense 
of  manipulation,  will  make  the  cost  of  the  dissolved  phosphate 
more  than  four  times  that  of  the  raw.  Subtract  from  this  the 
$\  in  every  ^11,  for  the  excess  of  increase  of  crop,  and  it  readily 
appears  how  the  case  stands.  It  ought  to  be  insisted  and 
demanded  that  our  colleges  and  stations  should  make  exhaus- 
tive studies  of  this  question,  each  in  its  own  locality. 

If  the  expense  of  the  sulphuric-acid  treatment  and  necessary 
drier  can  be  eliminated  from  the  commercial  fertilizers,  it  ought 
unquestionably  to  be  done.  In  British  agriculture  the  ammo- 
niated  superphosphates  have  scarcely  a  place.  Their  animal 
manures  and  fallow  crops  are  the  chief  source  of  combined 
nitrogen.  They  do  not  apply  their  phosphate  to  the  wheat 
crop,  but  to  the  _root  crop  which  precedes  the  wheat  in  their 
rotations.  In  fact,  they  apply  no  fertilizer  to  the  wheat,  unless 
in  spring  it  seems  to  grow  off  slowly,  or  has  a  yellow  look ;  in 
which  case,  they  apply  from  100  to  1 50  pounds  per  acre  of  sodium 
nitrate. 

Animal  manure  is  evidently  the  sheet-anchor  of  British  agri- 
culture. It  ought  to  be  the  sheet-anchor  of  American  agricul- 
ture. It  ought  to  be  supplemented  here,  as  it  is  there,  by  fallow 
crops  and  commercial  manures.  Unless  a  scientific  system  of 
fertilization  is  adopted,  the  American  wheat  area  will  in  future 
rapidly  decline  in  producing  capacity ;  whereas,  early  in  the 
new  century,  we  shall  have  population  able  to  consume  the 
present  product,  unless,  through  pauperism  intensified,  the 
people  are  reduced  to  half  rations  and  cheaper  forms  of  food. 
The  history  of  nations  is  before  us :  Will  we  be  wise  or  foolish } 
Will  we  profit,  or  fail  to  profit,  by  the  examples  of  the  past  .-* 
Having  an  abiding  faith  in  the  wisdom,  courage,  and  patriotism 
of  the  people,  this  writer  is  convinced  that  the  necessary 
reforms  will  be  enacted  into  laws,  at  no  distant  day,  which  will 
cause  prosperity  to  return  to  the  people. 

When  agriculture  begins  again  to  be  profitable,  its  scientific 
pursuit  will  begin  again  to  be  possible.  At  present  it  is  not  so. 
In  general,  and  excluding  certain  local  and  special  cases,  a  scien- 
tific system  of  fertilization  will  simply  cost  more  than  the  value 
of  the   product    in   the   hands   of  the   producer.     At    present. 


542  AGRICULTURE. 

therefore,  scientific  fertilization  may  be  said  to  be  very  plainly 
impracticable,  over  a  great  part  of  the  country.  The  farmer 
cannot,  any  more  than  another  man,  perform  impossible  things. 
When  wheat  and  corn  fail  to  pay  the  cost  of  their  production, 
under  the  guidance  of  science  and  practical  skill ;  when  live- 
stock cannot  be  grazed  and  fed,  except  at  a  loss ;  when  debt 
accumulates  and  taxes  increase  ;  no  power  is  able  to  arouse  the 
interest  of  the  farmer  in  scientific  inventions  and  methods  of 
culture.  The  day  has  come  when  the  great  food-producing  area 
of  the  United  States  must  be  scientifically  fertilized,  or  rapid 
and  continuous  decline  of  its  producing  capacity  is  inevitable. 
There  exists  already  an  urgent  lack  of  organic  matter  in  the 
corn  and  wheat  lands,  and  it  is  becoming  more  urgent  with  each 
season.  Until  there  is  a  restoration  of  abundant  organic  mat- 
ter, ammonia  salts  and  acid  phosphates  will  be  applied  only  at  a 
loss,  accompanied  by  the  ruin  of  the  lands,  left  bare,  and  ex- 
posed to  the  leaching  of  the  tremendous  downpour  of  wintry 
rain. 

Probably  there  has  never  been  devised,  for  the  corn  and  wheat 
area,  a  better  rotation  than  the  old  five-shift  system.  Each 
field  in  succession  lay  in  clover  two  years ;  the  clover  being 
seldom  mown,  but  almost  universally  grazed  both  seasons  ;  the 
stock  being  taken  off  early  in  the  second  season,  and  the  after- 
growth turned  under  for  wheat.  The  stubble  of  this  wheat,  cut 
very  high,  made  of  itself  a  dense  cover  for  the  land ;  and  the 
heavy  growth  of  foxtail  and  dogweed  which  came  up  prevented 
washing  and  leaching  during  winter.  This  was  turned  under 
the  next  spring  for  corn,  and  all  the  farm-yard  manure  also 
applied  to  the  corn  crop.  The  corn  stubble  was  seeded  again 
to  wheat,  with  guano,  and  re-seeded  to  clover. 

In  addition  to  the  five  regular  fields  of  the  rotation,  there  were 
timothy  meadows,  and  .orchard  grass,  and  clover  lots,  for  graz- 
ing and  mowing ;  and  a  permanent  blue-grass  pasture ;  only 
broken  up  as  the  condition  of  the  lot,  or  meadow,  or  pasture, 
rendered  it  advisable.  Large  amounts  of  hay,  straw,  and  corn 
fodder  were  produced  and  fed  out  on  the  farm  ;  and  besides,  the 
usual  practice  then  was  to  have  the  wheat  ground,  sell  the  flour, 
and  feed  out  the  wheat  bran.  The  weak  point  in  this  rotation 
was  the  corn-land  wheat,  and  this  was  judiciously  and  skilfully 


FERTILIZERS,  543 

brought  up  with  guano  and  manipulated  commercial  manures, 
ground  bone,  etc.  Ashes  and  lime  were  frequently  applied  to 
the  clover  fields,  and  gypsum  invariably  to  both  clover  and  corn, 
at  the  rate  of  a  bushel  and  a  half  per  acre. 

The  time  of  which  I  am  writing  was  forty  years  ago,  and  the 
system  described  was  an  old  practice  then  ;  yet  it  was  a  strictly 
scientific  system  of  fertilization.  There  is  none  like  it  now,  nor 
are  there  now  any  such  crops  as  were  then  seen.  At  that  day, 
agriculture  was  the  leading  profession ;  the  farmers  were  the 
wealthiest  people,  and  the  best  people,  and  ranked  indisputably 
at  the  head  of  the  community.  Are  such  things  gone,  without 
return }  It  is  for  the  farmers  to  determine  at  this  time.  A  few 
more  years  such  as  these  twenty-five  years  last  past,  and  no 
power  under  heaven  can  restcTre  the  lost  prestige  of  American 
agriculture. 

With  regard  to  the  mode  of  applying  commercial  manures, 
I  desire  to  offer  a  few  suggestions.  Experience  clearly  demon- 
strates that  the  effect  of  concentrated  manures  is  much  greater 
when  applied  in  drills  than  when  broadcast.  One  reason  for 
the  superiority  of  the  drilling  is  found  in  the  fact  of  the  much 
greater  uniformity  of  application  by  the  machine.  But  the 
chief  reason  is  that,  by  concentrating  the  material  in  the  drill 
rows,  the  feeding  roots  gain  readier  and  more  complete  access 
to  it  than  if  more  widely  diffused  through  the  soil.  It  should 
be  understood  that,  when  once  widely  diffused  by  broadcasting, 
it  does  not  become  concentrated  by  any  natural  process,  but  has 
rather  a  tendency  to  further  diffusion  and  dilution  by  the  soil. 
Plant  food  does  not  exist  in  the  soil  in  solution,  but  in  moist 
mechanical  admixture  through,  and  adhesion  to,  the  soil,  to 
such  an  extent  that  percolating  water  does  not  move  it.  The 
particles  of  plant  food  being  thus  nearly  stationary  in  the  soil, 
the  plant  in  order  to  obtain  it  must  lay  its  roots  alongside  of  it, 
which  is  rendered  difficult  or  impossible  by  great  diffusion  and 
dilution  by  the  soil.  It  is  well  to  keep  this  principle  in  mind  at 
all  times,  in  dealing  with  concentrated  manures.  In  the  old 
five-shift  system,  undoubtedly  the  correct  place  for  the  com- 
mercial manure  was  the  corn-land  wheat,  because  that  was  the 
third  successive  grain  crop  taken  from  the  field,  and  was  the  weak 
point  in  the  rotation.     The  usual  mode  of  drilling  in  the  fer- 


544  AGRICULTURE, 

tilizer  with  the  seed  was  also  the  best  method  of  applying 
it.  With  those  farmers  who  never  sold  grain,  nor  straw,  nor 
hay,  whose  market  products  were  mainly  beef  and  pork,  and 
who  not  only  fed  all  the  corn  and  hay  they  could  grow,  but  also 
bought  corn,  and  bran,  and  linseed,  and  cotton  seed,  to  be  fed 
to  their  cattle  and  hogs,  the  plan  adopted  was,  —  to  feed  on  a 
grass-field  to  be  broken  in  the  spring  for  corn.  One  or  two 
corn  crops  were  taken,  and  then  the  field  sown  to  wheat  and 
reset  in  grass,  which  was  usually  a  mixture  of  clover,  timothy, 
and  orchard  grass.  This  wheat  received  also  a  heavy  dressing 
of  commercial  manure,  and  was  thus  made  to  pay  the  way  of 
the  wheat  crop,  and  secure  a  heavy  stand  of  grass. 

The  most  distinguished  advocate  of  this  system,  in  the  East- 
ern States,  was  Colonel  Robert  Beverley,  of  Virginia.  At  one 
time  he  reported,  with  the  items,  a  clear  profit  of  ;^  10,000 
from  a  farm  of  800  acres.  This  profit  declined,  until  last  year 
Colonel  Beverley  refused  to  incur  the  loss  of  stocking  it,  and 
merely  allowed  it  to  drift,  selling  the  hay  crop  for  the  first  time 
in  his  life,  to  pay  the  tax.  Colonel  Beverley  usually  applied  to 
his  wheat  500  pounds  per  acre  of  commercial  manure,  and  both 
corn  crops  were  fed  out  on  the  land,  and  his  yield  averaged 
about  30  bushels  per  acre,  which,  before  the  collapse  of  prices, 
produced  by  the  contraction  of  the  currency,  and  the  adoption 
of  the  mono-metallic  or  gold  standard,  paid  *a  good  profit  on 
the  wheat  and  cost  of  fertilizer,  so  that  the  heavy  stand  of 
grass  might  be  regarded  as  additional  gain.  Now  then,  what 
has  reduced  the  profits  of  this  system  from  ;^  10,000  on  an 
800-acre  farm  to  the  point  at  which  it  was  found  necessary 
to  abandon  it,  on  account  of  the  loss  entailed }  Observe,  that 
it  was  a  strictly  scientific  system  which,  while  yielding  large 
profits,  brought  the  land  up  to  the  highest  degree  of  produc- 
tiveness.    What,  I  ask,  has  wrought  this  ominous  result  ? 

Nothing  appears  to  be  left  to  the  farmers  of  the  great  grass 
and  grain  producing  States,  whose  staples  are  the  bread  and 
meat  of  nations,  but  the  reflection  that  no  land  is,  or  can  be 
made,  rich  enough,  under  existing  conditions,  to  pay  the  cost  of 
its  cultivation,  the  tax  laid  upon  it,  and  upon  all  stock  and  imple- 
ments used  in  its  cultivation,  to  purchase  necessary  manure,  and 
to  provide  for  the  necessities  of  the  farmer  and  his  family,  even 


FERTILIZERS. 


545 


if  there  is  no  debt  and  no  mortgage.  There  is  no  remedy  in 
improved  science  or  higher  skill ;  none  in  more  hours  of  toil 
and  fewer  of  rest  and  sleep.  Improved  prices  only  can  save  the 
agriculture  of  that  section. 

Is  the  case  the  same  with  the  great  planting  area,  whose 
staples  are  cotton,  sugar,  tobacco,  and  rice  t  There  is  not  upon 
the  face  of  the  earth  such  another  country  as  this  planting  area 
of  the  United  States.  Here  all  natural  resources,  capable  of 
contributing  to  the  greatness  of  a  people,  are  concentrated  as 
nowhere  else.  With  the  great  world-staple,  cotton,  alone,  that 
country  ought  to  be  rich.  There  can  scarcely  arrive  a  period 
when  this  queen  of  crops  will  fail  to  pay  those  who  pursue  its 
culture  intelligently.  But,  in  order  to  put  disaster  out  of  the 
question,  cotton-planters  must  free  themselves  of  financial  con- 
ditions which  no  other  producers  under  heaven  could  support 
for  a  single  season.  They  are  between  the  upper  and  the 
nether  millstones,  —  the  factors  and  the  banks. 

The  world's  supply  of  bright  tobacco  must  also  come  mainly 
from  this  same  immensely  favored  country.  The  successful 
handling  of  this  article  demands  a  thorough  practical  knowledge 
and  experience  of  a  very  highly  skilled  technique ;  but  those 
who  possess  this  knowledge  and  experience,  with  the  necessary 
patience  and  energy,  hold  in  their  hands  a  practical  monopoly 
of  the  highest  grade  of  a  staple  which  cannot  fail  to  pay,  until 
the  burdens  imposed  by  government  have  already  destroyed  the 
living  of  the  great  mass  of  producers.  Is  it  too  much  to  say, 
that  a  people  living  in  the  full  blaze  of  all  the  lights  of  civiliza- 
tion, as  it  now  exists,  who  shall  permit  such  a  fate  to  overtake 
them,  will  deserve  that  fate  1 

From  all  the  piedmont  steps  of  this  magnificent  country  flow 
down,  in  all  directions,  to  gulf  and  sea,  unfreezing  and  unfailing 
water-powers  which  will  one  day  become  prime  perennial  sources 
of  the  mechanical  forces  of  the  great  future ;  to  wit,  electricity 
and  compressed  air,  which  shall  be  distributed  to  every  planta- 
tion and  farm-house  everywhere.  The  mineral  wealth  of  this 
country  is  incalculable  from  present  data.  The  potential  bread 
and  meat  producing  power  of  the  section  under  consideration, 
under  a  skilled  and  scientific  agriculture,  is  able  to  provide 
abundantly  for  more  than  one  hundred  millions  of  people.     The 


546  AGRICULTURE. 

civilization  which  the  close  of  the  incoming  century  ought  to 
discover  in  this  place,  surpasses  conception.  Nothing  but  the 
blindness  and  folly  of  man  can  disappoint  the  world  of  the  fulfil- 
ment of  this  vision  of  earthly  power,  splendor,  and  glory. 

In  the  great  phosphate  beds  of  the  coast,  notably  already 
developed  in  South  Carolina  and  Florida,  and  certainly  existing 
elsewhere,  nature  has  provided  amply  for  the  needs  of  the  agri- 
culture of  thousands  of  generations ;  whereas  the  seed  of  the 
cotton  crop  is  a  vast  supply  of  organic  matter,  containing  more 
available  nitrogen  than  any  other  material  received  at  nature's 
hand.  In  the  cotton  seed  and  phosphates,  the  region  under 
consideration  possesses  a  permanent  basis  for  a  scientific  system 
of  fertilization.  But  this  is  not  all.  There  are  included  in  this 
area  prodigious  deposits  of  lime,  gypsum,  and  marl ;  and,  more- 
over, the  long  season  of  growth  of  vegetation  is  very  favorable 
to  the  accumulation  of  organic  matter  and  nitrates  in  the  soil, 
and  the  season  of  leaching  during  the  winter  suspension  of 
vegetation  is  very  much  shortened. 

From  these  great  natural  facts,  it  is  very  clear  that  the  prob- 
lem of  the  conservation  of  the  fertility  of  these  soils  is  a  far  less 
serious  and  difficult  one  than  that  which  confronts  the  agricul- 
turists of  the  great  middle  and  northwestern  States.  It  seems 
needless  to  remark,  that  this  problem  presents  greatly  intensified 
difficulties  in  the  New  England  States  and  Canada.  And  this 
fact  greatly  favors  the  agriculture  of  the  Southern  and  Border 
States ;  viz.  :  that  the  fallow  crops  reach  there  their  highest 
efficiency  and  value,  both  from  their  longer  season  of  growth, 
and  their  natural  adaptation  to  the  climates  and  soils  of  the 
region. 

The  agricultural  colleges  and  stations  of  this  section  have 
before  them  great  -possibilities  of  usefulness.  It  is  for  them  to 
work  out  the  details  of  the  agricultural  practice,  at  once  answer- 
able to  the  demands  of  science  and  practical  economy.  They 
must  show  how,  in  every-day  practice,  all  the  vast  natural  sup- 
plies of  fertilizers  may  be  fully  utilized  with  the  utmost  attain- 
able economy. 

In  such  an  article  as  this  it  cannot  even  be  stated  in  detail 
what  these  problems  are,  according  to  the  writer's  views.  It  can 
be  stated  that  a  complete  system  of  scientific  agriculture,  even 


FERTILIZERS.  547 

as  a  model,  has  nowhere  been  formulated  for  discussion.  It 
may  be  said,  without  fear  of  successful  contradiction,  that  it  is 
high  time  that  the  problem  before  these  institutions  was  stated 
in  plain,  intelligible  form  ;  and  the  data  comprising  the  various 
inductions,  upon  which  the  several  general  propositions  rest, 
can  then  be  more  speedily,  more  easily,  and  more  satisfactorily 
developed  and  arranged. 

In  general  terms,  the  problem  may  be  stated  thus  :  What  are 
correct  rotation  and  methods  of  culture,  for  the  given  locality, 
having  in  view  the  full  utilization  of  fallows,  animal  manures, 
and  commercial  fertilizers }  It  being  settled  what  a  correct 
rotation  is,  investigation  will  naturally  fall  into  right  channels; 
experiments  will  be  directed  to  the  best  selection  and  manage- 
ment of  a  fallow  crop,  and  its  proper  place  in  the  rotation ;  the 
best  animals  to  feed  and  how  to  feed  them,  no  less  than  how 
best  to  save  and  apply  the  manure ;  at  what  point  in  the  rota- 
tion the  commercial  manures  should  be  applied,  and  the  best 
method  of  application  ;  as,  of  course,  also  the  best  forms  of  such 
manures  to  use. 

The  following  great  questions  need  solution  ;  viz.  :  Can  the 
full  use  of  fallows  and  animal  manures  enable  us  to  wisely  dis- 
pense with  ammoniated  superphosphates  .'*  And  can  we  wisely 
replace  dissolved  phosphates  by  the  use  of  raw  ground  phos- 
phates, in  the  rotation  used  t  Should  such  raw  phosphate  be 
applied  directly  to  the  staple  money  crop,  or  to  the  fallow, 
or  other  crop,  which  precede  the  money  crop  in  the  rotation } 
Does  not  some  other  crop  in  the  rotation,  and  especially  the 
fallow,  assimilate  raw  phosphate  (or  dissolved  phosphate)  more 
readily  and  completely  than  the  money  crop  t 

It  is  the  opinion  of  the  writer  that  we  can  and  ought  to  devise 
a  complete  system  of  fertilization,  in  which  we  may  dispense 
with  the  enormous  cost  of  the  sulphuric  acid,  drier,  and  manipu- 
lation of  dissolved  phosphates  and  ammoniated  superphosphates. 
If  our  dealings  in  mineral  manures  can  be  as  nearly  as  possible 
limited  to  natural  products,  less  cost  of  manipulation,  it  will  be 
an  immense  gain  in  economy  of  production  of  the  great  staples 
which  mainly  support  the  commerce  of  the  world.  This  does 
not  imply  that  we  may  dispense  with  dealers  in  commercial 
manures.     Certainly  mineral  phosphates  and  raw  bones  must  be 


548  AGRICULTURE, 

ground,  and  sacked,  and  delivered  to  the  channels  of  trade.  It 
may  become  a  question  whether  clubs,  granges,  alliances,  may 
own  mills  where  all  members  can  have  their  own  supplies 
ground  to  order.  The  manufacture  being  simplified  as  above 
would  facilitate  such  arrangements.  It  is  also  a  question 
whether  the  State,  as  for  example,  South  Carolina  and  Florida, 
should  monopolize  the  great  phosphate  deposits,  and  deliver  the 
finished  product,  no  less  than  the  raw  material,  to  commerce. 
In  the  modern  view,  that  the  State  should  control  all  natural 
monopolies,  this  last  view  of  the  question  cannot  be  lightly 
passed  over. 

In  concluding  this  article,  it  is  desired  that  it  may  be  clearly 
understood  that  it  makes  no  pretension  to  exhaustive  technical 
treatment  of  any  part  of  the  subject.  The  design  has  been  to 
summarize  general  principles  with  suggestive  comment,  as  more 
appropriate  to  a  chapter  of  this  kind. 

I  believe  that  I  have  shown  :  That  the  weak  point  in  Amer- 
ican agriculture  is  the  lack  of  organic  matter  in  our  soils,  and 
that  the  bad  effects  of  that  deficiency  are  intensified  by  the 
peculiarities  of  our  climate ;  that  fallow  crops  and  animal 
manures  are  the  sources  from  which  the  necessary  organic  mat- 
ter must  be  supplied,  and  that,  therefore,  these  substances  must 
be  the  basis  of  every  scientific  system  of  fertilization ;  that 
chemical  or  mineral  manures,  or  natural  guanos,  which  consti- 
tute the  commercial  fertilizers,  cannot  be  successfully  substituted 
for,  but  must  supplement,  fallows  and  animal  manures  ;  that  the 
methods  of  preparing  and  using  commercial  manures  need  re- 
study  at  the  hands  of  science,  so  as  to  determine  more  accurately 
the  economies  which  govern  their  manipulation  and  use ;  that 
the  methods  of  analysis  and  valuation  in  common  use  are  inac- 
curate and  often  misleading,  and  the  laws  regulating  inspections, 
in  some  cases,  are  vexatious,  foolish,  and  inoperative,  merely 
adding  to  the  burdens  of  the  farmer,  and  causing  additional 
expense. 

I  have  shown,  moreover,  that  pecuniary  considerations  domi- 
nate in  the  practical  application  of  scientific  principles  to  pro- 
ductive industry ;  that  under  existing  conditions,  with  rare  and 
unimportant  exceptions,  in  American  agriculture  the  cost  of 
production  exceeds  the  net  price  of  the  product,  and  that,  there- 


FERTILIZERS.  549 

fore,  to  produce  what  the  world  must  have  involves  the  farmer 
in  ultimate  ruin,  without  a  change  of  conditions.  This  implies 
that  there  must  be  a  change  of  conditions  for  the  better,  for  to 
hold  the  contrary  means  that  civilization  itself  must  perish. 


CHAPTER   IX. 

HISTORY    OF    GRASSES,    GRAINS,    AND    PLANTS. 

It  could  hardlyibe  expected  that,  in  a  work  of  this  character, 
anything  like  a  detailed  description  of  the  many  varieties  of 
grasses  and  grains  could  be  given  ;  but  a  synopsis  of  this  great 
branch  of  agriculture  may  be  both  interesting  and  profitable. 

Dr.  George  Vasey,  Botanist  in  the  Department  of  Agriculture, 
makes  the  following  report :  — 

Every  thoughtful  farmer  realizes  the  importance  of  the  pro- 
duction on  his  land  of  a  good  supply  of  grass  for  pasturage  and 
hay.  He  who  can  produce  the  greatest  yield  on  a  given  number 
of  acres  will  be  the  most  successful  man  ;  yet  this  is  a  subject 
which  has  been,  and  still  is,  greatly  neglected. 

In  the  United  States  we  have  many  climates,  many  kinds  of 
soil,  many  geological  formations,  many  degrees  of  aridity  and 
moisture.  It  must  be  apparent  that  one  species  of  grass  cannot 
be  equally  well  adapted  to  growth  in  all  parts  of  this  extensive 
territory ;  yet  hardly  a  dozen  species  of  grasses  have  been  suc- 
cessfully introduced  into  our  agriculture.  True  it  is  that  this 
number  answers  with  a  tolerable  degree  of  satisfaction  the  wants 
of  quite  an  extensive  portion  of  the  country,  chiefly  the  northern 
and  cooler  regions.  But  it  is  well  known  that  in  other  localities 
the  same  kinds  of  grasses  do  not  succeed  equally  well,  and  one 
of  the  most  important  problems  for  those  regions  is  to  obtain 
such  kinds  as  shall  be  thoroughly  adapted  to  their  peculiarities 
of  climate  and  soil.  This  is  particularly  the  case  in  the  South- 
ern and  Southwestern  States,  the  arid  districts  of  the  West,  and 
in  California.  , 

The  solution  of  this  question  is  largely  a  matter  of  experiment 
and  observation. 

The  grasses  which  we  have  in  cultivation  were  once  wild 
grasses,  and  are  still  such  in  their  native  homes. 

The  question  then  arises :  Can  we  not  select  from  our  wild  or 
native  species  some  kinds  which  will  be  adapted  to  cultivation 
550 


GRASSES,  GRAINS,  AND  PLANTS,  551 

in  those  portions  of  the  country  which  are  not  yet  provided  with 
suitable  kinds  ?  Many  observations  and  some  experiments  in 
this  direction  have  already  been  made,  and  if  proper  research  is 
continued,  and  sufficiently  thorough  experiments  are  followed 
up,  there  is  no  reason  to  doubt  that  proper  kinds  will  be  found 
for  successful  cultivation  in  all  parts  of  the  country. 

The  plains  lying  west  of  the  one  hundredth  meridian,  together 
with  much  broken  and  mountainous  interior  country,  nearly 
treeless  and  arid,  in  New  Mexico,  Western  Texas,  and  Arizona, 
are  unreliable  for  the  purposes  of  ordinary  agriculture,  but  are 
becoming  more  and  more  important  as  the  great  feeding-ground 
for  the  multitudes  of  cattle  which  supply  the  wants  of  the  settled 
regions  of  our  country,  as  well  as  the  constantly  increasing 
foreign  demand.  The  pasturage  of  this  region  consists  essen- 
tially of  native  grasses,  some  of  which  have  acquired  a  wide 
reputation  for  their  rich,  nutritious  properties,  for  their  ability 
to  withstand  the  dry  seasons,  and  for  the  quality  of  self-drying 
or  curing,  so  as  to  be  available  for  pasturage  in  the  winter.  This 
quality  is  due  probably  to  the  nature  of  the  grasses  themselves, 
and  to  the  effect  of  the  arid  climate.  It  is  well  known  that,  in 
most  countries,  at  lower  altitudes,  the  grasses  have  much  succu- 
lence ;  they  grow  rapidly,  and  their  tissues  are  soft ;  a  severe 
frost  checks  or  kills  their  growth,  and  chemical  changes  imme- 
diately occur  which  result  in  rapid  decay ;  whereas,  in  the  arid 
climate  of  the  plains  the  grasses  have  much  less  succulence,  the 
foliage  being  more  rigid  and  dry,  and  therefore  when  their 
growth  is  arrested  by  frost,  the  tissues  are  not  engorged  with 
water,  the  desiccating  influence  of  the  climate  prevents  decay, 
and  the  grass  is  kept  on  the  ground  in  good  condition  for  winter 
forage.  General  Benjamin  Alvord,  of  the  United  States  Army, 
in  an  article  on  the  subject  of  these  winter-cured  grasses,  states 
that  they  only  acquire  this  property  on  land  which  is  3000  feet 
above  the  level  of  the  sea.  The  region  having  such  an  altitude 
includes,  he  says,  all,  nearly  up  to  the  timber  line,  of  Montana, 
Idaho,  Wyoming,  Utah,  Nevada,  Colorado,  and  New  Mexico ; 
five-sixths  of  Arizona,  one-half  of  Dakota,  one-fourth  of  Texas, 
one-fifth  of  Kansas,  and  one-sixth  each  of  California,  Oregon, 
and  Washington  Territory,  embracing  about  one-fourth  of  the 
area  of  the  whole  United  States. 


552  AGRICULTURE, 

Many  of  the  grasses  of  this  extensive  region  are  popularly 
known  as  **  bunch-grass,"  from  their  habit  of  growth  ;  others  are 
known  as  ''mesquite"  and  "grama-grass."  These  consist  of 
many  species  of  different  genera,  some  of  them  more  or  less 
local  and  sparingly  distributed,  others  having  a  wide  range  from 
Mexico  to  British  America. 

The  most  important  of  the  "bunch-grasses"  may  be  briefly 
mentioned  as  follows  :  Of  the  genus  Stipa  there  are  several 
species ;  Stipa  comata  and  Stipa  setigera  occur  abundantly  in 
New  Mexico,  Texas,  Arizona,  and  California,  reaching  to  Ore- 
gon. In  Colorado,  Kansas,  and  all  the  prairie  region  northward, 
stretching  into  British  America,  Stipa  spartea  is  the  principal 
one  of  the  genus.  On  the  higher  plateaus,  and  near  the  moun- 
tains, the  Stipa  viridula  is  very  common,  extending  from  Arizona 
to  Oregon  and  British  America.  Somewhat  related  botanically 
is  Oryzopsis  ciispidata,  a  very  rigid  bunch-grass,  with  a  fine, 
handsome  panicle  of  flowers.  It  is  equally  widespread  with 
the  preceding.  Another  widely  diffused  grass  is  Deschampsia 
ccespitosay  varying  much  in  size  and  thriftiness,  according  to  the 
altitude  and  amount  of  moisture  where  it  grows,  but  always  hav- 
ing a  light,  elegant,  spreading  panicle  of  silvery  gray  flowers. 

One  of  the  most  extensively  diffused  grasses  is  Kceleria 
cristata,  varying  in  height  from  one  foot  to  two  and  one-half 
feet,  with  a  narrow  and  closely  flowered  spike.  Several  species 
of  fescue-grass  (Festuca)  are  intermixed  with  the  vegetation  in 
varying  proportions  ;  the  most  important  of  fhese,  probably,  are 
Festuca  ovina  in  several  varieties,  and  Festuca  scabrelia,  the  latter 
especially  in  California,  Oregon,  and  Washington. 

The  genus  Calamagrostis  (or  Deyeuxia,  as  it  has  been  called) 
furnishes  several  species  which  contribute  largely  to  the  vege- 
tation of  this  region.  They  are  mostly  tall,  stiff,  and  coarse 
grasses,  but  leafy,  and  some  of  them  very  nutritious.  Of  these, 
Calamagrostis  sylvatica  and  Calamagrostis  neglecta  are  the  least 
valuable.  Perhaps  the  best  of  them  is  Calamagrostis  Canadensis^ 
which  is  soft  and  leafy.  Next  in  value,  probably,  is  Calamagros- 
tis Aleutica,  of  California  and  Oregon,  extending  into  Alaska. 
Calamagrostis  (Ammophild)  longifolia,  confined  chiefly  to  the 
plains  east  of  the  Rocky  Mountains,  is  tall  and  reed-like,  grow- 
ing in  dense  clumps,  from  four  to  six  feet  high. 


I 


GRASSES,  GRAINS,    AND  PLANTS,  553 

Several  species  of  Andropogon  are  diffused  from  Arizona  to 
British  America,  but  are  not  found  on  the  western  coast.  The 
principal  species  are  Andropogon  scoparius,  A.  furcattis,  and  A. 
{Chrysopogon)  nutans.  Some  of  them  are  known  under  the 
name  of  "blue-joint." 

Other  grasses,  also  widely  spread,  but  in  more  sparing  quan- 
tity, are  several  species  of  Poa  and  Glyceria.  Several  varieties 
of  Agropyrum  repens,  or  couch-grass,  occur  abundantly  in  saline 
soils,  and  also  Agropyrum  glaucum,  which  is  widely  known  as 
**  blue-stem,"  and  is  considered  among  the  most  nutritious  of 
grasses.  Brizopyrum  spicattim,  now  called  Distichlis  marithna, 
and  some  species  of  Sporobolus,  also  form  extensive  patches  or 
meadows  in  saline  soils.  Besides,  there  is  a  large  number  of 
grasses  of  low  growth  and  of  more  spreading  habit,  which  are 
known  in  the  Southwest  and  east  of  the  Rocky  Mountains  under 
the  names  of  *^mesquite"  and  "buffalo"  grasses.  The  former 
belong  mostly  to  the  genus  Bouteloua,  the  most  important  species 
being  B.  racemosa,  or  tall  mesquite,  and  B.  oligostachya,  or  low 
mesquite.  The  true  buffalo-grass  is,  botanically,  Buchloe  dacty- 
loides,  which  in  many  places  forms  extensive  fields  over  large 
areas.  It  is  of  a  low  and  densely  tufted  or  matted  habit.  An- 
other similar  grass,  but  of  little  value,  spreading  out  in  low,  wide 
patches,  is  Munroa  squarrosa.  The  above-mentioned  species 
form  the  larger  proportion  of  the  grassy  vegetation  of  the  great 
plains. 

GRASSES  FOR  GENERAL  CULTURE. 

The  grasses  form  one  of  the  largest  and  most  widely  diffused 
families  of  plants,  being  spread  over  all  habitable  parts  of  the 
globe.  Some  kinds  are  restricted  to  particular  localities,  others 
are  diffused  over  large  countries,  and  a  few  are  either  native  to 
all  the  continents  or  have  followed  in  the  tracks  of  commerce 
and  discovery,  so  as  now  to  be  found  in  every  principal  country. 
Over  3000  species  are  now  known  and  described.  Among  these 
there  is  an  immense  diversity  in  size  and  form  of  growth,  some 
kinds  never  growing  more  than  an  inch  or  two  high,  and  others 
in  tropical  regions  attaining  a  height  of  60  or  70  feet,  with  such 
a  density  of  stem  as  to  be  useful  in  the  building  of  houses,  for 


554  AGRICULTURE. 

masts  for  vessels,  and  many  other  purposes ;  as  the  bamboos  of 
China,  Japan,  and  India. 

The  grasses  are  of  greater  economic  importance,  as  furnish- 
ing food  for  man  and  animals,  than  any  other  or  all  other  plants. 
The  truth  of  this  remark  will  at  once  be  recognized  when  we 
consider  that  all  the  staple  cereals  of  the  world,  as  wheat,  rye, 
barley,  maize,  rice,  oats,  millet,  etc.,  are  grasses. 

These  grasses  have  been  objects  of  cultivation  from  time 
immemorial.  There  can  be  no  doubt  that  they  were  originally 
selected  from  wild  forms,  on  account  of  the  size,  quality,  and 
nutritive  value  of  their  grains.  The  fact  of  their  great  value 
being  discovered,  the  observation  would  soon  follow  that,  by 
planting  the  seeds  in  suitable  ground,  and  caring  for  the  grow- 
ing plants  by  the  exclusion  of  all  other  vegetation,  a  certain  and 
reliable  resource  for  sustenaitce  would  be  obtained. 

This  was  the  beginning  of  agriculture,  and  agriculture  made 
possible  the  numerical  increase  and  diffusion  of  human  popula- 
tion. 

History  of  Grass  Culture.  —  The  selection  and  cultivation  of 
particular  kinds  of  grasses,  with  reference  to  their  superior 
grazing  qualities,  and  for  the  greater  production  of  hay  is,  how- 
ever, a  comparatively  modern  practice. 

In  the  Philippine  Islands,  as  we  are  informed  by  the  United 
States  Consul  at  Manilla  (Mr.  Julius  G.  Voight),  a  species  of  rice- 
grass  {Leersia  hexandrd)  is  cultivated  for  the  purpose  of  supply- 
ing feed  for  the  few  domestic  animals  which  are  kept  for  the 
cultivation  of  land,  and  for  the  carrying  of  burdens. 

This  grass  (locally  called  zacate)  is  cultivated  exclusively  in 
low,  wet  ground,  and  is  flooded  occasionally  after  the  manner  of 
rice,  being  first  started  in  seed-beds,  and  then  transplanted  to 
the  previously  flowed  field.  How  far  this  custom  prevails  in 
other  eastern  countries,  we  do  not  know,  but  from  the  general 
antiquity  and  uniformity  of  the  practices  of  husbandry  in  those 
countries,  we  may  suppose  that  this  practice  there  is  of  ancient 
origin. 

But  as  far  as  western  nations  are  concerned,  the  cultivation 
of  special  grasses  for  hay  is  a  modern  improvement.  Mr.  Mar- 
tin J.  Sutton,  in  a  recent  work  on  "  Permanent  and  Temporary 
Pastures,"  states  that  Lolium  pereiine,  or  perennial  rye-grass. 


GRASSES,  GRAINS,  AND  PLANTS.  555 

was  the  first  grass  gathered  separately  for  agricultural  purposes. 
He  further  states  that  it  has  been  known  since  i6ii,  the  date 
of  the  earliest  agricultural  book  which  mentions  it.  Mr.  George 
Sinclair,  in  his  advertisement  to  the  fourth  edition  of  the  "Hor- 
tus  Gramineus  Woburnensis,"  says  :  — 

*'  The  time  has  been  in  this  country  [i.e.,  England]  when  providing  sufficient 
forage  for  live-stock  in  winter  was  a  matter  of  the  greatest  difficulty,  and 
great  losses  were  sustained,  and  many  advantages  given  up,  on  account  of  the 
absolute  want  of  winter  fodder.  Old  turf,  suitable  either  for  grazing  or  for 
the  scythe,  was  supposed  to  be  a  creation  of  cenUiries,  and  that  a  farmer,  who 
wished  to  lay  down  a  meadow  in  his  youth,  must  see  the  end  of  his  "  three 
score  years  and  ten "  before  he  could  possibly  possess  a  piece  of  pasture 
capable  of  keeping  a  score  of  sheep  or  a  couple  of  cows.  So  much  was  the 
want  of  grass-land  felt  among  arable  farmers  in  times  past  that  the  tenancy 
of  it  was  eagerly  sought,  its  value  was  consequently  highly  prized,  and  heavy 
fines  were  imposed  for  breaking  it  up.  The  banks  of  rivers  were  usually 
made  commonable,  in  order  that  the  surrounding  farmers  might  each  have  a 
share ;  and  these  meadows  were  in  many  cases  irrigated  in  order  to  increase 
still  more  the  scanty  stock  of  winter  fodder." 

Perennial  rye-grass,  as  we  have  seen,  began  to  be  cultivated 
early  in  the  seventh  century,  and  it  seems  to  have  been  about 
the  only  grass  so  cultivated  for  a  hundred  years  longer.  In 
1763  it  is  said  that  a  Mr.  Wynch  brought  from  Virginia  into 
England  the  Phletmi  pratense,  under  the  local  name  of  timothy- 
grass,  it  having  been  cultivated  in  the  United  States  for  some 
forty  years.  This  was  also  soon  established  as  an  agricultural 
grass  in  England,  and  a  few  years  later  was  followed  by  the 
introduction  of  orchard-grass  {Dactylis  glomej-ata)  from  Virginia, 
by  the  Society  of  Arts ;  at  least  this  statement  is  made  by  Mr. 
Parnell  in  his  work  on  British  grasses. 

As  to  Phleum  pratense  (timothy-grass),  it  is  naturally  widely 
diffused  over  Europe,  but  it  is  admitted  by  all  that  its  cultiva- 
tion was  first  undertaken  ia  the  United  States,  where  it  is  also 
indigenous  in  mountainous  regions.  It  is,  however,  well  known 
that  in  Europe,  up  to  about  the  year  181 5,  there  were  but  three 
or  four  kinds  of  grass  generally  cultivated.  At  that  time  the 
Duke  of  Bedford  instituted  his  famous  series  of  experiments  at 
Woburn,  in  England,  for  determining  the  nutritive  properties  of 
different  grasses.  These  experiments  brought  into  notice  many 
before  unnoticed  grasses,  and  greatly  stimulated  their  cultiva- 


556  AGRICULTURE, 

tion ;  and  the  subsequent  development  of  this  branch  of  agri- 
culture has  been  the  means  of  obtaining  astonishing  results,  not 
only  in  the  multiplied  facilities  for  the  grazing  and  fattening  of 
cattle  and  sheep,  but  also  in  the  reaction  of  this  business  on  the 
cultivation  of  grain,  by  the  greatly  multiplied  means  of  obtaining 
manures,  by  which  the  exhausted  lands  were  renewed  and  the 
yield  of  grain  increased. 

History  of  Grass  Culture  in  the  United  States.  —  In  the  early 
history  of  this  country,  particularly  in  the  Northern  States,  while 
the  settlements  were  sparse,  the  natural  pasturage  was  abun- 
dant, and  the  natural  meadows  and  marshes  furnished  a  supply  of 
hay  for  winter  feeding.  But  in  course  of  time,  by  the  increase 
of  population,  the  farms  began  to  crowd  each  other,  and  the 
range  for  cattle  was  restricted. 

Then  probably  arose  the  question  of  forming  meadows  and 
pastures  of  limited  extent.  Early  in  the  last  century,  Mr.  Jared 
Elliot  (of  Connecticut),  made  some  valuable  investigations  respect- 
ing the  grasses  suitable  for  cultivation,  and  by  practice  and  teach- 
ing sought  to  bring  this  subject  to  the  attention  of  the  people. 

In  1749  he  wrote  a  particular  account  of  the  fowl  meadow- 
grass  {Poa  serotind)  which  is  native  in  New  England,  giving  an 
interesting  account  of  its  value  as  a  meadow-grass. 

He  also  refers  to  Herds-grass,  or  timothy,  as  having  been 
found  "  in  a  swamp  in  Piscataqua  by  one  Herd,  who  propagated 
the  same."  It  is  also  said  to  have  been  cultivated  in  Maryland 
about  the  year  1720.  This  was  some  fifty  years  before  its  culti- 
vation in  England.  It  is  also  stated  by  Parnell,  in  his  work  on 
the  British  grasses,  that  orchard-grass  {Dactylis  glomeratd)  was 
first  cultivated  in  the  United  States,  and  thence  introduced  into 
England  about  the  middle  of  the  eighteenth  century.  Probably 
soon  after  this  date  two  other  standard  grasses  came  into  use ; 
viz. :  Poa  pratensis  (Kentucky  blue-grass)  and  Agrostis  alba  (red- 
top).  Some  other  grasses  have  had  a  limited  trial,  but  the 
timothy-grass,  blue-grass,  orchard-grass,  and  redtop  have  con- 
tinued to  be  the  principal  meadow-grasses  of  the  Northern 
States.  To  these  should  be  added  red  clover,  which,  although 
not  a  grass,  is  a  very  common  meadow  crop,  usually  combined 
with  timothy. 

Grass  in  the  South.  —  Althoup:h  the  Southern  States  were 


GRASSES,  GRAINS,  AND  PLANTS.  S57 

earlier  settled  than  the  Northern  ones,  there  was  a  very  different 
condition  of  agriculture,  as  respects  grazing  and  hay-making.  In 
some  of  these  States  the  climate  permits  of  the  growth  of  grasses 
during  the  greater  part  of  the  year,  some  species  making  their 
growth  during  the  hot  season  and  others  during  the  colder 
months,  so  that  cattle  may  commonly  obtain  subsistence  in  the 
field  throughout  the  year,  and  hay  is  little  employed,  except  for 
horses  and  cattle  kept  to  labor. 

But  these  places  suffer  from  protracted  droughts  in  summer 
and  fall,  which  parch  the  pastures  so  that  cattle  and  sheep  are 
not  then  able  to  find  a  sufficiency  of  feed.  The  pasture  and 
meadow  grasses  of  the  North  have  not  been  generally  cultivated 
with  success  in  the  States  which  border  on  the  Gulf  of  Mexico, 
and  the  greatest  want  of  agriculture  in  that  region  is  the  intro- 
duction of  grasses  that  will  maintain  growth  and  vigor  during 
protracted  droughts. 

The  §ame  remarks  may  be  made  with  respect  to  the  grasses 
needed  for  cultivation  in  the  arid  districts  of  the  West,  and  there 
is  every  reason  to  expect  that  grasses  adapted  to  such  conditions 
of  climate  and  soil  will  be  found. 

Permanence  of  Pastures  and  Meadows.  —  It  has  long  been 
a  question  as  to  how  long  land  should  be  allowed  to  continue  in 
pasture  or  meadow.  The  answer  to  this  question  will  depend 
very  much  on  circumstances. 

Unquestionably  the  best  plan  for  farming  is  the  practice  of 
mixed  husbandry,  or  a  mixture  of  raising  grain  crops  and  the 
fattening  of  domestic  animals ;  for,  with  a  diversity  of  products 
there  is  an  alleviation  of  the  evils  of  frequent  crop  failures,  which 
are  usually  limited  to  one  or  two  kinds,  and  also  an  alleviation 
of  the  fluctuations  in  the  prices  of  crops,  so  that  where  some 
grain  crops  fail  from  any  cause,  the  farmer  has  a  resource  in 
those  of  another  kind,  and  in  his  live-stock.  Besides,  the  rota- 
tion of  crops,  including  the  periodical  laying  down  of  cultivated 
ground  to  grass,  and  the  change  of  grass-land  to  the  growth  of 
field  crops,  results  in  the  best  condition  of  the  soil. 

In  the  practice  of  most  farmers,  meadow-lands  are  seldom 
continued  more  than  three  or  four  years  without  a  change  to 
the  plow.  But  pasture-lands  are  more  frequently  kept  undis- 
turbed for  a  longer  time,  and  so  long  as  they  continue  in  a 


558  AGRICULTURE. 

healthy,  clean,  and  productive  state,  there  can  be  no  objection 
to  their  permanence  ;  but  whenever  a  pasture  becomes  over- 
grown with  weeds,  or  filled  with  worthless  or  unproductive 
grasses,  it  is  time  for  it  to  take  its  place  in  a  system  of  rotation 
and  renovation,  at  the  same  time  regarding  the  needs  of  the 
soil  in  respect  to  fertilizing  and  cleaning  from  rocks,  briers,  and 
other  shrubs. 

Drainage  of  Grass-Lands.  —  Generally  speaking,  there  is  the 
same  benefit  to  be  derived  from  the  proper  drainage  of  grass- 
lands, that  is  so  conspicuously  shown  in  lands  devoted  to  other 
crops.  All  lands  with  an  impervious  subsoil  of  stiff  clay,  or 
soils  that  are  water-clogged,  may  be  greatly  benefited  by  proper 
draining,  both  in  the  quality  and  quantity  of  the  grass  product. 
On  such  land,  properly  drained,  the  grass  will  start  earlier  in 
the  spring  and  will  continue  to  grow  later  in  the  fall  than  with- 
out drainage.  All  soils  which  rest  upon  a  porous  subsoil  do  not 
need  it,  and  land  may  have  so  strong  a  slope  that  the  water  is 
discharged  from  it  with  sufficient  rapidity  without  the  aid  of  a 
drain.  Wet,  water-soaked  pastures  generally  abound  in  rushes 
and  sedges,  which  may  grow  luxuriantly,  but  are  coarse  and 
innutritious.  The  valuable  grasses  on  such  pastures  are  injured 
or  destroyed  by  the  tramping  of  cattle,  whose  hoofs  penetrate 
the  wet  ground. 

The  Selection  of  Grasses. — The  selection  of  the  proper  kinds 
of  grasses  to  be  employed  for  meadows  or  pastures  must  depend 
on  several  circumstances,  such  as  soil,  drainage,  habit  of  growth, 
productions,  etc.  No  one  kind  of  grass  can  be  expected  to  be 
adapted  to  all  conditions,  neither  can  any  given  mixture  of 
grasses.  There  has  been  a  great  amount  of  empiricism  in  this 
matter.  One  man  finds  a  certain  grass  to  be  very  thrifty  and 
productive  on  his  farm,  and  thinks  he  has  found  the  great  desid- 
eratum, and  at  once  proclaims  his  grass,  perhaps  gives  it  a  new 
name,  and  recommends  its  use,  without  regard  to  the  condi- 
tions or  circumstances  which  may  be  absolutely  essential  to 
its  success. 

Others  purchase  seed  of  the  new  grass,  perhaps  at  exorbitant 
prices,  and,  without  a  knowledge  of  its  peculiar  habits  or  wants, 
give  it  a  trial  and  find  it  a  failure,  probably  because  climate  or 
soil,  or  other  essential  conditions,  are  unsuitable  to  its  wants. 


GRASSES,  GRAINS,  AND  PLANTS,  559 

In  an  old  and  well-settled  country,  there  is  much  accumulated 
experience  among  farmers,  which  a  beginner  may  avail  himself 
of  to  the  avoidance  of  serious  mistakes.  Still,  an  observing  and 
progressive  man  will  often  find  occasion  for  a  departure  from 
established  rules  and  practices,  in  the  introduction  of  new  kinds 
for  cultivation ;  indeed,  it  is  only  thus  that  progress  and  improve- 
ment can  be  made ;  but  it  will  also  be  wise  to  make  such  experi- 
ments with  caution  and  without  incurring  too  much  risk. 

In  some  portions  of  our  country  the  experience  of  thie  past  is 
very  unsatisfactory,  with  respect  to  grass  culture ;  and  in  other 
portions,  as  in  the  new  settlements  of  the  arid  districts,  all  cul- 
ture must  be  in  the  nature  of  experiment,  and  much  judgment 
and  large  information  are  needed  to  guide  the  experimenter  to 
the  best  results. 

Relation  of  Stock  to  Pastures.  —  The  farmer  and  grazier 
should  always  bear  in  mind  that  his  pastures  should  be  adapted 
to  the  kind  as  well  as  the  quantity  of  stock  which  he  keeps. 
Cattle  and  sheep  are  very  different  in  their  feeding  habits,  the 
sheep  cropping  the  grass  very  close,  and  cattle  requiring  to 
have  the  gr^ss  longer  in  order  to  get  a  bite.  Horses,  again,  do 
not  bite  as  close  as  cattle.  By  judiciously  proportioning  the 
kind  of  stock  kept  on  the  pasture,  a  much  better  result  may  be 
obtained  by  keeping  both  cattle  and  sheep  than  by  keeping 
either  alone.  The  field  will  thus  be  kept  cleaner  and  in  better 
condition. 

Management  of  the  Pasture.  —  Care  must  be  observed  that 
cattle  or  sheep  be  not  put  upon  grass  too  early  in  the  spring, 
before  the  grass  has  fairly  commenced  to  grow.  This  rule 
appHes  particularly  to  sheep,  who  will  in  such  cases  eat  the 
heart  out  of  the  grass  crown,  to  its  entire  destruction.  When, 
however,  the  grasses  have  made  a  good  start  there  will  be  much 
of  the  taller  stalks  and  coarser  culms  which  the  sheep  will  reject, 
and  which  cattle  will  crop  with  avidity.  As  the  season  advances, 
there  are  often  bunches  of  grass  neglected  by  both  cattle  and 
sheep,  giving  to  the  pasture  a  rough  and  uneven  appearance, 
when  the  mower  should  be  run  over  the  pasture,  after  which  the 
old  tufts  will  send  up  another  crop  of  tender  blades. 

No  precise  date  can  be  given  for  beginning  to  graze  pastures 
in  the  spring.     Cattle  should  not  be   turned  in  until   there  is 


56o  AGRICULTURE. 

enough  feed  to  keep  them  going  without  too  much  help  from 
hay,  nor  until  the  ground  is  firm  enough  to  prevent  their  hoofs 
from  damaging  the  young  shoots  of  the  grasses. 

On  the  other  hand,  if  the  grass  gets  too  old,  the  animals  refuse 
much  of  it,  and  the  fodder  will  be  lost.  Pastures  consisting 
largely  of  early,  strong-growing  grasses,  particularly  cock's  foot 
(orchard-grass),  will  need  to  be  stocked  before  others  which  pro- 
duce finer  and  later  varieties. 

It  is  sometimes  a  nice  question  to  determine  when  to  take 
stock  off  the  pastures  in  the  fall.  This  will  depend  much  on 
the  length  of  the  growing  season  in  any  particular  locality.  In 
northern  latitudes  the  growth  of  vegetation  will  be  arrested 
early,  and  when  the  grass  has  quite  ceased  to  grow  the  stock 
should  be  removed,  that  the  ground  may  be  in  proper  condition 
for  an  early  start  in  the  following  spring.  Usually,  however,  in 
northern  sections  of  the  country,  the  question  is  effectually  set- 
tled by  the  early  descent  of  the  winter  snows.  In  southern  lati- 
tudes the  climate  is.so  mild  that  the  growing  season  continues 
all  winter,  so  that  stock  live  mainly  or  entirely  upon  the  growing 
grass,  there  being  sorts  there  which  naturally  mak^  their  prin- 
cipal growth  in  the  coolest  portion  of  the  year. 

Supplementary  Feed.  —  It  often  happens  that  a  drought 
occurs  in  the  summer  or  fall,  in  which  the  pastures  are  dried 
and  parched  so  that  the  cattle  fail  to  get  a  sufficient  amount  of 
feed.  It  is,  therefore,  the  practice  of  careful  and  provident 
farmers  to  have  a  tract  of  land  sown  to  some  kind  of  fodder, 
which  may  be  drawn  upon  to  supply  the  deficiency  of  pasturage, 
and  not  only  to  keep  the  animals  from  suffering,  but  to  keep 
them  also  in  a  growing  condition.  Corn  sown  broadcast  or  in 
close  drills,  or  sorghum  sown  in  like  manner,  are  some  of  the 
best  grasses  for  this  purpose. 

Some  varieties  of  sweet  corn,  combining  earliness  and  pro- 
ductiveness, or  large  size,  will  be  better  than  common  field  corn, 
especially  to  keep  up  the  supply  of  milk  from  cows. 

Hungarian  grass  and  millet  make  excellent  fodder  crops. 
They  are  both  considered  to  be  but  varieties  of  the  same  species, 
and  there  is  practically  little  difference  between  them.  If  sowed 
on  tolerably  rich  ground,  they  will  produce  sometimes  a  very 
large  yield  of  grass.     They  are  of  rapid  growth,  and  are  fre- 


GRASSES,  GRAINS,  AlMD  PLANTS.  561 

quently  ready  to  be  cut  two  months  from  the  time  of  sowing. 
They  generally  produce  an  abundance  of  nutritious  seeds,  on 
account  of  which  cattle  thrive  better  on  them  than  on  corn 
fodder.  Beets  and  prickly  comfrey  are  also  recommended  as 
fodder  plants  in  some  localities. 

The  pastures  may  also  often  be  relieved  by  turning  stock  on 
to  stubble  after  harvest. 

Humanity  dictates  that  a  man  should  not  keep  any  more 
stock  than  he  can  under  ordinary  circumstances  care  for  and 
give  sufficient  feed.  But  a  provident  and  good  manager  will  be 
enabled  safely  to  keep  a  much  larger  number  than  a  man  who 
is  shiftless  and  careless.  He  will  do  this  by  making  provision 
for  casualties  and  probable  contingencies.  It  is  much  better 
and  more  profitable  to  have  a  surplus  of  feed  than  to  have  a 
deficiency. 

Kinds  of  Grasses  for  Meadows  and  Pastures.  —  In  this  coun- 
try there  has  been  very  little  variety  in  the  kinds  of  grasses  cul- 
tivated, the  range  being  generally  timothy,  blue-grass,  or  June- 
grass,  orchard-grass,  and  redtop,  usually  combined  more  or  less 
with  red  or  white  clover. 

Farmers  are  influenced  somewhat  by  the  markets  they  supply. 
The  most  popular  hay  in  the  markets  of  the  great  cities  is 
timothy,  and  meadows  of  this  grass  alone  are  very  common,  and 
when  well  managed  are  very  satisfactory  and  profitable.  It  is 
also  very  common  to  combine  timothy  with  red  clover  in  various 
proportions. 

In  low,  wet  meadows,  particularly  in  New  England,  redtop  is 
considerably  employed,  and  it  is  a  common  constituent  of  pas- 
tures in  all  the  Northern  States. 

In  England,  great  attention  has  been  given  to  combining 
several  kinds  of  grasses  in  meadows,  and  it  is  claimed  that  the 
practice  is  better  for  the  land,  and  gives  a  larger  yield  than  when 
one  variety  only  is  employed.  By  using  a  mixture,  the  ground 
may  often  be  more  uniformly  covered,  and  in  pastures  there  will 
be,  from  the  different  flowering  time  of  the  different  species,  a 
succession  and  continuation  of  a  supply  of  tender  foliage. 

Some  species  of  grass  are  adapted  to  clay  lands,  some  to  sandy 
soils,  some  to  loam,  some  to  dry  upland,  and  some  to  low  land ; 
but  even  for  land  of  a  uniform  quality  it  is  believed  that  a  mix- 


562  AGRICULTURE. 

tufe  of  five  or  six  suitable  varieties  will  yield  a  larger  crop  than 
one  alone.  The  mixture  of  several  varieties  is  perhaps  most 
valuable  in  land  that  is  designated  for  pasturage,  as  then  they 
reach  maturity  at  different  times  and  furnish  a  succession  of 
good  feed,  and  also  cover  more  completely  and  uniformly  the 
ground.  But  no  general  mixture  of  grass  seed  can  be  adapted 
to  all  situations  and  soils.  Every  farmer  should  study  carefully 
the  nature  of  his  ground,  its  altitude,  drainage,  and  composition, 
and  then  adapt  his  grasses  to  the  circumstances. 

Generally  there  are  few  cases  where  there  will  be  any  advan- 
tage in  employing  more  than  five  or  six  well-selected  varieties 
for  cultivation  in  one  field.  For  a  permanent  pasture,  under 
most  circumstances,  the  following  kinds,  in  proper  proportions, 
would  make  a  good  mixture ;  viz. :  June-grass  (blue-grass),  fox- 
tail {Alopecurus  pratensis),  redtop  (bent-grass),  timothy,  tall 
fescue,  and  perennial  rye-grass.  This  will  give  a  succession  as 
to  earliness  of  growth  and  flowering. 

But  in  some  localities  and  for  some  soils,  as  in  Kentucky,  for 
instance,  the  farmer  who  has  a  good  pasture  of  blue-grass  will 
not  think  it  capable  of  much  improvement.  As  we  speak  of 
the  individual  kinds  of  grasses  and  their  adaptation  to  different 
soils,  the  farmer  will  be  able  to  judge  how  far  they  will  suit  his 
circumstances. 

Mixed  Grasses  for  Pasturage.  —  For  pasturage,  however,  we 
recommend  a  variety  of  grasses  and  thick  seeding.  Stock  like 
variety  and  thrive  better  on  it.  Each  variety  has  its  season  of 
greatest  excellence,  and  thus  the  best  pasturage  can  be  kept  up 
throughout  the  year.  The  common  red  clover  should  be  sown 
with  the  grasses  for  all  pastures.  It  is  a  rank  grower  and  resists 
drought  admirably.  We  are  glad  more  attention  is  being  paid 
to  pasturage.  Improved  farming  cannot  be  carried  on  without 
it,  and  in  nothing  are  the  majority  of  our  farmers  more  neglect- 
ful than  in  seeding  more  of  their  farms  to  good  pastures. 

A  Kentucky  farmer  gives  the  following  mixture,  where  an 
immediate  pasture  is  wanted  :  — 

Blue-grass 8  pounds. 

Orchard-grass -4       " 

Timothy 4 

Red  clover 6       " 


GRASSES,  GRAINS,  AND  PLANTS,  563 

To  this  may  be  added  Italian  rye-grass,  four  pounds,  and  the 
same  amount  of  fescue-grass  if  preferred,  but  the  otl^r  is  ordi- 
narily sufficient.  This  quantity  is  a  heavy  seeding  for  one  acre. 
The  blue-grass  will  not  be  seen  much  at  first,  but  by  the  time 
the  clover  dies  out  it  will  have  taken  hold  of ^  the  entire  surface. 
A  writer  in  the  New  England  Farmer  recommends  the  fol- 
lowing formula  for  a  permanent  pasture  :  — 

Early  varieties  — 

Red  clover 10  pounds. 

Alsike  clover 5       '* 

Orchard-grass i  bushel. 

June-grass i       " 

Perennial  rye-grass i        ** 

Late  varieties  — 

Herds-grass \       •* 

R.  I.  bent-grass \       " 

Redtop I       " 

This  forms  an  unusually  heavy  seeding,  and  probably  the 
quantities  may  be  advantageously  reduced,  but  the  combination 
presents  a  variety  that  will  give  a  succession  from  early  till  late 
in  the  season. 

The  more  common  mixture  for  meadows  is  as  follows,  per 
acre :  — 

Redtop I  bushel. 

Timothy \       ♦* 

Red  clover 4  pounds. 

On  high  lands,  orchard-grass  might  be  substituted  for  the 
redtop. 

Time  and  Manner  of  Seeding  Grass  Seed. — There  has  been 
much  diversity  of  opinion  as  to  the  proper  time  of  seeding  land 
to  grass.  A  very  common  practice  has  been  to  sow  the  seed  in 
the  spring  with  a  grain  crop,  generally  of  oats.  If  the  season 
is  favorable,  this  method  succeeds  very  well,  having  the  advan- 
tage of  no  loss  in  the  regular  crops  of  the  land.  The  growing 
grain  furnishes  to  the  young  grass  shelter  and  shade  from  the 
heat  of  the  sun,  and  after  the  removal  of  the  crop  the  grass 
spreads,  and  sometimes  the  same  season  furnishes  a  light  crop 
for  the  scythe  or  some  grazing  for  the  cattle.  But  the  success 
of  this  plan  of  seeding  is  not  by  any  means  certain.     In  a  very 


564  AGRICULTURE. 

dry  season  the  young  plants  may  perish  from  drought,  or  in  a 
wet  season  the  grain  may  lodge  and  smother  the  young  grass. 
Hence  others  recommend  late  summer  or  early  fall  seeding.  A 
writer  in  the  Massachusetts  Ploughman  makes  the  following 
statement :  — 

♦*  The  last  half  of  August  is  generally  considered  the  best  time  for  seeding ; 
earlier  than  this  the  weather  is  apt  to  be  too  hot  for  the  ready  germination  of 
the  seed,  and  weeds  will  get  a  start  before  the  grass.  The  first  half  of  Sep- 
tember is  a  good  time,  and  we  have  sometimes  had  very  good  success  with 
seeding  as  late  as  October  i,  but  would  prefer  to  sow  earlier  if  possible.  If 
rye  is  sown  with  the  grass  seed,  it  is  best  done  about  the  middle  of  September ; 
too  much  rye  will  choke  the  grass,  but  a  light  seeding  of  about  one-half  to 
five-eighths  of  a  bushel  per  acre  will  not  injure  the  grass  much,  and  will  give  a 
much  better  return  the  next  season  than  the  grass  alone. 

*♦  Too  little  care  is  usually  bestowed  upon  the  preparation  of  the  land  for 
seeding ;  it  should  be  worked  only  when  just  moist  enough  to  make  the  lumps 
crush  easily,  and  should  be  harrowed  repeatedly  and  rolled  before  sowing  the 
seed,  then  brushed  and  rolled  again,  which  will  leave  the  land  in  fine,  smooth 
order  for  the  mowing-machine  or  scythe. 

*♦  It  is  customary  to  mix  Herds-grass,  redtop,  and  clover  seed  in  seeding,  but 
we  prefer  to  seed  high  land  with  Herds-grass  {Phleum  pratense),  only  low, 
moist  land  with  redtop  {Agrostis  vulgaris)  and  fescue,  and  clover  by  itself"  in 
the  spring,  for  the  reason  that  the  season  of  maturity  of  these  grasses  is  very 
different;  the  clover  should  be  cut  about  the  15th  of  June,  while  in  blossom, 
the  Herds-grass  about  July  i,  and  the  redtop  about  July  15.  When  they  are 
mixed  it  will  be  impossible  to  cut  them  all  in  perfection ;  and  if  the  Herds- 
grass  is  cut  too  early  in  dry  weather,  it  is  almost  sure  to  be  killed  out." 

Cynodon  Dactylon  (Bermuda  Grass).  —  This  is  undoubtedly, 
on  the  whole,  the  most  valuable  grass  in  the  South.  It  is  a 
native  of  Southern  Europe,  and  of  all  tropical  countries.  It  is 
a  common  pasture  grass  in  the  West  Indies  and  the  Sandwich 
Islands,  and  has  long  been  known  in  the  United  States,  but  the 
difficulty  of  eradicating  it  when  once  established  has  retarded 
its  introduction  into  cultivation.  Its  value,  however,  is  becom- 
ing more  appreciated  now  that  more  attention  is  being  given 
to  grass  and  relatively  less  to  cotton,  and  better  methods  and 
implements  of  cultivation  are  being  employed.  Still,  it  seems 
probable,  from  the  reports  received,  that  at  the  present  time  a 
majority  of  farmers  would  prefer  not  to  have  it  on  their  farms. 
It  seeds  very  sparingly  in  the  United  States,  and  as  the  imported 
seed  is  not  always  to  be  had,  and  is  expensive  and  often  of  poor 


GRASSES,  GRAINS,  AND  PLANTS.  565 

quality,  those  who  have  desired  to  cultivate  it  on  a  large  scale 
have  seldom  been  able  to  do  so.  It  is  generally  used  as  a  lawn 
grass,  and  to  hold  levees  or  railroad  embankments,  and  for 
small  pastures.  In  some  localities,  however,  it  has  spread  over 
a  considerable  extent  of  territory.  Its  natural- extension  into 
new  territory  has  been  slow,  owing  to  the  partial  or  entire 
absence  of  seed,  but  it  spreads  rapidly  by  its  rooting-stems 
when  introduced.  It  is  usually  propagated  artificially  by  means 
of  the  sets  or  rooting-stems.  These  are  sometimes  chopped  up 
with  a  cutting-knife,  sown  broadcast,  and  plowed  under  not  very 
deeply ;  sometimes  they  are  dropped  a  foot  or  two  apart  in 
shallow  furrows,  and  covered  by  a  plow ;  sometimes  pieces  of 
the  sod  are  planted  two  feet  apart  each  way.  By  any  of  these 
means  a  continuous  sod  is  obtained  in  a  few  months,  if  the  soil 
is  good  and  well  prepared. 

The  chief  value  of  Bermuda  grass  is  for  summer  pasture.  It 
grows  best  in  the  hottest  weather,  and  ordinary  droughts  affect 
it  but  little.  The  tops  are  easily  killed  by  frosts,  but  the  roots 
are  quite  hardy  throughout  the  Southern  States.  It  is  grown 
to  some  extent  as  far  north  as  Virginia,  but  in  that  latitude  it 
possesses  little  advantage  over  other  grasses.  In  Tennessee, 
according  to  Professor  Killebrew,  its  chief  value  is  for  pasture, 
thei-e  being  other  grasses  there  of  more  value  for  hay.  Farther 
south,  however,  it  is  highly  prized  for  hay.  To  make  the  largest 
quantity,  and  best  quality,  it  should  be  mowed  several  times 
during  the  season.  The  yield  varies  greatly  according  to  soil, 
being  generally  reported  at  from  a  ton  and  a  half  to  two  tons 
per  acre.  Much  larger  yields  have  been  reported,  however,  in 
specially  favorable  localities,  where  several  cuttings  were  made. 

Bermuda  grass  is  more  easily  eradicated  from  sandy  land  than 
from  clay,  and  on  such  land  may  be  more  safely  introduced  into 
a  rotation.  To  kill  it  out,  it  should  be  rooted  up  or  plowed  very 
shallowly  some  time  in  December,  and  cultivated  or  harrowed 
occasionally  during  the  winter.  If  severe  freezes  occur,  most 
of  it  will  be  killed  by  spring  ;  or  it  may  be  turned  under  deeply 
in  spring,  and  the  land  cultivated  in  some  hoed  crop,  or  one 
which  will  heavily  shade  the  ground. 

Setaria  Italica  (Hungarian  Grass;  German  Millet). — This 
grass  is  supposed  to  be  a  native  of  the  East  Indies,  but  it  has 


566  AGRICULTURE, 

been  extensively  introduced  into  most  civilized  countries.  It 
has  long  been  cultivated  as  a  fodder  grass,  both  in  Europe  and 
in  this  country.  It  is  an  annual  grass  of  strong,  rank  growth, 
the  culms  erect,  two  to  three  feet  high,  with  numerous  long  and 
broad  leaves,  and  a  terminal,  spike-like,  nodding  panicle,  four  to 
six  inches  long,  and  often  an  inch  or  more  in  diameter.  The 
varieties  and  forms  of  this  grass  differ  greatly,  so  much  so  that 
some  of  them  have  been  considered  different  species ;  but  the 
general  opinion  of  botanists  is  that  they  are  all  varying  forms 
of  the  same  species,  dependent  upon  the  character  of  the  soil, 
thickness  of  seeding,  moisture  or  dryness,  and  time  of  sowing. 
It  owes  its  value  as  a  fodder  plant  to  the  abundance  of  its 
foliage,  and  to  the  large  quantity  of  seed  produced.  In  some 
instances  objection  has  been  made  to  this  grass  on  account  of 
the  bristles  which  surround  the  seed,  and  which  have  been  said 
to  penetrate  the  stomachs  of  cattle  so  as  to  cause  inflammation 
and  death.  But  it  is  plain  that  this  opinion  is  not  generally 
held,  as  the  cultivation  of  the  grass  is  widely  extended  and 
everywhere  recommended. 

For  forage  it  should  be  cut  as  soon  as  it  blooms,  when,  of 
course,  it  is  worth  nothing  for  seed ;  but  it  is  most  valuable  for 
forage  and  exhausts  the  land  much  less.  If  left  for  the  seeds  to 
mature,  they  are  very  abundant  and  rich  feed,  but  the  stems  are 
worthless,  while  the  soil  is  more  damaged. 

Panicum  Sanguinale  (Crab-Grass).  —  This  is  an  annual  grass, 
which,  although  a  native  of  the  Old  World,  has  become  spread 
over  most  parts  of  this  country,  and  indeed  over  all  tropical 
countries.  It  is  the  most  common  crab-grass  of  the  Southern 
States.  It  occurs  in  cultivated  and  waste  grounds,  and  grows 
very  rapidly  during  the  hot  summer  months.  The  culms  usually 
rise  to  the  height  of  two  or  three  feet,  and  at  the  summit  have 
from  three  to  six  slender  flower-spikes,  each  from  four  to  six 
inches  long.  The  culms  are  bent  at  the  lower  joints,  where 
they  frequently  take  root.  At  the  New  Orleans  Exposition 
there  were  specimens  of  this  grass  five  feet  ten  inches  long. 

Sorghum  Halepense  (Johnson  Grass  ;  Mean's  Grass).  — This 
grass  is  a  native  of  Northern  Africa  and  the  country  about  the 
Mediterranean  Sea. 

It  was  introduced  into  cultivation  in  this  country  more  than 


GRASSES,  GRAINS,  AND  PLANTS.  567 

fifty  years  ago,  and  has  recently  attracted  renewed  attention, 
especially  in  the  Southern  States.  The  name  Johnson  grass, 
which  is  the  one  now  most  generally  adopted  in  this  country, 
originated  from  William  Johnson,  of  Alabama,  who  introduced 
the  grass  into  that  State  from  South  Carolina,  about  the  year 
1840.  It  had  previously  been  known  as  Mean's  grass,  and  that 
name  is  still  occasionally  used.  It  has  also  been  largely  grown 
under  the  name  of  Guinea  grass,  but  that  name  should  be 
restricted  to  Pattictim  maximum,  described  in  another  part  of 
this  work.  It  has  been  called  Egyptian  grass.  Green  Valley 
grass,  Cuba  grass,  Alabama  Guinea  grass,  Australian  millet, 
and  Morocco  millet.  In  California  it  is  best  known  as  ever- 
green millet,  or  Arabian  evergreen  millet.  There  seems  to  be 
good  evidence  that  some  of  these  names  have  been  used  at 
times  in  order  to  sell  the  seed  as  a  new  kind,  at  an  unrea- 
sonably high  price.  Johnson  grass  seeds  abundantly,  and  the 
seed  may  be  obtained  of  nearly  all  seedsmen,  under  that  name. 

Calamagrostis  (Deyeuxia)  Canadensis  (Blue-joint ;  Small 
Reed-Grass).  —  A  stout,  erect,  tall,  perennial  grass,  growing 
chiefly  in  wet,  boggy  ground,  or  in  low,  moist  meadows.  Its 
favorite  situation  is  in  cool,  elevated  regions.  It  prevails  in  all 
the  northern  portions  of  the  United  States,  in  the  Rocky  Moun- 
tains, and  in  British  America.  In  those  districts  it  is  one  of 
the  best  and  most  productive  of  the  indigenous  grasses.  It 
varies  much  in  luxuriance  of  foliage  and  size  of  panicle,  accord- 
ing to  the  location. 

Calamagrostis  (Deyeuxia)  Sylvatica  (Bunch -Grass). — A 
coarse,  perennial  grass,  growing  in  large  tufts,  usually  in  sandy 
ground  in  the  Rocky  Mountains  at  various  altitudes,  also  in 
California,  Oregon,  and  British  America.  It  furnishes  an  abun- 
dant, coarse  forage  in  the  regions  where  it  is  found. 

Holcus  Lanatus  (Velvet-Grass ;  Velvet  Mesquite ;  Soft-Grass, 
etc.).  —  Introduced  from  Europe  and  naturalized  in  many  parts 
of  the  United  States.  It  makes  a  striking  and  beautiful  appear- 
ance, but  stock  are  not  very  fond  of  it,  either  green  or  cured. 
It  is  a  perennial,  but  not  very  strongly  rooted,  and  does  not 
spread  from  the  root  as  do  most  perennial  grasses.  It  seeds' 
abundantly,  and  is  generally  propagated  by  seed,  though  some- 
times by  dividing  the  plants.      It  prefers  low  land,  but  does 


568  AGRICULTURE. 

very  well  even  on  sandy  upland,  and  its  chief  value  is  in  being 
able  to  grow  on  land  too  poor  for  other  grasses. 

The  seed  has  been  in  market  many  years,  but  it  has  come 
into  cultivation  very  slowly,  and  it  is  not  generally  held  in  very 
high  esteem  as  an  agricultural  grass,  either  in  this  country  or  in 
Europe.  Some  speak  well  of  it,  however,  and  it  has  frequently 
been  sent  to  the  Agricultural  Department  from  the  South,  with 
strong  recommendations  for  its  productiveness. 

Bouteloua  Oligostachya  (Grama-Grass  ;  Mesquite-Grass).  — 
This  is  the  commonest  species  on  the  great  plains.  It  is  fre- 
quently called  buffalo-grass,  although  that  name  strictly  belongs 
to  another  plant  (BucMoe  dactyloides).  On  the  arid  plains  of 
the  West  it  is  the  principal  grass,  and  is  the  main  reliance  for 
the  vast  herds  of  cattle  which  are  raised  there.  It  grows 
chiefly  in  small,  roundish  patches,  closely  pressed  to  the  ground, 
the  foliage  being  in  a  dense,  cushion-like  mass.  The  leaves  are 
short,  and  crowded  at  the  base  of  the  short  stems.  The  flower- 
ing stalks  seldom  rise  over  a  foot  in  height,  and  bear  near  the 
top  one  or  two  flower-spikes,  each  about  an  inch  long,  and  from 
one-eighth  to  one-quarter  of  an  inch  wide,  standing  out  at  right 
angles  like  a  small  flag  floating  in  the  breeze.  Where  much 
grazing  prevails,  however,  these  flowering  stalks  are  eaten  down 
so  much  that  only  the  mats  of  leaves  are  observable.  In  bot- 
tom-lands and  low,  moist  ground  it  grows  more  closely,  and 
under  favorable  circumstances  forms  a  pretty  close  sod,  but 
even  then  it  is  not  adapted  for  mowing,  although  it  is  sometimes 
cut,  making  a  very  light  crop.  Under  the  most  favorable  cir- 
cumstances, the  product  of  this  grass  is  small  compared  with 
the  cultivated  grasses.  It  is  undoubtedly  highly  nutritious. 
Stock  of  all  kinds  are  fond  of  it,  and  eat  it  in  preference  to  any 
grass  growing  with  it.  It  dries  and  'cures  on  the  ground,  so  as 
to  retain  its  nutritive  properties  in  the  winter.  No  attempt  is 
made  by  stockmen  to  feed  cattle  in  the  winter ;  they  are  ex- 
pected to  "  rustle  around,"  as  the  phrase  is,  and  find  their  liv- 
ing ;  and  in  ordinary  winters,  as  the  fall  of  snow  is  light,  they 
are  enabled  to  subsist  and  make  a  pretty  good  appearance  in  the 
spring ;  but  in  severe  winters  there  are  losses  of  cattle,  some- 
times very  heavy  ones,  from  want  of  feed. 

Buchloe  Dactyloides  (Buffalo-Grass).  —  This  grass  is  exten- 


GRASSES,  GRAINS,  AND  PLANTS.  569 

sively  spread  over  all  the  region  known  as  the  Great  Plains.  It 
is  very  low,  the  bulk  of  leaves  seldom  rising  more  than  three 
or  four  inches  above  the  ground,  growing  in  extensive  tufts 
or  patches,  and  spreading  largely  by  means  of  stolons  or  off- 
shoots similar  to  those  of  the  Bermuda  grass,  these  stolons 
being  sometimes  two  feet  long,  and  with  joints  every  three  or 
four  inches,  frequently  rooting  and  sending  up  flowering  culms 
from  the  joints.  The  leaves  of  the  radicle  tufts  are  three  to  five 
inches  long,  one  or  one-half  line  wide,  smooth  or  edged  with  a 
few  scattering  hairs.  The  flowering  culms  are  chiefly  dioecious, 
but  sometimes  both  male  and  female  flowers  are  found  on  the 
same  plant,  but  in  separate  parts.  Next  to  the  grama-grass  it 
is,  perhaps,  the  most  valuable  plant  in  the  support  of  the  cattle 
of  the  plains. 

Dactylis  Glomerata  (Orchard-Grass). — This  is  one  of  the 
most  popular  meadow  grasses  of  Europe,  and  is  well  known  to 
most  farmers  in  the  Northern  and  Eastern  States.  It  is  a 
perennial  of  strong,  rank  growth,  about  three  feet  high. 

Of  all  grasses  this  is  one  of  the  most  widely  diffused,  growing 
in  Africa,  Asia,  every  country  of  Europe,  and  all  our  States.  It 
is  more  highly  esteemed  and  commended  than  any  other  grass, 
by  a  large  number  of  farmers  in  most  countries,  a  most  decided 
proof  of  its  great  value  and  wonderful  adaptation  to  many  soils, 
climates,  and  treatments.  Yet,  strange  to  say,  though  growing 
in  England  for  many  centuries,  it  was  not  appreciated  in  that 
country  till  carried  there  from  Virginia,  in  1764.  But,  as  in  the 
case  of  timothy-grass,  soon  after  its  introduction  from  America 
it  came  into  high  favor  among  farmers,  and  still  retains  its  hold 
on  their  estimation  as  a  grazing  and  hay  crop.  It  will  grow  well 
on  any  soil  containing  sufficient  clay,  and  not  holding  too  much 
water.  If  the  land  be  too  tenacious,  drainage  will  remedy  the 
soil ;  if  worn  out,  a  top-dressing  of  stable  manure  will  give  it  a 
good  send-off,  and  it  will  furnish  several  mowings  the  first  year. 
It  grows  well  between  29°  and  48°  latitude. 

Kentucky  Blue-Grass.  —  The  Poa  pratensis  of  the  botanist 
has  obtained  a  very  wide  reputation  as  the  Kentucky  blue-grass, 
and  led  many  into  the  mistaken  belief  that  it  was  a  peculiarly 
American  grass,  confined  to  the  famous  pastures  of  the  region 
whence  it  derived  its  name.     On  the  contrary,  it  is  one  of  the 


5  70  A  GRICUL  TURE, 

most  common  grasses  in  nearly  all  parts  of  the  country,  being 
variably  known  as  June-grass,  green  meadow-grass,  common 
spear-grass,  and  Rhode  Island  bent-grass,  and  it  is  the  well- 
known  smooth-stalked  meadow-grass,  or  greensward,  of  England. 
There  is  no  grass  that  accommodates  itself  to  any  given  locality 
with  greater  facility,  whether  it  be  the  Mississippi  Valley,  New 
England,  Canada,  the  shores  of  the  Mediterranean,  or  the  north 
of  Russia.  It  is  found  thriving  upon  gravelly  soils,  alluvial  bot- 
toms, and  stiff  clay  lands,  in  the  permanent  pastures  of  Missouri, 
and  along  the  roadsides  of  Minnesota.  Soil  and  climate  cause 
varieties  in  its  size  and  appearance,  and  this  protean  habit 
accounts  for  the  various  names  by  which  it  is  known. 

It  probably  attains  its  highest  luxuriance  and  perfection  as  a 
pasture  grass  in  the  far-famed  blue-grass  district  of  Kentucky. 
The  central  part  of  Kentucky,  an  area  of  15,000  square  miles  or 
more,  over  limestone  foundation,  seems  to  be  the  richest  blue- 
grass  country. 

Trifolium  Pratense  (Red  Clover ;  Common  Clover).  —  Red 
clover  is  so  well  known  to  the  agricultural  community  that  it 
requires  very  little  description.  It  is  usually  a  perennial  of  a 
few  years'  duration,  a  native  of  Europe  and  Asia,  but  early  intro- 
duced into  this  country.  Its  cultivation  is  said  to  have  begun 
in  England  about  two  hundred  and  fifty  years  ago.  It  is  one  of 
the  most  important  of  cultivated  crops,  both  for  feed  for  animals 
and  as  an  improver  of  the  soil. 

Trifolium  Hybridum  (Alsike  Clover).  —  This  differs  from 
common  red  clover  in  being  later,  taller,  more  tender  and  suc- 
culent. The  flower-heads  are  upon  long  peduncles,  and  are 
intermediate  in  size  and  color  between  those  of  white  and  red 
clover.  The  botanical  name  was  so  given  from  its  being  sup- 
posed by  Linnaeus  to  be  a  hybrid  between  those  clovers,  but  it 
is  now  known  to  be  a  distinct  species.  It  is  found  native  over 
a  large  part  of  Europe,  and  was  first  cultivated  in  Sweden, 
deriving  its  common  name  from  the  village  of  Syke  in  that 
country.  In  1834  it  was  taken  to  England,  and  in  1854  to  Ger- 
many, where  it  is  largely  grown,  not  only  for  its  excellent  forage, 
but  also  for  its  seed,  which  commands  a  high  price.  In  France 
it  is  little  grown  as  yet,  and  is  frequently  confounded  with  the 
less  productive  Trifolitnn  elegans. 


GRASSES,  GRAINS,  AND  PLANTS.  571 

Trifolium  Repens  (White  Clover;  Dutch  Clover).— This  is  a 
small  perennial  species,  with  prostrate  stems  which  take  root 
strongly  at  the  joints.  It  is  said  to  be  the  shamrock  of  Ireland. 
It  is  a  native  of  Europe  and  Northern  Asia,  and  has  been  intro- 
duced into,  and  naturalized  in,  many  other  countries.  It  is  said 
that,  although  indigenous  in  England,  it  only  began  to  be  culti- 
vated at  the  beginning  of  the  eighteenth  century.  On  account 
of  its  creeping  habit,  when  once  established,  it  soon  covers  the 
ground  and  spreads  extensively. 

Medicago  Sativa  (Alfalfa). — This  plant  is  called  Lucerne, 
medick,  Spanish  trefoil,  French  clover,  Brazilian  clover,  and 
Chilian  clover.  It  is  not  a  true  clover,  though  belonging  to  the 
same  natural  family  as  the  clovers.  Alfalfa,  the  name  by  which 
it  is  commonly  known  in  this  country,  is  the  Spanish  name, 
which  came  into  use  here  from  the  fact  that  the  plant  was  in- 
troduced into  cultivation  in  California  from  South  America, 
under  the  name  of  alfalfa,  or  Brazilian  clover.  The  plant  had 
previously  been  introduced  into  the  Eastern  and  Southern 
States,  but  attracted  little  attention  until  its  remarkable  success 
in  California.  In  Europe  it  is  generally  known  as  Lucerne, 
probably  from  the  canton  of  Lucerne,  in  Switzerland,  where  it 
was  largely  cultivated  at  an  early  day.  It  has  been  known  in 
cultivation  from  very  ancient  times,  and  was  introduced  from 
Western  Asia  into  Greece  about  500  B.C. 

Lespedeza  Striata  (Japan  Clover). — This  plant  was  intro- 
duced in  some  unknown  way,  oyer  forty  years  ago,  from  China 
into  the  South  Atlantic  States.  It  was  little  noticed  before 
the  war,  but  during  the  war  it  extended  north  and  west,  and 
has  since  spread  rapidly  over  abandoned  fields,  along  roadsides, 
and  in  open  woods,  and  now  furnishes  thousands  of  acres  of 
excellent  grazing  in  every  one  of  the  Gulf  States,  and  is  still 
spreading  northward  in  Kentucky  and  Virginia,  and  westward 
in  Texas,  Indian  Territory,  and  Arkansas.  It  is  an  annual,  and 
furnishes  pasture  only  during  summer,  and  until  killed  by  frost 
in  the  fall. 

Wheat!  —  There  are  three  kinds  of  grain  on  which  mankind 
principally  feed,  —  wheat,  rice,  and  Indian  corn.  Of  these, 
wheat  is  chiefly  confined  to  the  colder  regions,  and  in  the 
United  States  is  second  in  importance  to  corn.     It  belongs  to 


572  AGRICULTURE. 

the  botanical  family  of  grasses.  It  is  not  found  in  a  wild  state, 
and  its  origin  is  unknown.  Wheat  grows  in  almost  every  kind 
of  climate.  It  is  commonly  known  under  two  distinct  heads, 
spring  and  winter  wheat,  each  divided  into  many  varieties.  The 
cultivation  of  wheat  antedates  history,  and  its  existence  is  traced 
beyond  the  most  ancient  monuments. 

Wheat  was  introduced  into  the  United  States  in  1602,  when 
it  was  sown  on  the  Elizabeth  Islands,  in  Massachusetts.  In 
161 1  it  was  sown  in  Virginia,  and  in  1648  many  hundreds  of 
acres  were  cultivated  in  the  colony.  In  1746  it  became  an 
article  of  export.  Spring  wheat  was  known  in  England  as  early 
as  1666,  but  has  been  much  neglected.  In  the  United  States 
it  is  grown  largely  in  the  West,  and  is  considered  valuable  for 
making  flour.  As  a  rule,  the  kernel  is  not  as  large  as  that  of 
the  winter  variety.  It  contains  more  gluten,  and  makes  a  flour 
of  a  different  quality  and  flavor,  and  brings  a  lower  price  in  the 
market.  Sir  John  Sinclair  says  that,  from  1767  to  181 2,  it  was 
a  practice  with  the  best  Scotch  farmers  to  sow  fall  wheat  in 
spring,  from  February  to  April,  though  March  was  generally 
the  favorite  month.  The  real  spring  wheat  does  not  appear 
to  have  been  generally  known  in  that  country  till  the  beginning 
of  this  century.  Though  sown  in  April  or  May,  it  ripened  as 
early  as  winter-sown  wheat.  It  was  not,  however,  so  productive 
as  winter  wheat,  sown  either  in  winter  or  spring,  and  the  ears 
were  shorter.  There  are  many  nominal  varieties  in  the  United 
States,  the  best,  probably  being  the  Italian,  the  Siberian  bald, 
or  tea  wheat,  and  the  Black  Sea  wheat.  Of  this  last  there  are 
again  two  varieties,  the  red  and  the  white  chaff,  both  of  which 
are  bearded.  It  is  not  known  that  the  practice  of  sowing  fall 
wheat  in  spring  has  ever. prevailed  in  this  country,  though  there 
is  no  apparent  reason  why  it  should  not  succeed  as  well  as  in 
Scotland,  and  be  profitable  in  certain  localities. 

In  the  Northern  States  it  is  considered  important  that  spring 
wheat  should  be  sown  as  early  as  the  season  will  permit.  The 
soil  may  be  lighter  than  for  the  fall  variety ;  it  ought  to  be  in 
good  condition,  and  is  generally  better  if  it  has  been  plowed 
and  laid  up  dry  in  the  fall.  From  one  and  a  half  to  two  bushels 
is  the  proper  quantity  of  seed  per  acre;   more  generally  the 


GRASSES,  GRAINS,  AND  PLANTS.  573 

latter.  The  after-processes  of  harvesting  and  threshing  are 
similar  to  fall  wheat. 

The  varieties  of  fall  wheat  are  very  numerous,  differing  not 
only  in  appearance,  but  also  in  constituents,  in  adaptation  to 
soil  and  climate,  in  hardiness  as  regards  disease  and  insects,  and 
in  productiveness.  There  appears  to  be  one  fact  ascertained 
regarding  them,  which  is  that  they  are  constantly  undergoing 
change  in  their  relative  productiveness.  A  new  variety  will  be 
introduced  into  a  given  locality,  and  for  a  few  years  will  succeed 
better  than  any  other,  after  which  it  begins  gradually  to  deterio- 
rate in  the  qualities  which  at  first  recommend  it.  The  ancient 
varieties  appear  to  have  been  much  inferior  to  some  in  the 
present  day.  There  are  four  distinct  divisions, —  white,  red,  bald, 
and  bearded ;  the  red  being  generally  harder,  but  coarser  than 
the  white ;  and  the  same  may  be  said  of  the  bearded  as  com- 
pared with  the  bald ;  but  in  other  respects  there  is  no  material 
practical  difference. 

Wheat,  especially  in  the  North  and  West,  has  become  the 
main  crop  production  of  the  farmer.  In  the  West,  spring  wheat 
is  raised  in  vast  quantities.  In  1886  there  were  over  60,000,000 
bushels  of  wheat  exported  from  this  country. 

For  seed,  wheat  should  be  allowed  to  stand  until  it  is  quite 
ripe,  and  then  selected  with  care.  The  best  wheat  is  raised 
from  seed  carefully  selected  from  large  heads.  In  former  days, 
when  wheat  was  winnowed  by  the  wind,  the  largest  and  heaviest 
grains  were  preserved  for  seed.  Great  improvement,  both  in 
the  variety  and  crop,  may  undoubtedly  be  effected  by  exercising 
care  in  this  particular.  Experiments  seem  to  prove  that  wheat 
threshed  by  a  machine  frequently  has  the  germinating  power 
destroyed ;  and  though  it  may  throw  out  leaves,  is  deficient  in 
roots,  and  therefore  perishes. 

When  cut  a  fortnight  before  it  is  ripe,  therefore,  the  entire 
produce  of  the  grain  is  greater,  the  yield  of  flour  is  larger,  and 
of  bran  considerably  less,  while  the  proportion  of  gluten  con- 
tained in  the  flour  appears  also  to  be  in  favor  of  that  which  was 
reaped  before  the  wheat  was  fully  ripe. 

Rye.  —  Next  to  wheat,  rye  is  most  consumed  by  mankind  in 
those  latitudes  which  are  too  cold  for  Indian  corn.  It  is  believed 
to  be  a  native  of  Western  or  Central  Asia. 


5  74  ^  GRICUL  TURE, 

M.  DeCandoUe  says  that  a  M.  Koch,  who  has  traversed  Anto- 
lia,  Armenia,  the  Caucasus,  and  Crimea,  affirms  that  he  has  found 
rye  under  circumstances  where  it  appears  to  be  really  spontane- 
ous and  native.  On  the  mountains  of  Pont,  in  the  country  of 
Hemschin,  upon  granite,  at  an  elevation  of  5000  or  6000  feet,  he 
found  our  common  rye  alongside  the  road.  It  was  thin  in  the 
ear,  and  about  one  to  two  and  a  half  inches  long.  No  one 
remembered  that  it  had  ever  been  cultivated  in  the  neighbor- 
hood, and  it  was  not  even  known  as  a  cereal. 

It  is  cultivated  to  the  north  of  Europe,  in  Scandinavia,  on  the 
western  side  to  the  parallel  of  latitude  67°  N.;  and  on  the  eastern 
side  to  latitude  65°  or  66°  N.  In  Russia,  the  polar  limit  of  rye 
is  indicated  by  the  parallel  of  latitude  66"  30'.  It  is  extensively 
cultivated  in  Europe,  forming  the  chief  part  of  the  bread  of 
Germany,  Poland,  Russia,  Switzerland,  and  other  countries.  In 
Great  Britain  and  the  southern  countries  of  Europe  it  is  little 
used.  In  America,  it  does  not  appear  to  be  grown  in  Pembina, 
on  Red  River,  in  the  Hudson  Bay  Territory,  latitude  47°  N., 
though  wheat,  barley,  maize,  tobacco,  potatoes,  etc.,  are  culti- 
vated with  profit.  It  was  introduced  into  the  North  American 
colonies  soon  after  their  settlement  by  the  English ;  into  Nova 
Scotia,  1622;  into  New  England,  1648;  and  into  South  Virginia, 
previous  to  that  year. 

It  is  grown,  more  or  less,  in  all  the  States  except  California 
and  New  Mexico. 

It  has  been  chiefly  used  for  distilling  and  for  feeding  stock, 
though  bread  is  made  of  it  in  some  localities. 

There  is  only  one  cultivated  species,  but  several  varieties,  — 
common,  multicole,  St.  John's  Day,  Siberian ;  also  spring,  winter 
and  southern. 

Of  the  common  kind  nothing  need  be  said.  The  multicole 
(niany-rooted)  was  introduced  into  this  country  by  means  of  the 
Patent  Office,  about  1844-45.  It  was  found  to  produce  heavy 
crops  and  to  stool  out  very  perfectly —  10  to  20  stalks  growing 
from  every  seed.  It  also  appears  to  be  well  adapted  for  high 
northern  latitudes.  The  St.  John's  Day  is  a  native  of  the 
Italian  Alps,  and  was  introduced  into  England  about  1840,  for 
soiling  purposes.  The  seed  is  very  small,  dark,  and  hard,  but 
the  straw  grows  with  great    rapidity,  and   to  a  great  height, 


GRASSES,  GRAINS,  AND  PLANTS,  575 

affording  a  remarkable  quantity  of  green  fodder.  Siberian  is  a 
German  variety,  noted  for  the  gigantic  product  of  grain  and 
stalk.  The  grain  is  large  with  a  thin  skin,  yielding  an  excellent 
flour.  The  other  varieties  have  arisen  from  the  period  of  sowing, 
or  from  climate. 

The  flour  of  rye  is  not  white  like  that  of  wheat,  but  has  a 
pretty  strong,  grayish-brown  tint,  and  does  not  bind  so  firmly 
with  water.  It  yields  a  short,  much  less. tough  dough,  out  of 
which  it  is  impossible  to  separate  the  gluten  from  the  starch  by 
washing  with  water.  The  cause  of  this  is  probably  to  be  sought 
in  some  peculiarity  of  the  gluten  of  rye.  It  contains  very  little 
fibrin,  and  on  the  contrary  a  nitrogenous  substance,  which  Heldt 
has  ascertained  to  be  vegetable  gelatin.  The  starch  is  of  the 
same  nature  as  that  contained  in  other  seeds. 

The  only  parasitic  fungus  affecting  rye  is  ergot. 

Ergot  is  a  kind  of  spur  which  issues  from  the  grain  of  rye. 
It  is  not  a  fungus  itself,  but  a  morbid  growth  caused  by  the 
existence  of  minute  fungi  in  the  grain.  It  is  not  confined  to 
rye  alone,  but  has  been  observed  occasionally  in  wheat  and 
barley,  and  some  of  the  grasses.  It  is  a  poison  when  eaten  in 
bread,  producing  a  spontaneous  gangrene,  called  ergotism.  It  is 
also  a  powerful  medicine,  for  which  purpose  it  was  first  used  in 
the  United  States,  in  1807. 

Barley.  —  The  native  country  is  unknown. 

Barley  is  cultivated  further  north  than  any  other  of  the  grains. 
In  Europe,  its  northern  limits  are  as  follows :  — 

Orkney  and  Shetland  Islands Lat.  61°  N. 

Faroe  Islands '*     61°  to  61°  15'  N. 

Western  Lapland "     70°  N. 

Russia  (White  Sea) *'     67°  to  68°  N. 

Archangel "     66'^  N. 

Central  Siberia "     58°  to  59°  N. 

It  cannot  be  grown  in  Iceland,  latitude  63°  30'  to  66^"  N. 
Its  northern  limit  in  America  does  not  appear  to  have  been 
ascertained. 

It  is  cultivated  in  the  four  quarters  of  the  globe :  in  Syria 
and  Egypt  for  more  than  3000  years.  It  was  introduced  into 
the  United  States  by  Gosnold  in  1602,  and  by  colonists  into 


576  AGRICULTURE. 

Virginia  in  1611.  By  the  year  1648,  it  was  raised  in  abundance 
in  that  colony,  but  it  afterwards  diminished  in  quantity.  It  is 
chiefly  consumed  in  the  manufacture  of  malt  and  spirituous 
liquors,  while  some  is  fed  to  hogs  and  other  stock. 

Six  species  of  varieties  are  cultivated  :  — 

Two-rowed  barley ;  two-rowed  naked  barley ;  two-rowed  sprat, 
or  battledore  barley  ;  six-rowed  barley  ;  six-rowed  naked  barley  ; 
six-rowed  sprat,  or  -battledore  barley.  Of  these,  again,  there 
are  some  thirty  sub-varieties,  such  as  the  chevalier  barley,  the 
Hudson's  Bay,  etc. 

The  two-rowed  variety  is  most  commonly  cultivated.  The 
sub-varieties  are  distinguished  by  the  quantity  of  their  grain, 
their  period  of  ripening,  and  productiveness.  In  mild  climates 
barley  is  sown  like  wheat,  in  the  fall,  and  is  known  as  winter 
barley.  Occasionally  the  color  of  the  corolla  is  black.  In  the 
naked  barley,  the  corolla  is  not  attached  to  the  grain,  and  it 
thus  resembles  wheat.  It  was  introduced  into  England  in  1768, 
and  is  known  in  the  United  States,  but  in  neither  country  does 
it  appear  to  be  much  cultivated.  The  sprat  barley  has  the  spike 
short  and  conical,  the  awns  long  and  spreading,  and  the  seeds 
more  compressed  than  in  the  first  sort.  The  straw,  also,  is  very 
short.  It  is  little  cultivated.  In  six-rowed  barley,  three  rows 
of  flowers  on  each  side  of  the  spike  are  fertile,  and  consequently 
three  rows  of  grains  on  each  side  are  perfected.  The  chief 
sub-variety  of  this  is  known  as  here  or  bigg.  It  is  more  hardy 
and  productive  than  the  two-rowed,  and  is  used  for  fall  sow- 
ing. In  Europe  it  is  much  cultivated ;  in  the  United  States  but 
little. 

Malt  is  barley  which  has  been  made  to  germinate  by  moisture 
and  warmth,  and  afterwards  dried,  by  which  the  vitality  of  the 
seed  is  destroyed.  By  this  process,  a  peculiar  nitrogenous 
principle,  called  diastase,  is  produced.  This,  though  it  does  not 
constitute  more  than  -^  part  of  the  malt,  serves  to  affect  the 
conversion  of  the  starch  of  the  seed  into  dextrine  and  grape 
sugar.  One  hundred  pounds  of  barley  yield  about  80  pounds  of 
malt,  part  of  which  difference  is  the  loss  of  the  water  previously 
contained  in  the  barley.  Thompson  gives  the  following  compar- 
ative table  of  barley  and  malt  from  the  same  grain,  showing  the 
change  which  takes  place  in  the  organic  constituents  :  — 


GRASSES,  GRAINS,  AND  PLANTS. 


577 


Carbon  . 
Hydrogen 
Nitrogen 
Oxygen 
Ash  .     . 
Water    . 


Barley. 

Malt. 

41.64 

33.95 

6.02 

531 

I.81 

0.88 

37.66 

34.46 

341 

1.34 

9.46 

4.06 

100.00        80.00 


Barley  is  rarely  or  never  used  in  America  and  Great  Britain,  as 
bread,  but  it  is  eaten  in  soups  and  given  to  the  sick  as  pot  and 
pearl  barley,  in  which  condition  it  is  considered  very  nourishing. 
This  form  is  produced  by  rubbing  the  grains  in  an  appropriate 
machine,  till  they  are  deprived  of  the  husks  and  outer  coats  and 
become  spherical.  Such  barley  is  generally  imported  into  the 
United  States  from  Scotland,  but  there  is  no  reason  why  it 
should  not  be  prepared  here.  A  porridge  made  of  barley  meal 
is  used  in  Scotland. 

Barley  is  known  to  be  ripe  by  the  disappearance  of  the  reddish 
hue  on  the  ear,  and  by  the  ears  beginning  to  droop  against  the 
stem.  Unless  intended  for  seed,  it  should  be  cut  before  it  is 
fully  ripe,  both  on  account  of  the  better  quality  and  weight  of 
the  grain,  and  to  prevent  waste  by  shelling. 

Oats.  —  The  oat  is  supposed  to  be  a  native  of  Asia.  A 
species  is  found  wild  in  California. 

The  northern  limits  of  this  grain  in  Europe  appear  to  be :  — 

Scotland Lat.  58°  40'  N. 

Norway "56° 

Sweden ; '«     63°  30'  ♦' 

Russia ♦'     62°  30'  *♦ 

It  is  extensively  cultivated  in  the  northern,  but  not  in  the 
southern,  parts  of  Europe.  It  grows  well  in  Bengal,  India,  lati- 
tude 25°  N.  In  America  it  is  cultivated  as  far  as  settlements 
extend  northwards.  It  was  introduced  into  the  United  States 
at  the  same  time  as  rye.  In  this  country  it  is  confined  prin- 
cipally to  the  Middle,  Western,  and  Northern  States.  Its 
profitable  production  would  appear  to  depend  much  on  the  fre- 
quency of  rain  during  its  growth. 

Five  species  are  cultivated  :  — 

Bristle-pointed  oat ;  short  oat ;  common  oat ;  Tartarian  oat ; 
naked  oat. 


57S  AGRICULTURE. 

These  again  are  divided  into  many  varieties. 

The  first  two  are  of  inferior  quality,  but  hardy,  being  culti- 
vated in  the  mountainous  parts,  the  one  of  Scotland,  the  other 
of  France.  The  common  oat  is  best  known,  and  has  been  much 
improved  by  careful  culture.  The  Tartarian  oat  has  its  panicles 
shorter  than  the  last,  nearly  of  equal  length,  all  on  the  same  side 
of  the  rachis  {flower  stalk),  and  bearded.  It  is  so  hardy  as  to 
thrive  in  soils  and  climates  where  the  other  grains  cannot  be 
raised.  It  is  much  cultivated  in  England,  and  not  at  all  in 
Scotland.  It  is  a  coarse  grain,  more  fit  for  horse  feed  than  to 
make  into  meal  {Stephens).  The  corolla  is  frequently  black. 
The  naked  oat,  like  wheat  and  naked  barley,  has  the  corolla 
detached  from  the  seed.  It  has  long  been  cultivated  in  Europe, 
and  it  is  said  to  be  productive  and  the  meal  to  be  fine.  The 
popular  varieties,  such  as  the  potato,  Hopetown,  Georgian,  Sibe- 
rian, Dyock  oats,  etc.,  belong  to  the  common  oat. 

From  analysis,  it  appears  that  the  oat  is  very  rich  in  oily 
matters  and  flesh-forming  compounds. 

Avefiin  is  a  substance  resembling  casein  (or  cheese  when  chem- 
ically pure),  precipitated  by  acetic  acid  from  the  aqueous  solu- 
tion of  oat  meal.  It  appears  to  differ  but  slightly  from  albumen 
in  its  ultimate  composition  ;  and  in  its  utility,  as  food,  it  is  prob- 
ably rather  more  nourishing. 

The  peculiar  form  of  the  casein  or  avenin  appears  to  give  oats 
a  nourishing  power  little  inferior  to  that  of  animal  food. 

In  Ireland,  Scotland,  and  other  countries,  oat  meal  constitutes 
almost  the  entire  food  of  the  majority  of  the  people ;  and  those 
who  live  on  it  are  not  only  physically  perfect,  but  are  able  to 
undergo  great  exertion,  and  bear  up  against  severe  exposure  and 
hardship.  Owing  to  the  small  proportion  of  gluten,  yeast  bread 
cannot  be  made  with  oat  meal  as  with  wheat  flour,  and  it  is 
usually  eaten  boiled,  or  made  into  thin  cakes,  dried  in  the  air. 
Before  grinding,  it  is  necessary  to  kiln-dry  oats ;  and  they  are 
ground  in  a  mill  constructed  for  the  purpose,  the  millstones 
being  different  from  those  used  in  flouring  mills. 

Indian  Corn  (Maize).  —  The  origin  of  the  word  "  maize  "  is 
from  the  Haytien  mahiz.  This  grain  is  a  native  of  the  Amer- 
ican continent,  and  was  unknown  to  the  rest  of  the  world  till 
the   discoveries  of  Columbus.     It  is  still  found  growing  wild 


GRASSES,  GRAINS,  AND  PLANTS.  579 

from  the  Rocky  Mountains  to  Paraguay,  but  in  this  state,  in- 
stead of  having  each  grain  naked,  it  is  completely  covered  with 
glumes  or  husks.  A  variety  of  the  wild  corn  has  been  culti- 
vated of  late  years  in  the  Northern  States,  under  the  name  of 
**  Texas  corn."  This  grain  was  found  by  the  first  European 
explorers  of  the  continent  to  be  everywhere  cultivated  by  the 
natives. 

Only  one  species  has  usually  been  recognized  in  this  country, 
but  the  late  M.  Bonafous,  director  of  the  Royal  Agricultural 
Garden  of  Turin,  describes  four  distinct  species,  viz.  :  — 

1.  Zea  Mays,  —  With  leaves  entire. 

2.  Zea  caragua,  —  With  leaves  denticulated. 

3.  Zea  hirta,  —  With  hairy,  leaves. 

4.  Zea  erythrolepis, — With  grains  compressed  and  red  glumes 
(husks). 

From  these,  but  especially  the  first,  all  the  varieties  at  present 
cultivated  have  sprung. 

It  has  a  wide  range  of  temperature  in  America,  flourishing 
from  about  40°  of  southern  to  beyond  the  45°  of  northern  lati- 
tude. In  Mexico  its  highest  limits  vary  from  2000  to  8000  feet 
above  the  level  of  the  sea  ;  and  the  time  necessary  for  it  to  ripen 
differs  from  six  weeks  to  seven  months,  according  to  the  mean 
temperature.  In  Europe,  it  is  grown  from  the  shores  of  the 
Mediterranean  as  far  north  as  the  Netherlands.  The  region  of 
cultivation  appears  to  be  gradually  extending  north  ;  probably 
by  the  origin  of  new  and  hardy  varieties.  It  is  also  grown  in 
Northern,  Southern,  and  Western  Africa,  India,  China,  Japan, 
Australia,  the  Sandwich  Islands,  the  Azores,  the  Madeiras,  the 
Canaries,  and  numerous  other  ocean  islands.  With  the  excep- 
tion of  rice,  it  is  the  food  of  a  larger  number  of  human  beings 
than  any  other  grain. 

In  the  United  States,  it  was  largely  cultivated  by  the  English 
on  James  River,  Virginia,  1608,  the  Indian  mode  being  closely 
followed.  Since  then  it  has  been  everywhere  a  favorite  crop, 
and  annually  a  large  quantity  is  produced. 

The  varieties  are  very  numerous,  depending  upon  the  charac- 
ter of  the  soil  and  climate,  from  the  small  shrubby  corn  of 
Northern  Canada  to  the  gigantic  stalks  of  the  Southern  States  ; 
and  the  composition  and  nutritive  qualities  of  the  grain  vary  in 


580  '  AGRICULTURE, 

like  proportion.  In  practice  this  is  a  very  important  fact,  as  the 
nutritive  value  of  corn  is  constantly  varying  according  to  cir- 
cumstances. , 

The  varieties  of  corn  are  generally  distinguished  by  the  num- 
ber of  rows  of  grain  in  the  ear,  as  eight,  twelve,  fourteen,  and 
sixteen  rowed  ;  or  by  the  color,  as  white,  yellow,  brown,  etc. ;  but 
none  of  the  common  divisions  are  either  accurate  or  scientific. 
It  were  useless  to  recite  the  names  of  the  many  varieties,  the 
more  especially  as  they  are  constantly  changing  by  hybridizing. 
It  may  be  noticed  that  northern  corn  will  improve,  if  removed 
southwards,  in  size  and  productiveness,  but  southern  corn  taken 
to  the  North  will  either  not  ripen  at  all,  or  soon  degenerate. 

The  origin  of  sweet  corn  is  unknown,  but  it  appears  to  have 
been  used  by  the  Indians  of  New  England  before  the  arrival  of 
the  Pilgrims.  It  appears  like  an  unripe  grain,  and  contains  an 
unusually  large  proportion  of  the  phosphates,  and  a  large  quan- 
tity of  sugar  and  gum,  with  but  little  starch ;  while  the  stalks, 
being  small,  take  up  a  less  proportion  of  the  saline  matters  of 
the  soil. 

There  is  a  difference  also  in  the  mode  of  distribution  of  the 
oily  and  glutinous  parts  of  corn ;  the  southern  and  Dent  varie- 
ties having  the  oil  and  gluten  on  the  sides  of  the  elongated  seed, 
while  the  starch  projects  quite  through  the  grain  to  its  summit, 
and  by  its  contraction  in  drying,  produces  the  peculiar  pit  or 
depression  in  this  variety  of  grain.  Popping-corn  contains  the 
oil  in  little  six-sided  cells  in  the  horny  portions  of  the  grain,  in 
the  form  of  minute  drops.  When  heated,  the  oil  is  decomposed 
into  carburetted  hydrogen  gas,  and  every  cell  is  ruptured,  the 
grain  being  completely  voluted. 

From  these  facts  it  will  be  perceived  how  important  it  is  that 
the  farmer  should  study  the  adaptation  of  variety  to  the  purpose 
intended  in  consumption.  If  he  wishes  to  give  young  animals 
large  bones,  let  him  feed  them  on  sweet  corn ;  but  at  the  same 
time  manure  the  soil  with  dissolved  bones  or  other  phosphate- 
bearing  manures.  He  would  endeavor  in  vain  to  fatten  animals 
with  the  Tuscarora,  as  it  contains  no  oil,  while  it  makes  the 
best  bread,  and  is  peculiarly  adapted  for  the  manufacture  of 
corn  starch.  Again,  the  hard  northern  gluten-bearing  corns  are 
better  for  working  animals  than  the  southern  starch-bearing  vari- 


GRASSES,   GRAINS,  AND  PLANTS.  581 

eties,  though  the  latter,  independent  of  the  oil,  will  make  most 
fat,  the  former  most  flesh.  An  accurate  analysis  of  all  varieties 
grown  in  the  United  States  would  be  of  great  pecuniary  value 
to  the  country. 

Buckwheat  (derived  from  the  German  Buchweitzen  "beech 
wheat,"  from  the  resemblance  of  the  seeds  to  the  beechmast), 
is  not  properly  a  grain,  but  belongs  to  the  family  of  hiotweeds, 
of  which  there  are  twenty  species  in  the  Northern  United  States. 
It  is  probably  a  native  of  China.  There  are  three  cultivated 
species  :  common  buckwheat,  Tartarian  buckwheat,  notch-seeded 
buckwheat.     There  do  not  appear  to  be  any  varieties. 

The  first  is  chiefly  cultivated  in  America,  the  second  in  Italy, 
the  last  in  China.  In  Europe  it  is  grown  for  food  from  Russia 
to  Italy,  Great  Britain  excepted,  and  being  a  very  short  time  in 
the  ground,  can  be  adapted  to  great  differences  of  climate.  In 
the  United  States  it  can  be  grown  in  every  section,  but  is  chiefly 
cultivated  north  of  North  Carolina  and  Tennessee. 

Buckwheat  is  used  as  food  for  man  and  animals,  and  is  de- 
cidedly nutritious.  Its  fattening  qualities  are  found  in  practice 
to  be  higher  than  could  be  supposed  from  analysis ;  and  the 
meat  formed  by  it  is  of  peculiarly  fine  quality.  The  outer  husk 
being  hard,  this  grain  should  always  be  ground  or  cooked  before 
feeding. 

The  uncrushed  grain  and  the  fresh  straw  produce  a  remarkable 
and  hitherto  unexplained  effect  upon  swine.  If  allowed  to  feed 
in  a  newly  harvested  buckwheat  field,  the  head  and  ears  are  at- 
tacked by  an  eruption,  with  apparently  intense  itching,  while 
the  animal  presents  all  the  symptoms  of  intoxication.  In  severe 
cases  death  ensues.  So,  likewise,  the  fresh  grain,  fed  whole  in 
large  quantities,  disorders  the  bowels ;  but  if  ground  or  cooked, 
these  symptoms  are  not  observed.  In  the  latter  case,  the  husk 
is  passed  by  the  animal  entirely  undigested.  Further  investi- 
gation is  necessary  to  explain  these  phenomena. 

The  straw  is  harsh,  and  not  relished  by  horned  cattle ;  but 
horses  will  eat  all  except  the  coarsest  parts,  and  keep  in  good 
condition  upon  this  alone.  Buckwheat  straw,  unthreshed,  and 
cut  up,  is  excellent  fodder  for  working  horses.  It  must  be  kept 
in  a  dry  place,  as  it  readily  absorbs  moisture,  ferments,  and  spoils. 
If  boiled,  the  straw  will  form  a  thick  jelly. 


5^2  AGRICULTURE. 

Millet.  —  Under  this  name  five  plants  of  differing  genera, 
which  are  cultivated  for  their  seeds,  are  comprehended.  They 
are  all  true  grasses. 

They  are  the  common  millet,  Indian  or  grand  millet,  Guinea 
corn,  Bengal  grass,  or  Italian  millet,  German  millet. 

The  first  is  most  generally  grown  in  the  United  States,  the 
others  being  rarely  met  with.  The  second  and  third  belong 
to  the  same  family  as  broom  corn  {Sorghum  saccaratuni).  In 
other  countries  they  are  used  as  food  for  men  and  animals,  and 
the  straw  or  stalks  as  fodder. 

The  Indian  millet  furnishes  the  bread  of  the  Arabians  and 
other  people  of  the  East,  as  well  as  those  of  Africa.  It  is  also 
eaten  in  Italy,  Spain,  South  of  Germany,  and  the  West  Indies. 
It  matures  perfectly  in  the  neighborhood  of  Detroit.  In  its 
mode  of  growth  it  resembles  Indian  corn,  but  the  seeds  are  dif- 
ferent. In  this  country  it  is  scarcely  worth  cultivating  except 
as  a  curiosity,  as  it  requires  the  same  labor  as  corn,  while  its 
produce  is  smaller  and  of  an  inferior  quality. 

Potato.  —  This  well-known  and  most  useful  esculent  belongs 
to  the  botanical  family  of  Solanece,  or  the  nightshade  tribe,  of 
which  many  of  the  species  are  poisonous.  The  potato  itself,  in 
an  uncooked  state,  is,  to  a  certain  extent,  injurious  to  human 
beings ;  and  if  kept  till  spring,  in  a  dark  place,  a  new  chemical 
alkaline  principle  called  Solanine  is  formed  in  the  shoots,  which 
is  a  powerful  poison.  It  is  a  native  of  South  America,  and  is 
still  found  wild  in  Chili. 

In  1545,  a  slave  merchant,  John  Hawkins,  introduced  the 
potato  from  New  Grenada  into  Ireland.  From  Ireland  the  plant 
passed  to  Belgium,  in  1 590.  It  was  neglected  in  England  till  in- 
troduced by  Sir  Walter  Raleigh,  in  the  beginning  of  the  seven- 
teenth century ;  and  was  not  in  general  cultivation  in  Scotland 
till  near  the  end  of  the  eighteenth  century.  When  the  potato 
came  from  Virginia  into  England  for  the  second  time,  it  was 
already  disseminated  over  Spain  and  Italy.  It  has  been  ascer- 
tained that  this  root  has  been  cultivated  on  a  great  scale  in 
Lancashire,  England,  since  1684;  in  Saxony,  since  17 17;  in 
Prussia,  in  1738.  In  17 10,  it  began  to  spread  in  Germany,  but 
the  famines  of  1771  and  1772  seemed  necessary  to  lead  the  Ger- 
mans to  cultivate  it  upon  the  great  scale.    In  less  than  two  cen- 


GRASSES,  GRAINS,  AND  PLANTS,  583 

turies  it  has  literally  overspread  the  earth,  and  at  the  present 
day  is  found  growing  from  the  Cape  of  Good  Hope  to  Iceland 
and  Lapland. 

The  egg-plant,  the  tomato,  and  the  red  pepper  are  esculents  ; 
and  deadly  nightshade,  a  well-known  medicine,  belongs  to  the 
same  family.  The  bittersweet  of  our  own  woods  and  fences 
may  be  mentioned  as  the  type  in  the  Northern  United  States. 

The  plant  may  be  propagated  by  seedy  in  which  case  a  vast 
number  of  new  varieties  is  originated  ;  or  by  the  tubers^  which 
contain  buds  or  germs  from  each  of  which  a  stem  will  arise,  and 
the  variety  continue  constant.  The  germ  will  grow  equally 
well  if  severed  from  the  tuber,  retaining  merely  a  small  frag- 
ment of  the  skin  and  substance ;  and  it  submits  to  desiccation 
by  a  hot  stove  without  losing  vitality. 

It  has  long  been  a  disputed  point  whether  it  were  better  to 
plant  the  entire  tuber,  or  to  cut  it  up  into  fragments,  but  no 
accurate  decision  seems  to  have  been  arrived  at.  In  conse- 
quence, we  may  conclude  that  the  practical  difference  is  very 
small.  General  custom  leans  towards  the  latter  plan.  It  has 
been  observed  that  "eyes"  or  "germs"  taken  from  the  tubers 
that  have  not  been  fully  ripened,  are  more  vigorous  than  those 
that  have  been  taken  from  such  as  have  been  very  fully  ripened. 
This  leads  to  a  rule  in  practice,  that  the  tubers  to  be  planted 
shall  be  those  which  were  taken  up  before  the  stems  had  begun 
to  decay  in  autumn. 

The  number  of  varieties  is  very  great,  and  always  increasing. 
The  chief  distinction  is  that  of  early  and  late  kinds. 

The  peculiar  characteristic  of  this  root  is  the  quantity  of 
starch  that  it  contains,  in  combination  with  much  water  and 
potash  in  its  ash.  The  quantity  of  dry  solid  matter  depends 
much  upon  the  state  of  ripeness  to  which  it  has  attained.  The 
ripest  leave  30  to  32  per  cent  of  dry  matter,  the  least  ripe  only 
24  per  cent.  The  quantity  of  starch  varies  according  to  variety, 
from  I  of  to  32  per  cent ;  and,  according  to  Liebig,  in  the  wild 
state,  this  root  is  almost  destitute  of  nourishing  constituents. 
Since  the  rot  has  prevailed,  potatoes  appear  to  have  lost  much 
of  the  starch  they  previously  possessed.  The  crop,  also,  other 
things  being  equal,  varies  in  the  weight  per  acre,  according  to 
variety,  more  than  perhaps  any  other  cultivated  plant.     The 


584  AGRICULTURE. 

quantity  of  starch  is  at  its  maximum  in  the  winter.  In  the 
spring,  vegetation  becomes  active,  and  the  buds  begin  to  grow 
at  the  expense  of  the  starch  contained  in  the  tuber.  Hence,  at 
this  season,  potatoes  are  less  mealy,  and,  in  consequence,  less 
esteemed  for  eating.  The  tissue  of  the  potato  consists  of  a 
mass  of  cells,  and  in  these  the  starch  is  stored  up  in  the  form  of 
grains,  of  the  ordinary  shape,  and  these  congregate  principally 
in  a  zone  near  the  skin,  and  are  less  abundant  toward  the  cen- 
tre ;  the  remaining  space,  in  and  between  the  cells,  is  occupied 
by  a  thin  albuminous  liquor,  constituting  three-fourths  of  the 
total  weight  of  the  tubers.  All  the  nitrogenous  matter  is  dis- 
solved in  the  juice,  and  consists  almost  entirely  of  albumen, 
with  a  very  small  quantity  of  asparagin  and  free  acids.  The 
substance  of  which  the  cells  consist  is  essentially  different  from 
that  found  in  other  plants.  It  possesses  the  property  of  swell- 
ing in  water  into  a  translucent  jelly,  and  of  being  transformed 
into  sugar  and  gum  by  the  actions  of  acids,  and  consequently 
occupies  a  position  intermediate  between  starch  and  woody  fibre. 
Potatoes  are  readily  frozen  at  a  few  degrees  below  freezing-point, 
and  when  again  thawed  are  soft  and  sodden,  and  allow  the 
greater  part  of  the  juice  to  flow  out  —  in  fact,  the  cells  are  burst 
by  the  ice  formed  within  them,  the  organic  structure  is  destroyed 
and  vitality  lost,  while  decay  speedily  succeeds. 

Cotton.  —  Cotton  is  an  indigenous  product  of  all  inter-tropical 
regions.  It  consists  of  the  down,  or  fine  cellular  hair,  attached 
to  the  seeds  of  plants  belonging  to  the  genus  Gossypium,  natu- 
ral order,  Malvacece  —  the  plants  which  supply  the  raw  mate- 
rial for  one  of  our  greatest  industries,  and  for  the  clothing  of 
all  nations.  Some  authorities  enumerate  ten  different  species, 
divided  into  two  classes,  those  of  the  old  and  new  worlds,  known 
as  the  Indian  or  Oriental,  the  American  or  Occidental.  While 
the  difference  is  not  great,  it  is  sufficiently  pronounced  to  admit 
of  no  mistake.  The  seed  of  the  eastern  plant  is  never  black 
or  naked,  and  the  curvature  at  the  base  of  the  leaf  lobes  is 
compounded  of  two  opposite  curves,  and  not  purely  heart-shaped, 
as  in  the  case  of  the  western  plant. 

Sea  Island  cotton  is  a  distinct  variety,  and  is  grown  almost 
exclusively  upon  the  islands  and  a  portion  of  the  mainland  of 
Georgia,  South  Carolina,  and  Florida,  the  saline  ingredients  of 


GRASSES,  GRAINS,  AND  PLANTS.  585 

the  soil  and  atmosphere  being  indispensable  elements  in  its 
growth.  When  planted  back  from  the  salt  water,  the  staple 
becomes  shorter  and  less  valuable. 

The  plant  is  a  very  delicate  organism,  and  requires  a  peculiar 
soil  and  climate  for  its  proper  development.  The  soil  needs  to 
be  prepared  with  extreme  care,  and  the  most  perfect  cultivation 
is  necessary  to  bring  profitable  results.  The  plant  is  an  annual, 
and  is  renewed  from  the  seed  each  year.  Seeding  begins  in 
March,  but  continues  until  May,  April  being  the  most  favored 
month.  The  seed  is  sown  in  drills,  in  ridges  from  three  to  six 
feet  apart.  When  the  plant  appears  above  ground,  it  is  usually 
thinned  out  to  one  plant  each  12  or  18  inches,  more  or  less. 
Continued  cultivation  follows,  as  long  as  the  condition  of  the 
plant  will  admit.  Blowing  begins  sometime  in  July,  but  the 
regular  picking  season  begins  in  the  month  of  August.  The 
plant  does  not  bloom  all  at  once,  and  consequently  the  field  is 
picked  over  many  times  before  the  crop  is  all  gathered. 

The  cotton,  as  taken  from  the  plant,  contains  in  weight  about 
one-third  lint  cotton  and  two-thirds  seed.  The  seed  is  now  used 
for  many  purposes,  such  as  oil,  feed,  fertilizer,  etc.  It  is  said 
that  cotton  was  introduced  into  the  United  States  in  1536,  but 
the  export  trade  did  not  begin  until  two  and  a  half  centuries 
later.  It  is  related  that,  in  the  year  1764,  William  Rathbone, 
an  American  merchant  in  Liverpool,  received  from  one  of  his 
correspondents  in  the  Southern  States  a  consignment  of  eight 
bags  of  cotton,  which,  on  its  arrival  in  Liverpool,  was  seized  by 
the  custom-house  keepers,  on  the  grounds  that  it  could  not  have 
been  grown  in  the  United  States,  and  was  liable  t6  seizure  under 
the  Shipping  Acts,  as  not  being  imported  in  a  vessel  belonging 
to  the  country  of  its  growth.  When  finally  released,  it  lay  for 
months  unsold,  because  the  spinners  doubted  whether  it  could 
be  profitably  used. 

The  seed  used  to  be  picked  from  the  lint  by  hand,  which  was 
a  tedious  process,  as  one  hand  could  clean  only  a  pound  or  so  in 
a  day;  but  in  1793,  Eli  Whitney  invented  the  saw-gin,  which 
separated  the  seed  from  the  cotton  rapidly  by  machinery.  Since 
this  invention,  the  growing  of  cotton  has  assumed  vast  propor- 
tions. After  ginning,  the  cotton  is  taken  to  the  press,  where  it 
is  made  into  bales  of  about  500  pounds.     When  sent  abroad, 


586 


AGRICULTURE. 


these  bales  are  put  in  a  powerful  compress,  which  reduces  the 
bulk  to  about  one-third  the  original  size.  These  bales  are 
covered  with  some  kind  of  wrapping,  usually,  until  of  late, 
being  jute.  Since  the  effort  made  by  the  Alliance  to  break 
down  the  jute  trust,  many  other  substances  have  been  used,  and 
it  is  quite  likely  that  some  change  will  be  made  in  both  the  size 
of  the  bale  and  its  covering.  One  bale  to  the  acre  is  considered 
above  the  average  crop. 

At  the  present  time  America  produces  over  three-fourths  of 
the  entire  amount  of  cotton  grown. 

United  States  cott&n  crops.     [From  reports  of  Latham,  Alexander  &  Co.] 


Season. 

Acres 

Crop 

Net  lbs. 

Bales  in 

Net 

Weight 

PER  Bale. 

Bale  per 

Planted. 

Pounds  Net. 

PER  Acre. 

Crop. 

Acre. 

1871-72 

8,911,000 

1,317,000,000 

148 

2,974,000 

443 

0-33-33 

1872-73 

9,560,000 

1,746,000,000 

182.5 

3,931,000 

444 

0.41 

1873-74 

10,816,000 

1,850,000,000 

171 

4,170,000 

444 

0.38.5 

1874-75 

10,982,000 

1,686,000,000 

153-5 

3,833,000 

440 

0-35 

1875-76 

11,635,000 

2,059,000,000 

177 

4,632,000 

444 

0.39.88 

1876-77 

11,500,000 

1,972,000,000 

171-5 

4,474,000 

440 

0.39 

1877-78 

11,825,000 

2,148,000,000 

181.75 

4,773,865 

450 

0.40.63 

1878-79 

12,240,000 

2,268,000,000 

185.25 

5,074,155 

447 

0.41.5 

1879-80 

12,680,000 

2,615,600,000 

206.25 

5,761,252 

454 

0.45.5 

1880-81 

16,123,000 

3,038,645,000 

188.5 

6,605,750 

460 

0.41 

1881-82 

16,851,000 

2,455,221,600 

145-63 

5,456,048 

450 

0.32.37 

1882-83 

16,276,000 

3,266,075,290 

200.63 

6,949,756 

470 

0.42.63 

1883-84 

16,780,000 

2,639,498,400 

157-33 

5,713,200 

462 

0.34 

1884-85 

17,426,000 

2,624,835,900 

150.5 

5,706,165 

460 

0.33 

1885-86 

18,379,444 

3,044,544,933 

165.5 

6,575,691 

463 

0.36 

1886-87 

18,581,012 

3,018,360,368 

162.5 

6,505,087 

464 

0-35 

1887-88 

18,961,897 

3,290,871,011 

173-5 

7,046,833 

467 

0.37 

1888-89 

19,362,073 

3,309,564,330 

170.88 

6,938,290 

477 

0.35-75 

1889-90 

19,979,040 

3,492,880,318 

174-5 

7,307,281 

478 

0.36.5 

Tobacco. — Tobacco  consists  of  the  leaves  of  several  species 
of  the  plant  Nicotinia,  variously  prepared  for  use  as  a  narcotic. 
While  it  is  principally  prepared  for  smoking,  a  very  large  and 
increasing  amount  is  prepared  for  chewing,  and  considerable  is 
made  into  snuff.  Under  these  forms,  the  use  of  tobacco  is 
more  widely  spread  than  any  other  narcotic  or  stimulant. 


GRASSES,  GRAINS,  AND  PLANTS.  587 

It  is  a  native  of  America.  In  November,  1492,  Columbus 
sent  out  a  party  to  explore  the  island  of  Cuba.  On  their  return 
they  reported  having  seen  people  carrying  lighted  firebrands  to 
kindle  fire,  and  that  they  perfumed  themselves  with  certain 
herbs,  which  they  carried  along  with  them,  —  meaning  tobacco. 
The  habit  of  using  snuff  was  ascertained  on  the  second  voyage 
of  Columbus,  in  1494.  The  tobacco  plant  itself  was  first  car- 
ried to  Europe  in  1558,  by  a  physician  who  had  been  sent  to 
Mexico,  by  Philip  II.  of  Spain.  It  was  introduced  into  Portu- 
gal by  Jean  Nicot,  from  whom  it  receives  its  scientific  name, 
Nicotinia. 

Ralph  Lane,  the  first  governor  of  Virginia,  carried  with  him, 
in  1586,  to  England,  the  implements  and  materials  for  tobacco 
using,  and  presented  them  to  Sir  Walter  Raleigh.  Lane  is  said 
to  have  been  the  first  English  smoker.  In  the  seventeenth 
century  its  use  spread  rapidly,  notwithstanding  the  stringent 
laws  made  to  prevent  it.  The  Church  declared  smoking  a  crime. 
The  Sultan  of  Turkey  punished  smokers  with  death.  The 
pipes  of  the  smokers  were  thrust  through  their  noses,  in  that 
country,  while  in  Russia  their  noses  were  cut  off.  It  continued 
to  grow  in  use,  and  is  now  found  in  almost  all  parts  of  the 
world. 

The  cultivation  of  the  plant  is  comparatively  easy,  though  a 
warm  climate  suits  it  best.  It  is  grown  in  many  of  the  North- 
ern States.  It  requires  skill  in  handling  and  curing,  and  takes 
a  longer. time  to  grow  and  prepare  for  market  than  any  other 
crop.  It  demands  the  best  of  land,  and  the  strongest  fertilizers, 
and  is  very  uncertain  in  its  results.  The  influence  of  soil, 
climate,  and  fertilizers  on  the  quality  of  the  product  is  very 
great,  beyond  that  of  any  other  cultivated  plant.  The  seed  is 
usually  sown  in  hot-beds,  or  carefully  prepared  beds  out  of 
doors.  When  the  plants  are  large  enough,  they  are  trans- 
planted to  the  field,  in  rows  from  two  to  three  feet  apart.  It 
requires  clean  cultivation  and  a  watchful  care,  picking  worms, 
cutting  off  flower  shoots,  etc.  About  the  15th  of  September, 
varying  somewhat  as  to  locality,  the  crop  begins  to  be  gathered. 
It  requires  about  four  months  to, mature  in  the  field. 

The  amount  of  tobacco  grown  and  manufactured  in  the 
United  States  is  very  great,  and  still  on  the  increase.     The 


588 


AGRICULTURE. 


following  statistics  v^ill  show  the  vast  amount  of  production  in 
that  line :  — 

Estimated  area  and  value  of  the  tobacco  crop  of  the  United  States. 


Year. 

Pounds. 

Acres. 

Value. 

Value 

PER 

Pound. 

Yield  per 
Acre. 

Average 

Value  of 

Yield 
PER  Acre. 

Cents. 

Pounds. 

1876 

535,000,000 

733,000 

$39,590,000 

7-4 

730 

$54.01 

1877 

580,000,000 

745,000 

40,600,000 

7.0 

778 

54-49 

1878 

429,200,000 

580,000 

34,336,000 

8.0 

740 

59.20 

1879 

472,000,000 

638,000 

49,560,000 

10.5 

740 

77.68 

1880 

460,000,000 

610,000 

50,600,000 

II.O 

754 

82.95 

1881 

449,880,014 

646,239 

43.372,336 

9.6 

696 

67.11 

1882 

513.077.558 

671,522 

43.189,951 

8.4 

764 

64.32 

1883 

451,545,641 

638,739 

40,455,362 

9.0 

707 

63.34 

1884 

541,504,000 

724,668 

44,160,151 

8.2 

747 

60.94 

1885 

562,736,000 

752.520 

43,265,598 

I'l 

747-8 

57-49 

1886 

529,026,949 

743.460 

39,082,118 

7-4 

711.6 

52.43 

1887 

386,240,000 

590,620 

40,977,259 

10.6 

645.2 

68.45 

1888 

565,795,000 

747.326 

43,666,665 

7-7 

757-1 

58.43 

Rice.  —  Rice  is  the  most  useful  and  extensively  cultivated  of 
all  the  grains,  and  furnishes  the  principal  food  for  fully  one- 
third  of  the  human  race.  It  seems  to  be  originally  a  native  of 
the  East  Indies,  but  it  is  now  cultivated  in  all  quarters  of  the 
globe.  It  is  an  annual,  and  grows  from  one  to  six  feet  in 
height.  It  requires  a  rich,  moist  soil,  that  is  subject  to  over- 
flow. The  fields  must  be  situated  so  that  they  can  be  over- 
flowed at  certain  seasons,  when  necessary.  It  is  sown  either 
broadcast  or  in  drills,  and  then  covered  with  water  to  the  depth 
of  several  inches,  till  the  seeds  germinate.  The  water  is  then 
drawn  off,  and  afterwards  the  fields  are  again  flooded  for  a  time, 
in  order  to  kill  the  weeds.  It  is  again  flooded  when  opening. 
Rice  is  an  annual,  and  sown  in  April  or  May,  and  harvested  in 
August  and  September.  The  yield  is  from  40  to  60  bushels  to 
the  acre.  About  225,000  acres  of  rice  are  produced  annually  in 
this  country. 

Sugar-Cane.  —  Sugar-cane  is  cultivated,  at  the  present  day, 
in  all  the  warm  regions  of  the  globe.     It  is  said  to  have  been 


G/iASSSS,  GRAINS,  AND  PLANTS. 


589 


first  grown  in  Southern  Asia,  whence  it  spread  into  Africa,  and 
later  into  America. 

The  Arabs,  in  the  Middle  Ages,  introduced  it  into  Egypt, 
Sicily,  and  Spain.  It  was  taken  to  the  Canaries  in  1 503 ;  was 
introduced  into  Brazil  in  the  beginning  of  the  sixteenth  century ; 
brought  to  San  Domingo  in  1520,  and  afterwards  to  Mexico, 
about  1530;  was  first  planted  in  the  United  States  in  175 1. 

Its  cultivation,  in  this  country,  has  not  kept  pace  with  the 
demand,  and  sugar  at  the  present  time  is  an  important  article 
of  importation.  The  cultivation  of  the  sugar-cane  requires  the 
utmost  care,  and  is  very  expensive.  It  is  not  raised  from  the 
seed,  but  from  the  cane,  buried  in  rows,  which  send  up  shoots 
from  the  joints.  The  cane  is  renewed  every  two  years.  It  is 
planted  in  September  or  October,  and  is  gathered  the  following 
year  in  October  to  December.  It  requires  clean  cultivation, 
and  yields  about  one  ton  of  sugar  to  the  acre. 

Quantities  of  cane  sugar  and  molasses  produced  in  the  United  States^  during 
the  years  from  1881  to  1889,  inclusive. 


Sugar. 

Molasses. 

Year. 

Louisiana. 

Other  South- 
ern States. 

Louisiana. 

Other  South- 
ern States. 

1881-82 
1882-83 
1883-84 
1884-85 
1885-86 
1886-87 
1887-88 
1888-89 

159,874,950 
303,066,258 
287,712,230 
211,402,963 
286,626,486 
181,123,872 

353,855,877 
377,933,124 

11,200,000 
15,680,000 
15,232,000 
14,560,000 
16,128,000 
10,158,400 
22,048,320 
20,229,440 

9,691,104 

15,716,755 
15,277,316 
11,761,608 
17,863,732 
10,254,894 
21,980,241 
15,228,580 

2,308,896 
3,250,000 
3,118,000 
2,892,000 
3,645,000 
2,114,100 
4,651,200 
3,255,882 

CHAPTER   X. 

HOW    PLANTS    GROW. 

Much  of  the  following  is  taken  from  a  pamphlet  by  W.  S. 
Powell,  of  Baltimore,  Md.,  and  will  no  doubt  be  read  with 
interest. 

The  Air.  —  The  air  we  breathe  is  a  compound  of  gases.  We 
cannot  see  the  air,  but  we  can  feel  it  when  we  move  our  hand 
swiftly  about,  and  we  can  observe  its  power  when  it  is  in  motion 
and  is  called  wind. 

The  air  is  a  fluid  which  surrounds  us  on  every  hand,  and  it 
has  a  very  important  part  in  the  growth  of  crops  and  the  life  of 
all  plants  and  animals.  Air  is  found  to  be  made  up  of  the  union 
of  two  invisible  gases,  called  oxygen  and  nitrogen.  It  has  also, 
at  times,  other  things  mixed  with  it,  but  not  a  part  of  it,  such 
as  water,  in  an  invisible  vapor,  and  other  gases.  Without  air 
no  animal  or  plant  can  live.  Growing  plants  take  from  the  air 
poisonous  gases  which  animals  throw  off  from  their  bodies,  and 
give  back  to  the  air  what  animals  need  for  their  good.  So 
we  see  that  the  air  is  the  means  of  keeping  both  animal  and 
vegetable  life  on  the  earth.  Animals  in  breathing  the  air  use 
up  the  oxygen  gas,  and  throw  off  a  poisonous  gas,  called  car- 
bonic acid,  while  plants  take  up  this  carbonic  acid,  which  is 
carbon  and  oxygen,  use  the  carbon  and  reject  the  oxygen. 

Water.  —  Water  is  composed  of  two  gases,  oxygen  and  hydro- 
gen, in  the  proportion  of  one  part  of  the  former  to  two  of  the 
latter ;  it  composes  four-fifths  of  the  flesh  and  blood  of  man, 
and  he  uses  three-fourths  of  a  ton  of  it  annually.  Rain,  which 
is  an  essential  of  all  crops  and  of  all  vegetables,  is  produced  by 
the  evaporation  of  water  in  whatever  form  it  may  exist,  from 
the  land,  animals,  and  plants  ;  in  this  form  it  constitutes  an  in- 
visible vapor  that  is  taken  up  by  the  atoms  in  the  atmosphere. 
The  property  of  all  air  is  to  rise  when  heated  ;  hence,  whenever 
air  at  any  place  becomes  heated  by  decomposition  of  any  sub- 
stances, whether  in  the  soil  or  on  its  surface,  or  from  the  heat 
590 


BOW  PLANTS   GROW.  591 

of  the  sun,  it  ascends  ;  as  it  ascends  and  meets  with  cooler  cur- 
rents, the  invisible  particles  contained  in  it  will  condense  into 
larger  particles  ;  after  they  become  larger  particles  and  satu- 
rated, the  force  of  the  ascending  currents  fails  to  support  them, 
and  they  fall  in  the  form  of  rain. 

The  air,  however,  has  in  it  more  or  less  of  other  gases,  or 
other  invisible  constituents  ;  strange  to  say,  all  the  other  ele- 
ments or  substances  do  not  have  the  same  affinity  for  each 
other,  and  will  not  unite  or  enter  combinations.  Copper  and 
iron  cannot  be  welded  together,  unless  a  solder  is  used  that 
possesses  an  affinity  for  both.  Water,  however,  has  a  great  love 
for  other  substances,  or  they  for  it ;  among  these  substances 
may  be  mentioned  ammonia  and  carbonic  acid,  which  promote 
the  growth  and  enter  into  the  composition  of  all  plants.  A 
careful  observation  and  analysis  of  the  rain,  both  in  this  country 
and  in  Europe,  shows  that  these  substances  are  brought  down 
in  very  considerable  quantities  by  it.  In  France,  about  eight 
gallons  of  carbonic  acid  are  brought  down  each  year,  per  acre, 
and  ammonia  in  varying  amounts.  In  Kansas,  where  this  sub- 
ject has  received  attention,  it  appears  that  three  and  one-half 
pounds  was  the  average  amount  of  nitrogen  brought  down  per 
acre,  when  the  rainfall  averaged  29  inches.  If  we  suppose  an 
average  dressing  of  saltpetre,  to  about  200  pounds  per  acre, 
then  this  rainfall  is  about  equivalent  to  one -ninth  of  this 
amount.  As  we  go  south,  the  amount  of  nitrogen  in  the  rain 
increases,  as  is  also  proven  in  Kansas,  at  Manhattan,  where  the 
amount  of  nitrogen  brought  down  by  the  rain  was  only  about 
one  pound,  whereas  20°  south  of  that  point  it  was  found  to 
be  over  six  pounds ;  in  Maryland,  the  annual  rainfall  is  about 
42  inches,  therefore  we  can  safely  calculate  that  about  five 
pounds  per  acre  of  ammonia  are  conveyed  to  the  soil  through 
the  rains. 

The  Soil.  —  We  have  seen  that  air  and  water  are  each  com- 
posed of  two  gases,  chemically  combined.  The  soil,  or  earth,  is 
a  much  more  complicated  substance,  and  varies  greatly  in  its 
nature  in  different  situations.  While  air  is  a  fluid,  and  water  a 
liquid,  the  earth  is  a  solid.  That  is,  it  is  solid  in  a  cold  state, 
for  all  solid  things  can  be  made  liquid  if  they  are  subjected  to 
a  sufficiently  high  degree  of  heat.      All  the  metals  can  be  made 


592  AGRICULTURE, 

to  flow  like  water,  if  made  hot  enough,  and  the  dry  sand,  mixed 
with  other  things,  and  heated  to  a  high  degree,  flows  off  as 
glass,  and  gets  still  harder  in  cooling.  The  soils  which  cover  the 
hard,  rocky  framework  of  the  earth  have  been  formed  in  many 
ways.  The  hard  rocks  have  been  ground  up  by  ice,  frost,  and 
snow,  dissolved  by  water,  and  carried  by  it  from  place  to  place, 
until  nearly  the  whole  earth  is  covered  with  this  softer  covering, 
in  which  plants  and  trees  can  grow.  The  decay  of  these  trees 
added  other  substances,  which  did  not  before  exist  in  the  soil, 
and  thus  a  larger  growth  was  made,  the  decay  of  which  still 
further  added  to  the  soil.  It  is  this  soil,  made  up  of  this  mix- 
ture of  mineral  substances  from  the  rocks,  and  vegetable  decay 
drawn  from  the  air,  which  we  have  to  do  with  in  farming.  The 
soil,  then,  is  a  great  mixture  of  many  substances,  and  is  very 
different  in  one  locality  from  that  which  is  found  in  another. 

Plants.  —  The  many  kinds  of  plants  which  the  farmer  grows 
for  the  purpose  of  harvesting  from  them  his  crops,  are  the  most 
important  things  connected  with  his  work.  Let  us  see,  then, 
what  we  can  learn  of  the  ways  in  which  plants  get  their  food, 
make  their  growth,  and  mature  their  seeds. 

Plants,  like  animals,  are  living  beings.  We  do  not  know  ex- 
actly what  this  thing  we  call  life  is,  but  we  can  easily  tell  a  dead 
animal  or  a  dead  plant ;  that  is,  we  know  when  life  is  there  and 
when  it  is  gone.  If  we  take  a  powerful  microscope,  we  will  find 
that  the  water  of  our  ponds  and  ditches  is  full  of  living  things, 
which  we  cannot  see  with  our  naked  eye.  Many  of  these  we 
can  see  are  animals,  and  many  others  we  can  see  plainly  are 
plants.  And  then  we  find  some  that  we  cannot  be  positive  as 
to  whether  they  are  animals  or  plants.  But  we  see  that  they 
are  living  and  growing,  and  we  find,  in  these  very  minute  forms, 
some  which  are  so  small  that  150  of  them,  placed  end  to  end, 
would  only  make  a  line  the  thickness  of  the  paper  this  is  printed 
on.  We  find,  then,  that  there  is,  in  these  small  things,  all  of 
which  have  life,  no  distinct  line  between  animal  life  and  vege- 
table life.  We  conclude,  then,  that  life  in  plants  and  life  in 
animals  is  the  same  thing,  only  it  shows  itself  in  different  ways, 
as  the  plants  and  animals  get  larger  and  better  developed.  The 
great  oak  tree  of  the  forest  has  life  just  as  our  bodies  have,  but 
it  manifests  itself  in  a  different  way.    The  plant,  then,  is  a  living 


BOW  PLANTS  GROW.  593 

thing,  taking  food,  digesting  it,  and  making  growth.  It  is  des- 
titute of  the  power  of  moving  about  like  animals,  and  in  many 
ways  a  fully  developed  plant  is  very  unlike  a  fully  developed 
animal.  But  this  vegetable  life  is  the  means  by  which  animals 
are  enabled  to  get  food  from  the  soil,  for  the  plants  can  use 
matters  in  the  soil  and  air  to  live  and  grow  upon,  which  animals 
cannot  get  until  the  plants  have  made  them  into  a  shape  they 
can  eat.  We  see,  then,  that,  without  this  plant  life,  there  could 
be  no  animal  life  upon  the  earth. 

It  is  very  important,  then,  to  understand  just  how  plants  get 
their  food,  what  they  eat,  how  they  digest  their  food,  and  how 
they  build  up  their  structure,  and  mature  the  crops  we  use  for 
food. 

Where  Plants  get  Food.  —  We  all  know  our  common  Indian 
corn,  and  what  a  great  lot  of  food  for  man  and  beast  it  furnishes. 
Take  a  large  plant  of  corn,  fully  mature  ;  chop  it  up  into  a 
compact  shape  and  weigh  it.  Then  put  it  into  an  oven  and  get 
it  thoroughly  dry,  as  a  chemist  would  in  his  drying-oven.  When 
completely  dry,  weigh  it  again,  and  we  find  how  much  water  it 
contained,  and  you  will  be  surprised  to  find  how  much  water 
this  ripe  corn  had  in  it,  though  it  will  be  hard  for  you  to  drive  it 
all  out,  as  a  chemist  would.  Now  take  the  dried  corn  plant  and 
burn  it  slowly,  so  that  no  part  of  the  ashes  can  be  blown  away. 
Then  gather  the  ashes  and  put  them  into  a  crucible,  and  heat  it 
until  all  the  black  particles  are  consumed,  and  nothing  remains 
but  white  ashes.  We  will  then  find  that  these  white  ashes 
weigh  very  little,  when  compared  with  the  weight  of  the  good 
stalk  and  its  heavy  ear  that  we  began  with. 

What  has  gone  with  all  the  rest,  now  that  we  have  but  a  hand- 
ful of  ashes  }  The  fire  has  destroyed  it,  you  say.  No,  we  can- 
not destroy  anything.  The  burning  only  changed  the  form  of 
the  plant.  The  things  which  made  up  the  greater  part  of  the 
corn  still  exist,  but  they  have  gone  back  where  the  plant  got 
them  from,  into  the  air.  The  little  pile  of  ashes  we  hold  in  our 
hand,  and  which  did  not  burn,  is  all  that  the  plant  got  from  the 
soil ;  the  rest,  and  much  the  larger  part,  came  from  the  air,  in 
the  shape  of  a  gas,  and  has  now  gone  back  to  the  air.  We  see, 
then,  that  about  nine-tenths  of  all  our  plants  come  from  the  air. 
All  the  food  which  plants  get  from  the  soil  is  left  in  the  ashes, 


594  AGRICULTURE. 

and  it  got  into  the  plant  by  being  dissolved  in  the  soil,  by  the 
water  we  dried  off. 

How  Plants  get  Food  from  the  Air.  —  Take  a  large  seed, 
like  a  Lima  bean ;  press  it,  eye  downwards,  into  a  box  of  moist 
soil,  in  a  sunny  window,  and  watch  it  sprout  and  grow.  You 
will  notice  that  this  bean  is  in  two  parts,  inside  of  an  outer  skin. 
In  a  short  time  it  swells,  a  little  stem  starts  from  the  eye,  and 
makes  little  roots  in  the  soil.  Then  the  two  thick  halves  burst 
the  skin  and  rise  on  the  stem,  and  gradually  spread  out  into  two 
broad  leaves.  They  are  thinner  now  than  when  they  merely 
formed  the  two  parts  of  the  bean,  for  they  have  given  part  of 
their  material  to  form  the  little  stem  and  roots,  before  they 
turned  green.     This  turning  green  is  a  very  important  matter. 

Suppose,  instead  of  planting  one  bean  in  a  sunny  window,  we 
had  simply  stuck  it  in  moist  sand  in  a  warm  place,  and  covered 
it  over  so  that  no  light  could  reach  it.  It  will  swell  and  germi- 
nate, but  the  two  halves  will  not  turn  green.  Now  take  it  and 
dry  it,  and  you  will  find  that  it  has  not  gotten  any  heavier,  though 
apparently  larger  than  when  put  in  the  moist,  warm  place ;  but 
take  the  bean  which  has  been  in  the  sunlight,  and  dry  it,  and 
you  will  find  that  it  has  already  increased  in  weight.  The  bean 
in  the  dark  did  not  grow,  but  only  changed  some  of  the  food 
stored  up  in  its  thick  halves  into  a  little  stem  of  rootlets.  The 
one  in  the  sunlight  added  something  else.  Now  let  us  see  how 
this  was  done.  We  have  seen  that,  when  the  halves  of  the  bean 
spread  out  into  broad  leaves,  they  became  green.  This  green  is 
caused  by  a  substance  formed  in  the  leaves  of  plants  which  are 
in  sunlight,  and  not  in  those  that  are  kept  in  the  dark.  This 
substance  is  called  leaf-green.  It  is  found  in  little  boxes  in  the 
leaf,  which  are  called  cells.  These  cells  are  placed  side  by  side, 
somewhat  like  a  honeycomb,  and  are  so  small  that  we  cannot 
see  them  without  a  microscope,  but  between  them  there  are  lit- 
tle vacant  places,  still  smaller  than  the  cells.  Opening  into  these 
spaces  there  are  little  holes  in  the  leaf,  particularly  on  the  under 
side,  which  open  and  shut  like  little  mouths  with  a  pair  of  lips. 
These  are  really  the  mouths  of  the  leaves,  and  through  them 
the  plant  takes  in  all  the  food  it  gets  from  the  air,  and  through 
them  it  also  puts  out  some  things  it  does  not  want,  especially 
what  water  it  does  not  need.     These  little  mouths  are  so  small 


BOW  PLANTS  GROW.  595 

that  the  under  side  of  one  leaf  will  often  have  many  thousands 
of  them,  and  to  show  how  fast  they  let  out  moisture  from  the 
plant,  cut  a  branch  off  full  of  green  leaves,  and  see  how  quickly 
they  wilt  and  dry.  But  the  most  important  thing  these  mouths 
do,  in  common  with  other  sorts  of  mouths,  is  to  get  food  for  the 
plant  from  the  air.  The  air,  we  have  seen,  is  a  fluid,  made  of 
two  gases,  oxygen  and  nitrogen.  Mixed  with  this  pure  air  we 
often  find  other  gases,  one  of  which,  called  carbon  dioxide,  is 
made  of  two  parts  of  oxygen  gas,  combined  with  one  part  of 
carbon.  This  gas  is  heavier  than  pure  air,  and  always  settles  to 
the  ground,  and  is  often  found  in  deep  wells,  when  it  is  called 
bad  air,  and  suffocates  those  who  go  into  the  well.  But  this 
gas,  so  poisonous  to  animals,  is  food  for  plants.  So,  while  the 
sun  is  shining,  and  at  no  other  time,  the  little  mouths  in  the 
leaves  open  and  suck  in,  as  it  were,  this  carbon  dioxide  from 
the  air.  It  passes  through  the  vacant  spaces  between  the  little 
cells,  where  the  leaf-green  is,  and  is  brought  in  contact  with  it. 
The  leaf-green  has  the  power  of  selecting  the  carbon,  which  the 
plant  wants,  from  the  oxygen,  and  holds  on  to  it,  but  leaving 
most  of  the  oxygen  free  to  return  to  the  air,  thus  rendering  it 
more  pure  for  animals  to  breathe.  Thus,  with  part  of  the 
oxygen,  the  carbon,  and  the  water  taken  up  by  the  roots,  the 
leaf-green  makes  starch.  After  the  sun  has  quit  shining,  and 
night  has  come  on,  the  plant  takes  the  starch  made  during  the 
day,  and  changes  it  into  other  things,  to  build  up  new  cells, 
and  make  more  stems,  leaves,  and  roots.  The  little  honeycomb 
cells  are  made  of  stuff  just  like  white  paper,  and  it  is  called 
cellulose.  This  cellulose  is  made  of  just  the  same  thing  that 
starch  is  made  of,  but  arranged  by  the  plant  so  as  to  seem  very 
different.  Then,  with  things  the  roots  get  from  the  soil,  and 
other  things  made  from  the  starch,  the  little  cells  are  gradually 
filled  up,  and  solid  hard  wood  is  made.  We  see,  then,  how  the 
warm  sunshine  helps  the  leaf-green  make  the  starch  from  which 
wood  is  made,  and  we  can  then  realize  that,  when  we  warm  our- 
selves by  burning  wood,- we  are  only  getting  back  the  sunshine 
which  helped  to  make  the  wood  long  years  before,  and  are 
making  new  carbon  di-oxide  in  the  smoke,  to  go  out  into  the  air 
and  help  to  make  new  trees  ;  and  when  we  see  the  small  pile  of 
ashes  left  from  the  largest  stick  of  wood,  we  realize  how  much 


596  AGRICULTURE. 

more  the  sunshine,  air,  and  gases  had  to  do  with  making  it, 
than  the  soil. 

How  Plants  get  Food  from  the  Soil.  —  Plants  get  food 
from  the  soil  by  means  of  their  roots,  you  will  say.  Of  course 
they  do;  but  just  how  they  do  it  has  only  been  somewhat 
definitely  ascertained  of  late  years.  Formerly  it  was  thought 
that  the  tips  of  the  roots  were  like  sponges,  and  soaked  the 
water  in  just  as  a  sponge  does.  But  since  we  have  gotten  bet- 
ter microscopes,  we  have  found  that  the  extreme  tip  of  each 
rootlet  is  a  pointed  cap  of  rather  older  material  than  that  just 
behind  it,  and  that  the  new  growth  of  the  root  is  made  just 
behind  this  root-cap,  in  both  directions,  so  that  the  outside  of 
the  cap  is  of  older  and  harder  material,  which  is  continually 
being  renewed  as  it  wears  in  pressing  through  the  soil.  We 
can  see  how  important  this  arrangement  is,  in  enabling  a  root 
to  make  its  way  into  the  soil.  If  we  get  a  young  rootlet  out  of 
the  soil,  without  injury,  and  examine  with  a  magnifying-glass  of 
good  power,  we  will  see,  just  behind  the  cap  at  the  tip,  that  the 
whole  surface  of  the  rootlet  is  covered  with  fine  white  hairs. 
These  are  so  fine  that,  in  most  plants,  we  cannot  distinguish 
them  at  all  with  the  naked  eye ;  but  these  little  root  hairs  are 
the  only  means  the  plant  has  for  getting  the  mineral  matters 
from  the  soil.  We  see,  then,  how  important  it  is  that  the  food 
of  the  plant  be  completely  dissolved  in  the  water,  for  these 
extremely  fine  hairs  cannot  take  up  anything  of  a  solid  nature. 
The  root  hairs  are  only  found  on  the  youngest  part  of  the  fine 
rootlets,  and  they  soon  dry  off,  while  new  ones  are  produced  as 
the  root  grows  further,  and  they  have  fresh  food  presented  to 
them.  The  water  taken  up  into  the  plant,  charged  with  various 
mineral  foods,  is  brought  in  contact  with  the  substances  taken 
by  the  leaves  from  the  air,  and  thus  all  the  combinations  found 
in  plants  are  made. 

How  Plants  construct  their  Stems,  Roots,  and  Branches. 
—  The  water  taken  up  by  the  roots  from  the  soil  is  simply  crude, 
undistinguished  sap-water.  This  is  taken  rapidly  up  through 
the  sap-wood  and  pith,  and  taken  where  the  wonderful  labora- 
tory of  the  leaves  is  in  operation.  The  taking,  of  the  carbon 
from  the  air,  by  the  leaves,  is  called  assimilation,  and  from  this 
assimilated  food,  made  into  starch  by  the  action  of  the  water  in 


BOW  PLANTS  GROW. 


597 


the  plant,  the  plant  makes  its  woody  growth  in  every  direction. 
The  active  principle  or  substance  which  has  life  in  a  tree 
is  called  by  botanists  the  protoplasm.  This  substance  goes 
through  all  the  young  growing  cells,  and  carries  with  it  all  the 
substances  which  the  leaves  have  made.  It  takes  them  to  every 
point  where  new  material  is  needed,  and  may  be  called  the  hod- 
carrier  of  the  plant.  Even  the  roots  owe  their  growth  to  the 
substances  which  the  leaves  have  made,  and  which  this  active 
agent  of  life  brings  to  them.  The  new  shoots  get  their  part  at 
the  growing  tips,  and  new  leaves  are  made  to  carry  on  the  work. 
All  down  between  the  bark  and  the  wood  of  our  trees,  this 
agent  of  life  passes  and  makes  new  rows  of  cells,  to  the  young 
wood  on  one  side,  and  to  the  young  bark  on  the  other.  And 
then,  after  these  rows  of  cells  are  made,  year  after  year,  around 
a  tree  trunk,  it  fills  them  up  and  adds  other  materials,  until  they 
are  finished  and  made  into  heart  wood,  as  we  call  it.  Heart 
wood,  then,  is  finished  wood  from  which  the  life  principle  has 
gone,  and  which  is  really  dead  wood.  Life  in  a  tree  exists  only 
in  the  sap-wood,  and  more  actively,  in  our  ordinary  trees,  in  the 
young  part  between  the  wood  and  bark.  All  parts  of  a  plant, 
then,  roots,  stems,  branches,  and  leaves,  are  made  in  the  great 
laboratory  carried  on  by  the  leaves  and  green  parts  of  the  plants, 
and  the  material  formed  by  the  leaves  is  transported  up,  down, 
or  in  any  direction,  when  new  growth  is  going  on. 

This  shows  how  important  it  is  that  we  have  a  full  develop- 
ment of  foliage  and  green  tops  on  our  plants,  in  order  that  the 
work  may  be  well  done.  This  also  shows  that  a  full  foliage 
indicates  that  the  plant  or  tree  is  in  health,  receiving  and  assimi- 
lating food  in  such  quantities  as  are  either  promoting  growth 
or  preserving  life  unimpared. 

What  Food  Plants  get  from  the  Soil. — We  have  seen  that 
the  chief  thing,  if  not  the  only  one,  that  plants  get  from  the  air, 
and  with  which  they  make  the  greater  part  of  their  bulk,  is  an 
element  called  carbon,  which  they  get  by  decomposing  the  com- 
pound called  carbon  dioxide.  Let  us  now  see  what  they  got 
from  the  soil.  These  things  we  have  found  are  left  in  the  ashes, 
when  we  found  the  wood  or  organic  matter,  and  returned  the 
carbon  dioxide  to  the  air.  The  substances  we  find  in  the  ashes 
of  a  plant  are  called  the  ash  elements.     Now  an  element  is  a 


59^  AGRICULTURE. 

simple  body,  out  of  which  we  can  get  nothing  different.  Ele- 
ments are  seldom  found  in  this  simple  state  in  nature,  but  are 
generally  mixed  with  other  things,  making  compound  bodies. 
Thus  we  have  seen  that  air  is  a  compound  of  two  elements,  oxy- 
gen and  nitrogen,  which  are  both  gases.  Water  also  is  a  com- 
pound body,  made  of  two  gases,  hydrogen  and  oxygen.  There 
are,  however,  many  other  elements  that  'are  not  gases,  but  solid 
substances.  Some  of  these  solid  elements  we  know  as  metals  ; 
such  as  iron,  silver,  gold,  copper,  etc.  Others  are  solid,  but  not 
metals ;  as  sulphur,  carbon,  phosphorus,  chlorine,  silicon,  etc. 

Chemists  have  so  far  discovered  in  the  air,  and  water,  and  soil, 
63  single  elements.  Of  these,  48  are  metals,  and  1 5  are  either 
gases  or  solid  elements  other  than  metals. 

Many  elements  are  very  common  ;  other  metallic  elements 
are  rare.  When  these  elements  unite  and  form  compounds, 
we  find  that  those  which  are  most  unlike  as  free  elements  unite 
more  readily  than  those  which  in  general  resemble  each  other. 

Of  all  the  metallic 'elements,  iron  is  the  most  plentiful  and 
important.  It  is  found  in  various  combinations  in  all  our  cul- 
tivated soils.  In  fact,  without  iron  in  the  soil,  no  plant  could 
grow,  because  the  formation  of  leaf-green  in  plants  is  dependent 
upon  iron  in  the  soil.  We  always  find  some  form  of  iron  in  the 
ashes  of  plants,  and  all  cultivatable  soils  have  it  in  inexhaustible 
quantities. 

The  various  things  we  find  in  the  ashes  of  a  plant  exist  in 
certain  combinations,  called  Acids,  Alkalies,  and  Salts. 

An  Acid  is  a  compound  which  is  sour  and  corrosive. 

An  Alkali  is  a  compound  which  is  the  opposite  of  an  acid, 
and  which,  by  uniting  with  an  acid,  destroys  it  and  forms  a 
neutral  body. 

A  Salt  is  this  neutral  body,  formed  by  the  combination  of  an 
acid  with  an  alkali. 

Acids  and  alkalies  are  very  unlike,  but  we  find  that  they  read- 
ily unite  to  form  a  very  different  thing  from  either. 

Thus  carbon  dioxide,  an  acid  gas,  unites  with  lime,  a  caustic 
alkali,  and  forms  limestone  or  chalk.  We  find,  everywhere  in 
nature,  that  acids  and  alkalies  tend  to  combine  with  each  other. 

We  find  four  alkalies  in  the  ashes  of  plants,  —  magnesia,  soda, 
lime,  and  potash. 


HOW  PLANTS  GROW.  599 

We  also  find  phosphoric  acid,  sulphuric  acid,  and  silicic  acid. 

The  elements  chlorine,  iron,  manganese,  and  lime,  are  also 
found. 

We  do  not  find  these  things  separate,  but  in  combination. 
We  find  phosphate  of  lime,  oxide  of  iron,  silicates  of  potash  and 
soda,  carbonate  of  lime  and  potash,  chloride  of  soda,  or  common 
salt,  sulphate  of  lime  and  potash,  and  oxide  of  manganese. 

Potash  is  one  of  the  alkalies  found  in  the  ashes  of  plants. 
This  is  essential  ta  all  plant  growth.  It  must  be  found  in  some 
soluble  combination  within  reach  of  the  roots  of  plants,  if  any 
growth  is  expected.  It  exists,  to  some  extent,  in  all  cultivated 
soil,  but  in  some  sandy  soils,  particularly  those  near  the  sea 
coast,  it  is  deficient.  Potash  compounds  are  most  abundant  in 
clay  soils  near  the  mountains,  where  granite  rocks  are  found, 
whose  decay  and  crumbling  furnish  it  to  the  soil.  Rocks  con- 
taining feldspar  have  a  larger  percentage  of  potash  than  any 
other.  The  potash  in  wood  ashes  is  the  most  valuable  thing 
they  contain,  for  the  farmers  use  it  as  a  manure.  We  will  say 
more  of  this  when  we  come  to  manures. 

Magnesium  is  another  element  found  in  'compounds,  in  the 
ashes  of  plants,  and  like  potash  seems  essential  to  their  growth. 
Compounds  of  magnesium  are  usually  found  in  plenty  in  all  our 
cultivated  soils.  Some  kinds  of  limestone,  called  magnesian 
limestone,  are  very  rich  in  this  element. 

Lime,  the  carbonate  of  calcium,  is  very  plentiful  in  the  ashes 
of  plants,  and  is  one  of  the  substances  absolutely  necessary  to 
plant  life.  Only  a  small  part  of  the  lime,  however,  that  is  found 
in  the  ashes,  has  been  used  as  food  by  the  plant.  A  large  part 
of  it  exists  in  plants,  just  as  lime  is  found  on  the  sides  of  a 
kettle  in  which  water  containing  lime  has  been  boiled,  and  gets 
there  because  abundant  in  the  soil  water.  Lime*  is,  however, 
of  great  value  to  the  farmer  in  other  ways,  which  we  will  explain 
further  on. 

Sodium  is  another  element  found  in  ashes,  generally  in  com- 
bination with  chlorine,  making  chloride  of  sodium,  or  common 
salt.     Its  use  as  a  manure  will  be  treated  hereafter. 

One  of  the  most  valuable  ash  elements  is  phosphorus.  Phos- 
phoric acid  rapidly  unites  with  lime,  and  forms  phosphate  of 
lime.     The  bones  of  animals  contain  about  65  per  cent  of  phos- 


6oo  AGRICULTURE. 

phate  of  lime.  They  must  get  all  this  from  the  plants  they  eat. 
We  see,  then,  how  important  this  compound  is.  Our  cultivated 
soils  are  usually  more  in  need  of  this  than  any  other  plant  food, 
as  it  is  less  generally  common  ;  and  its  importance  in  any  manure 
can  readily  be  seen.  Another  important  element  is  sulphur. 
This,  in  the  form  of  sulphuric  acid  (sulphur  and  oxygen),  readily 
unites  with  lime,  and  forms  in  nature  large  beds  of  sulphate  of 
lime,  or  plaster,  as  it  is  commonly  called.  Plaster  is  largely  used, 
and  found  profitable  on  such  soils  as  are  supplied  naturally  with 
potash  combined  with  silica.  The  plaster  "pushes  out,"  as  some 
one  has  said,  the  potash,  so  that  plants  can  get  it. 

Silica  (silicon  and  oxygen)  is  common  sharp  sand  in  its  pure 
state,  and  in  this  shape  only  serves  to  loosen  and  lighten  the 
soil,  but  in  combination  with  potash  forms  silicate  of  potash, 
which  dissolves  slowly  in  rain  water.  Silica  is  needed  in  plants 
to  stiffen  the  straw  of  wheat  and  other  grains.  It  is  always  in 
plenty,  but  sometimes  needs  to  be  made  soluble  by  lime,  etc. 

Nitrogen  is  one  of  the  most  essential  elements  needed  by 
plants.  Nitrogen  is  found  free  in  the  air,  and  exists  in  soik  in 
the  form  of  nitrates  of  potash,  lime,  soda,  and  ammonia. 

Nitrogen  in  some  form  is  absolutely  essential  to  well  devel- 
oped growth  in  plants.  Nitrates  continually  form  in  cultivated 
soil,  but,  being  very  soluble  in  water,  are  more  rapidly  washed 
away  and  lost  than  any  other  plant  food.  We  find  that  an 
ordinary  mellow  soil  will  take  and  hold  on  to  all  the  various  ele- 
ments of  plant  food,  except  the  nitrates,  which  are  rapidly  washed 
away.  Some  plants,  such  as  peas  and  clover,  have  in  their  roots 
a  "ferment";  that  is,  a  microscopic  organism,  which  rapidly 
promotes  the  formation  of  nitrates  in  the  soil.  Hence  the  great 
value  of  this  class  of  plants  in  improving  land  for  other  crops. 

But  the  plants  get  nitrogen,  also,  in  the  shape  of  various  com- 
pounds of  ammonia,  which  is  hydrogen  and  nitrogen.  We  are 
all  familiar  with  the  sharp  odor  which  rises  from  a  pile  of  horse 
manure  heating.  This  is  from  the  carbonate  of  ammonia,  which 
is  rapidly  flying  off  into  the  air,  and  being  lost  by  the  farmer. 
But  if  we  mix  with  this  manure  a  supply  of  plaster,  which  is 
sulphate  of  lime,  the  carbonic  acid  unites  with  the  lime,  and  the 
sulphuric  acid  parts  with  it  and  unites  with  the  ammonia,  and 


J 


HOW  PLANTS  GROW,  6oi 

makes  sulphate  of  ammonia,  which  does  not  fly  off  so  fast,  and 
the  valuable  ammonia  is  kept  in  our  manure  pile. 

What  is  Manure?  —  In  our  common  language,  manure  is 
made  to  mean  the  droppings  of  our  domestic  animals,  which  all 
careful  farmers  save  and  apply  to  the  land  for  the  growth  of 
crops. 

Let  us  inquire  why  these  animal  droppings  are  of  so  much 
value  to  our  crops.  When  we  burn  a  plant,  we  have  left  in 
the  ashes  the  plant  food  which  came  from  the  soil.  The  same 
thing  happens  to  a  less  extent  when  the  crops  are  eaten  by  ani- 
mals. The  animals  use  up,  or  burn,  that  is,  oxidize,  the  parts 
which  the  plant  got  from  the  air.  In  burning  these  things  in  a 
fire,  we  make  heat,  and  in  burning  them  by  the  aid  of  the  oxy- 
gen taken  into  the  lungs  of  animals,  we  also  make  heat,  the 
anhnal  heat  vthich  is  necessary  to  animal  life.  The  droppings 
of  animals,  then,  contain  the  ash  elements  of  the  plant,  with  a 
lot  of  woody  fibre,  and  other  indigestible  things,  with  a  quantity 
of  nitrogen  in  the  shape  of  ammonia.  We  see,  then,  that  the 
droppings  of  our  domestic  animals  contain  all  the  plant  food 
which  plants  got  from  the  soil,  and  also  a  large  amount  of  car- 
bonaceous matter,  which  originally  came  from  the  air,  but  which 
is  always  useful  in  the  soil  in  aiding  in  the  decomposition  of 
other  matters,  and  the  holding  of  substances  which  plants  get 
from  the  soil.  We  see,  then,  that  the  droppings  of  domestic 
animals  make  the  cheapest  form  of  plant  food  we  can  supply  to 
the  soil,  and  we  should  not  allow  any  of  these  to  be  wasted. 

We  find  however,  that,  although  all  the  elements  of  plant 
food  are  found  in  animal  droppings,  our  animals  use  a  large  part 
of  these  things  for  other  purposes.  They  use  phosphoric  acid 
in  the  shape  of  phosphate  of  lime,  to  make  their  bones,  and 
they  use  nitrogen  in  making  flesh.  The  milk  of  cows  carries 
off  other  elements  of  plant  food.  Animals  thus,  in  consuming 
crops,  do  not  return  to  the  soil  all  that  came  from  it,  even  if  all 
their  droppings  are  saved  and  returned  to  the  land.  So  that 
animals,  fed  entirely  on  the  crops  that  grow  on  a  farm,  will 
gradually  reduce  the  plant  food  in  the  soil,  though  not  so  rap- 
idly as  when  the  crops  are  sold  off  the  farm.  We  then  see  why 
it  is  necessary  for  farmers,  on  most  of  our  soils,  to  seek  this 
plant  food  elsewhere,  because  of  the  impossibility  of  returning, 


6o2  AGRICULTURE. 

in  the  shape  of  animal  manure,  all  the  crops  take  away  from  the 
soil. 

FERTILIZERS,    AND     WHERE     THEY     COME     FROM. 

We  have  seen  that  the  elements  most  generally  wanting  in 
old,  worn  soils  are  potash,  phosphorus,  and  nitrogen.  Now  let 
us  learn  more  about  these,  and  where  we  get  them  from. 

Potash.  —  Potash  is  found  largely  in  the  ashes  of  plants,  and 
constitutes  one  of  the  chief  sources  of  food,  supplied  by  wood 
ashes  from  our  fires,  when  spread  on  the  land.  Potash,  as  it 
exists  in  ashes,  is  very  easily  dissolved  in  water,  and  if  the 
ashes  have  been  leached  with  water  for  the  purpose  of  getting 
lye  to  make  soap,  very  little  potash  will  be  left  in  them,  and 
they  are  then  mainly  valuable  for  the  lime  that  may  be  left  in 
them.  Potash  also  is  found  in  other  combinations,  mixed  with 
common  salt  dug  out  of  the  earth ;  mostly  in  Germany.  It  is 
largely  imported  in  these  potash  salts,  which  are  sold  under  the 
names  of  kainit,  sulphate  of  potash,  muriate  of  potash,  sylvanit, 
etc.  In  red-clay  soil,  on  granite  formations,  there  are  usually 
plentiful  supplies  of  potash,  combined  with  silica  in  the  shape 
of  silicate  of  potash,  and  we  get  hold  of  this  potash  by  adding 
sulphate  of  lime  or  plaster,  as  it  is  called.  By  this  means  a 
new  combination,  sulphate  of  potash,  is  made,  which  is  more 
easily  dissolved  by  water  than  the  silicate,  and  plants  get  it. 
All  rocks  containing  feldspar  and  mica  have  a  great  deal  of 
potash  in  them,  and  as  these  become  decomposed  the  potash  is 
washed  down  into  the  soil.  Potash  is  necessary  to  all  plants, 
and  particularly  favors  the  growth  of  clover  and  other  plants  of 
the  pea  family,  which  help  the  soil  in  other  ways. 

One  of  the  most  valuable  sources  of  potash,  in  the  South,  is 
the  ashes  of  cotton-seed  hulls,  made  at  the  oil  mills. 

Phosphorus.  —  We  get  this  element  in  our  fertilizers  from 
various  sources.  It  exists  in  large  quantities  in  the  bones  of 
all  animals,  in  the  shape  of  phosphate  of  lime,  which  gives 
ground  bones  a  high  value  as  a  manure.  It  is  also  found  in  bone 
charcoal,  used  by  sugar  refiners.  The  chief  source  of  phosphate 
of  lime  is  the  phosphate  rock,  which  is  found  in  large  beds  in 
the  coast  region  of  North  Carolina,  South  Carolina,  Florida, 
and  Alabama.     The  largest  supply  of  this  material  is  dug  in 


now  PLANTS  GROW.  603 

South  Carolina.  Large  deposits  of  phosphatic  guano  are  also 
found  in  Navassa,  and  other  islands  in  the  Caribbean  Sea. 

The  South  Carolina  rock  is  now  largely  pulverized,  or  beaten 
into  a  very  fine  powder,  and  sold  under  the  name  of  floats. 
This  becomes  more  quickly  of  use  to  crops  than  coarse  ground 
bones,  but  a  still  greater  solubility  is  attained  by  making  the 
rock  into  superphosphate,  by  dissolving  it  in  sulphuric  acid. 
This  is  known  as  acid  phosphate  in  the  markets.  Superphos- 
phate was  formerly  largely  made  from  bones,  but  now  it  is 
almost  altogether  made  from  phosphate  rock  and  phosphatic 
guano.  All  cultivated  soils  contain  more  or  less  phosphoric 
acid,  but  it  is  more  generally  deficient  than  most  other  forms 
of  plant  food.  Hence  the  great  importance  attached  to  phos- 
phatic fertilizers. 

Nitrogen.  —  Nitrogen  is  found  largely  in  Chili,  in  the  shape 
of  nitrate  of  soda,  which  is  now  largely  used  as  a  top-dressing 
during  the  growing  season.  Nitrate  of  soda  dissolves  very 
rapidly  when  scattered  on  the  soil,  and  is  quickly  taken  up  by 
growing  plants.  It  absorbs  water  so  rapidly  that  it  is  hard  to 
keep  without  losing  value,  and  is  little  used  in  mixing  with  other 
fertilizing  substances  that  are  to  be  kept  for  any  length  of  time. 

Nitrate  of  potash  (saltpetre),  so  largely  used  in  making  gun- 
powder, is  found  in  the  soil  and  is  artificially  formed  by  suitable 
materials.     It  is  too  costly  to  use  as  a  farm  fertilizer. 

Nitrogen  is  also  used  in  various  forms  of  ammonia  compounds. 
Ammonia  (hydrogen  and  nitrogen)  has  been  found  of  more 
benefit  to  some  plants  than  nitrogen  in  the  shape  of  nitrates. 
It  has  been  found,  however,  that  salts  of  ammonia  in  the  soil 
rapidly  change  to  nitrates.  It  has  been  found  that,  with  the 
potato  crop  especially,  while  ammonia  did  no  good,  nitrates  of 
soda  had  a  powerful  effect  on  the  crop,  showing  that  there  is  a 
great  difference  in  the  liking  of  plants  for  different  forms  of 
nitrogen.  Some  suppose  that  plants  will  absorb  ammonia  from 
the  air  by  their  leaves,  but  this  is  by  no  means  certain.  The 
best  and  cheapest  form  in  which  ammonia  is  to  be  had  is  as 
sulphate  of  ammonia.  This  is  prepared  from  the  ammonia 
water,  or  gas  liquor,  produced  in  making  gas  for  lighting  cities 
and  dwellings.  Years  ago  the  best  shape  in  which  nitrogen 
could  be  had  was  in  Peruvian  guano  from  the  Chincha  Islands, 


6o4  A  GRICUL  TURE. 

but  the  deposits  there  have  long  been  exhausted,  and  Peru- 
vian guano,  as  now  sold  from  other  islands,  is  much  inferior, 
though  still  valuable.  These  natural  guanos,  in  addition  to  the 
nitrogen,  have  large  percentages  of  phosphate  and  some  potash. 

Dried  fish  scraps,  left  from  the  manufacture  of  fish  oil,  can 
be  had  cheaply  at  many  places  near  the  coast,  and  are  a  cheap 
source  of  nitrogen.  When  it  can  be  had  cheaply,  it  is  good  to 
apply  to  the  soil,  but  farmers  sometimes  pay  a  high  price  for  it 
in  mixed  fertilizers,  —  much  more  than  it  is  worth.  Another 
source  of  nitrogen  is  dried  blood  and  flesh  from  the  large  slaugh- 
ter-houses. This  is  also  a  valuable  article  for  composting. 
Tankage  is  another  source  of  nitrogen.  It  is  made  from  the 
refuse  entrails  and  offal  of  slaughter-houses,  steamed  to  remove 
the  oil,  and  then  dried  and  reduced  to  powder. 

But  the  great  source  of  nitrogen,  for  the  Southern  farmer,  is 
the  meal  made  from  the  cotton-seed  cake,  after  the  oil  is  pressed 
out.  This  is  one  of  the  best  and  cheapest  forms  of  nitrogenous 
compounds,  and  is  of  the  greatest  importance  to  the  Southern 
farmer  in  preparing  fertilizers  at  home.  It  will  always  pay  a 
cotton  planter  to  exchange  his  cotton  seed  for  an  equal  weight 
of  meal  and  hulls,  in  proper  proportion.  The  oil  is  of  no  use  as 
a  manure,  and  can  be  profitably  sold,  if  the  meal  and  hulls  of 
same  weight  are  returned  to  the  la,nd. 


CHAPTER   XI. 

THE    DEPARTMENT   OF    AGRICULTURE. 

In  giving  the  origin  of  this  department,  recourse  is  had  to  a 
little  work  published  in  1872,  by  James  M.  Swank.  He  writes 
as  follows  :  — 

To  Hon.  Henry  L.  Ellsworth,  of  Connecticut,  son  of  Hon. 
Oliver  Ellsworth,  third  Chief  Justice  of  the  United  States,  is  the 
country  more  indebted  than  to  any  other  person  for  the  recog- 
nition by  Congress  of  the  claims  of  agriculture.  His  services 
date  from  1836,  in  which  year  he  was  appointed  by  President 
Jackson  the  first  Commissioner  of  Patents.  The  Patent  Office 
had  been  just  then  reorganized.  Owing  to  its  subsequent  inti- 
mate association  with  the  interests  of  agriculture,  the  origin  of 
that  office  requires  a  brief  notice,  before  reference  is  made  to 
Mr.  Ellsworth's  administration  of  its  duties. 

The  first  article  of  the  Constitution  provides  for  promoting  the 
progress  of  science  and  the  useful  arts,  by  securing  to  authors 
and  inventors  the  exclusive  right  to  their  respective  writings  and 
discoveries.  This  clause  is  the  foundation  of  our  laws  regulating 
copyrights  and  patents.  Up  to  1793  the  granting  of  letters- 
patent  was  confided,  by  act  of  Congress,  to  the  Secretary  of 
War,  the  Secretary  of  State,  and  the  Attorney-General,  the 
records  of  patents  being  kept  in  the  office  of  the  Secretary  of 
State,  and  all  models  and  drawings  being  deposited  there.  On 
the  2 1st  of  February  of  that  year,  the  duty  of  acting  upon  appli- 
cations for  patents  was  assigned  exclusively  to  the  Secretary  of 
State.  The  examinations  of  these  applications  was  performed 
by  a  single  clerk  in  the  office  of  the  Secretary,  who,  in  1821, 
received  the  title  of  Superintendent  of  the  Patent  Office.  In 
1830  this  office  was  further  recognized  by  law,  and  made  the 
subject  of  a  special  appropriation.  On  the  4th  of  July,  1836,  it 
was  made  a  separate  Bureau  of  the  Government,  and  the  office 
of  Commissioner  of  Patents  was  created.  In  December  of  the 
same  year  Blodgett's  Hotel,  a  three-story  brick  building,  used 

605 


6o6  AGRICULTURE. 

for  government  offices,  which  stood  where  the  Post-Office  build- 
ing now  stands,  and  fronted  on  E  street,  was  burned  to  the 
ground.  In  one  or  two  of  the  upper  rooms  was  located  the 
Patent  Office,  and  its  contents  were  entirely  consumed.  After- 
wards, until  1840,  the  business  of  the  bureau  was  transacted  in 
rooms  appropriated  to  its  use  in  the  City  Hall.  In  1840  the 
Patent  Office  was  removed  to  the  building  erected  expressly  for 
its  accommodation,  and  now  occupied  by  it. 

Mr.  Ellsworth  was  Commissioner  of  Patents  from  1836  to 
1845,  and  one  of  the  first  subjects  which  engaged  his  attention, 
after  assuming  the  duties  of  the  office,  was  the  impulse  which 
had  been  given,  at  that  day,  to  improvements  in  the  implements 
of  agriculture,  and  the  "  aid  which  agriculture  might  derive  from 
the  establishment  of  a  regular  system  for  the  selection  and  dis- 
tribution of  grain  and  seeds  of  the  choicest  varieties,  for  agricult- 
ural purposes."  During  the  administration  of  John  Quincy 
Adams,  the  consuls  of  the  United  States  were  instructed  to 
forward  to  the  State  Department  rare  plants  and  seeds,  for  dis- 
tribution, and  a  botanical  garden  was  established  in  Washington. 
Little  was  done  in  the  collection  and  distribution  of  seeds  thus 
authorized,  but  to  the  association  of  this  enterprise  with  the 
Patent  Office  in  the  State  Department  Mr.  Ellsworth  was  doubt- 
less indebted  for  the  hint  of  a  more  comprehensive  system  of 
seed  distribution.  In  1836  and  1837,  the  first  two  years  of  his 
incumbency,  the  commissioner,  without  legal  authorization,  re- 
ceived and  distributed  many  seeds  and  plants  which  had  been 
gratuitously  transmitted  to  him.  In  his  first  annual  report, 
dated  January  i,  1838,  he  called  the  attention  of  Congress  to 
the  subject,  and  strongly  recommended  that  provision  be  made 
for  the  establishment,  at  the  National  Capital,  of  a  depository  of 
new  and  valuable  varieties  of  seeds  and  plants,  for  distribution 
to  every  part  of  the  United  States.  He  further  recommended 
that  this  depository  be  made  a  part  of  the  Patent  Office.  No 
immediate  action  was  taken  by  Congress  upon  the  recommenda- 
tions, but  this  neglect  did  not  discourage  the  commissioner 
from  continuing  his  self-imposed  task  of  distributing,  under  the 
frank  of  friendly  members  of  Congress,  improved  varieties  of 
wheat,  corn,  etc.,  the  beneficial  effects  of  which  distribution 
were  fully  shown  in  testimonials  from  all  parts  of  the  country. 


DEPARTMENT   OF  AGRICULTURE,  607 

On  the  2 1  St  of  January,  1839,  Hon.  Isaac  Fletcher,  of  Ver- 
mont, chairman  of  the  Committee  on  Patents  of  the  House  of 
Representatives,  addressed  a  letter  to  Commissioner  Ellsworth, 
requesting  the  communication  of  information  relative  to  the  col- 
lection and  distribution  of  seeds  and  plants  ;  also,  relative  to  the 
practicability  of  obtaining  agricultural  statistics.  To  this  letter 
of  inquiry  the  commissioner  responded  on  the  following  day, 
reciting  the  action  already  taken  by  him  to  further  the  cause  of 
agriculture,  and  assigning  many  reasons  why  his  previous  recom- 
mendations should  be  adopted.  In  this  communication  the 
commissioner  suggested  that  "arrangements  could  be  made 
for  the  exhibition  of  different  kinds  of  grain,  exotic  and  indig- 
enous, in  the  new  Patent  Office."  In  the  closing  hours  of  the 
Twenty-fifth  Congress  (act  of  3d  March,  1839),  the  commis- 
sioner was  gratified  by  the  passage  of  an  appropriation  of 
;^iooo,  to  be  taken  from  the  Patent-Office  fund,  for  the  pur- 
pose of  collecting  and  distributing  seeds,  prosecuting  agricult- 
ural investigations,  and  procuring  agricultural  statistics.  Thus 
originated  the  agricultural  division  of  the  Patent  Office. 

In  his  annual  report  of  the  following  year,  dated  January  i, 
1840,  Commissioner  Ellsworth  stated  that  the  diplomatic  corps 
of  the  United  States  had  been  solicited  to  aid  in  procuring  val- 
uable seeds,  and  that  the  officers  of  the  navy  had  been  requested 
to  convey  to  the  Patent  Office  such  seeds  as  might  be  offered. 
As  the  sixth  census  was  then  about  to  be  taken,  agricultural 
statistics  were  deferred  until  its  completion.  In  the  next 
report  (January  i,  1841),  it  was  stated  that  30,000  packages  of 
seeds  had  been  distributed  during  the  preceding  year,  and  that 
the  agricultural  statistics,  based  upon  the  returns  of  the  census, 
were  being  compiled.  **The  importance  of  an  annual  report 
of  the  state  of  the  crops  in  different  sections,  as  a  preventive 
against  monopoly,  and  a  good  criterion  to  calculate  the  state  of 
exchange,"  was  commended  to  the  consideration  of  Congress, 
and  from  this  suggestion  were  evolved,  in  time,  the  annual  agri- 
cultural reports. 

In  the  report  for  1841  were  given  tabular  estimates  of  the 
products  of  agriculture  in  the  United  States  in  that  year. 
These  estimates  filled  two  pages,  and  were  based  upon  the 
census  returns  of  1840,  supplemented  by  such  additional  infor- 


6o8  AGRICULTURE. 

mation  as  could  be  derived  from  agricultural  reports,  news- 
papers, and  official  correspondence  with  leading  citizens  in  all 
parts  of  the  country.  The  correspondence  was  mainly  con- 
ducted by  means  of  printed  circulars,  containing  inquiries  by 
the  commissioner,  to  which  replies  were  returned  on  the  same 
sheet.  The  same  general  plan  of  obtaining  information  is 
observed  by  the  Department  of  Agriculture  to-day.  Fifteen 
pages  of  comment  followed  the  tabular  statement,  embracing  a 
survey  of  the  agricultural  condition  and  prospects  of  the  coun- 
try. Special  subjects  of  comment  were  the  manufacture  of 
sugar  from  Indian  corn,  and  of  lard  oil  as  a  substitute  for 
whale  oil,  as  an  illuminator.  In  this  year  Congress  appropri- 
ated another  ;^iooo  from  the  Patent-Office  fund,  for  agricultural 
purposes.  There  was  no  appropriation  in  1840  and  1841.  From 
1842  to  1846,  the  annual  appropriation  from  the  fund  was  con- 
tinued, but  in  the  latter  year  it  was  again  omitted.  In  1847  it 
was  revived,  and  afterwards  annually  renewed  up  to  1854,  when 
the  poHcy  of  appropriating  money  from  the  fund  was  aban- 
doned ;  the  whole  amount  ($39,000)  drawn  from  it  was  reim- 
bursed in  1855.  After  1853  appropriations  for  agriculture  were 
made  every  year,  directly  from  the  treasury.  In  no  one  year, 
up  to  1854,  did  the  annual  appropriation  exceed  $5500,  and  it 
was  generally  below  that  sum. 

In  his  report  for  1842,  the  commissioner  recommended  "the 
constitution  of  an  agricultural  bureau,  or  at  least  an  agricultural 
clerkship,  at  a  moderate  expense."  He  further  recommended 
"a  sufficient  appropriation  to  allow  a  personal  examination  of 
the  various  parts  of  the  country,  by  some  one  well  qualified  for 
such  duty."  Accompanying  the  report  was  an  elaborate  essay 
by  the  commissioner,  sixty  pages  in  length,  on  the  condition  and 
prospects  of  American  agriculture ;  also,  a  tabular  estimate  of 
the  crops  of  1842,  occupying  two  pages,  the  data  for  which 
were  obtained  from  the  sources  previously  relied  upon.  The 
preparation  of  the  table  was  stated  to  have  been  "no  easy  task." 
Several  communications  from  farmers  and  others,  on  practical 
questions  relating  to  agriculture,  were  printed  in  an  appendix, 
and  some  of  them  were  illustrated  by  cuts.  From  them  may  be 
dated  the  practice  of  publishing  details  of  individual  experience 
and  elaborate  essays,  in  the  annual  agricultural  report. 


DEPARTMENT  OF  AGRICULTURE.  609 

The  report  for  1843  was  still  more  voluminous  than  that  for 
1842.  The  tabular  estimates,  letters  from  correspondents,  and 
remarks  by  the  commissioner  were  continued.  The  statement 
was  made  that  the  labor  of  the  commissioner,  in  compiling 
agricultural  information,  was  chiefly  performed  out  of  office 
hours.  The  remarks  on  the  condition  of  the  crops  and  the 
growth  of  agriculture  challenge  admiration  by  their  compre- 
hensiveness (120  pages),  their  minuteness  of  detail,  and  the 
thorough  acquaintance  with  the  agricultural  resources  of  the 
country  manifested  by  the  writer.  A  more  extended  system  of 
investigation  was  recommended.  The  distribution  of  foreign 
seeds  had  been  continued  during  the  year,  and  12,000  packages 
would  be  distributed  during  the  following  year. 

The  report  for  1844  showed  increased  industry  and  enthu- 
siasm by  the  commissioner.  It  was  more  voluminous  than  any 
preceding  report.  The  potato  rot,  which  began  in  1843,  the 
ravages  of  the  Hessian  fly  and  other  insects,  and  the  various 
diseases  to  which  wheat  and  other  grains  are  subject,  were 
referred  to  at  length  in  the  general  review,  and  in  the  papers 
contained  in  the  appendix,  and  remedies  were  suggested.  Some 
of  the  most  valuable  papers  in  the  appendix  were  reproduced 
from  the  agricultural  and  news  journals  of  the  day. 

On  the  30th  of  April,  1845,  Mr.  Ellsworth  resigned  the  office 
of  Commissioner  of  Patents.  The  facts  in  his  official  career 
have  been  given  in  some  detail,  because  he  was  really  the 
founder  of  that  branch  of  the  government  now  embraced  in  the 
Department  of  Agriculture,  and  as  such  entitled  to  honorable 
mention  in  these  pages,  and  because  the  first  successful  steps 
in  the  work  of  securing  government  recognition  of  agriculture 
deserve  to  be  recorded. 

Hon.  Edmund  Burke,  of  New  Hampshire,  succeeded  Mr. 
Ellsworth  as  Commissioner  of  Patents.  The  report  of  the 
commissioner  for  1845  ^^.s  the  largest  that  had  yet  appeared, 
filling  1 1 84  pages,  less  than  100  of  which  related  to  patents, 
the  remainder  being  devoted  to  agricultural  topics.  The  annual 
reports  of  the  Department  of  Agriculture  have  seldom  exceeded 
700  pages,  and  have  not  averaged  above  650  pages.  Mr.  Burke 
introduced  into  the  report  many  new  features,  prominent  among 
which  were  tables  of  British  and  United  States  imports  and 


6lO  AGRICULTURE, 

exports,  and  English  cotton  quotations.  The  papers  in  the 
appendix  embraced  a  wide  range  of  subjects.  The  potato  dis- 
ease was  exhaustively  discussed.  The  commissioner  stated 
that  the  number  of  packages  of  seeds  distributed  in  1846  would 
exceed  50,000.  Additional  facilities  for  obtaining  information 
and  purchasing  seeds  were  declared  to  be  necessary  to  the  suc- 
cessful prosecution  of  the  agricultural  work  of  the  office,  a  dec- 
laration which  did  not  prevent  Congress  from  withholding,  in 
1846,  the  appropriation  of  a  single  dollar  for  agricultural  pur- 
poses for  the  ensuing  year.  When  the  Patent-Office  report  for 
1846  appeared,  agricultural  statistics,  essays,  correspondence, 
and  newspaper  articles  were  entirely  omitted. 

Congress  saw  and  acknowledged  its  error,  ,and  the  appropria- 
tion (^3000)  from  the  Patent-Office  fund  was  restored  in  1847. 
The  report  for  that  year  was  especially  rich  in  statistics  relating 
to  the  products  of  labor  and  capital  in  the  United  States,  the 
movements  of  these  and  foreign  products  on  interior  lines  of 
transportation,  the  consumption  and  surplus  for  exportation  of 
food  products,  the  demands  of  foreign  countries  for  these,  and 
tables  of  population,  property,  prices,  etc.  The  volume  was 
more  profusely  and  expensively  illustrated  than  any  that  had 
preceded  it.  In  the  report  for  the  following  year  (1848),  an 
increased  amount  of  space  was  occupied  by  miscellaneous  sta-. 
tistics,  chiefly  industrial.  The  quantity  of  seeds  distributed  in 
1848  had  increased  to  75,000  packages,  and  it  was  announced 
that  nearly  as  many  had  been  obtained  for  distribution  in  1849. 
In  this  report  mention  is  made  of  foreign  seeds  having  been 
submitted  to  the  test  of  experiment,  by  an  intelligent  gardener. 

On  the  30th  of  April,  1849,  Mr.  Burke  retired  from  the  Patent 
Office,  and  was  succeeded  by  Hon.  Thomas  Ewbank,  of  New 
York.  By  direction  of  the  Secretary  of  the  Interior,  the  task 
of  collating  and  arranging  the  materials  for  the  agricultural  por- 
tion of  the  annual  report  was  committed  to  a  "practical  and 
scientific  agriculturist."  Another  change  consisted  in  the  pub- 
lication of  the  agricultural  portion  of  the  report  in  a  separate 
volume.  The  first  of  these  volumes  (for  1849)  ^^s  edited,  in 
accordance  with  the  Secretary's  views,  by  a  scientific  gentleman, 
Daniel  Lee,  M.D.  It  contained  many  elaborate  scientific  and 
practical  papers  by  Mr.  Lee  and  others,  and  numerous  commer- 


DEPARTMENT  OF  AGRICULTURE.  6ll 

cial  and  miscellaneous  statistics,  but  no  statistics  of  the  agricult- 
ural productions  of  the  year.  In  the  report  for  1850  occurs  the 
same  important  omission  as  in  that  for  1849;  t)Ut  in  that  for 
1 85 1  appeared  the  agricultural  statistics  of  the  seventh  census, 
unaccompanied,  however,  by  any  analysis,  comparison,  or  other 
comment.  In  November,  1852,  Mr.  Ewbank  retired,  and  was 
succeeded  by  Hon.  Silas  H.  Hodges,  of  Vermont,  Mr.  Lee  re- 
maining. In  the  report  for  1852  no  attempt  was  made  to  add 
to  the  value  of  the  census  figures,  and  the  reader  was  left  in 
ignorance  whether  the  agricultural  productions  of  that  year  were 
greater  or  less  than  those  of  the  census  year.  In'the  report  for 
1849  Mr-  Lee  introduced  meteorological  statistics,  and  the  space 
accorded  to  this  specialty  annually  increased  during  his  editor- 
ship of  the  reports. 

On  the  25th  of  March,  1853,  Mr.  Hodges  was  succeeded  as 
commissioner  by  Hon.  Charles  Mason,  of  Iowa,  and  soon  after 
Mr.  Lee,  as  editor  of  the  reports,  was  succeeded  by  D.  J.  Browne. 
In  Mr.  Mason's  four  reports,  for  the  years  1853,  '54,  '55,  '56, 
agricultural  statistics  have  no  place,  the  editor  entertaining  the 
same  views  as  his  predecessor  concerning  the  value  of  statistics 
not  collected  by  the  States,  or  through  an  annual  visit  by  the 
census  marshal. 

The  annual  appropriation,  which,  up  to  and  including  1853, 
had  never  exceeded  ^5500,  was,  in  1854,  increased  to  $35,000, 
and  it  has  never  since  been  less  than  that  sum. 

In  the  Hst  of  plants  ordered  to  be  imported,  in  1854,  and  which 
were  imported  in  that  and  the  following  year,  were  two  plants 
of  Chinese  origin  —  the  Chinese  yam,  and  the  Chinese  sugar- 
cane. In  1856  a  portion  of  the  government  grounds  in  Wash- 
ington, lying  between  Four-and-a-half  and  Sixth  Streets,  and 
Missouri  Avenue  and  the  canal,  embracing  five  acres,  was  set 
apart  for  the  propagation  of  the  seed  of  Chinese  sugar-cane, 
otherwise  known  as  sorghum.  Large  quantities  of  the  seed 
produced  on  this  ground  were  distributed  in   1856  and   1857. 

The  subject  of  entomology,  as  related  to  agriculture,  had 
received  some  attention  from  the  Commissioner  of  Patents, 
prior  to  1854.  In  that  year  Commissioner  Mason  employed 
Townsend  Glover  to  investigate  and  report  upon  the  habits  of 
insects  injurious  and  beneficial  to  vegetation,  especially  those 


6i2  AGRICULTURE. 

infesting  the  cotton  plant.  Mr.  Glover's  first  report  was  pub- 
lished in  the  commissioner's  report  for  1854;  another  in  that  for 
1855,  ^-rid  another  in  1858.  From  his  engagement,  which  was 
temporarily  interrupted  in  1858,  may  be  dated  the  origin  of  the 
entomological  branch  of  the  department.  In  1855  an  arrange- 
ment was  made  with  the  Smithsonian  Institution  for  procuring 
and  publishing  meteorological  statistics.  In  the  same  year  a 
chemist  and  a  botanist  were  employed.  Their  engagements 
were  not  permanent ;  nevertheless,  the  chemical  and  botanical 
branches  of  the  Department  of  Agriculture  may  properly  be 
said  to  have  had  their  origin  in  this  year.  The  report  which 
appeared  for  1856  was  more  profusely  illustrated  than  any  of 
its  predecessors. 

Mr.  Mason  resigned  in  August,  1857,  and  in  the  following 
month  was  succeeded  by  Hon.  Joseph  Holt,  of  Kentucky,  who 
served  until  March  14,  1859.  During  his  administration  two 
annual  reports  were  issued  —  for  1857  and  1858. 

In  the  report  of  Commissioner  Mason  for  the  year  1855, 
much  space  had  been  devoted  to  the  history  and  pecuharities  of 
the  Chinese  tea  plant,  and  the  belief  had  been  expressed  that  it 
could  be  successfully  cultivated  in  most  if  not  all  of  the  South- 
ern States  of  this  country.  Commissioner  Holt  determined  to 
practically  test  the  adaptability  of  the  plant  to  our  soil  and  cli- 
mate, and  in  his  report,  dated  May  11,  1858,  he  announced  that 
an  agent  had  been  sent  to  China  to  procure  seeds  of  this  and 
other  plants.  In  the  same  year  the  plot  of  ground,  previously 
appropriated  to  the  culture  of  the  Chinese  sugar-cane,  was  thor- 
oughly improved  for  the  purpose  of  planting  in  it  the  seeds  of 
the  tea  plant  when  they  should  arrive,  together  with  cuttings  of 
native  and  foreign  grape  vines,  which  it  had  been  determined  to 
propagate,  with  the  view  of  stimulating  and  improving  grape 
culture.  The  tea  seeds  arrived  in  April,  1859,  ^^<i  subsequent 
efforts  to  germinate  them  and  grow  the  young  plants  to  matu- 
rity were  crowned  with  the  most  gratifying  success. 

In  1858  Commissioner  Holt  extended  invitations  to  a  num- 
ber of  intelligent  farmers,  residing  in  different  sections  of  the 
country,  to  meet  at  Washington  for  the  purpose  of  considering 
the  general  interests  of  agriculture,  and  especially  to  inquire 
how  these  might  be  promoted  through  the  instrumentality  of 


DEPARTMENT  OF  AGRICULTURE.  613 

the  Patent  Office.  These  gentlemen  met  at  the  Patent  Office 
on  the  3d  of  January,  1859,  and  continued  in  session  eight  days. 
The  general  plan  of  operations  which  had  been  pursued  by  the 
agricultural  division  of  the  office  was  unanimously  approved. 

Hon.  William  D.  Bishop,  of  Connecticut,  succeeded  Mr. 
Holt,  May  23,  1859,  ^^^^  ^^  i"  turn  was  succeeded,  February  16, 
i860,  by  Hon.  Philip  F.  Thomas,  of  Maryland.  With  the 
retirement  of  Mr.  Holt,  Mr.  Browne  ceased  to  edit  the  reports. 
The  leading  features  of  Mr.  Bishop's  report  for  the  year  1859 
corresponded  substantially  with  those  of  the  reports  for  the 
preceding  ten  years.  It  was  announced  that  there  had  been 
propagated,  and  were  ready  for  distribution,  30,000  well-rooted 
tea  plants,  12,000  foreign  and  domestic  grape  vines,  and  many 
other  valuable  exotic  plants.  Mr.  Thomas  resigned  December 
13,  i860,  and  issued  no  report.  The  report  for  i860  was  edited 
by  Hon.  Thomas  G.  Clemson,  superintendent  of  the  agricult- 
ural division. 

From  December  14,  i860,  to  March  28,  1861,  S.  T.  Shugert, 
Esq.,  was  acting  commissioner.  He  was  succeeded,  on  the  date 
last  named,  by  Hon.  David  P.  Holloway,  of  Indiana,  whose  an- 
nual report,  appearing  in  the  following  year  (1862),  was  the  most 
complete  agricultural  manual  the  Patent  Office  had  yet  issued. 

During  Mr.  Holloway's  administration  the  Department  of 
Agriculture  was  organized. 

On  the  15th  of  May,  1862,  the  act  establishing  the  "Depart- 
ment of  Agriculture  "  became  a  law,  and  on  the  ist  day  of  July 
the  department  was  formally  organized,  in  the  rooms  of  the 
Patent  Office  previously  occupied  by  the  agricultural  division  of 
that  bureau.  The  first  section  of  the  act  defined  the  "  general 
designs  and  duties"  of  the  department,  and  the  succeeding 
sections  provided  for  the  appointment,  by  the  President,  of  a 
chief  executive  officer,  to  be  styled  the  "Commissioner  of 
Agriculture,"  It  was  not,  however,  provided  that  the  commis- 
sioner, although  the  head  of  an  independent  department  of  the 
government,  should  be  a  member  of  the  Cabinet. 

Hon.  Isaac  Newton,  of  Pennsylvania,  who  had  been,  since 
early  in  1861,  the  superintendent  of  the  agricultural  division  of 
the  Patent  Office,  was  appointed  by  President  Lincoln  the  first 
Commissioner  of  Agriculture. 


6l4  AGRICULTURE. 

The  eighth  census  furnished  the  data  for  the  tables  of  agri- 
cultural production.  The  important  feature  thus  revived  was 
specially  required  by  the  terms  of  the  act  creating  the  depart- 
ment, and  it  has  never  since  been  omitted.  A  statistical  branch 
was  organized  early  in  1863,  and  to  it  was  committed  the  collec- 
tion and  analysis  of  all  statistics.  Lewis  Bollman,  of  Indiana, 
was  appointed  statistician. 

The  first  monthly  rejx)rt  was  issued  July  10,  1863.  The 
publication  in  the  monthly  reports  of  monthly  and  bi-monthly 
meteorological  tables  furnished  by  the  Smithsonian  Institution, 
was  commenced  at  the  same  time.  These  tables  were  repro- 
duced in  the  ensuing  annual  report.  Up  to  1872  the  same 
arrangement  concerning  these  tables  continued  in  force,  when 
their  further  publication  was  suspended. 

In  the  second  year  of  Mr.  Newton's  administration  (1863), 
the  number  of  packages  of  seeds  distributed  was  1,200,000,  and 
of  bulbs,  vines,  cuttings,  and  plants,  25,750.  The  annual  report 
for  1863  contained  the  first  attempt  that  had  been  made,  since 
the  days  of  Ellsworth  and  Burke,  to  ingraft  upon  the  census 
returns  the  statistics  of  the  yearly  progress  of  agricultural 
production.  The  tables  given  in  its  pages,  compiled  from  the 
monthly  reports,  showed  the  average  yield  per  acre  of  the  sev- 
eral crops  of  1863,  and  the  average  prices  obtained  for  them  in 
the  month  of  November  of  that  year. 

The  annual  report  of  the  operations  of  the  department  for 
1864  contained  a  paper  on  "Pennsylvania  barns,"  from  the  pen 
of  Hon.  Frederick  Watts,  third  Commissioner  of  Agriculture. 
In  this  and  the  following  year  Henri  Erni  acted  as  chemist.  In 
1864  government  reservation  No.  2,  lying  between  Twelfth  and 
Fourteenth  Streets,  and  the  canal  and  B  Street  south,  embrac- 
ing 35  acres,  was  assigned  to  the  department  for  experimental 
purposes.  During  1865,  1866,  and  1867,  a  large  force  of  labor- 
ers was  engaged  on  this  reservation,  in  testing  the  merits  of 
many  varieties  of  cereals,  grasses,  potatoes,  tomatoes,  and  other 
agricultural  products.  At  one  time,  70  varieties  of  potatoes 
were  in  cultivation  ;  at  another,  6y  varieties  of  spring  wheat, 
and  55  varieties  of  fall  wheat.  In  1865  ^  geological  and  miner- 
alogical  cabinet  was  commenced,  and  extensive  additions  were 
made  to  the  chemical  laboratory  and  the  museum  of  fibres,  cere- 


DEPARTMENT  OF  AGRICULTURE.  615 

als,  specimens  in  natural  history,  etc.  The  annual  report  for 
this  year  was  prepared  in  1866,  and  edited  by  J.  R.  Dodge,  who 
had  been  engaged  on  the  statistical  work  of  the  department 
since  its  organization.  In  1866  Mr.  Dodge  was  appointed  stat- 
istician of  the  department,  and  has  since  edited  all  its  reports. 

Owing  to  the  large  increase  in  the  business  of  the  depart- 
ment, it  was  found  that  the  rooms  appropriated  to  its  use  in 
the  Patent-Office  building  were  entirely  inadequate.  Congress, 
therefore,  in  1867,  upon  the  earnest  recommendation  of  Com- 
missioner Newton,  appropriated  ^100,000  for  the  erection  of  a 
department  building,  on  a  portion  of  the  government  reservation 
above  described.  The  erection  of  the  building,  an  ornamental 
brick  structure,  was  commenced  late  in  the  summer  of  that 
year.  Congress  also  appropriated  ^10,000  for  the  purchase  of 
the  private  museum  of  natural  history  and  other  objects  owned 
by  Mr.  Glover,  the  entomologist,  and  the  collection  was  accord- 
ingly transferred  to  the  department. 

On  the  19th  of  June,  .1867,  Commissioner  Newton  died  in 
Washington.  John  W.  Stokes,  Esq.,  the  chief  clerk  of  the  de- 
partment, acted  as  commissioner  until  November  29,  1867, 
when  Hon.  Horace  Capron,  of  lUinois,  was  appointed  commis- 
sioner. 

One  of  the  first  of  Commissioner  Capron's  official  acts  was 
the  abolishment  of  the  experimental  farm,  previously  deter- 
mined upon,  by  which  the  expenses  of  the  department  were 
at  once  greatly  decreased.  Attention  was  also  promptly  given 
to  the  execution  of  the  plans  previously  prepared  by  Mr.  Saun- 
ders, the  superintendent  of  the  experimental  garden,  for  the 
improvement  of  the  grounds  of  the  farm,  with  a  view  to  produc- 
ing a  pleasing  and  artistic  landscape  effect.  Embraced  in  these 
plans  was  the  planting  of  an  arboretum,  comprising  a  complete 
collection  of  all  hardy  trees  and  shrubs,  arranged  in  their  natural 
orders.  As  a  result  of  the  joint  efforts  of  the  commissioner 
and  Mr.  Saunders,  the  grounds  surrounding  the  department 
building  are  now  among  the  most  attractive  in  Washington. 

In  1868  the  department  building  was  finished,  and  in  August 
the  records  and  other  property  of  the  department,  with  the 
exception  of  the  museum,  were  moved  from  the  Patent-Office 
building.      The   museum   was   moved   a   month   or  two  later. 


6i6  AGRICULTURE, 

In  1869  the  small  botanical  collection  of  the  department  was 
greatly  enlarged  by  the  transfer  of  the  extensive  and  valuable 
collection  of  the  Smithsonian  Institution,  which  had  been  con- 
tributed by  various  government  surveying  and  exploring  expe- 
ditions. Dr.  C.  C.  Parry,  botanist,  was  placed  in  charge  of  the 
herbarium  thus  created,  and  the  botanical  work  of  the  depart- 
ment remained  in  his  hands  until  the  fall  of  187 1.  In  1870  the 
large  conservatory  of  the  department  was  commenced,  and  in 
1 87 1  it  was  completed. 

On  the  27th  of  June,  1871,  Commissioner  Capron  tendered  to 
the  President  his  resignation,  to  take  effect  August  ist. 

Hon.  Frederick  Watts,  of  Carlisle,  Pennsylvania,  was  ap- 
pointed successor  to  General  Capron,  as  Commissioner  of  Agri- 
culture, and  entered  upon  his  duties  on  the  ist  of  August,  1871. 
Under  Mr.  Watts*  management,  the  department  increased  in 
importance,  and  the  idea  became  firmly  fixed  in  the  minds  of 
the  farmers  that  this  department  deserved  further  recognition. 
In  1877  W.  G.  La  Due  took  the  place  of  Mr.  Watts,  as  Com- 
missioner of  Agriculture,  and  proved  eminently  qualified  for  the 
position.  Under  his  guidance,  the  department  spread  out  in 
several  directions,  embracing  many  new  features  that  added  to 
its  usefulness,  and  showed  still  more  the  necessity  of  such  a 
department.  Congress  recognized  that  fact  by  making  more 
liberal  appropriations.  In  1881  George  B.  Loring  was  appointed 
commissioner,  and  again  a  happy  selection  was  made.  Mr. 
Loring  proved  himself  an  efficient  officer,  and  did  much  toward 
bringing  the  department  up  to  the  high  standard  it  now  occu- 
pies. Under  his  administration,  many  changes  were  made  and 
many  new  ideas  put  into  practical  operation.  Mr.  Loring  gave 
way,  in  1885,  to  Mr.  Norman  J.  Coleman,  one  of  the  ablest  of 
all  those  who  have  stood  at  the  head  of  that  department.  Mr. 
Coleman  entered  upon  the  duties  of  his  office  determined  to 
bring  it  up  as  near  to  the  point  of  perfection  as  possible.  He 
labored  hard,  and  his  efforts  were  crowned  with  success.  Mr. 
Coleman  proved  to  be  the  last  Commissioner  of  Agriculture,  as 
Congress  passed  an  act,  in  1889,  making  the  Chief  of  the  Agri- 
cultural Department  a  cabinet  officer.  Hon.  J.  M.  Rusk,  of 
Wisconsin,  was  nominated  and  confirmed  to  that  position,  and 
is  now  {1891)  Secretary  of  the  Department  of  Agriculture. 


DIVISION    IV. 


HOME  AND  HOUSEHOLD. 
By  Mrs.  Jennie  E.  Dunning,  Washington,  D.C. 


CHAPTER   I. 

THE  HOME  AND  FLOWER  GARDEN. 

**  'Mid  pleasures  and  palaces  though  we  may  roam, 
Be  it  ever  so  humble,  there's  no  place  like  home: 
A  charm  from  the  skies  seems  to  hallow  us  there. 
Which,  seek  through  the  world,  is  ne'er  met  with  elsewhere. 
Home,  home,  sweet  home, 
Be  it  ever  so  humble,  there's  no  place  like  home." 

Shelterless,  homeless,  and  hungry,  amid  the  cold  and  sleet 
of  a  winter  night  in  London,  it  is  said,  John  Howard  Payne 
conceived  and  gave  to  the  world  "  Home,  Sweet  Home."  Now 
philanthropic  hearts  and  loving  hands  have  borne  his  bones 
from  sunny  Italy  to  Oak  Hill  Cemetery,  where  a  lofty  monu- 
ment towers  above,  and  evergreen  myrtle  creeps  over  his  dust. 
There  is  an  unseen  monument,  whose  foundations  are  broader 
and  firmer,  and  there  is  evergreen  that  is  fadeless,  in  the  undy- 
ing devotion  to  the  sentiment  contained  in  those  words.  His 
song  encircled  the  world,  and  will  live  on  in  the  hearts  of  the 
children  of  men,  until  the  angel  of  the  Lord,  with  his  right 
foot  on  the  sea,  and  his  left  foot  on  the  land,  shall  declare  that 
time  shall  be  no  more. 

Some  one  has  said  that  the  best  words  in  the  English  language 
are  Mother,  Home,  and  Heaven.  In  the  broadest  and  truest 
sense,  they  are  inseparable.  Standing  alone  they  are  like  beau- 
tiful melodies  that  are  quiet  and  restful ;  but  blend  them  to- 
gether in  concord,  with  a  just  adaptation  to  one  another,  and 
they  become  one  grand,  harmonious  whole,  whose  music  reaches 
into  future  years  and  is  unending. 

617 


6l8  HOME  AND  HOUSEHOLD. 

A  true,  pure  home  is  the  "sacred  refuge  of  our  life."  With 
silent  influence,  the  strong  and  tender  cord  of  affection  draws 
the  wanderer  and  wayfarer  back  into  the  paths  of  rectitude  and 
virtue.  When  these  memories  and  affections  are  sanctified  by 
a  mother's  unselfishness  and  prayers,  they  reach  beyond  the 
things  of  time  and  sense,  even  to  the  "  house  not  made  with 
hands,  eternal  in  the  heavens."  While  home  life  is  educational 
in  things  seen  and  unseen,  it  is  also  eminently  practical.  It 
should  be  a  co-operative  institution,  each  member  having  his 
allotted  task,  and  performing  it  with  promptness  and  regularity, 
thus  enabling  the  wheels  of  domestic  machinery  to  run  easily 
and  without  friction.  The  text,  "  Order  is  Heaven's  first  law," 
should  have  secure  lodgement  in  the  mind  of  each,  and  by  faith- 
fully applying  it  to  every  duty,  much  annoyance,  perhaps  many 
"family  jars,"  will  be  avoided.  But,  after  all,  home  is  pre-emi- 
nently woman's  kingdom.  If  riches  are  hers,  so  that,  like  the 
lilies  of  the  field,  she  need  neither  toil  nor  spin,  she  should 
still  be  able  to  direct.  But  when  she  is  both  mistress  and  maid, 
she  needs  to  be  clothed  with  the  armor  of  industry,  patience, 
perseverance,  tact,  gentleness,  firmness,  and  all  the  other  cardi- 
nal virtues.  Let  her  ever  remember  that  a  true  home  is  em- 
blematic of  a  heavenly  home.  Into  such  a  dwelling  the  twin 
sisters,  comfort  and  happiness,  never  wait  to  be  invited,  but 
enter  and  take  up  their  abode.  She  may  not  be  the  bread- 
winner, but  such  a  home-maker's  "  Price  is  far  above  rubies. 
Her  children  arise  up  and  call  her  blessed ;  her  husband  also, 
and  he  praiseth  her." 

THE   FLOWER  GARDEN. 

"  God  might  have  made  the  earth  bring  forth 

Enough  for  great  and  small, 
The  oak  tree  and  the  cherry  tree, 

Without  a  flower  at  all : 
We  might  have  had  enough,  enough. 

For  every  want  of  ours, 
For  luxury,  medicine,  and  toil. 

And  yet  have  had  no  flowers. 

*•  Our  outward  life  requires  them  not; 
Then  wherefore  had  they  birth  ? 


THE  FLOWER  GARDEN.  619 

To  minister  to  man's  delight, 

To  beautify  the  earth ; 
To  comfort  man,  to  whisper  hope, 

Whene'er  his  faith  is  dim ; 
For  whoso  careth  for  the  flowers 

Will  care  much  more  for  him." 

There  is  no  better  index  of  refinement  in  the  home  than 
flowers.  Books  speak  of  cultivation  of  mind,  of  acquired 
knowledge ;  but  the  love  of  flowers  is  the  natural  indication  of 
a  refined  nature ;  and  the  cultivation  of  these  "  Thoughts  of 
God  "  lends  a  delightful  companionship  to  those  who  faithfully 
care  for  them.  An  ancient  writer  has  said  :  "  To  have  a  flower 
garden  is  to  have  many  friends  continually  near."  In  large 
cities  the  cultivation  of  flowers  is  attended  with  many  difficul- 
ties, for  want  of  room ;  but  even  there  much  satisfaction  may 
be  gained  from  a  few  varieties  and  climbing  vines.  In  villages 
and  the  country,  no  excuse  can  be  offered  for  their  neglect. 
The  pleasure  gained  from  their  care  generally  repays  the  pos- 
sessor for  all  the  time  bestowed  upon  them,  and  the  few 
moments  spent  each  day  bring  a  pleasant  change  from  the 
monotony  of  daily  cares. 

Do  not  begin  the  cultivation  of  flowers  with  the  common  mis- 
take of  choosing  too  many  varieties,  but  use  judicious  care  in 
selecting.  Commence  with  ten  or  a  dozen  hardy  varieties,  and, 
when  success  is  assured,  increase  your  plants  and  bulbs,  if  desired. 
Soil  is  a  very  important  consideration.  That  best  adapted  to 
flowering  plants  is  a  light  loam  mixed  with  sand.  Many  varieties 
will  live  in  any  soil,  if  well  watered ;  but  much  better  results 
are  obtained  when  the  ground  is  prepared  by  deep  digging,  a 
thorough  pulverizing,  and  a  liberal  enriching  with  large  quan- 
tities of  well-rotted  manure.  The  progress  of  germination  varies 
in  different  kinds  of  seed,  and  the  patience  of  the  cultivator 
is  often  greatly  taxed  with  seeds  that  germinate  slowly.  But 
patient  waiting  is  at  length  rewarded  by  the  tiny  sprouts  of 
green,  which  contain  promise  of  the  future  flower. 

Since  many  failures  come  from  improper  treatment  of  seeds 
and  young  plants,  a  careful  study  of  the  following  rules  is  recom- 
mended. Do  not  plant  seeds  in  a  wet  soil,  but  in  a  damp  soil, 
making  it  fine  and  smooth.     Cover  the  finest  seeds  a  quarter  of 


620  HOME  AND  HOUSEHOLD. 

an  inch  deep ;  those  the  size  of  a  pin  head,  half  an  inch ;  those 
as  large  as  a  pea,  one  inch.  After  making  the  soil  as  fine  as 
possible  with  a  rake,  press  it  firmly  over  the  seed.  For  the 
smaller  seed,  make  the  soil  still  finer,  by  crushing  the  lumps 
with  the  hands.  Obtain  a  piece  of  planed  lath,  about  two  feet 
long ;  press  the  edge  down  into  the  soil  evenly,  so  as  to  make  a 
groove  as  deep  as  the  seed  is  to  be  planted.  Scatter  the  seed 
along  this,  allowing  four  or  five  of  the  larger,  or  fifteen  or 
twenty  of  the  smaller,  seed  to  the  space  which  one  plant  is  to 
occupy  when  grown.  Take  care  not  to  spill  any  of  the  seed 
between  the  rows.  Cover  the  seed  by  filling  the  earth  over 
it ;  then  turn  the  lath  flatwise  and  press  the  soil  down  firmly 
and  evenly.  Put  a  little  stick  at  the  end  of  the  row  to 
mark  it,  and  do  not  pull  plants  out  of  the  row  unless  sure 
that  they  are  weeds.  Cultivate  flowers  that  are  hardy ;  such  as 
peonies,  petunias,  phlox,  asters,  zinnias,  etc.,  putting  one  kind  in 
each  of  the  small  oval  beds  cut  out  here  and  there  on  the  lawn  ; 
or  else  use  some  high-growing  plant  in  the  centre,  and  low  ones 
around  the  borders  of  the  beds,  which  should  be  raised  a  few 
inches  toward  the  centre. 

Select  such  colors  as  blend  nicely,  and  give  them  good  care. 
Where  possible,  flower  gardens  should  be  located  so  as  to  be 
shaded  from  the  afternoon  sun.  Large  beds  should  be  avoided, 
unless  abundant  time  and  care  can  be  bestowed  upon  them.  For 
borders,  use  bricks  set  edgewise,  large,  smooth  pebbles,  or  narrow 
plank.  Strips  of  turf,  if  well  clipped,  make  a  pretty  border. 
Spade  the  beds  very  deep  and  mix  manure,  sand,  and  rotted 
leaves  with  the  soil,  raising  the  dressing  a  little  above  the  sur- 
face. 

All  flowers  raised  from  seed  are  classified  as  annuals,  bien- 
nials, and  perennials.  Annuals  are  those  plants  that  last  but 
one  season.  After  blossoming  they  perish,  their  kind  being 
reproduced  from  seed.  This  class  of  plants  is  again  divided 
into  the  hardy  and  half-hardy,  or  tender,  kinds.  Hardy  annuals 
require  no  artificial  heat,  every  stage  of  their  development  being 
passed  in  the  open  ground.  They  are  easily  cultivated.  There 
are  many  varieties,  and  their  flowers  are  attractive  and  beau- 
tiful. The  seeds  may  be  sown  from  the  first  of  April  to  the 
middle  of  June.     Care  should  be  taken  to  arrange  the  different 


THE  FLOWER    GARDEN.  621 

varieties  in  such  a  manner  as  to  produce  a  pleasing  effect. 
Half-hardy  annuals  are  those  species  that  flower  and  ripen 
their  seed  in  the  open  air,  but  need  the  assistance  of  artificial 
heat  in  the  earlier  stages  of  their  growth.  They  should  be 
sown  in  a  hot-bed,  or  in  pots  in  a  greenhouse,  or  else  placed 
in  a  sunny  window.  Keep  them  shaded,  which  will  prevent 
absorption  by  rays  of  the  sun  and  the  necessity  of  frequent 
watering,  which  bakes  the  soil  and  is  very  injurious  to  seeds 
of  slow  growth.  By  the  middle  or  end  of  May,  many  of  the 
seedlings  will  be  ready  for  transplanting ;  but,  previous  to  this, 
expose  them  to  the  open  air,  both  night  and  day,  that  they  may 
become  accustomed  to  their  new  life. 

Biennials  are  those  plants  which  do  not  generally  flower  the 
first  year,  and  are  only  perfect  one  season.  Perennials  flower 
several  years  in  succession.  Seed  should  be  sown  when  the 
soil  is  moist,  but  not  wet,  from  the  first  of  April  till  August. 
The  hardy  kind  may  be  raised  in  the  open  ground,  like  hardy 
annuals,  but  the  tender  kind  should  be  sown  in  a  hot-house,  as 
directed  for  half-hardy  annuals.  They  do  not  bloom  the  first 
year,  and  may  be  removed  or  thinned  out  from  the  seed-bed, 
as  soon  as  well  rooted,  and  planted  in  different  parts  of  the 
garden,  or  in  nursery  beds,  in  rows  one  foot  apart.  The  tender 
biennials  must  be  kept  during  the  winter  in  a  greenhouse  or 
dry  cellar,  and  the  tender  perennials  must  be  protected  by  a 
covering  fastened  around  them,  and  afterwards  spread  over 
with  leaves. 

A  hot-bed  is  a  necessity,  without  the  aid  of  which  many  of 
our  choicest  and  most  beautiful  flowers  cannot  be  successfully 
grown  and  brought  to  perfection.  It  is  a  work  that  requires 
experience,  and  no  doubt  disappointments  will  occur.  But 
with  care  in  transplanting,  sheltering,  and  selecting  the  young 
plants,  very  desirable  results  will  follow  in  time.  An  inexpen- 
sive hot-bed  may  be  made  in  the  following  manner :  Select  the 
south  side  of  a  shed  or  board  fence,  as  this  location  will  in- 
crease the  heat  and  protect  from  winds.  Make  a  box  or  frame 
of  boards  two  feet  high  on  the  side  that  is  to  face  the  south, 
and  one  and  one-half  feet  higher  on  the  opposite  side.  Fill  the 
frame  with  nearly  fresh  manure  from  a  horse  stable,  to  the 
depth  of  one  and  one-half  feet.     Fit  sashes  to  the  top,  with 


62  2  HOME  AND  HOUSEHOLD. 

panes  of  glass  lapping  like  shingles,  and  let  it  stand  two  or 
three  days,  or  longer  if  the  weather  is  cold.  Now  fill  on  top  of 
the  manure  from  four  to  six  inches  of  good,  rich,  finely  pulver- 
ized garden  soil,  which,  if  of  stiff  clay,  should  be  mixed  with 
sand,  and  cover  the  bed  as  before.  Leave  it  for  a  few  days, 
taking  the  precaution  to  raise  a  bank  of  earth  around  the  out- 
side of  the  frame,  to  further  protect  it.  In  a  short  time  stir 
the  soil  and  sow  the  seed  in  drills,  marked  with  flat  sticks. 
Label  the  sticks  with  each  variety.  Give  the  bed  fresh  air  each 
day,  and  sprinkle  with  warm  water  as  often  as  may  be  required. 
Use  great  care  in  attending  the  bed.  When  the  day  is  warm, 
the  sash  should  be  taken  off  and  replaced  at  night ;  and,  unless 
it  is  cold  enough  to  chill  the  plants,  fresh  air  should  be  ad- 
mitted at  all  times.  Sometimes  the  bed  heats,  and  then  it  is  nec- 
essary to  watch  it  closely.  Examine  it  by  putting  the  hand 
down  several  inches..  If  it  is  hot,  remove  the  sash,  use  tepid 
water,  and  make  deep  holes  in  the  bed  with  sticks,  for  the 
escape  of  heat,  and  then  fill  up  when  the  heat  is  reduced.  If 
the  nights  are  very  cold,  cover  with  mats  or  blankets.  If  such 
a  frame  is  large  enough,  garden  vegetables  can  be  had  several 
weeks  earlier  than  when  grown  in  the  ordinary  manner.  Flow- 
ers may  also  be  raised  by  planting  the  seeds  in  the  pots  in- 
tended for  them,  and  sinking  them  in  the  hot-beds. 

HOUSE    PLANTS. 

Much  enjoyment  may  be  obtained  from  window  gardening, 
and  most  plants  will  live  indoors  under  proper  conditions  of 
light  and  temperature.  Select  a  window  which  admits  a  plenty 
of  light ;  and,  as  plants  have  periods  of  rest  and  sleep,  shut  off 
the  bright  glare  of  the  lamp  at  night.  A  few  plants  carefully 
cultivated  look  much  better  and  give  more  satisfaction  than  an 
over-crowded  windowful  left  to  themselves.  The  pots  for  win- 
dow plants  should  be  filled  one  or  two  inches  with  charcoal,  to 
keep  the  soil  sweet,  and  to  assist  in  the  drainage.  It  is  an 
excellent  plan  to  place  plants  out  of  doors  during  a  warm  and 
gentle'rain,  but  great  care  should  be  used  in  watering  them,  as 
they  are  easily  injured.  Water  should  never  be  poured  upon 
them,  but  they  should  be  watered  once  a  day  from  a  watering- 


HOUSE  PLANTS.  623 

pot.  It  should  never  be  done  when  the  sun  shines  upon  plants, 
and  morning  is  probably  the  best  time.  The  water  should  be 
about  the  temperature  of  the  room.  Geraniums,  fuchsias,  helio- 
tropes, monthly  roses,  callas,  begonias ;  in  climbing  vines,  the 
cypress,  nasturtium,  and  ivy  ;  are  hardy  plants  that  require  the 
least  trouble  and  succeed  the  best. 

A  window  box  for  supporting  the  pots  can  be  lined  with  zinc 
and  filled  in  with  moss  ;  or  a  box  without  lining  can  be  used,  if 
care  is  exercised  in  watering.  A  strong  wire  stand,  set  on  cas- 
ters, is  perhaps  preferable,  as  it  is  handy  to  move,  and  is  quite 
ornamental.  One  of  the  principal  reasons  why  flowers  bought 
on  the  streets  or  market-places  prove  so  unsatisfactory,  is 
because  they  are  placed  in  small  pots  to  save  room,  and  when 
brought  into  the  sitting-room  the  earth  bakes,  and  the  flower- 
buds  fall  off  without  opening.  If  common  flower-pots,  in  which 
the  plants  are  growing,  be  placed  in  ornamental  pots  a  few  sizes 
larger,  and  the  intervening  space  filled  with  wet  moss,  the  clos- 
ing up  and  fading  can  generally  be  prevented.  A  better  way  is 
to  arrange  a  window  box  to  receive  the  pots.  This  should  be 
from  seven  to  ten  inches  deep,  filled  with  earth  or  moss. 

The  arrangement  of  the  plants  in  the  window  must  depend 
upon  the  taste  of  the  owner  to  a  great  extent.  An  excellent 
effect  can  be  produced  almost  anywhere  with  small-leaved  ivy, 
Madeira  vine,  smilax,  intermingled  with  showy  geraniums  and 
other  hardy  flowers.  Among  the  fall  flowers  we  have  the  beau- 
tiful aster,  which  runs  well  into  October.  Another  autumn 
flower  is  the  Anemone  Japonicay  with  its  saucer-shaped  flower  of 
milky  white,  with  yellow  stamens.  It  grows  about  two  feet 
high  and  blooms  profusely.  Carnations,  ever  lovely,  continue 
to  bloom  even  into  winter,  when  protected.  The  pure  white 
carnations  are  beautiful  and  sweet-sce'nted,  and  are  great  favor- 
ites for  winter  bouquets.  But  the  queen  of  autumn  flowers  is 
the  chrysanthemum,  or  "  Christmas  flower."  Its  rich,  regal 
blossoms  of  white  are  especially  beautiful,  while  the  small  kinds 
are  pretty  and  dainty,  both  in  form  and  colorifig.  The  plant  of 
either  the  large  or  the  small  variety  is  hardy  and  easily  culti- 
vated in  rich,  light  soil.  A  single  plant  will  bloom  profusely 
indoors  ;   and,  when  the  pure  white  variety  is  combined  with 


624  HOME  AND  HOUSEHOLD. 

the  delicate  shade  of  rose,  and  the  brilliant  yellow  variety,  they 
form  an  attractive  and  pleasing  combination. 

Many  of  the  bloomers  of  summer  and  autumn  can  be  carried 
through  and  made  to  do  service  all  winter,  but  the  most  effec- 
tive results  are  from  the  cultivation  of  hardy  bulbs.  Some 
florist  has  wittily  said :  "  A  Dutch  bulb  can  snap  its  fingers  at 
the  stupidest  amateur  alive,  and  grow  and  bloom  in  spite  of  him 
or  her,  whether  the  house  be  light  or  dark,  hot  or  cold."  The 
most  prominent  of  these  bulbs  are  the  hyacinth,  tulip,  narcissus, 
jonquils,  daffodils,  crocus,  and  lily-of-the-valley  ;  all  of  which  can 
be  easily  grown  in  winter.  A  whole  window  box  can  be  filled 
with  them,  producing  a  pretty  effect,  by  planting  the  large  bulbs 
of  hyacinths,  tulips,  and  narcissus  at  equal  distances  apart,  and 
then  filling  in  with  small  bulbs,  like  crocus,  scillas,  and  snow- 
drops. The  white  Roman  hyacinth,  which  is  earlier  and  has 
several  small  spikes  of  flowers,  instead  of  one  large  one,  is 
worthy  of  cultivation.  In  cultivating  the  lily-of-the-valley  in 
winter,  an  individual  treatment  is  necessary.  After  planting, 
it  should  be  in  a  sheltered  position,  where  it  can  freeze  ;  then 
brought  into  the  cellar,  where  it  can  thaw  out  gradually ;  and 
afterward  placed  in  a  cool  room.  Plenty  of  water  must  then  be 
given  it,  and  it  will  grow  and  bloom  beautifully. 

Of  the  narcissus  there  is  a  great  variety.  The  handsomest  is 
perhaps  the  Oriental  narcissus,  or  Chinese  sacred  lily,  which 
bears  a  profusion  of  silvery  white  flowers,  with  golden  yellow 
cups.  It  is  called  the  Chinese  sacred  lily,  because  the  Chinese 
use  it  to  herald  the  coming  of  their  new  year.  One  of  the  bulbs 
lately  brought  to  this  country  is  the  freesia,  the  leaves  of  which 
are  long  and  narrow,  and  the  flower  pure  white,  tube-shaped, 
with  a  yellow  blotch.  The  flowers  are  strung  along  the  stem 
like  a  row  of  beads  ;  the  bulbs  are  small,  and  half  a  dozen  plants 
can  be  grown  in  a  five-inch  pot.  After  blooming  they  should 
remain  in  the  pot  until  another  season,  when  they  may  be  taken 
out  and  put  into  fresh  earth.  They  increase  rapidly,  and  the 
flowers  are  delightfully  fragrant. 

Cyclamen  Persiciini  is  a  beautiful  plant  for  the  window,  the 
leaves  having  beautiful  markings  on  them,  and  the  flowers  vary- 
ing from  white  to  rose  and  purplish  crimson.  It  likes  a  cool 
window,  and  will  bloom  from  January  on  till  spring.     If  one  has 


HOUSE  PLANTS.  625 

room,  a  calla  makes  a  nice  window  plant.  It  likes  the  warmest 
and  sunniest  place,  and  plenty  of  warm  water.  The  Chinese 
primrose  is  a  good  plant  for  western  exposure,  and  likes  to  be 
kept  cool.  It  can  be  had  in  many  pretty  shades.  Daphne 
odora  is  an  old-fashioned  plant,  not  often  seen  now,  but  a  fine 
one  for  a  cool  window.  It  has  a  glossy  evergreen  foliage,  and 
the  sweet-scented,  small,  waxy,  pink  flowers  will  perfume  the 
whole  room.  Among  the  geraniums,  which  are  especially 
adapted  to  winter  growing,  there  is  a  great  variety  to  choose 
from.  A  good  selection  is  Qiieejt  of  the  Fairies,  Asa  Gray,  Emile 
de  Geradin,  and  Jean  Sisley.  These  flowering  varieties  will  do 
as  well  at  east  or  west  windows  as  in  a  southern  exposure. 

A  curious  and  pretty  plant  is  the  small  pink,  Oxalis  floribunda. 
It  will  bloom  ten  months  in  the  year.  Just  after  sunset  it  will 
seemingly  go  to  sleep  ;  the  leaves  will  close  like  an  umbrella, 
and  the  rosy  flower  will  fold  itself  together  for  slumber.  In  the 
morning,  unless  it  is  cloudy,  the  leaves  and  flowers  will  quietly 
unfold  and  again  enjoy  daylight  life.  Sweet  potato  vines  are 
very  pretty,  and  easily  grown.  Take  rather  small,  long  pota- 
toes, that  are  perfect.  Put  them  into  tin  cans  that  fruit  comes 
in,  or  into  glass  jars.  Fill  the  cans  with  water,  and  let  them 
stand  in  a  dark  cellar  until  well  rooted.  Then  remove  to  a 
sunny  room,  and  soon  the  pretty  vines  will  grow  rapidly.  Date 
stones,  if  planted  in  flower-pots,  with  rich,  peaty  soil,  will  grow 
fast  and  make  nice  window  plants  for  winter.  Nasturtiums  can 
be  grown  in  the  house  with  good  success,  and  will  blossom  well. 
Phlox  seed  makes  the  finest,  prettiest  green  for  button-hole  or 
small  bouquets.  Sow  it  in  sand  and  earth ;  cover  lightly  and 
water  well. 

A  few  good  plants  and  vines  will  brighten  a  house  very  much 
during  the  long,  cold  winter,  and  with  a  little  care  will  do  well  and 
fully  repay  all  trouble.  Winter  is  not  omnipotent  in  its  war- 
fare against  things  of  living  green ;  and  the  lover  of  flowers, 
who  protects  and  preserves  them,  may  by  perseverance  and  cul- 
ture succeed  in  transferring  the  flower  garden  in  its  beauty  and 
fragrance  from  without  to  within  doors,  holding  a  summer  pic- 
ture up  into  the  very  face  of  winter,  as  it  creeps  on  with  its 
cold  and  chilling  blasts,  riding  triumphantly  over  fields  where 
flowers  held  carnival  all  the  summer  long.     Window  gardening 


626  HOME  AND  HOUSEHOLD, 

is  a  beautiful,  attractive,  and  compensating  affair.  A  pretty 
flower  in  a  window  never  fails  to  attract  attention,  and  gladdens 
the  eyes  of  many  besides  its  owners. 

List  and  description  of  hardy  varieties  of  Annuals,  Climbers, 
and  Bulbs :  — 

ANNUALS. 

Asters.  —  This  family  of  plants  bears  distinct  marks  of  prog- 
ress, with  many  varieties  that  are  always  hardy.  They  are 
great  favorites.  The  kinds  commonly  seen  are  of  French  or 
German  origin,  and,  under  favorable  circumstances,  bloom  con- 
tinually until  frosts  come.  The  seed  should  be  sown  early  in 
spring,  and  the  young  plants  transplanted  from  one  to  two  feet 
apart,  and  the  taller  varieties  should  be  supported  by  stakes  or 
trellises. 

Begonia.  —  This  plant,  with  its  ornamental  foliage  of  brilliant 
coloring,  is  sought  for  parlor  decorations,  ferneries,  and  green- 
houses. Some  varieties  produce  magnificent  flowers  :  some  are 
propagated  from  seed ;  others  from  cuttings ;  and  all  require 
rich  soil. 

Chrysanthemum. — The  old-fashioned  varieties,  which  pro- 
duce flowers,  white,  yellow,  and  variegated,  both  single  and 
double,  are  always  reliable  and  desirable.  This  flower  has 
become  very  fashionable  and  popular.  In  some  of  the  new  and 
beautiful  varieties  seen  in  florists*  windows,  it  is  difficult  to 
recognize  the  chrysanthemum  of  our  childhood.  This  is  a  most 
desirable  autumn  flower. 

Candytuft.  —  This  is  a  hardy  annual,  one  foot  high.  Seed 
sown  in  the  autumn  produces  flowers  early  in  spring.  When 
sown  in  April,  it  flowers  from  July  to  Septeniber,  and  some 
kinds  until  frost  comes.  This  flower  is  prettiest  in  beds  or 
masses,  and  is  indispensable  for  cuttings  and  bouquets.  All 
varieties  are  hardy  and  easy  to  cultivate,  and  bloom  profusely. 

Carnation. — This  is  a  half-hardy  perennial,  one  and  a  half 
feet  high.  The  seed  will  not  produce  all  double  flowers,  though 
some  will  be  double,  with  all  the  shades,  coloring,  and  fragrance 
of  the  original  flower.  Sow  under  glass,  in  greenhouse  or  hot- 
bed, and  transplant  to  bed,  two  feet  apart.  This  is  one  of  the 
most  esteemed  flowers  in  the  florist's  collection,  and  cannot  be 


ANNUALS,  627 

surpassed  in  delicacy  of  coloring  or  delicious  fragrance.  New 
and  choice  varieties  are  obtained  from  seed. 

Calceolaria.  —  This  flower  is  admired  for  its  large,  beautifully 
spotted  blossoms,  which  are  very  showy  and  profuse.  They  are 
grown  in  pots,  in  conservatory,  greenhouse,  and  garden.  They 
require  a  turfy  loam,  a  mixture  of  peat  and  sand,  or  a  rich,  open, 
garden  mould,  and  are  propagated  from  seed  or  cuttings.  They 
are  perennial. 

Camellia.  —  Camellias  are  a  hardy,  greenhouse  shrub,  of 
easy  culture,  requiring  to  be  protected  from  frost.  The  best 
soil  for  them  is  an  equal  quantity  of  good  sandy  loam  and  peat. 
They  are  propagated  by  cuttings,  grafting,  and  from  seed,  the  lat- 
ter being  the  only  method  of  obtaining  new  varieties.  When  the 
plants  are  growing,  they  can  scarcely  receive  too  much  water ;  at 
other  times  use  water  sparingly.  If  attention  is  given  to  re- 
moving the  potted  and  growing  plants  from  a  warm  to  a  cooler 
atmosphere,  a  constant  blossoming  of  flowers  may  be  obtained 
from  autumn  till  July.  When  the  bud  is  formed,  a  cool,  shel- 
tered situation  is  best,  for  they  will  not  bear  the  rays  of  the  sun. 
This  beautiful  flower  is  universally  admired,  not  only  for  its 
rose-like  blossom,  with  waxy  petals,  but  also  for  its  dark  green, 
shiny  leaves. 

Ageratum.  —  This  plant  blooms  all  summer  in  the  garden, 
and  in  the  greenhouse  all  winter.  Colors,  light  blue  and  pure 
white.  Very  desirable  for  bouquets,  as  it  gives  a  pretty  con- 
trast of  colors  with  more  brilliant  varieties.  Start  the  seeds 
under  glass,  and  transplant.  It  grows  one  and  one-half  feet 
high,  and  plants  should  stand  two  feet  apart.  It  is  a  hardy 
annual. 

Abutilon.  —  A  greenhouse  shrub  adapted  to  house  culture, 
and  used  for  bedding  out  in  summer.  There  are  several  varie- 
ties, whose  bell-shaped,  drooping  flowers  blossom  abundantly 
nearly  all  the  year,  varying  in  color  from  pure  white  and  yellow 
to  deep  orange,  and  crimson  streaked  with  yellow.  If  seeds  are 
sown  under  glass  before  April,  the  plant  will  bloom  the  first 
season.  It  can  be  propagated  by  cuttings,  in  sand,  under  glass, 
during  summer.     It  is  a  perennial. 

Pansy.  —  Perhaps  more  satisfaction  can  be  derived  from 
these  ever-blooming  flowers,  with  their  brilliancy  and  durability, 


628  HOME  AND  HOUSEHOLD. 

than  from  any  other  seedHng.  Young  plants  produce  the 
largest  and  best  flowers.  Coolness  and  moisture  are  essential, 
and  the  ground  cannot  be  too  rich.  Transplant,  when  an  inch 
high,  to  a  cool  and  partially  shaded  situation.  Seed  may  be 
sown  in  open  ground,  in  spring  or  summer,  or  in  hot-bed  early 
in  spring.  If  seed  is  sown  in  July,  the  plant  will  blossom  late 
in  autumn ;  or  if  sown  in  October,  will  bloom  the  following 
spring.     It  is  a  hardy  biennial,  four  inches  high. 

Violet.  —  This  is  well  adapted  for  border  or  rock  work  ;  suc- 
ceeds best  in  a  shady,  sheltered  spot ;  can  be  increased  by 
dividing  the  root.  This  blossom  should  be  cherished  for  its 
early  appearance  and  its  sweet  perfume.  It  is  a  hardy  peren- 
nial, four  inches  high. 

Petunia.  —  This  is  indeed  the  queen  of  flowers  for  massing 
together  in  beds.  Their  easy  culture,  richness  and  variety  of 
color,  together  with  the  duration  of  bloom,  will  always  insure 
their  popularity.  They  succeed  well  sown  in  open  border  in 
spring,  or  earlier  in  hot-beds,  and  transplanted  eighteen  inches 
apart.  Do  not  cover  the  tiny  seed  too  deep.  They  like  sandy 
loam.  The  petunia  is  a  tender  perennial,  one  and  a  half  feet 
high. 

Dahlia.  —  This  showy,  beautiful  flower  may  be  found  in  end- 
less variety,  late  in  autumn,  when  most  other  flowers  have 
faded.  The  seed  should  be  sown  in  shallow  pans,  in  March, 
and  the  seedlings  transplanted  to  small  pots.  As  soon  as  dan- 
ger of  frosts  is  over,  plant  out,  one  foot  apart.  They  are  easy 
of  cultivation,  growing  freely  in  almost  any  soil.  These  plants 
will  make  tubers,  which  should  be  taken  up  in  the  fall  and  kept 
through  the  winter  in  a  cool,  dry  place,  away  from  frost,  and 
planted  out  in  the  spring.  They  will  bloom  the  following 
autumn.  New  varieties,  of  exquisite  beauty,  are  constantly 
being  produced  from  seed. 

Heliotrope.  —  A  half-hardy  perennial,  one  foot  high.  It  has 
a  dainty,  purple  flower,  highly  valued  for  its  fragrance  and  du- 
ration of  bloom.  It  succeeds  in  any  light,  rich  soil.  Cuttings 
taken  while  young  root  readily. 

Mignonette.  —  A  hardy  annual,  producing  exceedingly  fra- 
grant flowers,  on  spikes  from  three  to  six  inches  long.  It  is  in 
bloom  nearly  the  whole  season.     It  is  cultivated  chiefly  for  its 


ANNUALS.  629 

fragrance.  If  sown  at  intervals,  during  the  spring  and  early 
summer,  it  will  bloom  till  killed  by  frosts.  It  grows  to  a  height 
of  one  foot,  and  is  a  perennial,  if  protected. 

Fuchsia.  —  A  half-hardy  perennial,  easily  cultivated  in  warm 
climates.  There  are  many  varieties,  and  some  are  exceedingly 
beautiful.  It  is  easily  grown  from  seed  and  cuttings,  and  many 
improved  varieties  are  obtained  from  seed.  Sow  in  March,  in 
shallow  pots ;  transplant  to  four-inch  pots,  where  they  will  con- 
tinue to  grow  till  they  bloom.  As  soon  as  they  blossom,  select 
such  as  have  good  points,  and  change  into  larger  pots.  When 
frosts  appear,  protect  the  plants. 

Oleander.  —  In  moist,  warm  climates,  the  oleander  needs  no 
protection,  and  arives  to  the  dignity  of  a  good-sized  tree.  It  is 
a  native  of  India,  is  of  easy  culture,  and  blossoms  freely.  The 
flowers  are  a  beautiful  shade  of  pinkish  red.  They  can  be  raised 
in  the  house,  if  the  temperature  is  moist  and  warm.  Sow  seed 
in  February  or  March,  in  light,  rich  soil,  which  must  be  kept 
moist.  When  young  plants  are  three  or  four  inches  high,  repot 
in  rich  soil.  Young  shoots  are  successfully  rooted  in  water. 
The  temperature  in  which  the  plants  are  grown  should  not  fall 
below  35°. 

Geranium.  —  Whatever  discouragements  and  failures  the  am- 
ateur gardener  may  encounter  in  other  directions,  when  atten- 
tion is  turned  to  the  cultivation  of  the  geranium  success  is 
assured.  It  is  probably  better  known  and  more  admired  than 
any  other  plant.  The  brilliancy  of  coloring,  the  exquisite  mark- 
ing of  the  leaves  in  some  varieties,  together  with  the  profusion 
of  blossoms,  render  them  well  adapted  for  bedding.  They  easily 
root  from  cuttings,  but  propagation  from  seed  is  the  only  sure 
way  of  obtaining  superior  varieties.  Sow  in  March,  in  well- 
drained  pots.  Water  moderately,  and  as  soon  as  the  third  leaf 
appears  pot  singly,  in  two-inch  crocks,  exchanging  for  larger 
ones  as  the  plants  increase  in  size.  As  soon  as  the  weather  will 
permit,  sink  the  pots  in  earth,  removing  to  some  sheltered  place 
on  approach  of  frosts.     They  will  bloom  the  coming  spring. 

Snapdragon.  —  This  old-fashioned  flower  has  been  much 
improved  by  cultivation,  and  makes  an  excellent  border  plant. 
It  has  a  curiously  shaped  flower,  with  dark,  glossy  leaves.  It  will 
bloom  the  first  season,  but  the  blossom  is  much  finer  the  second 


630  HOME  AND  HOUSEHOLD. 

season.  It  succeeds  best  in  loamy,  dry  soil.  It  is  a  tender 
perennial,  two  feet  high. 

Phlox.  —  This  plant  produces  remarkably  brilliant  flowers, 
completely  hiding  the  foliage.  The  blossoms  are  of  many 
colors,  from  pure  white  to  deepest  purple.  In  many  varieties 
the  flower  is  striped  curiously.  For  bouquets  and  masses  of 
different  colors,  they  are  unexcelled.  Plants  may  be  started  in 
hot-bed,  or  seed  may  be  planted  in  open  ground,  in  autumn  or 
spring.  Give  good,  rich  ground,  and  set  plants  six  inches  apart, 
both  ways.     It  is  a  hardy  annual,  one  foot  high. 

Verbena.  —  A  genus  of  plants,  of  which  several  species  are 
extensively  cultivated,  sometimes  for  their  lemon-scented,  fra- 
grant foliage,  but  more  frequently  for  the  grand  beauty  of  their 
flowers,  which  are  found  in  all  the  various  tints  of  the  rainbow. 
Sow  seed  in  hot-bed  or  greenhouse,  early  in  the  season.  Trans- 
plant to  flower-bed  in  May,  giving  considerable  space,  as  a  healthy 
plant  spreads  over  a  large  area  of  ground.     It  is  a  hardy  annual. 

Roses.  —  In  the  cultivation  of  roses,  the  ground  should  be  well 
drained  and  well  enriched.  Prune  before  the  buds  start  in  the 
spring,  cutting  back  last  season's  growth  moderately,  and  casting 
away  all  old  and  feeble  shoots.  Protect  in  winter  by  covering 
with  leaves,  straw,  and  evergreen  boughs.  With  care,  the  choicest 
roses  may  be  successfully  wintered.  The  slug,  and  other  insects 
so  injurious  to  the  rose,  may  be  destroyed  by  a  plentiful  supply 
of  tobacco  water. 

Zinnia.  —  A  large,  showy  plant,  with  double  flowers,  some- 
what resembling  dahlias  ;  found  in  all  the  brilliant  colors.  Sin- 
gle blossoms  should  be  destroyed.  It  is  very  hardy,  continuing 
to  bloom  till  frosts  come.  Sow  seed  early  in  the  spring,  in  open 
ground,  and  transplant  to  one  and  a  half  feet  apart,  in  rich  soil. 
It  is  a  hardy  annual,  one  and  one-half  feet  high. 

Primrose.  —  Sow  new  seed  every  year,  as  new  plants  bloom 
more  abundantly.  Give  them  plenty  of  time  for  growth  before 
flowering,  always  protecting  them  from  frosts  and  cold  winds. 
Sow  the  seed  in  shallow  boxes  filled  with  rich  earth.  Do  not 
cover  too  deeply,  or  they  will  not  germinate.  Transplant  into 
pots,  and  they  will  blossom  freely  all  winter;  and,  if  trans- 
ferred to  a  flower-bed,  will  continue  to  blossom  nearly  all  sum- 
mer.    It  is  a  tender  perennial,  six  to  nine  feet  high. 


CLIMBERS,  631 

Water  Lily. — These  beautiful,  white,  waxy  blossoms,  which 
seem  to  float  on  the  surface  of  the  water,  grow  easily  in  ponds 
of  shallow  water,  having  muddy  bottoms,  and  can  be  cultivated 
in  tubs  or  aquariums,  if  there  is  sufficient  mud  at  the  bottom, 
and  the  seeds  or  roots  are  constantly  covered  with  water.  Fill 
a  strong  tub  one-third  full  with  fine,  rich,  black  soil.  Plant  the 
seed  in  this  mixture,  covering  it  one  inch  deep.  Add  water 
gently,  so  as  not  to  disturb  the  seed,  until  the  tub  is  full,  and 
see  that  it  is  always  full  of  water.  Place  in  any  convenient 
spot,  and  remove  to  cellar  in  winter  or  upon  approach  of  frost. 
Do  not  allow  the  water  to  entirely  dry  up.  It  is  a  hardy  aquatic 
plant.  For  an  aquarium,  put  in  five  inches  of  fine  black  loam, 
cover  the  seed  one  inch  deep  in  this,  and  sift  on  enough  fine 
white  sand  to  cover  the  loam. 

Balsam,  or  Lady-Slipper.  —  This  is  an  old-fashioned  flower, 
much  improved  by  cultivation.  The  flowers  are  improved  by 
planting  in  hot-beds,  and  transplanting  when  two  leaves  have 
formed.  By  pinching  off  a  portion  of  the  shoots,  the  size  of 
the  flower  and  the  vigor  of  the  plant  will  be  increased.  Pro- 
vide a  rich  soil  and  good  cultivation,  always  removing  such 
plants  as  produce  single  blossoms.  Much  satisfaction  and  en- 
joyment will  be  derived  from  the  beautiful  flowers  in  white, 
red,  purple,  spotted,  striped,  and  variegated.  It  is  a  tender 
annual. 

Ice  Plant.  —  The  leaves  have  a  fleshy  appearance,  and  seem 
to  be  covered  with  ice  crystals.  This  plant  is  very  brilliant  in 
the  sunshine,  and  produces  a  dainty  white  flower.  It  succeeds 
best  in  a  dry,  sandy  loam,  and  warm  situation,  and  is  adapted 
for  hanging-baskets,  vases,  rock-work,  and  border,  but  succeeds 
best  in  pots.     It  is  a  tender  annual  trailer,  six  inches  high. 

CLIMBERS. 

Smilax. — This  vine  can  be  preserved  several  days  after  it  is 
cut,  without  wilting,  and  is  most  desirable  for  wreaths  and  cut 
flowers.  There  is  no  prettier  vine  for  decorating  pictures, 
vases,  statuettes,  mantels,  etc.,  than  the  smilax,  with  its  grace- 
ful, clinging  tendrils,  and  delicate  beauty  of  foliage.  After 
soaking  the  seed  in  warm  water  for  twelve  hours,  plant  in  pots, 


632  HOME  AND  HOUSEHOLD. 

in  the  greenhouse  or  hot-bed,  in  February,  and  keep  in  a  warm, 
moist  place.  One  plant  in  a  two-inch  pot  is  enough.  When 
the  foliage  begins  to  turn  yellow,  turn  the  pots  on  their  side 
and  do  not  water  till  August,  when  a  little  bulb  that  has 
formed  can  be  repotted  in  rich  earth,  watered  freely,  and  will 
grow  all  winter.  It  is  a  tender  perennial  climber,  growing  ten 
feet  high. 

Manrandya. — The  seed  should  be  started  in  hot-beds  or 
greenhouses,  as  they  will  not  flower  the  first  season  without 
artificial  heat.  They  must  be  removed  to  a  warm  place  in  the 
early  autumn.  This  graceful  climber  is  adapted  to  conservatory, 
hanging-basket,  or  out-door  purposes.  It  should  be  set  in  a 
bed,  with  a  little  frame  to  which  the  tendrils  rriay  attach  them- 
selves. It  has  rich  purple,  white,  and  rose,  foxglove-shaped 
blossoms.     It  is  a  tender  perennial  climber,  six  feet  high. 

Ipomea. — This  climber  combines  very  prettily  with  other 
climbers.  The  flowers  are  of  a  variety  of  shapes  and  sizes,  and 
of  wondrously  brilliant  color  and  graceful  form.  Some  varie- 
ties will  not  succeed  out  of  the  greenhouse,  and  require  heat  in 
starting.  Some  varieties,  however,  are  well  adapted  for  trellises, 
stumps,  arbors,  etc.     It  is  a  tender  annual,  five  to  ten  feet  high. 

Clematis. — This  climber  is  much  admired,  some  of  the  vari- 
eties being  remarkably  beautiful  and  fragrant.  An  excellent 
vine  for  verandas,  arbors,  etc.,  as  it  clings  readily  to  any  object. 
It  will  succeed  in  any  garden  soil,  if  given  slight  protection  in 
northern  climates,  during  winter.  Most  varieties  are  hardy 
perennials. 

Gourds. —  Rapid-growing^limbers,  with  curiously  shaped  fruit, 
in  many  colors.  The  marking  of  some  of  the  fruit  is  extraor- 
dinary, and  the  foliage  is  quite  ornamental.  Makes  an  excel- 
lent covering  for  old  fences,  stumps,  etc.  Plant  in  rich,  mellow 
soil,  after  all  danger  of  frost  is  over.  It  is  a  tender  annual 
climber,  ten  to  twenty  feet  high. 

Cypress  Vine.  —  This  beautiful  climber  sends  out  dark  green, 
delicate,  feathery  foliage,  and  an  abundance  of  star-shaped  blos- 
soms in  scarlet,  rose,  and  white.  If  planted  by  the  side  of  a 
veranda,  tree,  or  arbor,  and  properly  trained  and  cared  for,  it 
will  be  a  mass  of  loveliness  all  through  the  long,  bright  summer 
days.      The  seeds  germinate   more    readily  if   warm  water  is 


BULBS.  633 

poured  upon  the  ground  after  planting.     It  is  a  tender  annual, 
fifteen  feet  high. 

BULBS. 

Tuberose.  —  Of  all  the  summer  flowering  bulbous  plants,  the 
tuberose  is  most  desirable.  The  flowers  are  waxy,  white,  double, 
and  very  fragrant.  They  are  useful  in  making  button-hole  bou- 
quets, large  bouquets,  or  as  a  single  specimen.  Each  bulb  flow- 
ers only  once,  but  the  smaller  bulbs  can  be  set  out  for  future 
flowering,  when  their  growth  is  completed.  The  best  way  to 
grow  tuberoses  is  to  fill  five-inch  pots  half  full  of  cow  manure, 
and  the  remainder  with  good,  rich  earth,  mixed  with  sand. 
Plant  the  bulbs  in  April,  water  moderately,  and  hasten  growth 
by  putting  in  a  warm,  light  place.  When  the  weather  has  be- 
come warm,  plunge  the  pots  into  the  earth  out  of  doors.  They 
will  usually  bloom  before  cold  weather  ;  if  they  do  not,  they  can 
be  brought  in,  and  will  blossom  in  the  house. 

Cyclamen.  —  A  well-known  and  much  admired  bulbous  plant, 
producing  exceedingly  handsome  red  and  white  flowers.  The 
seed  should  be  sown  in  spring,  and  by  autumn  it  will  produce  a 
bulb,  which,  if  potted  and  placed  in  a  conservatory,  will  bloom 
the  following  spring.     It  is  propagated  only  from  seed. 

Cyclamen  Persicum,  mixed,  is  a  greenhouse  variety,  of  great 
beauty  and  many  colors. 

Lily.  —  With  ordinary  care  in  the  culture  of  the  lily,  fail- 
ure is  impossible.  Select  deep,  rich  soil ;  enrich  it  well  with 
thoroughly  decomposed  manure,  and  set  the  bulbs  from  three 
to  six  inches  deep,  according  to  size.  In  the  autumn  the  beds 
should  be  protected  by  a  liberal  supply  of  leaves,  and  care 
should  be  taken  that  the  bulbs  have  proper  drainage,  no  water 
being  allowed  to  stand  around  the  roots.  The  bulbs  can  be 
transplanted,  either  in  spring  or  autumn,  but  should  be  kept  out 
of  the  ground  the  shortest  time  possible.  Once  firmly  estab- 
lished, they  should  not  be  disturbed  oftener  than  once  in  five 
years.  Many  varieties  force  well  in  the  greenhouse,  but  are 
suitable  for  parlor  culture. 

Crocus.  —  One  of  the  earliest  of  bulbous  plants.  Even  in  a 
cold  climate,  it  makes  its  appearance  in  March,  peeping  up 
sometimes  before  the  snow  is  gone.     It  grows  low  on  the  earth. 


634  HOME  AND  HOUSEHOLD. 

only  the  blossom  appearing  at  first,  the  foliage  maturing  after 
the  decay  of  the  flower.  One  bulb  produces  a  single  large 
flower,  which  comes  in  all  the  shades  of  yellow  and  purple, 
striped  and  variegated ;  also  pure  white. 

Tulip.  —  So  named  from  its  resemblance  to  a  turban.  It 
produces  flowers  of  great  beauty  and  brilliancy.  It  is  a  Dutch 
bulb,  which  a  century  ago  was  extensively  cultivated  in  Ger- 
many, and  sold  at  a  high  price.  It  blossoms  in  early  spring, 
and  comes  in  all  the  brilliant  shades  of  yellow  and  red.  Bulbs 
should  be  removed  in  from  three  to  four  years. 

Hyacinth.  —  A  beautiful  bulbous  plant,  which  sends  up  a 
thick,  fleshy  spike,  containing  numberless  bell-like,  waxy  flowers, 
in  all  the  various  tints  and  colors  of  the  rainbow.  There  is  an 
ancient  legend  that  this  flower  derived  its  name  from  a  beautiful 
youth  who  was  beloved  by  Apollo,  who  killed  him  by  an  unlucky 
cast  of  his  quoit,  from  whose  blood  the  flower  is  said  to  have 
sprung  up.  The  hyacinth  is  successfully  cultivated  in  vases, 
where  they  are  grown  in  water.  Start  in  September,  and  they 
will  produce  a  beautiful  parlor  flower  for  Christmas.  Bulbs 
that  have  never  blossomed  must  be  used  for  this  purpose. 
They  multiply  quite  freely,  and  they,  as  well  as  crocuses  "and 
tulips,  should  be  transplanted  every  three  or  four  years,  as  each 
successive  year  they  sink  deeper  into  the  earth. 

Gladiolus.  —  A  magnificent  plant,  with  sword-like  leaves  and 
long  spikes  of  flowers  of  every  shade  and  color.  Each  year 
brings  new  and  choice  selections,  which  have  been  produced 
from  seed,  this  being  the  only  way  of  obtaining  new  varieties. 
The  bulb  which  is  produced  from  seed  requires  three  years' 
growth  before  flowering.  They  should  be  removed  in  winter, 
and  in  the  warm  spring  weather  planted  in  groups  and  borders. 

Calla  Lily.  —  A  very  desirable  plant  for  drawing-room  and 
conservatory,  and  for  general  house  blooming.  It  will  grow  in 
any  light,  rich  soil,  when  plentifully  watered.  The  seed  should 
be  sown  in  greenhouse  in  early  spring.  They  produce  small 
bulbs  in  the  fall,  which  should  be  repotted  in  rich  soil.  The 
production  of  large  plants  from  seed  takes  some  time,  but  the 
beautiful,  creamy  white  blossoms  are  ample  reward  for  the  time 
and  care. bestowed  upon  them. 

Bleeding   Heart.  —  This   tuberous-rooted   plant  is  generally 


PRESERVING  FLOWERS.  635 

known  and  admired.  It  requires  only  the  ordinary  culture  of 
border  plants.  The  roots  should  be  divided  every  third  year. 
If  planted  in  the  autumn,  it  will  blossom  the  following  spring, 
producing  a  very  delicate,  reddish  pink  flower,  blossoming  from 
May  to  July. 

Madeira- vine.  —  A  tuberous-rooted  climber,  sometimes  called 
**  Mignonette-vine."  It  produces  beautiful,  glossy  green  leav&s, 
with  a  fragrant  white  blossom.  It  is  a  rapid  grower,  and  from 
a  few  tubers  vines  will  be  produced  sufficient  to  cover  one  side 
of  a  cottage.  The  tubers  are  tender,  and  must  be  protected 
from  frost. 

PRESERVING    NATURAL    FLOWERS. 

This  is  an  art  that  has  long  been  known,  and  the  process  has 
been  recently  revived  by  the  people  of  Germany,  and  is  known  as 
the  sand  and  the  sulphur  process.  Procure  a  very  fine  quality  of 
sand,  and  wash  it  clean  ;  dry  well  and  bake  thoroughly.  While 
it  is  warm,  take  an  ounce  of  mutton  tallow  to  twelve  pounds  of 
sand ;  scrape  the  tallow  and  scatter  it  over  the  sand,  stirring  it 
as  it  melts.  The  tallow  prevents  the  sand  from  sticking  to  the 
flowers.  Cut  several  holes  through  the  bottom  of  a  small  box, 
over  which  paste  paper  to  prevent  the  sand  from  escaping.  Sift 
sand  into  the  bottom  of  the  box  until  it  is  about  half  an  inch 
deep,  using  a  fine  sieve.-  Upon  this  carefully  place  a  layer  of 
flowers,  and  sift  in  sand  enough  to  cover  them.  Jar  the  box  a  lit- 
tle, to  settle  the  sand  into  and  around  the  flowers.  Add  another 
layer  of  flowers,  and  cover  them  with  sand  as  before  ;  continuing 
this  operation  till  the  box  is  full.  Place  the  cover  on  tight,  and 
put  the  box  in  a  place  where  it  will  be  kept  at  a  steady  tempera- 
ture of  about  80°.  In  about  four  days,  if  kept  at  a  steady  tem- 
perature, the  flowers  will  be  dry,  and  can  be  removed  by  punctur- 
ing the  paper  placed  over  the  holes  cut  through  the  bottom  of  the 
box,  and  allowing  the  sand  to  run  out.  At  first  the  flowers  will 
be  too  brittle  to  be  handled,  and  the  box  should  be  left  in  a 
damp  place  for  a  few  hours  ;  then  they  will  be  ready  for  use. 

Secure  a  box  that  can  be  made  air-tight.  Then  fasten  small 
strips  of  wood  inside  the  box,  on  opposite  sides,  near  the  top,  and 
place  rods  across  upon  which  to  hang  the  bunches  of  flowers. 
For  ventilation,  bore  a  hole  on  one  side  near  the  bottom,  into 


636  HOME  AND   HOUSEHOLD, 

which  fit  a  plug  closely.  Arrange  the  flowers  in  loose  clusters 
of  from  three  to  ten,  according  to  size,  placing  a  variety  of 
flowers  in  each  cluster.  Hang  the  bunches  on  the  rods,  so  that 
they  will  not  touch  one  another,  and  in  the  bottom  of  the  box 
put  a  metal  pan  containing  a  few  live  coals.  Spread  out  the 
coals,  and  sprinkle  upon  them  about  three  ounces  of  pulverized 
sulphur.  Then  put  the  lid  on  securely.  Open  the  hole  in  the 
side  for  a  few  minutes,  until  you  see  the  fumes  rising,  but  no 
flame.  Then  close  the  opening,  throw  a  piece  of  heavy  carpet 
over  the  box,  and  leave  it  for  a  day.  Upon  examination,  the 
flowers  will  be  found  perfect  in  form,  but  bleached  almost  white. 
Expose  them  to  the  air  in  a  dry  place,  and  they  will  soon  regain 
their  color,  but  will  be  of  a  lighter  shade  than  before  bleaching. 
The  box  must  be  kept  perfectly  air-tight  after  the  fumes  begin 
to  rise,  and  it  is  better  to  paste  cloth  over  the  edges  and 
corners,  to  make  certain  that  no  air  can  pass  through. 

Preserving  Bridal  and  Funeral  Flowers.  —  Let  the  flowers 
be  fresh  and  firm,  and  the  color  light.  Green  leaves  cannot  be 
treated,  hence  they  must  be  stripped  off.  Take  the  finest  qual- 
ity of  paraffin  and  melt  it  by  placing  it  in  a  cup  set  in  boiling 
water.  Keep  the  paraffin  in  a  liquid  state  by  means  of  the 
warm  water,  and  dip  the  flowers  into  it,  being  careful  that  the 
paraffin  is  not  hot  enough  to  cook  them.  Do  the  work  as 
quickly  as  possible,  so  as  to  make  a  very  thin  coating  on  the 
flowers.  To  preserve  green  leaves,  coat  them  with  green  wax, 
or  add  green  powder  paint  to  the  paraffin.  In  preserving  flow- 
ers, it  should  be  observed  that  those  with  a  thick,  full  corolla, 
such  as  tulips,  lilies,  etc.,  are  not  well  adapted  to  this  purpose. 
When  the  preserving  process  is  completed,  the  flowers  should 
be  tastefully  arranged  and  placed  where  they  will  be  free  from 
dust.  Glass  globes  or  bell  glasses  are  excellent,  and  if  a  few 
bleached  ferns  form  the  background,  the  effect  will  be  excellent. 

Preserving  Autumn  Leaves.  —  As  the  leaves  are  gathered, 
place  them  in  a  large  book,  with  a  weight  upon  them.  When 
the  leaves  have  become  perfectly  dry,  dip  them  into  white 
melted  wax,  to  which  have  been  added  a  few  drops  of  turpentine. 
Then  lay  them  on  clean  papers  to  dry.  Care  should  be  used  to 
have  the  wax  the  right  temperature.  If  the  wax  is  too  hot,  the 
leaf  will  shrivel ;  if  too  cool,  it  will  adhere  to  the  leaf  in  lumps. 


THE  HOME.  637 

Crystallizing  Grass.  —  One  pound  of  alum,  dissolved  in  one 
quart  of  rain-water.  Tie  bunches  of  feathery  grasses,  wild  rye, 
oats,  bearded  wheat,  etc.,  loosely,  and  suspend  them  over  a  tub. 
Heat  the  alum-water,  and  pour  it  over  them  very  slowly,  until 
every  cluster  is  thoroughly  saturated.  Do  not  let  them  get  too 
heavy,  or  the  stems  will  not  support  them.  Leave  the  bunches 
to  dry  over  night,  and  every  point  will  sparkle  with  crystals. 
Should  the  process  fail,  add  more  alum  and  the  next  application 
will  succeed.  By  adding  a  little  coloring-matter,  it  will  give 
pleasing  variety.  These  grasses  make  ornamental  winter  bou- 
quets. 

Skeletonized  Leaves.  —  To  one  pound  of  soda-ash  add  two 
quarts  of  soft  water.  After  it  is  all  dissolved  by  boiling,  add  as 
many  leaves  as  your  dish  will  hold.  Lay  them  in  flat,  and  boil 
until  the  epidermis  will  come  off  easily.  Try  a  leaf  in  cold 
water,  and  if  only  the  veins  remain,  they  are  done  sufficiently. 
Clean  them  with  an  old  tooth-brush,  and  supply  the  missing 
stems  with  fine  wire.  After  they  are  well  cleaned,  put  them 
into  a  solution  of  chloride  of  lime  to  bleach.  Ten  cents'  worth 
of  lime  is  enough  for  leaves  and  ferns  too.  Maple  leaves,  of  a 
pretty  shape,  are  best  for  skeletonizing.  Place  young  ferns, 
when  first  gathered,  in  the  solution  of  lime,  —  not  in  the  soda- 
ash,  only  in  the  bleaching  solution.  Float  them  on  stiff  paper, 
and  put  them  in  books  to  dry.  After  washing  thoroughly  in 
clean  water,  to  prevent  them  from  turning  yellow,  add  more 
water  to  the  leaves,  as  it  boils  away.  Use  with  grasses,  in 
making  ornamental  winter  bouquets. 

THE    PARLOR. 

"  Into  her  dainty  pador  my  lady  gayly  skips, 
And  all  things  grow  illumined  with  beauty,  as  she  flits 
From  chair  to  vase  and  flower ;  she  gently  pats  and  tips 
Each  cushion  in  her  bower,  and  then  away  she  trips 
To  readjust  a  curtain,  that  the  bright  sun  may  peep 
Into  this  bit  of  Eden,  where  love  is  strong  and  deep." 

A  parlor  or  living-room  should  bear  a  decided  resemblance 
to  its  mistress.  Endow  it  with  a  marked  personality ;  let  her 
choicest  flowers,  her  favorite  poem  and  song,  be  found  upon  the 


638  HOME  AND  HOUSEHOLD, 

table.  The  very  bric-a-brac  and  furniture  should  speak  of  her 
refinement  and  tastes,  instead  of  the  depth  of  the  family  pocket- 
book.  Furniture  may  be  substantial  and  inexpensive,  and  at  the 
same  time  possess  those  home-like  attractions  which  are  so  cap- 
tivating to  average  humanity. 

It  is  said  that  furniture  is  the  story  of  the  race,  from  sump- 
tuous Egypt  down  through  the  Dark  Ages ;  and  it  may  be 
interesting  to  note  the  result  of  some  research  in  this  direction. 
The  Greeks  perfected  Egyptian  suggestions  and  ideas,  but  seem 
to  have  produced  nothing  new.  They  lived  largely  in  public 
temples,  theatres,  groves,  and  porticos.  Holding  their  women 
in  slight  esteem,  and  having  little  home  life,  they  expended  their 
wealth  and  energies  on  public  sculpture,  paintings,  architecture, 
caring  little  for  home  arts  and  comforts.  With  their  artistic 
ideas,  their  articles  of  domestic  furniture  were  perfect,  but  few 
in  number.  The  Romans  paid  more  attention  to  household 
arts,  and  the  position  of  woman  was  somewhat  advanced ;  but 
they  borrowed  their  ideas  of  household  articles  from  the  Greeks, 
as  they,  before  them,  borrowed  from  the  Egyptians.  The  first 
chair  was  a  thing  of  state,  and  doubtless  was  developed  from  the 
Egyptian  throne.  At  the  downfall  of  Rome,  whatever  house- 
hold art  had  accomplished  went  with  it.  The  barbarians  de- 
stroyed nearly  everything,  and  the  industrial  arts  no  longer 
existed  in  the  Western  Empire.  All  there  was  of  convenience, 
comfort,  or  splendor  came  from  the  East.  Silks,  spices,  gems, 
ivory,  and  smaller  articles  of  furniture,  reached  the  West  and 
Middle  Europe,  at  first  through  Egypt,  and  afterward  through  a 
commerce  established  between  the  pilgrims  who  visited  Jerusa- 
lem, and  the  Arabs  who  visited  Mecca.  Some  writers  have 
intimated  that  this  trade,  and  the  profits  from  it,  had  much  to 
do  with  the  zeal  with  which  pilgrims  sometimes  undertook  this 
long  and  perilous  journey.  Down  through  the  Dark  Ages,  every 
lord  of  a  castle  was  a  sovereign,  liable  at  any  time  to  be  obliged 
to  yield  to  stronger  forces.  If  he  went  abroad,  he  was  uncertain 
of  his  ability  to  return,  and  his  home  was  a  kind  of  fortress.  At 
this  period,  his  furniture  consisted  of  little  else  than  chests, 
which,  in  the  castle,  served  as  seat,  bed,  table,  and  treasury ; 
and  if  he  was  overpowered  by  an  enemy,  his  valuables  were 
hastily  packed  in  the  chest  and  easily  moved. 


THE  HOME,  639 

The  curule  stool  (camp  or  folding-chair)  was  handy  for  camp 
life,  was  used  between  the  Roman  and  modern  sway,  and 
probably  never  went  quite  out  of  use.  In  the  Dark  Ages,  the 
home  was  doubtless  adapted  to  the  conditions  of  life  in  the 
strong,  rough  houses,  which  were  intended  as  safeguards  against 
attack.  The  family  lived  in  one  great  hall.  It  was  sleeping- 
room,  dining-room,  living-room.  If  a  guest  came,  his  bed  was 
screened  off  for  him.  There  was  but  one  chair,  a  mere  box, 
with  a  six-inch  railing  around  three  sides.  It  belonged  to  the 
master,  and  was  a  seat  of  honor.  If  a  superior  visited  the  cas- 
tle, it  was  relinquished  to  him  ;  if  an  inferior,  the  master  retained 
his  seat,  and  the  guest  seated  himself  upon  a  bench,  which  was 
only  a  plank  supported  by  side  pieces.  The  table  which  suc- 
ceeded the  bench  appears  to  have  been  a  number  of  boards  bound 
together  and  laid  upon  folding  trestles ;  and  this  is  perhaps  the 
reason  why  the  word  board  is  used  as  synonymous  with  table. 
The  horseshoe  form  of  table  had  been  preserved  from  the  con- 
quered southern  race,  and  was  spread  upon  occasions  of  great 
ceremony.  As  times  grew  more  quiet,  the  lord  of  an  estate 
could  afford  to  increase  the  evidences  of  his  wealth ;  so  the  chest 
grew  into  the  cabinet,  the  bench  into  the  chair,  and  was  enriched 
with  carvings  and  expensive  coverings  and  cushions,  until,  in  the 
fifteenth  century,  we  find  the  beautiful  and  useful  combined  in 
a  pleasing  and  artistic  manner. 

Woman's  influence  was  powerful  in  effecting  these  changes. 
The  priests  prevailed  upon  the  men  of  the  northern  countries  to 
practise  monogamy,  and  celebrated  the  marriage  with  the  most 
sacred  ceremony.  They  honored  woman,  and  made  her  honor- 
able in  the  husband's  estimation  ;  and  through  her  obtained 
an  influence  over  her  husband  which  they  would  not  otherwise 
have  had.  Under  the  feudal  system  the  husband  was  compelled 
to  make  his  wife  a  partner ;  because,  while  away  from  the  castle, 
subduing  the  enemy,  he  must  necessarily  leave  all  his  interests 
in  her  hands,  and  make  her  thoroughly  acquainted  with  his 
business.  History  gives  many  accounts  of  the  bravery  of  woman 
in  defending  her  husband's  possessions  in  those  perilous  times. 
Her  lord,  realizing  her  ability  to  manage  affairs,  allowed  her  to 
remain  in  command  while  she  whispered  in  his  ear  the  rumor  of 
some  fortunate  dame  who  possessed  a  square  of  carpet,  which 


640  HOME  AND  HOUSEHOLD, 

had  come  all  the  way  from  Persia,  or  of  the  flowered  leather  and 
carved  chair ;  and  she  gently  intimated  that  his  own  wife  was 
as  deserving  and  noble  a  helpmate.  Lovely  woman  and  patient 
perseverance  were  as  successful  in  past  ages  as  in  the  present 
generation ;  and  as  early  as  the  thirteenth  century,  we  begin  to 
find  a  change  in  the  home  life.  Gentle  pleasures,  wealth,  and 
elegance  are  often  met  with,  and  woman  makes  herself  and  her 
home  lovely,  with  lovely  surroundings. 

The  word  parlor  is  obtained  from  the  Norman  word  parloir. 
In  primitive  times  the  Normans  entertained  their  friends  in 
bed-rooms ;  but,  as  time  and  civilization  advanced,  the  reception- 
room  or  parloiry  which  means  talking-room,  was  added  to  the 
house,  and  it  now  seems  a  necessity  to  every  housewife's  happi- 
ness. Here  it  is  that  we  find  the  choicest  treasures,  the  dainty 
bric-a-brac,  the  pretty  tidies,  scarfs,  etc. ;  and  if  one  has  time 
for  embroidery,  or  is  even  in  a  small  way  an  artist,  many 
pretty  devices  will  be  continually  suggested  to  the  mind.  Many 
persons  entertain  the  mistaken  idea  that  beauty  can  only  be 
obtained  by  a  profuse  outlay  of  money.  On  the  contrary,  beauty 
is  largely  independent  of  expense.  When  one  is  possessed  of 
a  moderate  amount  of  what  is  called  taste  or  aptitude,  very 
satisfactory  results  can  be  obtained  with  a  small  outlay  of 
money.  Select  furniture  best  designed  and  best  made  that  can 
be  afforded,  all  of  it  being  intended  for  use.  These  wants  being 
provided  for,  then  admit  the  ornaments  of  life.  A  piano  or 
organ  adds  greatly  to  the  attractiveness  of  a  parlor,  and  much 
to  the  enjoyment  of  the  household.  A  few  pictures,  engravings, 
and  books  are  a  necessity.  They  need  not  be  many  or  expen- 
sive; but  use  the  greatest  care  in  making  a  selection,  and 
choose  only  those  that  contain  true  worth. 

There  is  some  danger  of  depending  too  much  upon  furniture 
and  bric-a-brac  for  ornament,  and  not  enough  upon  things 
permanent  and  interesting.  Seek  individual  expression  of  one's 
own  way  of  living,  thinking,  acting,  more  than  doing  as  other 
people  are  doing,  and  having  what  other  people  are  having. 
Harmony  should  prevail  in  colors ;  also  in  the  entire  furnishing. 
The  decorations  of  the  walls,  or  papering,  the  furniture,  the 
entire  room,  should  blend  together  in  a  way  that  is  pleasing,  and 


THE  HOME.  641 

will  give  a  feeling  of  rest  and  happiness  to  the  home  circle,  and 
whoever  is  fortunate  enough  to  be  entertained  within  its  walls. 


THE    LIVING-ROOM. 

When  there  is  an  abundant  supply  of  money,  a  dining-room 
and  a  library  should  be  distinct  and  separate  features  of  the 
home,  and  this  same  abundance  will  furnish  these  rooms  in  the 
approved  manner.  While  these  are  desirable,  do  not  entertain 
the  idea  that  they  are  necessary  for  comfort  or  happiness.  Ex- 
pend money  carefully,  with  a  view  of  obtaining  service  and  dura- 
bility from  your  investment,  and  avoid  debt.  A  lady  who  left  a 
father's  elegant  home  for  one  of  her  own,  whose  first  furniture 
bill  was  only  fifty  dollars,  and  whose  parlor,  sitting,  and  living- 
room  in  one  was  covered  with  a  rag  carpet,  while  from  the 
windows  hung  curtains  made  from  an  old  white  dress,  has  been 
heard  to  say  that,  while  the  home  soon  outgrew  its  modest  sur- 
roundings, and  better  and  more  expensive  furniture  entered  it, 
there  never  entered  with  it  more  of  comfort  or  real  happiness 
than  came  with  the  unpretending  rag  carpet. 

When  economy  is  an  object,  and  it  becomes  necessary  to 
combine  the  dining-room,  library,  and  living-room  in  one,  it 
should  be  the  largest,  sunniest  room  the  house  contains.  The 
furniture  should  be  solid,  substantial,  and  serviceable.  A  win- 
dow of  growing  plants  is  a  great  attraction.  A  broad  shelf, 
from  which  is  suspended  a  pretty  lambrequin,  answers  admirably 
for  a  sideboard,  and  here  can  be  placed  the  choice  and  dainty 
pieces  of  silver  or  china.  A  bookcase,  which  can  be  constructed 
of  a  narrow  dry-goods  box,  with  curtains  hung  from  a  pole,  to 
hide  its  roughness,  will  do  very  well.  At  all  events,  begin  the 
foundation  of  the  home  and  library  simultaneously.  The  living- 
room  is  an  important  agent  in  the  education  of  life,  and  it  is 
no  trifling  matter  that  worthless  books  occupy  the  tables  and 
shelves,  and  that  poor  pictures  and  engravings  are  hung  on  the 
walls.  As  well  say  that  it  makes  no  difference  what  friends 
you  select.  Interest  the  children  in  newspaper  clippings  and 
scrap-books.  Much  useful  information  can  be  preserved  in  this 
inexpensive  way.  If  not  very  inconvenient,  allow  them  space 
for  a  cabinet,  which  may  consist  of  a  few  drawers  or  shelves, 


642  HOME  AND  HOUSEHOLD, 

where  they  can,  in  time,  collect  many  curiosities,  which  will  be 
an  unfailing  source  of  entertainment.  Whatever  retrenchment 
is  necessary,  make  it  an  infallible  rule  to  add  a  few  good  books 
to  the  home  each  year,  for  it  is  a  wise  economy.  An  early 
cultivation  and  love  of  good  reading  have  saved  many  a  boy 
from  the  enticing  snares  of  the  saloon,  many  a  girl  from  a  light, 
frivolous  life. 

Through  the  medium  of  books,  vast  chasms  of  ages  may  be 
spanned,  and  an  acquaintance  becomes  possible  with  the  mighty 
intellects  who  lived,  moved,  and  had  their  being  when  the  world 
was  young.  Socrates,  Plato,  Demosthenes,  Solon  and  his  wis- 
dom, Pericles  and  the  brilliancy  of  his  age,  may  all  be  ours,  even 
though  that  wondrous  thing,  the  spirit,  has  vanished  like  the 
morning  dew. 

BEDROOMS. 

"Blessings,"  said  Sancho,  *'on  the  man  who  first  invented 
sleep.     It  wraps  a  man  all  about  like  a  blanket." 

In  this  day  of  books  upon  anatomy,  physiology,  and  hygiene, 
it  is  unnecessary  to  repeat  to  the  intelligent  reader  the  trite 
saying,  "  Bedrooms  should  have  plenty  of  fresh  air  and  sun- 
shine." Even  the  Greeks  and  Romans  were  conversant  with 
this  truth ;  and  although  we  know  but  little  of  their  sleeping- 
apartments,  in  their  devotion  to  physical  beauty  they  under- 
stood that  pure  air  was  an  important  agent,  and  it  was  the 
groundwork  upon  which  they  built  the  models  which  are  still 
a  source  of  admiration  and  delight.  The  Egyptians  slept  on 
their  day-couches,  which  were  long  and  straight,  made  of  bronze, 
gold,  and  ivory,  and  inlaid  wood,  richly  cushioned.  When 
these  were  not  used,  mats  took  their  place,  or  a  low  couch 
made  of  palm  boughs,  and  a  wooden  pillow  with  a  hollowed-out 
place  for  the  head  to  lie  in.  The  Greeks  and  Romans  borrowed 
their  ideas  from  the  Egyptians,  and  we  have  slight  knowledge 
of  their  manner  of  sleeping.  Among  Roman  remains  have 
been  found  beds  that  were  mere  slabs  of  stone,  with  a  hollowed- 
out  place  for  a  pillow. 

During  barbaric  life  in  western  and  middle  Europe,  all  former 
convenience  and  elegance  perished  ;  and  it  was  an  advance  in 
civilization  when  benches  became  beds,  and  when  people  began 


THE  HOME,  643 

to  feel  above  sleeping  on  bundles  of  straw,  or  heaps  of  skins. 
In  the  thirteenth  century  we  find  the  bed  standing  low  on 
four  feet,  with  a  balustrade,  and  a  narrow  gateway  opening  on 
one  side.  The  bed  and  cushions  were  stuffed  with  straw,  husks, 
and  feathers.  At  this  time  sheets  came  into  use, — at  first,  a 
single  sheet  rolled  about  the  body  ;  afterward,  two  were  laid 
flat  upon  the  bed  and  hung  to  the  floor.  The  bed  stood  in  the 
great  hall  where  the  family  assembled.  At  first  it  was  quite 
narrow,  but  increased  in  width  until  it  reached  four  yards.  In 
these,  parents,  children,  and  sometimes  dogs,  took  their  night's 
rest,  and  it  was  considered  a  proper  courtesy  to  invite  an 
honored  guest  to  share  it.  Bedsteads  were  occasionally  made 
of  bronze  and  other  metals,  but  oftener  of  carved  wood.  Cur- 
tains were  suspended  from  the  ceilings,  or  carried  over  them. 
At  this  period  there  were  comfortable  pillows  and  bolsters.  In 
the  fifteenth  century  beds  assume  their  most  exaggerated  pro- 
portions. As  the  Dark  Ages  came  to  an  end,  chimneys  were 
introduced,  and  life  in  the  castle  became  more  permanent. 

Small  bedrooms  should  always  have  light  paper  on  the  walls, 
as  this  adds  to  the  apparent  size  of  the  room.  Avoid  large 
figures  in  the  carpet.  A  dry-goods  box,  furnished  with  wooden 
casters,  and  neatly  covered  with  some  harmonizing  color  in 
cretonne,  the  top  being  stuffed  to  form  a  cushion,  will  make  a 
comfortable  seat,  and  also  prove  a  great  convenience  should  the 
room  be  without  wardrobe  or  closet.  A  smaller  box,  covered 
to  match,  makes  a  pretty  footstool,  also  a  receptacle  for  shoes, 
slippers,  etc.  See  that  a  pin-cushion  is  supplied  with  pins,  a 
match-safe  with  matches,  that  the  soap-dish  contains  a  cake  of 
nice  toilet  soap.  Let  there  be  clean  towels  in  abundance.  A 
wall  bracket  is  a  great  convenience  for  holding  toilet  articles ; 
and  if  the  room  does  not  contain  a  table,  it  would  be  well  to 
substitute  several  shelves  in  place  of  the  bracket,  that  there 
may  be  room  for  a  few  books,  a  basket,  a  vase,  or  any  little 
article  that  might  happen  to  find  its  way  thither. 

The  bed  is  the  principal  feature  of  the  room,  and  attention 
should  be  paid  to  the  springs  and  mattress.  The  best  mattresses 
are  made  of  hair,  but  a  common  husk  mattress  covered  with 
wool  combines  both  comfort  and  cheapness.  A  pretty  covering, 
or  spread,  can  be  made  of  cretonne,  with  an  antique  lace  inser- 


644  HOME  AND  HOUSEHOLD. 

tion  and  edge  ;  also  coverings  or  shams  for  the  pillows,  to  match, 
which  are  to  be  removed  at  night. 

Curtains  for  the  windows  may  be  made  of  this  same  material, 
when  durability  is  an  object ;  but  there  is  nothing  daintier, 
fresher,  or  more  attractive  than  pure  white  bed-coverings  and 
window-hangings.  The  useful  dry-goods  box  may  again  be 
made  to  do  service,  by  converting  it  into  a  bedroom  table. 
Obtain  a  box  three  feet  high,  four  feet  wide,  and  two  and  one- 
half  feet  deep.  Blocks  of  wood  one  inch  thick  and  four  inches 
square  may  be  nailed  beneath  the  corners,  and  casters  fitted 
into  them ;  or  this  may  be  omitted,  as  it  is  only  a  convenience 
in  moving  it.  The  box  should  be  placed  open  side  out,  and 
fitted  with  a  shelf  or  two.  The  whole  inside  should  be  neatly 
papered.  On  the  top,  at  the  back,  one  or  two  small  boxes  may 
be  fastened,  and  the  whole  covered  with  oil-cloth,  cretonne,  or 
some  suitable  material.  Fasten  curtains  in  front,  to  conceal 
the  inside  shelves. 

A  still  simpler  table  may  be  made  of  half  a  barrel,  sawed  into 
lengthwise,  so  as  to  make  half  a  circle.  This  should  be  fitted 
firmly  to  the  wall,  and  covered  with  some  stout  material.  An 
old  quilt  makes  a  good  foundation.  Ingenuity  will  suggest 
numberless  pretty  coverings  for  this.  Thin  muslin,  lined  with 
some  bright  color,  is  very  effective.  In  a  room  where  the 
prevailing  color  is  blue,  —  a  dash  of  it  in  the  wall-paper  and 
carpet,  —  it  would  be  pretty  with  muslin,  lined  with  blue  cambric, 
for  curtains,  bed-covering,  and  all  the  dr}^-goods  boxes  herein 
suggested, — would  be  very  pretty,  but  would  necessitate  much 
washing  and  ironing,  if  used  in  any  way  but  occasionally  as  a 
guest-chamber. 

When  furnishing  the  guest-room,  there  are  many  little  things 
which  would  greatly  add  to  the  comfort  and  "at  homeativeness " 
of  any  guest :  these  little  things  should  not  be  forgotten,  nor 
considered  of  little  importance.  On  the  pin-cushion  should  be 
a  goodly  supply  of  pins  of  several  sizes,  in  both  black  and  white. 
If  the  cushion  be  too  fine  to  be  useful,  a  smaller  cushion  should 
surely  be  reckoned  in  with  the  bureau  furnishings,  to  be  used  as 
a  pin-cushion,  and  not  merely  for  looks.  An  extra  paper  or  two 
should  be  placed  in  reserve  in  the  upper  drawer,  for  we  all  know 
how  pins  do  take  unto  themselves  wings  and  fly  away.    Another 


THE  HOME.  645 

important  item  is  a  hair-pin  box  or  basket,  well  filled.  A  comb, 
brush,  a  fine  comb,  clothes-brush,  hat -brush,  hand-mirror,  button- 
hook, and  glove-buttoner  are  among  the  must-haves.  A  dainty 
work-basket,  well  fitted  up,  with  a  needle-book,  a  pair  of  sharp 
scissors,  thread,  both  white  and  black,  a  spool  of  black  silk,  and 
one  of  black  linen  for  sewing  on  shoe-buttons ;  a  few  buttons  — 
pearl  for  underwear,  shoe-buttons,  glove-buttons,  and  a  few  pants- 
buttons  —  should  also  be  added,  and  a  thimble.  Provide,  also,  for 
the  use  of  your  guest,  letter-paper,  envelopes,  a  few  postals  and 
stamps,  a  calendar  and  a  blotter,  with  pens  and  ink.  A  scrap- 
basket  is  also  a  necessity  as  well  as  an  ornament  to  the  room. 
A  tray  for  burnt  matches  will  be  of  much  use,  and  certainly 
has  very  saving  qualities  concerning  the  pretty  bureau-covers 
and  fresh  paint,  so  many  people  throw  burnt  matches  around 
anywhere,  leaving  an  abominable  black  mark  on  the  dainty 
furnishings. 

A  match-safe,  well  filled,  may  be  fastened  up  on  the  wall  near 
the  head  of  the  bed,  convenient  to  reach.  A  soft  dozer  made 
of  cheese-cloth,  lightly  wadded,  and  laid  rolled  up  at  the  foot  of 
the  bed,  or  a  knitted  afghan,  may  be  a  cause  for  gratitude ;  also 
an  extra  quilt  conveniently  placed,  in  case  of  need.  Plenty  of 
towels,  good  soap,  and  hot  and  cold  water  should  be  daily 
attended  to.  Do  not  let  your  guest  suffer  from  cold  or  from 
too  much  heat  either  day  or  night,  if  possible  to  keep  the  tem- 
perature of  the  room  comfortable  according  to  your  friend's 
feelings. 

If  convenient,  a  lounge,  on  which  are  placed  two  or  three  soft 
cushions,  may  be  placed  near  one  of  the  windows,  where  your 
guest  may  enjoy  a  quiet  resting  or  reading  hour  before  dressing 
for  the  afternoon  or  evening,  or  returning  fatigued  from  some 
pleasant  outing,  or  when  the  hostess  may  be  busily  engaged 
with  domestic  duties.  A  few  small  bottles  containing  camphor, 
cologne,  and  ammonia  may  be  provided,  and  prove  refreshing. 
Two  or  three  of  the  latest  magazines  may  be  placed  upon  the 
table,  with  perhaps  a  couple  of  the*  best  late  novels ;  and  should 
you  know  your  friend's  taste,  add  one  or  two  of  good  standard 
works,  with  perhaps  a  choice  book  of  poems.  Of  course  you 
will  also  place  your  library  at  the  service  of  your  friend,  as  you 
may  not  have  divined  her  preferences ;  neither  would  you  wish 


646  HOME  AND  HOUSEHOLD. 

to  give  her  the  idea  that  all  reading  should  be  done  in  her 
own  room. 

Always  provide  your  guest  with  a  pitcher  of  cold  drinking- 
water,  morning  and  evening. 

Among  the  articles  we  have  mentioned  there  will  be  several 
that  our  friend  will  bring  with  her ;  yet  sometimes,  in  the  hurry 
of  packing,  even  the  most  necessary  small  articles  may  be  over- 
looked and  forgotten ;  so  that  when  she  finds  them  already  pro- 
vided for  her  use  by  the  kindly  forethought  of  her  hostess,  how 
she  will  bless  that  dear  woman  in  her  heart  for  saving  her  the 
discomfort  of  having  to  ask  for  them,  which,  unless  she  may  be 
an  intimate  friend,  she  would  hardly  like  to  do. 

Don't  imagine  that  the  extra  conveniences,  in  shape  of  work- 
basket,  etc.,  should  be  supplied  for  ladies  only.  Our  young  or 
old  gentleman  guest  may  require  them  as  well ;  for  we  wives  do 
sadly  realize  how  buttons  will  snap  off  from  some  of  man's 
apparel,  at  the  most  inconvenient  times.  And  surely  every  man 
should  know  how  to  sew  on  a  button,  as  such  an  accomplish- 
ment would  stand  him  in  good  stead  many  times. 

Every  mother  should  teach  her  boys  how  to  use  a  needle  and 
thread,  to  sew  on  buttons,  mend  rips,  and  also  to  darn  stockings, 
even  though  he  may  never  need  to  do  it  for  himself.  Most  of 
the  articles  mentioned  above  can  be  ornamental  as  well  as  use- 
ful, and  in  looks  alone  will  add  much  to  the  attractiveness  of 
"  the  guest-room." 


CHAPTER   11. 

THE  HOME  —  concluded, 

THE    SICK-ROOM. 

*♦  Oh,  Woman !  in  our  hours  of  ease, 
Uncertain,  coy,  and  hard  to  please, 
And  variable  as  the  shade 
By  the  light-quivering  aspen  made ; 
When  pain  and  anguish  wring  the  brow, 
A  ministering  angel  thou." 

In  this  enlightened  age  women  rank  high  as  physicians  and 
nurses,  and  it  is  conceded  that,  as  a  class,  they  are  peculiarly 
adapted  to  this  work.  Every  woman  should  consider  it  not  only 
a  privilege,  but  a  duty,  to  instruct  and  train  herself  for  the  office 
of  nurse.  Our  Lord,  when  upon  earth,  spent  more  of  his  time 
in  the  cure  of  men's  bodies  than  in  preaching ;  and  when  he 
ascended  into  heaven,  he  charged  his  disciples  to  "  lay  hands  on 
the  sick,"  that  they  might  recover.  We  are  abundantly  taught 
that  it  is  a  Christian  duty  to  intelligently  care  for  the  sick  and 
helpless. 

The  indispensable  qualities  of  a  good  nurse  are,  common 
sense,  conscientiousness,  and  sympathetic  benevolence  ;  and 
yet  one  may  possess  these  virtues,  combined  with  good  judg- 
ment, and  still  be  a  miserable  nurse,  for  want  of  knowledge  and 
training.  Therefore  it  is  essential  that  every  woman  should 
cultivate  every  opportunity  for  gaining  knowledge  in  this  direc- 
tion, so  that,  in  time  of  an  emergency,  she  may  be  possessed  of 
the  right  knowledge,  which  always  gives  assurance  and  presence 
of  mind.  This  is  not  only  important  in  the  sick-room,  but  also 
in  every  home. 

Cheerfulness  and  self-forgetfulness  are  prime  requisites  in  the 
character  of  the  nurse.  Illness  makes  people  selfish  ;  therefore 
it  is  all  the  more  necessary  that  there  should  be  unselfishness  to 
counteract  this  weakness.     One  who  cares  for  the  sick  should 

647 


648  HOME  AND  HOUSEHOLD. 

cultivate  self-possession,  calmness,  quiet  cheerfulness,  patience, 
a  tender  hand,  a  gentle  voice,  —  that  "  excellent  thing  in  a 
woman,"  —  at  all  times.  She  should  have  the  faculty  of  being 
"handy";  that  is,  always  doing  the  right  thing  at  the  right 
time  ;  never  being  guilty  of  such  awkwardness  as  dropping  or 
knocking  over  things.  Even  patients  who,  when  in  health,  are 
careless  and  noisy,  when  ill,  are  very  sensitive  to  the  disturbance 
of  disorder,  while  quietness  and  neatness  have  a  soothing  effect 
upon  them. 

In  order  to  secure  neatness,  order,  and  quiet,  in  case  of  long 
illness,  the  following  arrangements  should  be  made :  Keep  a 
large  box  for  fuel,  which  will  need  to  be  filled  only  twice  in 
twenty-four  hours.  Provide  also  and  keep  in  the  room,  or  an 
adjacent  closet,  a  small  tea-kettle,  a  saucepan,  a  pail  of  water  for 
drinks  and  ablutions,  a  pitcher,  a  covered  porringer,  two  pint 
bowls,  two  tumblers,  two  cups  and  saucers,  two  wine-glasses, 
two  large  and  two  small  spoons ;  also  a  dish  in  which  to  wash 
these  articles  ;  a  good  supply  of  towels  and  a  broom.  Keep  a 
slop-bucket  near  by  to  receive  the  wash  of  the  room.  Procuring 
all  these  articles  at  once  will  save  much  noise  and  confusion. 

Nothing  contributes  more  to  the  restoration  of  health  than 
pure  air ;  therefore  it  should  be  a  primary  object  to  keep  a  sick- 
room well  ventilated.  At  least  twice  in  the  twenty-four  hours, 
the  patient  should  be  well  covered,  and  fresh  air  freely  admitted 
from  out-of-doors.  After  this,  if  need  be,  the  room  should  be 
restored  to  a  proper  temperature  by  the  aid  of  an  open  fire. 
Bedding  and  clothing  should  also  be  well  aired  and  frequently 
changed,  as  the  exhalations  from  the  body,  in  sickness,  are  pe- 
culiarly deleterious.  Frequent  ablutions  of  the  whole  body,  if 
possible,  are  very  useful ;  and  for  these,  warm  water  may  be  em- 
ployed when  cold  water  is  disagreeable. 

Whenever  medicine  or  food  is  given,  spread  a  clean  towel  over 
the  person  or  bed-clothing,  and  get  a  clean  handkerchief,  as 
nothing  is  more  annoying  to  a  weak  stomach  than  the  stickiness 
and  soiling  produced  by  medicine  and  food. 

Keep  the  fire-place  neat,  and  always  wash  all  articles  and  put 
them  in  order  as  soon  as  they' are  out  of  use.  A  sick  person 
has  nothing  to  do  but  look  about  the  room ;  and  when  every- 
thing is  neat  and  in  order,  a  feeling  of  comfort  is  induced,  while 


k 


THE  HOME.  649 

disorder,  filth,  and  neglect  are  constant  objects  of  annoyance 
which,  if  not  complained  of,  are  yet  felt. 

Have  a  sick-room  as  large  as  possible,  as  crowding,  closeness, 
and  rustling  against  things  distract  a  patient.  Have  this  room 
thoroughly  cleaned.  Whitewashed  walls  are  better  for  it  than 
paper-hangings,  and  a  matting  with  rugs  than  a  carpet.  A  fire- 
place is  a  rare  treat  in  a  sick-room,  —  ventilating  it,  removing 
dampness,  and  making  good  cheer.  Even  in  summer  a  little 
wood  fire  in  a  fire-place,  morning  and  evening,  would  be  pleasant 
and  useful  in  a  sick-room.  Provide  an  easy  chair  for  the  patient's 
sitting  up,  and,  with  this  chair,  an  extra  blanket  or  quilt  that 
does  not  belong  to  the  bed-furniture,  to  wrap  over  the  feet  and 
knees  of  the  invalid  while  in  the  chair.  Also  have  a  footstool 
or  heavy  foot-cushion.  This  can  be  made  from  a  box,  padded 
and  covered  with  carpet ;  or  two  circles  of  wool  patchwork  may 
be  made,  united  with  a  strip  of  cloth  six  inches  wide,  and  filled 
with  hay,  chaff,  or  feathers.  Do  not  let  the  sick-room  be  dull; 
put  a  picture  or  two,  a  fancy  bracket,  or  some  other  pretty  thing 
on  the  walls.  Have  within  sight  of  the  bed  a  stand  neatly  cov- 
ered and  furnished  with  a  book  or  two,  an  ornament,  a  vase  of 
flowers,  or,  in  winter,  of  evergreen,  or  holly,  with  bright  red  ber- 
ries, or  even  dried  grasses  —  something  graceful  and  restful  to 
the  eye  of  the  invalid. 

An  indispensable  quality  in  a  nurse  is  a  good  memory.  Even 
the  life  of  her  patient  may  hang  on  her  always  remembering  to 
do  the  right  thing  at  the  right  time,  and  it  is  certainly  necessary 
to  his  comfort  and  rapid  recovery.  A  good  nurse  must  know 
how  to  air  a  room  without  chilling  her  patient.  She  must  be 
skilful  to  make  a  bed  with  the  invalid  in  it,  if  the  invalid  cannot 
be  moved ;  ingenious  in  airing  bed-clothes  in  a  short  time 
without  exposing  them  to  dampness ;  thoughtful  to  screen  her 
patient's  eyes  from  the  light ;  quick  in  bathing,  combing,  and 
changing  a  patient's  clothes ;  careful  to  avoid  using  damp  bed- 
ding, ill-aired  towels,  or  getting  the  garments  of  the  sick  one 
wet.  She  should  know  how  to  sweep  a  sick-room  without  rais- 
ing a  dust,  and  to  build  a  fire  without  making  a  noise.  A  mat- 
ting can  be  easily  cleaned  by  pinning  a  damp  cloth  over  the 
broom  before  sweeping.  Coal  can  be  noiselessly  put  on  a  fire 
by  having  a  handful  or  so  tied  up  in  little  paper  bags.     This  is 


650  HOME  AND  HOUSEHOLD. 

a  very  valuable  precaution  when  an  invalid  is  very  low  or 
exceedingly  sensitive  to  noise. 

A  nurse  should  always  dress  neatly  and  in  good  taste,  avoid- 
ing glaring  colors  in  a  sick-room.  She  should  not  be  grim  and 
silent,  neither  should  she  talk  too  much,  but  use  wise  discretion. 
Her  authority  should  be  unassuming  and  assured,  and  she  should 
not  admit  many  visitors.  She  should  be  sympathetic,  readily 
excusing  fretfulness  and  crossness,  and  should  study  to  gratify 
a  patient's  whims  when  they  are  not  harmful.  Medicine  should 
be  given  neatly  and  in  as  palatable  a  way  as  possible,  and  the 
patient  should  not  be  irritated  by  seeing  it  stand  about.  All 
things  disagreeable  should  be  kept  out  of  sight.  Have  a  closet 
for  medicines.  If  there  is  no  closet  in  the  room,  and  there  are 
no  convenient  drawers  or  shelves,  have  a  box  neatly  covered  and 
nailed  against  the  wall,  out  of  the  patient's  sight.  Shade  it  with 
a  little  white  curtain,  and  use  it  as  a  closet  for  bottles  and 
spoons. 

A  nurse  should  possess  an  unfailing  supply  of  ingenuity  in 
creating  comfortable  surroundings,  together  with  appetizing 
dishes  of  food  for  invalids  who  are  convalescent.  What  greater 
luxury  to  the  sick,  especially  if  the  illness  be  accompanied  with 
fever,  than  to  always  have  ready  cool  water  t  To  secure  this 
without  ice,  melt  a  handful  of  coarse  salt  and  a  tablespoonful  of 
saltpetre  in  a  quart  of  water  poured  into  a  shallow  pan.  Fill  a 
stone  jar  with  fresh,  clear  water ;  cover  its  mouth  with  a  plate ; 
set  it  in  the  pan  ;  thoroughly  saturate  a  heavy  cloth  in  water,  and 
with  it  cover  the  jar,  tucking  the  ends  of  the  cloth  into  the  pan. 
Set  the  whole  arrangement,  if  possible,  in  a  draught.  Renew 
the  water  in  the  pan  and  jar  each  day,  but  the  salt  and  saltpetre 
need  not  be  added  more  than  once  a  month.  Firm,  sweet  but- 
ter, if  needed,  can  be  served  in  the  same  manner. 

Nothing  secures  a  quiet  night's  rest,  after  the  fatigue  of  lying 
in  bed  all  day,  better  than  to  rub  the  body  gently  all  over  with  a 
Turkish  towel.  As  recovery  becomes  assured,  the  individual  will 
be  too  delicate  for  some  weeks  to  bathe  freely  in  cold  water,  and 
this  dry  rubbing  should  be  a  part  of  the  daily  toilet.  An  invalid's 
food  should  always  be  prepared  and  presented  with  the  utmost 
neatness.  A  sick  person  is  more  fastidious  than  a  well  person. 
He  eats  with  his  eyes  as  niuch  a§  his  mouth.  He  will  take  his  gruel 


THE  HOME.  651 

out  of  a  china  bowl,  when  he  would  reject  it  if  presented  in  a 
tin  cup.  Do  not  set  before  a  patient  too  much  food  at  once.  A 
large  quantity  will  disgust  when  a  small  quantity  will  attract. 
Let  the  food  present  an  attractive  appearance.  Use  the  dain- 
tiest, prettiest  china  and  silver  you  can  command.  After  spread- 
ing the  choicest  napery  over  the  tray,  add  a  tiny  bouquet,  if 
possible ;  for  the  invalid,  many  times,  while  he  is  in  the  utmost 
need  of  food,  is  indifferent  to  it ;  but  he  may  be  induced  to  eat 
what  is  brought  to  him,  solely  because  of  its  attractiveness. 


THE    CULINARY   DEPARTMENT. 

**We  may  live  without  poetry,  music,  and  art; 
We  may  live  without  conscience,  and  live  without  heart ; 
We  may  live  without  friends ;  we  may  live  without  books ; 
But  civilized  man  cannot  live  without  cooks. 

*'He  may  live  without  books  —  what  is  kno\yledge  but  grieving? 
He  may  live  without  hope  —  what  is  hope  but  deceiving? 
He  may  live  without  love  —  what  is  passion  but  pining? 
But  where  is  the  man  that  can  live  without  dining?" 

It  is  fortunate  that  some  women  are  natural  cooks,  whose 
dinners  are  always  excellent,  and  their  kitchens  always  models 
of  neatness.  Such  a  woman  commands  and  deserves  the  respect 
and  admiration  of  mankind,  while  her  less  fortunate  sister  turns 
green  with  envy  as  she  beholds,  with  wonder  and  amazement, 
what  this  "kitchen  divinity's"  brain  can  plan,  and  what  her 
hand  can  create.  It  becomes  necessary  that  this  unfortunate 
class  of  women,  to  whom  kitchen  work  is  a  dull  routine  of 
drudgery,  should  fortify  themselves  with  unfailing  good  nature, 
and  a  philosophical  determination  to  conquer  all  obstacles,  re- 
membering that 

**  Cheerful  looks  make  every  dish  a  feast, 
And  'tis  that  crowns  a  welcome." 

Be  liberal  in  providing  furniture  for  a  room  most  used,  and  do 
not  deprive  the  kitchen  of  necessary  kettles,  pots,  and  pans,  in 
order  to  decorate  the  parlor.  A  housewife  spends  much  of  her 
time  in  the  kitchen,  and  let  it  be  neat,  convenient,  and  tastefully 
arranged.    Young  housekeepers  should  remember  that  they  can- 


652  HOME  AND  HOUSEHOLD, 

not  practise  truer  economy  than  by  investing  a  little  money  in 
that  which  saves  them  severe  labor.  Provide  for  use  articles 
that  are  light  and  easy  to  handle,  and  avoid  lifting  enormous 
pots  and  water  buckets,  when  lighter  ones  would  be  more  suit- 
able for  a  small  family.  Learn,  early  in  housekeeping,  to  prac- 
tise economy  in  strength  and  labor ;  plan  and  calculate  with 
brain,  husbanding  strength  to  put  into  that  service  which  shall 
bring  best  results.  In  order  to  accomplish  this,  study  conven- 
ience and  labor-saving  methods  in  the  kitchen. 

Systematize  the  work,  having  a  time  for  everything.  See  that 
the  stove  is  thoroughly  cleaned  out  in  the  morning,  before  a  fire 
is  started,  for  in  such  trifling  things  are  assured  both  a  house- 
wife's amiability,  and  dinner  at  the  dinner  hour ;  thus  preserving 
temper,  time,  and  the  high  regard  of  the  husband,  who,  at  this 
auspicious  season,  is  pliable  and  yielding,  willing  to  grant  any 
reasonable  request.  Remember  the  old  adage  :  **  The  way  to  a 
man's  heart  is  through  his  stomach."  Provide  the  head  of  the 
family  with  good  dinners,  and  he  will  undoubtedly  provide  a 
large  and  pleasant  kitchen,  and  interest  himself  in  its  conven- 
ience for  work. 

Make  the  kitchen  a  bright,  attractive  spot,  and  beautify  the 
work  as  much  as  possible  by  considering  it  a  valued  accomplish- 
ment to  be  able,  by  intelligent  and  efficient  management,  to  con- 
vert a  kitchen  into  a  cheerful  and  comfortable  place  to  work  in. 
The  ceilings  and  walls  should  be  tinted,  in  some  light  and  cheer- 
ful shade ;  and  two  or  three  coats  of  oil  or  paint  on  a  good 
kitchen  floor  are  a  saving  of  labor,  as  a  weekly  mopping  with 
tepid  water  is  sufficient  to  keep  it  clean.  If  this  room  must 
do  duty  as  dining-room,  a  screen  made  by  tacking  cretonne 
upon  a  light  wooden  frame,  five  feet  high  and  six  feet  wide,  will 
not  only  temper  the  heat  from  the  cook-stove,  but  hide  the  un- 
sightly disorder  that  results  from  the  process  of  getting  dinner. 
A  square  of  carpet  under  the  table,  together  with  comfortable 
little  rugs  before  the  ironing-table  and  sink,  will  make  the  kitchen 
a  really  attractive  place. 

Cooking  is  fatiguing  enough  at  its  best  estate,  but  doubly  so 
when  performed  under  the  discouragements  and  inconveniences 
that  abound  in  so  many  kitchens.  The  needless  steps  that  are 
taken  from  pantry  shelves  to  closet  shelves,  and  from  closet 


THE  HOME.  653 

shelves  to  firkins,  boxes,  and  paper  bags,  would  in  a  year's  time 
count  up  to  an  alarming  number  of  miles.  Much  of  this  waste 
of  time  and  strength  can  be  saved  by  gathering  every  conceiv- 
able thing,  in  the  shape  of  ingredients  and  utensils,  into  one 
spot,  convenient  to  the  cook's  hands.  A  means  of  doing  this 
may  be  found  in  a  combination  of  closets  and  kitchen  table. 
There  may  be  small  drawers  above  for  such  materials  as  rice, 
tapioca,  oatmeal,  the  small  packages  or  boxes  of  spices,  salt, 
etc.,  the  name  of  the  contents  being  marked  on  the  outside  of 
each.  There  may  be  a  closet  above  for  kitchen  crockery,  which 
should  be  provided  with  shelves,  which  will  also  accommodate 
some  other  articles  if  desired.  There  may  also  be  smaller  clos- 
ets below  for  tin  dishes,  and  another  for  those  of  iron.  One  large 
drawer  will  accommodate  a  great  many  things  that  will  suggest 
themselves  to  the  housekeeper,  such  as  knives,  forks,  spoons, 
egg-beaters,  potato-mashers,  cake-cutters,  and  a  host  of  small 
articles.  This  drawer  should  be  partitioned  off  into  a  number 
of  compartments,  to  keep  these  articles  from  becoming  indis- 
criminately mixed.  A  large  closet  below  may  be  used  for  such 
bulky  articles  as  molasses,  sugar,  and  others.  A  barrel  of  flour 
can  be  placed  under  one  of  the  end  shelves,  which  can  be  hinged 
to  turn  up.  It  will  be  found  a  great  convenience  if  a  marble 
slab  is  obtained  for  the  other  shelf,  for  use  in  kneading  bread, 
and  such  other  operations  as  require  a  perfectly  clean,  hard, 
polished  surface.  Hard  wood  can  be  made  to  answer  very  well. 
If  one  of  the  patent  flour  holders  and  sifters  combined  is  used, 
it  can  be  placed  on  the  back  part  of  the  kneading-shelf.  These 
shelves  ought  to  set  out  an  inch  from  the  main  table,  to  avoid 
a  crack  that  is  not  readily  kept  clean.  They  should  be  sup- 
ported by  stout  iron  brackets. 

If  parents  wish  their  daughters  to  grow  up  with  good  domes- 
tic habits,  they  should  have,  as  one  means  of  securing  this 
result,  a  neat  and  cheerful  kitchen.  A  kitchen  should  always, 
if  possible,  be  entirely  above  ground  and  well  lighted.  It  should 
have  a  large  sink,  with  a  drain  running  underground,  so  that 
all  the  premises  may  be  kept  sweet  and  clean.  If  flowers  and 
shrubs  be  cultivated  around  the  doors  and  windows,  and  the  yard 
near  them  be  kept  well  turfed,  it  will  add  very  much  to  their 
agreeable  appearance.     The  walls  should  often  be  cleaned  and 


654  HOME  AND  HOUSEHOLD. 

whitewash^ed,  to  promote  a  neat  look  and  pure  air.  The  floor 
of  a  kitchen  should  be  painted  or,  which  is  better,  covered  with 
an  oil-cloth.  To  procure  a  kitchen  oil-cloth  as  cheaply  as  pos- 
sible, buy  cheap  tow-cloth  and  fit  it  to  the  size  and  shape  of  the 
kitchen.  Then  have  it  stretched  and  nailed  to  the  south  side 
of  the  barn,  and  with  a  brush  cover  it  with  a  coat  of  thin  rye 
paste.  When  this  is  dry,  put  on  a  coat  of  yellow  paint  and  let 
it  dry  for  a  fortnight.  It  is  safest  to  first  try  the  paint  and  see 
if  it  dries  well,  as  some  paint  never  will  dry.  Then  put  on  a 
second  coat,  and,  at  the  end  of  another  fortnight,  a  third  coat. 
Then  let  it  hang  two  months,  and  it  will  last,  uninjured,  for 
many  years.  The  longer  the  paint  is  left  to  dry,  the  better.  If 
varnished,  it  will  last  much  longer. 

A  sink  should  be  scalded  out  every  day,  and  occasionally  with 
hot  lye.  On  nails,  over  the  sink,  should  be  hung  three  good 
dish-cloths,  hemmed  and  furnished  with  loops,  —  one  for  dishes 
not  greasy,  one  for  greasy  dishes,  and  one  for  washing  pots  and 
kettles.  These  should  be  put  in  the  wash  every  week.  The 
lady  who  insists  upon  this  will  not  be  annoyed  by  having  her 
dishes  washed  with  dark,  musty,  and  greasy  rags,  as  is  too 
frequently  the  case.  Under  the  sink  should  be  kept  a  slop-pail, 
and,  on  a  shelf  by  it,  a  soap-dish  and  two  water-pails.  A  large 
boiler  of  warm  soft  water  should  always  be  kept  over  the  fire, 
well  covered,  and  a  hearth-broom  and  bellows  be  hung  near  the 
fire.  A  clock  is  a  very  important  article  in  the  kitchen,  in  order 
to  secure  regularity  at  meals. 

Every  kitchen  needs  a  box  containing  balls  of  brown  thread 
and  twine,  a  large  and  small  darning-needle,  rolls  of  waste  paper 
and  old  linen  and  cotton,  and  a  supply  of  common  holders. 
There  should  also  be  another  box,  containing  a  hammer,  carpet- 
tacks,  and  nails  of  all  sizes,  a  carpet-claw,  screws,  and  a  screw- 
driver, pincers,  gimlets  of  several  sizes,  a  bed-screw,  a  small  saw, 
two  chisels  (one  to  use  for  button-holes  in  broadcloth),  two 
awls,  and  two  files. 

In  a  drawer  or  cupboard  should  be  placed  cotton  table-cloths 
for  kitchen  use ;  nice  crash  towels  for  tumblers,  marked  T  T ; 
coarser  towels  for  dishes,  marked  T ;  six  large  roller-towels ; 
a  dozen  hand-towels,  marked  H  T ;  and  a  dozen  hemmed 
dish-cloths  with  loops ;  also  two  thick  linen  pudding  or  dump- 


THE  HOME.  655 

ling  cloths,  a  jelly-bag  made  of  white  flannel,  to  strain  jelly,  a 
starch-strainer,  and  a  bag  for  boiling  clothes. 

In  a  closet  should  be  kept,  arranged  in  order,  the  following 
articles  :  the  dust-pan,  dust-brush,  and  dusting-cloths  ;  old  flannel 
and  cotton  for  scouring  and  rubbing ;  large  sponges  for  washing 
windows  and  looking-glasses ;  a  long  brush  for  cobwebs,  and 
another  for  washing  the  outside  of  windows  ;  whisk-brooms,  com- 
mon brooms,  a  coat-broom  or  brush  ;  a  whitewash-brush,  a  stove- 
brush,  shoe-brushes  and  blacking ;  articles  for  cleaning  tin  and 
silver,  leather  for  cleaning  metals,  bottles  containing  stain-mix- 
tures and  other  articles  used  in  cleansing. 

A  cellar  should  often  be  whitewashed,  to  keep  it  sweet.  It 
should  have  a  drain  to  keep  it  perfectly  dry,  as  standing  water 
in  a  cellar  is  a  sure  cause  of  disease  in  a  family.  It  is  very  dan- 
gerous to  leave  decayed  vegetables  in  a  cellar.  Many  a  fever 
has  been  caused  by  the  poisonous  miasm  thus  generated.  The 
following  articles  are  desirable  in  a  cellar :  a  safe,  or  movable 
closet,  with  sides  of  wire  or  perforated  tin,  in  which  cold  meats, 
cream,  and  other  articles  should  be  kept  (if  ants  be  troublesome, 
set  the  legs  in  tin  cups  of  water) ;  a  refrigerator,  or  a  large 
wooden  box  on  feet,  with  a  lining  of  tin  or  zinc,  and  a  space 
between  the  tin  and  wood  filled  with  powdered  charcoal,  having 
at  the  bottom  a  place  for  ice,  a  drain  to  carry  off  the  water,  and 
also  movable  shelves  and  partitions.  In  this  articles  are  kept 
cool.     It  should  be  cleaned  once  a  week. 

Every  house  needs  a  store-room,  in  which  to  keep  tea,  coffee, 
sugar,  rice,  candles,  etc.  It  should  be  furnished  with  jars  having 
labels,  a  large  spoon,  a  fork,  sugar  and  flour  scoops,  a  towel,  and 
a  dish-cloth. 


CHAPTER    III. 

RECIPES    FOR   THE    KITCHEN. 

An  Ideal  Cup  of  Coffee.  —  "  Grind  moderately  fine  a  large  cup  or  small  bowl  of 
coffee.  Break  into  it  one  egg  with  shell.  Mix  well,  adding  enough  cold  water  to 
thoroughly  wet  the  grounds.  Upon  this  pour  one  pint  of  boiling  water.  Let  it  boil 
slowly  for  ten  or  fifteen  minutes,  according  to  the  variety  of  coffee  used  and  the  fine- 
ness to  which  it  is  ground.  Let  it  stand  three  minutes  to  settle,  then  pour  through 
a  fine  wire  sieve  into  a  warm  coffee-pot.  This  will  make  enough  for  four  persons. 
At  table  first  put  the  sugar  into  the  cup,  then  fill  half  full  of  boiling  water,  add  your 
coffee,  and  you  have  a  delicious  beverage  that  will  be  a  revelation  to  many  poor  mor- 
tals that  have  an  indistinct  remembrance  of,  and  an  intense  longing  for,  an  ideal  cup 
of  coffee,"  says  an  importer  of  the  coffee  berry,  who  has  tested  the  recipes  of  many 
lands.  If  cream  can  be  procured,  so  much  the  better;  and  in  that  case  boiling  water 
can  be  added,  either  in  the  pot  or  cup,  to  make  up  for  the  space  occupied  by  the 
milk,  as  above. 

Cocoa. — The  cracked  is  best.  Put  two  tablespoonfuls  of  it  into  three  pints  of 
cold  water.  Boil  an  hour  for  first  use.  Save  the  remnants  and  boil  it  again,  as  it  is 
very  strong.  Do  this  several  times.  For  ground  cocoa  use  two  tablespoonfuls  to  a 
quart,  and  boil  half  an  hour.  Boil  the  milk  by  itself,  and  add  it  liberally  when  taken 
up.  For  the  shells  of  cocoa,  use  a  heaping  teacupful  for  a  quart  of  water.  Put  them 
in  over  night  and  boil  a  long  time. 

Chocolate.  —  Scrape  two  sticks  of  chocolate  and  boil  it  in  half  a  cup  of  water. 
Stir  to  a  smooth  paste.  Sweeten  a  pint  of  milk  with  loaf-sugar,  and,  when  boiling, 
pour  onto  the  chocolate,  and  let  it  boil  together  a  few  seconds,  stirring  it  well. 
Serve  immediately.  Some  persons  prefer  a  little  water  instead  of  all  milk.  Sweeten 
a  little  cream  and  whip  to  a  froth,  and  place  on  the  top  of  each  cup. 

Tea.  —  When  the  water  in  the  tea-kettle  begins  to  boil,  have  ready  a  tin  tea- 
steeper.  Pour  into  the  tea-steeper  just  a  very  little  of  the  boiling  water,  and  then 
put  in  tea,  allowing  one  teaspoonful  of  tea  to  each  person.  Pour  boiling  water  over 
this,  until  the  steeper  is  a  little  more  than  half  full.  Cover  tightly  and  let  it  stand 
where  it  will  keep  hot,  but  not  boil.  Let  the  tea  infuse  for  ten  or  fifteen  minutes 
and  then  pour  into  the  tea-urn,  adding  more  boiling  water,  in  the  proportion  of 
one  cup  of  water  for  every  teaspoonful  of  dry  tea  which  has  been  infused.  Have 
boiling  water  in  a  water-pot,  and  weaken  each  cup  of  tea  as  desired.  Do  not  use 
water  that  has  boiled  long.  Spring  water  is  best  for  tea,  and  filtered  water  next 
best. 

Cream  for  Coffee  and  Tea.  —  Heat  new  milk,  and  let  it  stand  till  cool  and  all 
the  cream  rises.  This  is  the  best  way  for  common  use.  To  every  pint  of  this  add  a 
pound  and  a  quarter  of  loaf-sugar,  and  it  will  keep  good  a  month  or  more,  if  corked 
tight  in  glass. 

Egg  with  Tea,  Coffee,  Cocoa,  or  Milk.  —  Break  the  ^gg  into  a  teacup.  Beat 
with  a  fork  till  well  mixed.  Pour  in  the  tea,  coffee,  cocoa,  or  milk,  gradually  stirring 
656 


RECIPES,  .  657 

all  the  time.  This  is  very  nourishing,  and  good  in  cases  of  exhaustion  from  overwork 
or  strain. 

Cream  Nectar.  —  Two  and  one-half  pounds  of  white  sugar,  one-eighth  pound  of 
tartaric  acid,  both  dissolved  in  one  quart  of  hot  water.  When  cold  add  the  beaten 
whites  of  three  eggs,  stirring  well.  Bottle  for  use.  Put  two  large  spoonfuls  of  this 
syrup  in  a  glass  of  cold  water,  and  stir  into  it  one-fourth  of  a  spoonful  of  bicarbonate 
of  soda.     Any  flavor  can  be  put  into  the  syrup.     An  excellent  drink  for  summer. 

Raspberry  Acid.  —  Dissolve  five  ounces  of  tartaric  acid  in  two  quarts  of  water. 
Pour  it  upon  twelve  pounds  of  red  raspberries  in  a  large  bowl.  Let  it  stand  twenty- 
four  hours.  Strain  it  without  pressing.  To  one  pint  of  this  liquor  add  one  and  one- 
half  pounds  of  white  sugar.  Stir  until  dissolved.  Bottle,  but  do  not  cork  for  several 
days,  when  it  is  ready  for  use.  Two  or  three  tablespoonfuls  in  a  glass  of  ice  water 
will  make  a  delicious  beverage. 

Strawberry  and  Raspberry  Vinegar.  —  Mix  four  pounds  of  the  fruit  with  three 
quarts  of  cider  or  wine  vinegar,  and  let  them  stand  three  days.  Drain  the  vinegar 
through  a  jelly-bag  and  add  four  more  pounds  of  fruit,  and  in  three  days  do  the 
same.  Then  strain  out  the  vinegar  for  summer  drinks,  effervescing  with  soda  or  only 
with  water. 

Koumiss  made  with  Buttermilk.  —  One  quart  buttermilk,  two  quarts  sweet 
milk,  four  teaspoonfuls  sugar.  Mix  the  buttermilk  and  sweet  milk  together,  add  the 
sugar,  and  stir  till  melted.  Let  it  stand  near  the  kitchen  fire  for  twelve  hours,  covered 
with  a  cloth;  then  bottle.  As  it  is  an  effervescing  drink,  the  cork  must  be  tied  down 
and  the  bottles  kept  on  their  sides.     When  the  koumiss  is  opened,  it  should  be  used. 

Koumiss  made  with  Sweet  Milk.  —  This  is  a  pleasant  drink.  To  make  it,  take 
eight  cups  of  sweet  milk,  two  cups  of  warm  water,  two  tablespoonfuls  of  white  sugar, 
one  half-inch-square  dried  yeast  cake.  Let  stand  three  hours  in  a  warm  place,  and 
stir  often.  Put  into  quart  bottles.  Fill  two-thirds  full,  cork  with  new  corks,  and 
wire  them  down.  Lay  the  bottles  on  the  cellar  bottom,  on  their  sides.  Let  lie 
thirty  hours  or  more.     Before  using,  shake  well. 

SOUPS. 

Plain  Beef  Soup.  —  Put  three  pounds  of  beef  and  one  chopped  onion,  tied  in 
a  bag,  to  three  quarts  of  cold  water.  Simmer  till  the  meat  is  very  soft,  —  say  four 
hours;  then  add  three  teaspoonfuls  of  salt,  as  much  sugar,  and  half  a  teaspoonful  of 
pepper.  Any  other  flavors  may  be  added,  to  suit  the  taste.  Strain  the  soup,  and 
save  the  meat  for  mince-meat  or  hash.  Half  a  dozen  sliced  tomatoes  will  much 
improve  this.  Some  would  thicken  with  three  or  four  teaspoonfuls  of  potato-starch 
or  flour. 

Rich  Beef  Soup. — The  following  is  a  specimen  of  soups  that  are  most  stylish, 
rich,  and  demand  most  care  in  preparation:  Simmer  six  pounds  of  beef  for  six 
hours,  in  six  quarts  of  water,  using  the  bones,  broken  in  small  pieces.  Cool  it  and 
take  off  the  fat.  Next  day,  an  hour  before  dinner,  take  out  the  meat  to  use  for  hash 
or  mince-meat,  heat  the  liquor,  throw  in  some  salt  to  raise  the  scum,  and  skim  it 
well.  Then  slice  small,  and  boil,  in  a  very  little  water,  these  vegetables :  two  turnips, 
two  carrots,  one  head  of  celery,  one  quart  of  tomatoes,  half  a  head  of  small  white 
cabbage,  one  pint  of  green  corn  or  Shaker  corn,  soaked  over  night.  Cook  the 
cabbage  in  two  waters,  throwing  away  the  first.  Boil  the  soup  half  an  hour  after 
these  are  put  in.     Season  with  salt,  pepper,  and  mace,  to  suit  the  taste. 


658  HOME  AND  HOUSEHOLD, 

Mutton  Soup.  —  Boil  a  leg  of  mutton  three  hours.  Season  to  your  taste  with 
salt  and  pepper,  and  add  one  teaspoonful  of  summer  savory.  Make  a  batter  of  one 
egg,  two  tablespoonfuls  of  milk,  two  tablespoonfuls  of  flour,  all  well  beaten  together; 
drop  this  batter  into  the  soup  with  a  spoon,  and  boil  for  three  minutes. 

Ox-Tail  Soup.  — Take  two  ox-tails,  two  whole  onions,  two  carrots,  one  small 
turnip,  two  tablespoonfuls  of  flour,  and  a  little  white  pepper.  Add  one  gallon  water. 
Let  all  boil  for  two  hours;  then  take  out  the  tails,  and  cut  the  meat  into  small  pieces. 
Return  the  bones  to  the  pot  for  a  short  time;  boil  another  hour;  then  strain  the 
soup,  and  rinse  two  spoonfuls  of  arrowroot  to  add  to  it,  with  the  meat  cut  from  the 
bones,  and  let  all  boil  for  a  quarter  of  an  hour. 

Clam  Soup.  —  Wash  and  boil  the  clams  till  they  come  out  of  their  shells  easily; 
then  chop  them,  and  put  them  back  into  the  liquor,  which  should  first  be  strained. 
Add  a  teacup  of  milk  for  each  quart  of  soup.  Thicken  with  a  little  flour,  into  which 
has  been  worked  as  much  butter  as  it  will  hold,  and  season  with  salt  and  pepper 
to  suit  the  taste. 

Oyster  Soup. — Take  one  quart  of  water,  one  teacupful  of  butter,  one  pint  of 
milk,  two  teaspoonfuls  of  salt,  four  crackers  rolled  fine,  and  one  teaspoonful  of  pepper. 
Bring  to  full  boiling  heat  as  soon  as  possible,  then  add  one  quart  of  oysters.  Let  the 
•whole  come  to  a  boiling  heat  quickly,  and  remove  from  the  fire. 

Another.  —  Pour  one  quart  of  boiling  water  into  a  skillet;  then  add  one  quart  of 
good,  rich  milk.  Stir  in  one  teacupful  of  rolled  cracker  crumbs.  Season  with  pepper 
and  salt,  to  taste.  When  all  come  to  a  boil,  add  one  quart  of  good,  fresh  oysters. 
Stir  well,  so  as  to  keep  from  scorching.  Then  add  a  piece  of  good,  sweet  butter 
about  the  size  of  an  egg.  Let  it  boil  up  once,  then  remove  from  the  fire  immediately. 
Dish  up  and  send  to  teble. 

Fish  Soup.  —  Cod-head;  vegetables:  carrot,  onion,  and  parsley;  one-half  pound 
rice;  seven  pounds  potatoes.  Get  a  large  cod-head,  wash  it  well;  put  it  on  with 
cold  water  (one  gallon),  and  boil  for  an  hour;  then  put  it  through  a  sieve  or  clean, 
coarse  cloth.  Wash  the  rice  well,  and  add;  cut  the  onions  very  fine,  and  add;  grate 
the  carrot,  and  boil  very  slowly,  with  lid  closed,  for  one  hour;  then  add  chopped 
parsley  and  all  the  fish  taken  from  the  head,  with  pepper  and  salt  to  taste.  Serve 
hot,  with  potatoes.     A  little  milk  will  improve  the  soup.     It  is  very  like  oyster  soup. 

Mock  Kidney  Soup  and  Potatoes. — Two  pounds  of  liver;  vegetables:  carrot, 
turnip,  onion;  seven  pounds  potatoes.  Put  on  half  of  the  liver,  with  one  gallon  of 
water;  boil  very  slowly  for  an  hour;  then  take  it  out  and  grate  it.  Have  the  other 
half  cut  in  nice,  small  pieces,  and  add.  Grate  the  carrot  and  turnip,  and  one  potato, 
but  do  not  add  the  potato  until  fifteen  minutes  before  you  take  the  soup  off  the  fire. 
Cut  the  onion  very  fine,  and  add  it  with  the  liver,  carrot,  and  turnip.  Boil  very  slowly 
for  one  and  one-half  hours,  with  lid  closed.  Pepper  and  salt  to  taste,  and  serve  hot, 
with  potatoes. 

Mock  Turtle  Soup.  —  CalPs  head,  and  a  small  piece  of  the  lights,  small  piece 
of  the  liver,  and  one- fourth  pound  of  fat  pork;  one  teaspoonful  of  cinnamon,  one  of 
allspice,  one-half  of  cloves,  one-half  of  cayenne  pepper;  one  lemon;  one-half  pound 
flour;  three  potatoes;  three  eggs.  Wash  and  soak  the  head,  lights,  and  liver  for 
some  hours.  Boil  them  very  carefully,  keeping  the  lid  closed.  Cut  the  meat  up  into 
small  strips;  fry  the  pork,  cut  it  up  into  small  pieces;  and  add  all  to  the  soup.  You 
should  have  one  gallon.  When  it  boils,  put  in  the  cinnamon,  allspice,  cloves,  and 
cayenne  pepper.  Grate  the  rind  of  the  lemon;  add  it,  with  the  juice,  to  the  soup. 
Grate  the  three  potatoes,  and  add.     Brown  the  flour  before  the  fire,  mix  it  smooth, 


RECIPES.  659 

and  add.  Let  all  boil  for  ten  minutes.  Have  three  hard-boiled  eggs,  slice  them  up 
into  the  tureen,  and  pour  the  soup  on  the  top  of  them.  This  recipe  is  equal  to  real 
turtle  soup.     It  can  be  made  with  force-meat  balls,  which  are  an  improvement. 

Haricot  Bean  Soup  and  Potatoes.  —  Three  and  one-half  pounds  potatoes;  one 
pound  beans;  vegetables;  onion.  Wash  the  beans,  and  leave  them  to  soak  for  sixteen 
hours.  Put  into  a  clean  pot,  with  a  gallon  of  water,  and  the  onion  cut  fine.  Boil 
very  carefully  and  slowly  for  two  hours;  then  add  carrot,  turnip,  and  two  potatoes,  all 
grated,  and  boil  for  half  an  hour.  Just  before  serving  add  a  teaspoonful  of  powdered 
sage;   salt  and  pepper  to  taste.     Serve  hot.     To  be  taken  with  potatoes. 

A  Vegetable  Soup.  —  Take  three  quarts  of  stock  that  is  duly  seasoned  with 
sugar,  salt,  and  pepper.  Add  two  small  onions  chopped  fine,  three  small  carrots, 
three  small  turnips,  one  stalk  of  celery,  and  a  pint  of  green  peas  —  all  chopped  fine. 
Let  it  simmer  two  hours,  and  then  serve  it. 

Potato  Soup.  — Take  six  large,  mealy  potatoes,  sliced,  and  soaked  an  hour.  Add 
one  onion,  sliced  and  tied  in  a  bag,  a  quart  of  milk,  and  a  quarter  of  a  pound  of 
salt  pork,  cut  in  slices.  Boil  three-quarters  of  an  hour,  and  then  add  a  tablespoonful 
of  melted  butter  and  a  well-beaten  egg,  mixed  in  a  cup  of  milk.  This  is  a  favorite 
soup  with  many,  and  easily  made.  Some  omit  the  pork,  and  use  salt  and  pepper  to 
flavor  it,  and  add  one  well-beaten  egg. 

Green  Pea  Soup.  — Boil  the  pods  an  hour  in  a  gallon  of  water.  Strain  the  liquor, 
and  put  into  it  four  pounds  of  beef  or  mutton,  and  simmer  one  hour;  then  add  half 
the  peas  contained  in  half  a  peck  of  pods,  and  boil  half  an  hour;  then  thicken  with 
two  great  spoonfuls  of  flour,  and  season  with  salt  and  pepper.  Three  tomatoes,  sliced, 
improve  this. 

Scotch  Broth.  — Take  half  teacup  barley,  four  quarts  cold  water;  bring  to  a  boil, 
and  skim.  Put  in  now  a  neck  of  mutton,  and  boil  again  for  half  an  hour.  Skim 
well  the  sides,  also  the  pot.  Have  ready  two  carrots,  one  large  onion,  one  small  head 
cabbage,  one  bunch  parsley,  one  sprig  celery  tops;  chop  all  these  fine.  Add  your 
chopped  vegetables;   pepper  and  salt  to  taste.     Take  two  hours  to  cook. 

Celery  Soup.  —  Scrape  and  cut  into  small  pieces  two  bunches  of  celery,  using  the 
best  parts  only.  Add  two  quarts  of  good  soup  stock,  with  an  onion  cut  into  slices, 
and  stew  gently  until  the  celery  is  tender.  Put  through  a  colander,  season  with  pepper 
and  salt,  and  return  to  the  fire;  boil  up;  add  a  coffeecupful  of  boiling  milk,  thickened 
with  a  little  cornstarch  or  flour,  and  turn  at  once  into  the  tureen.  A  trifle  of  sugar 
is  thought  by  many  an  improvement;  while  a  few  bits  of  fried  bread,  put  into  the 
tureen  before  pouring  in  the  soup,  are  a  nice  addition. 

Turkey  Soup.  —  People  who  like  the  old-fashioned,  rich  soups  will  find  the 
following  recipe  for  using  the  carcass  of  a  turkey  delicious :  Cut  off  the  meat  from 
the  bones,  and  break  the  carcass  into  several  pieces.  Add  two  or  three  quarts  of 
water,  proportioned  to  the  quantity  of  meat,  two  slices  of  carrot,  two  of  turnip,  two 
large  onions,  two  stalks  of  celery,  three  tablespoonfuls  of  butter,  and  three  of  flour. 
Set  on  the  fire  and  cook  three  hours;  then  add  the  vegetables  and  cook  another 
hour.  Strain  and  put  back  on  the  stove.  Brown  the  flour  and  butter  together,  add 
it  to  the  soup,  season  with  salt  and  pepper,  and  simmer  for  half  an  hour.  If  any  fat 
rises,  skim  it  off.  Small  squares  of  toasted  bread  may  be  added,  just  as  the  soup  is 
sent  to  the  table. 

Noodles  for  Soup.  — Rub  into  two  eggs  as  much  sifted  flour  as  they  will  absorb; 
then  roll  out  until  thin  as  a  wafer.  Dust  over  a  little  flour,  and  then  roll  over  and 
over  into  a  roll.   Cut  off  thin  slices  from  the  edge  of  the  roll,  and  shake  out  into  long 


66o  .    HOME  AND  HOUSEHOLD, 

strips.  Put  them  into  the  soup  lightly,  and  boil.  Remove  the  scum  when  it  first 
begins  to  boil.  The  more  gently  meat  boils,  the  more  tender  it  will  become.  Allow 
twenty  minutes  for  boiling  each  pound  of  fresh  meat. 

Soup  Stock  is  broth  of  any  kind  of  meat,  prepared  in  large  quantity,  to  keep  on 
hand  for  gravies  and  soups.  Beef  and  veal  make  the  best  stock.  One  hind  shin  of 
beef  makes  five  quarts  of  stock,  and  one  hind  shin  of  veal  makes  three  quarts.  Wash 
and  put  into  twice  as  much  water  as  you  wish  to,  to  have  soup,  and  simmer  five  or  six 
hours.  All  kinds  of  bones  should  be  mashed  and  boiled  five  or  six  hours,  to  take  out 
all  the  nutriment,  the  liquor  then  strained,  and  kept  in  earthenware  or  stone,  not  in 
tin.  Take  off  the  fat  when  cool.  Cool  broth  quickly  and  it  keeps  longer.  Use  a 
flat-bottomed  kettle,  as  less  likely  to  scorch.  Soft  water  is  best  for  soups;  a  little 
soda  improves  hard  water.  Stock  will  keep  three  or  four  days  in  cool  weather;  not 
so  long  in  warm.  Keep  it  in  a  cool  place.  When  used,  heat  to  boiling-point,  and 
then  take  up  and  flavor.  Put  in  the  salt  and  pepper  when  the  meat  is  thoroughly 
done.  Meat  soups  are  best  the  second  day,  if  warmed  slowly  and  taken  up  as  soon 
as  heated.  If  heated  too  long,  they  become  insipid.  Thin  soups  must  be  strained. 
If  to  be  made  very  clear,  stir  in  one  or  two  well-beaten  eggs  with  the  shells,  and  let 
it  boil  half  an  hour.  Use  the  meat  of  the  soup  for  a  hash,  warmed  together  with  a 
little  fat,  and  well  seasoned.  Be  very  careful  in  using  bones  and  cold  meats  for 
soups,  that  none  is  tainted,  for  the  soup  may  be  ruined  by  a  single  bit  of  tainted  meat 
or  bone. 

MEATS. 

Roast  Beef.  —  Prepare  for  the  oven  by  dredging  lightly  with  flour,  and  seasoning 
with  salt  and  pepper.  Place  in  the  oven,  and  baste  frequently  while  roasting.  Allow 
a  quarter  of  an  hour  for  a  pound  of  meat  if  you  like  it  rare;  longer,  if  you  like  it 
well  done.  Serve  with  a  sauce,  made  from  the  drippings  in  the  pan,  to  which  have 
been  added  one  tablespoonful  of  Halford  or  Worcestershire  sauce,  and  one  table- 
spoonful  of  tomato  catsup. 

Spiced  Beef  or  Beef  Loaf.  —  Four  pounds  of  beef  chopped  fine,  all  fat  being 
removed.  Add  three  dozen  small  crackers  rolled  fine,  two  tablespoonfuls  black 
pepper,  one  tablespoonful  melted  butter,  one  tablespoonful  ground  mace,  a  little  salt, 
four  eggs,  one  cup  of  milk.  Mix  well,  and  put  into  any  tin  pan  it  will  fill.  Baste 
with  butter  and  water,  and  bake  two  hours. 

Stuffed  Corned  Beef.  —  A  very  nice  way  of  preparing  corned  beef,  and  of  making 
a  change  in  this  oft-repeated  dish,  is  to  take  a  piece  of  well-corned  rump  or  round, 
nine  or  ten  pounds;  make  several  deep  cuts  in  it;  fill  with  a  stuffing  of  a  handful  of 
soaked  bread  squeezed  dry,  a  little  fat  or  butter,  a  good  pinch  of  cloves,  allspice, 
pepper,  a  little  finely  chopped  onion,  and  a  little  marjoram  or  thyme;  then  tie  it  up 
tightly  in  a  cloth,  and  saturate  it  with  vinegar.     Boil  about  three  hours.       :^ 

Beefsteak  a  la  Parisienne.  — Take  a  piece  of  steak  about  three-quarters  of  an 
inch  thick.  Trim  it  neatly,  sprinkle  it  with  pepper,  dip  it  in  oil,  and  broil  it  over  a 
clear  fire.  Turn  it  after  it  has  been  on  the  fire  a  minute  or  two,  and  keep  turning  it 
until  done.  Eight  or  ten  minutes  will  do  it.  Sprinkle  with  salt,  and  serve  with  a 
small  quantity  of  finely  minced  parsley  and  a  piece  of  butter  mixed  together,  and 
placed  over  or  under  the  steak.     Garnish  with  fried  potatoes. 

Beef  Hash.  —  Chop  raw  beef  very  fine.  Add  butter,  pepper,  salt,  and  chopped 
parsley.  Cover  with  water,  stew  it  (well  covered)  for  fifteen  minutes.  Pour  it  over 
slices  of  toasted  bread. 


RECIPES.  66 1 

Baked  Ham.  —  Most  persons  boil  ham.  It  is  much  better  baked,  if  baked  right. 
Soak  it  for  an  hour  in  clean  water,  and  wipe  it  dry.  Next  spread  it  all  over  with  thin 
batter,  and  then  put  it  into  a  deep  dish,  with  sticks  under  it,  to  keep  it  out  of  the 
gravy.  When  it  is  fully  done,  and  the  batter  crusted  on  the  flesh  side,  take  off  the 
skin  and  set  it  away  to  cool. 

Ta  boil  Ham.  —  Wash  and  scrape  the  ham  clean ;  put  it  on  in  enough  cold  water 
to  cover  it.  Put  into  the  water  two  onions,  two  carrots,  a  head  of  celery,  a  dozen 
cloves,  and  a  handful  of  timothy  hay.  Boil  without  stopping,  until  the  skin  will 
readily  peel  from  the  ham.  Cover  the  ham  with  rolled  crackers,  or  bread  crumbs 
that  have  been  browned  and  rolled,  and  bake  in  a  slow  oven  for  two  hours. 

Boiled  Fowl.  —  Take  a  young  fowl  and  fill  the  inside  with  oysters.  Place  in  a 
jar  and  plunge  into  a  kettle  of  water.  Boil  one  and  a  half  hours.  There  will  be 
a  quantity  of  gravy  in  the  jar,  from  the  juice  of  the  fowl  and  the  oysters.  Make  this 
into  a  white  sauce,  with  the  addition  of  egg,  cream,  or  a  little  flour  and  butter.  Add 
oysters,  or  serve  up  plain  with  the  fowl.  This  is  very  nice  with  the  addition  of  a 
little  parsley  to  the  sauce. 

Roast  Turkey  or  Chicken.  —  Having  picked  and  drawn  the  fowls,  wash  them 
well  in  two  or  three  waters.  Wipe  them  dry.  Dredge  them  with  a  little  flour  inside 
and  out,  and  a  little  pepper  and  salt.  Prepare  a  dressing  of  bread  and  cracker  crumbs, 
fill  the  bodies  and  crops  of  the  fowls,  and  then  bake  them  from  two  to  three  hours. 
Baste  them  frequently  while  roasting.  Stew  the 'giblets  in  a  saucepan.  Just  before 
serving,  chop  the  giblets  fine.  After  taking  up  the  chicken  and  the  water  in  which 
the  giblets  were  boiled,  add  the  chopped  giblets  to  the  gravy  of  the  roast  fowl. 
Thicken  with  a  little  flour  which  has  been  previously  wet  with  the  water.  Boil  up, 
and  serve  in  a  gravy-dish.  Roast  chicken  and  turkey  should  be  accompanied  with 
celery  and  jellies. 

To  boil  a  Turkey.  —  Make  a  stuffing  for  the  craw  of  chopped  bread  and  butter, 
cream,  oysters,  and  the  yolks  of  eggs.  Sew  it  in,  and  dredge  flour  over  the  turkey, 
and  put  it  to  boil  in  cold  water,  with  a  spoonful  of  salt  in  it,  and  enough  water  to 
cover  it  well.  Let  it  simmer  for  two  and  a  half  hours,  or,  if  small,  less  time.  Skim 
it  while  boiling.  It  looks  nicer  if  wrapped  in  a  cloth  dredged  with  flour.  Serve  it 
with  drawn  butter,  in  which  put  some  oysters. 

Roast  Chickens.  —  Wash  them  clean  outside  and  inside.  Stuff"  as  directed  for 
turkeys,  and  baste  with  butter,  lard,  or  drippings,  and  roast  them  about  an  hour. 
Chickens  should  be  cooked  thoroughly.  Stew  the  inwards  till  tender,  and  till  there 
is  but  little  water.  Chop  them  and  mix  in  gravy  from  the  dripping-pan.  Thicken 
with  brown  flour.  Season  with  salt,  pepper,  and  butter.  Cranberry,  or  new-made 
apple  sauce,  is  good  with  them. 

Baked  Chicken.  —  Cut  the  fowl  open  and  lay  it  flat  in  a  pan,  breaking  down  the 
breast  and  the  back  bones.  Dredge  with  flour,  and  season  well  with  salt  and  pepper, 
and  bits  of  butter.  Put  in  a  very  hot  oven  until  done,  basting  frequently  with  melted 
butter,  or  when  half  done,  take  out  the  chicken  and  finish  by  broiling  it  upon  a 
gridiron,  over  bright  coals.  Pour  over  it  melted  butter  and  the  juices  in  the  pan  in 
which  it  was  baked. 

Dressing  for  Chicken  or  Turkey.  —  Chop  bread  crumbs  quite  fine.  Season 
well  with  pepper,  salt,  and  plenty  of  butter.  Moisten  with  a  very  little  water  and 
add  a  few  oysters,  with  a  little  of  the  liquor,  if  you  please.  The  best  authorities  say 
that  the  dressing  is  the  finest  when  it  crumbles  as  the  fowl  is  cut. 

Chicken  dressed  as  Terrapin.  —  Boil  a  fine,  large,  tender  chicken.     When 


662  HOME  AND  HOUSEHOLD, 

done,  and  while  yet  warm,  cut  it  from  the  bones  into  'small  pieces,  as  for  chicken 
salad.  Put  it  into  a  stew-pan,  with  one  gill  of  boiling  water.  Then  stir  together, 
until  perfectly  smooth,  one-fourth  pound  butter,  one  teaspoon  flour,  and  the  yolk  of 
one  egg,  which  add  to  the  chicken  half  at  a  time,  stirring  all  well  together.  Then 
season  with  salt  and  pepper.  After  letting  it  simmer  about  ten  minutes,  add  one 
spoon  of  vinegar,  and  send  to  table  hot. 

Chicken  Pie,  —  Joint  and  boil  two  chickens  in  salted  water,  just  enough  to  cover 
them,  and  simmer  slowly  for  half  an  hour.  Line  a  dish  with  potato  crust,  as  directed 
in  the  recipe  for  pot-pie.  Then,  when  cold,  put  the  chicken  in  layers,  with  thin 
slices  of  broiled  pork,  butter  the  size  of  a  goose  egg,  cut  in  small  pieces.  Put  in 
enough  of  liquor,  in  which  the  meat  was  boiled,  to  reach  the  surface.  Salt  and 
pepper  each  layer.  Dredge  in  a  little  flour,  and  cover  all  with  a  light,  thick  crust. 
Ornament  the  top  with  the  crust,  and  bake  about  one  hour  in  a  hot  oven.  Make 
a  small  slit  in  the  centre  of  the  crust.  If  it  begins  to  scorch,  lay  a  paper  over  a  short 
time. 

Ducks.  —  When  roasted,  use  dressing  as  for  turkey,  with  the  addition  of  a  few 
slices  of  onion.  Many  cooks  lay  over  the  game  slices  of  onion,  which  take  away  the 
fishy  flavor,  removing  the  onion  before  serving.  Make  a  sauce  with  the  drippings  in 
the  pan  in  which  the  game  is  roasted,  and  into  which  are  put  the  chopped  giblets, 
being  previously  well  cooked.  Thicken  the  gravy  with  brown  flour  moistened  with 
water.     Serve  with  currant  jelly. 

Prairie  Chickens,  Partridges,  and  Quails. —Clean  nicely,  using  a  little  soda 
in  the  water  in  which  they  are  washed.  Rinse  them  and  dry,  and  then  fill  them  with 
dressing,  sewing  them  up  nicely,  binding  down  the  legs  and  wings  with  cords.  Put 
theA  in  a  steamer  over  hot  water,  and  let  them  cook  until  just  done.  Then  place 
them  in  a  pan  with  a  little  butter,  set  them  in  the  oven,  and  baste  them  frequently 
with  melted  butter,  until  of  a  nice  brown.  They  ought  to  brown  nicely  in  about 
fifteen  minutes.  Serve  them  on  a  platter,  with  sprigs  of  parsley  alternating  with 
currant  jelly. 

Stewed  Rabbit.  —  Cut  the  rabbit  into  eight  pieces,  and  fry  till  brown.  Add  a  tea- 
spoonful  of  curry  powder,  quarter  teaspoonful  pepper,  half  a  teaspoonful  powdered 
thyme,  some  carrot  and  turnip  cut  in  slices,  two  gills  of  water.  Simmer  (with  closed 
lid)  for  one  and  a  half  hours.  Mix  one  tablespoonful  flour  with  water  till  smooth, 
one  small  tablespoonful  burnt  sugar,  one  of  vinegar,  a  little  salt  to  taste.  Add  this 
to  the  stew,  and  boil  all  another  minute  or  two.     Serve  hot. 

Curried  Rabbit.  —  One  rabbit,  two  onions,  one  apple,  one  teaspoonful  curry  pow- 
der, one  ounce  dripping,  and  a  little  salt.  Wash  and  dry  rabbit.  Cut  it  up  in  small 
pieces.  Put  the  dripping  in  a  stew-pan.  Let  it  get  quite  hot.  Peel  and  chop  up 
the  onions;  also  the  apple.  Fry  them  till  a  pale  brown.  Add  the  pieces  of  rabbit, 
and  fry  them  on  all  sides.  Stir  in  a  teaspoonful  of  curry  powder,  a  pinch  of  salt,  and 
mix  well  with  the  meat.  Add  a  teacupful  of  water,  and  stew  very  gently,  with  lid 
closed,  for  an  hour  and  a  half.     Serve  with  dry  boiled  rice  for  a  border  round  it. 

Baked  Black  Bass.  —  Eight  good-sized  onions  chopped  fine,  half  that  quantity  of 
bread  crumbs,  butter  size  of  hen's  egg,  plenty  of  pepper  and  salt.  Mix  thoroughly 
with  anchovy  sauce,  until  quite  red.  Stuff"  your  fish  with  this  compound  and  pour  the 
rest  over  it,  previously  sprinkling  it  with  a  little  red  pepper.  Shad,  pickerel,  and 
trout  are  good  cooked  in  the  same  way.  Tomatoes  can  be  used  instead  of  anchovies, 
and  are  more  economical.  If  using  them,  take  pork  in  place  of  butter,  and  chop 
finq. 


RECIPES,  663 

Broiled  White-Fish.  —  Wash  and  drain  the  fish.  Sprinkle  with  pepper,  and  lay 
with  the  inside  down  upon  the  gridiron,  and  broil  over  fresh,  bright  coals.  When  a 
nice  brown,  turn  for  a  moment  on  the  other  side,  then  take  up  and  spread  with 
butter.  This  is  a  very  nice  way  of  broiling  all  kinds  of  fish,  fresh  or  salted.  A  little 
smoke  under  the  fish  adds  to  its  flavor.  This  may  be  made  by  putting  two  or  three 
cobs  under  the  gridiron. 

Eels.  —  Skin  and  parboil  them.  Cleanse  the  backbone  of  all  coagulations.  Cut 
them  in  pieces  about  three  inches  in  length.  Dip  in  flour,  and  cook  in  pork  fat, 
brown. 

Salt  Mackerel.  —  Soak  the  fish  for  a  few  hours  in  lukewarm  water,  changing  the 
water  several  times.  Then  put  into  cold  water,  loosely  tied  in  cloths,  and  let  the  fish 
come  to  a  boil,  turning  off  the  water  once,  and  pouring  over  the  fish  hot  water  from 
the  tea-kettle.  Let  this  just  come  to  a  boil.  Then  take  them  out  and  drain  them. 
Lay  them  on  a  platter,  butter  and  pepper  them,  and  place  them  for  a  few  moments  in 
the  oven.     Serve  with  sliced  lemons,  or  with  any  nice  fish  sauce. 

Baked  Halibut  or  Salmon.  —  Let  the  fish  remain  in  cold  water,  slightly  salted, 
for  an  hour  before  it  is  time  to  cook  it.  Place  the  gridiron  on  a  dripping-pan,  with 
a  little  hot  water  in  it,  and  bake  in  a  hot  oven.  Just  before  it  is  done,  butter  it  well 
on  the  top,  and  brown  it  nicely.  The  time  of  baking  depends  upon  the  size  of  the 
fish.  A  small  fish  will  bake  in  about  half  an  hour,  and  a  large  one  in  an  hour.  They 
are  very  nice  when  cooked  as  above,  and  served  with  a  sauce  which  is  made  from  the 
gravy  in  the  dripping-pan,  to  which  is  added  a  tablespoonful  of  catsup,  and  another 
of  some  pungent  sauce,  and  the  juice  of  a  lemon.  Thicken  with  brown  flour,  mois- 
tened with  a  little  cold  water.  Garnish  handsomely  with  sprigs  of  parsley  and  currant 
jelly. 

Roasted  Codfish.  —  For  roasting,  take  a  small,  fresh  cod.  Clean  it  well.  Cut  off 
the  head -and  tail.  Split  the  fish,  clean  it  well,  and  spread  it  open.  Sprinkle  with 
some  cayenne  and  a  little  fine  salt.  Have  ready  a  thick  oaken  plank,  large  enough, 
or  a  little  larger,  than  will  hold  the  fish  spread  out  open.  Stand  up  the  board  before 
a  clear,  hot  fire  till  the  whole  piece  of  plank  is  well  heated  and  almost  charred;  but 
take  care  not  to  allow  it  to  catch  fire.  Then  spread  out  the  fish  evenly  and  tack  it 
to  the  board  with  four  spike  nails,  driven  in  so  as  to  be  easily  drawn  out  again. 
Place  the  inside  of  the  cod  next  the  fire,  and  the  back  next  the  board,  which,  if  it  has 
been  well  heated,  will  cook  it  through.  Stand  up  the  plank  before  the  fire,  setting 
a  dish  at  the  bottom  to  catch  the  drippings,  and  when  you  see  that  it  is  thoroughly 
done,  take  it  up,  but  do  not  move  it  from  the  board.  Send  it  to  the  table  on  the 
boardy  the  ends  of  which  may  be  rested  upon  mufllin-rings,  or  something  of  that  sort, 
to  prevent  injury  to  the  cloth.  Eat  it  with  any  sort  of  fish  sauce,  or  with  a  little  butter 
and  cayenne  only.  This  is  now  the  most  approved  manner  of  cooking  a  fresh  shad 
in  the  spring,  and.  nothing  can  be  better.  Fishboards  can  be  obtained  at  the  furnish- 
ing stores. 

Boiled  Trout.  —  Put  two  tablespoonfuls  of  vinegar  into  enough  boiling  water  to 
cover  the  fish.  Add  a  teaspoonful  of  salt,  and  boil  for  twenty-five  minutes.  Serve 
with  a  drawn-butter  gravy,  made  by  thickening  milk  with  a  little  flour,  and  boiling  it 
by  placing  the  basin  in  a  pan  of  water.  Add  a  large  piece  of  butter  just  before  you 
serve  it.  Capers  can  be  added  to  this  sauce,  or  parsley,  and  the  latter  should  be 
placed  about  the  fish. 

Oyster  Patties.  —  Make  some  rich  puff  paste,  and  bake  it  in  very  small  tin  patty- 
pans.    When  cool,  turn  them  out  upon  a  large  dish.     Stew  some  large,  fresh  oysters 


664  HOME  AND  HOUSEHOLD. 

with  a  few  doves,  a  little  mace,  and  nutmeg.  Then  add  the  yolk  of  one  egg,  boiled 
hard  and  grated.  Add  a  little  butter,  and  as  much  of  the  oyster  liquor  as  will  cover 
them.  When  they  have  stewed  a  little  while,  take  them  out  of  the  pan  and  set  them 
to  cool.     When  quite  cold,  lay  two  or  three  oysters  in  each  shell  of  puff  paste. 

Stewed  Oysters.  —  Drain  the  liquor  from  two  quarts  of  firm,  plump  oysters.  Mix 
with  one  small  teacupful  of  hot  water.  Add  a  little  salt  and  pepper,  and  set  over  a 
fire  in  a  saucepan.  When  it  boils,  add  one  large  cupful  of  rich  milk.  Let  it  boil  up 
once,  add  the  oysters,  and  let  it  boil  five  minutes.  When  they  ruffle,  add  two  table- 
spoonfuls  of  butter,  and  the  instant  it  is  melted  and  well  stirred  in,  take  off  the  fire. 

Broiled  Oysters. — Drain  the  oysters  well,  and  dry  them  with  a  napkin.  Have 
ready  a  griddle,  hot  and  well  buttered.  Season  the  oysters,  lay  them  on  the  griddle, 
and  brown  them  on  both  sides.     Serve  them  on  a  hot  plate,  with  plenty  of  butter. 

Escalloped  Oysters.  —  Roll  crackers  very  fine.  Strew  the  bottom  of  a  baking-tin 
with  the  crackers;  then  cover  with  oysters.  Season  this  layer  with  salt  and  pepper, 
and  a  plentiful  supply  of  butter.  Repeat  this  process  until  the  dish  is  full,  having 
the  last  layer  crackers;  then  cover  with  milk  and  oyster  juice.  The  richness  of  this 
dish  depends  upon  the  generosity  with  which  the  oysters  and  butter  are  used.  Bake 
slowly,  from  one  and  one-half  to  two  hours. 

Fried  Oysters.  —  Dip  the  oyster  into  beaten  egg,  then  cover  with  rolled  crackers. 
Have  ready  drippings  of  hot  fat,  into  which  drop  the  prepared  oyster.  Salt  and  pep- 
per to  taste;  and  when  fried  to  a  rich  brown,  turn  tcf  the  other  side  with  care.  The 
largest  oysters  should  be  selected  for  this  purpose;  the  smaller  ones  should  be 
reserved  for  stews,  etc.     Serve  from  a  hot  dish. 

Scrambled  Eggs.  —  Beat  the  eggs  light.  Turn  into  a  pan  with  bacon  fried  in 
dice,  and  with  fine  chopped  ham,  and  stir  rapidly  until  cooked. 

Scrambled  Eggs.  —  Beat  up  six  eggs  with  two  ounces  of  butter,  one  teaspoonful 
of  cream  or  new  milk,  a  little  chopped  parsley,  and  salt.  Put  all  in  a  saucepan,  and 
keep  stirring  over  the  fire  until  it  begins  to  thicken,  when  it  should  be  served  in  a 
hot  dish. 

Baked  Eggs.  —  Have  hot  meat  gravy  in  a  pie-dish;  break  in  the  eggs.  Bake 
fifteen  minutes. 

Steamed  Eggs.  —  Break  into  a  round  dish  that  will  fit  into  a  steamer.  Turn 
over  them  a  little  new  milk  or  cream;  salt,  and  steam  five  minutes,  or  until  they  have 
taken  a  pinkish  hue.  They  present  a  pretty  appearance  on  the  table,  when  served 
in  this  manner;  but  care  must  be  taken  that  they  are  cooked  to  just  the  right  con- 
sistency. 

Omelet.  —  Six  eggs,  whites  and  yolks  beaten  separately;  one-half  pint  of  milk; 
six  teaspoonfuls  of  cornstarch;  one  teaspoonful  baking-powder  and  a  little  salt. 
Add  the  whites,  beaten  to  a  stiff  froth.     Cook  in  a  little  butter.     Delicious. 

Small  Omelet.  —  Beat  the  yolks  of  four  eggs.  Into  one  cup  of  milk  beat  two 
slices  of  bread  (after  removing  the  crust),  or  eight  small  crackers;  do  not  allow  any 
lumps  to  remain.  Add  a  pinch  of  salt,  and  beat  the  whites  to  a  stiff  froth.  Add  last, 
stirring  in  lightly.  Cook  in  butter,  on  a  round  skillet,  and  quarter  as  they  are  turned. 
With  a  little  care,  the  quarters  can  be  turned  without  breaking. 

Omelet  (plain).  —  In  making  an  omelet,  care  should  be  taken  to  have  the  pan 
quite  hot  and  perfectly  dry.  Put  into  the  frying-pan  one  ounce  of  lard,  heat  very 
gently  (the  lard  must  not  get  brown).  The  eggs  are  to  be  very  lightly  beaten,  only 
long  enough  to  mix  them  and  no  more.  Break  four  eggs  into  a  basin,  half  a  tea- 
spoonful of  salt,  and  a  quarter  of  a  teaspoonful  of  pepper.     Mix,  pour  into  a  hot  pan, 


RECIPES,  665 

and  keep  mixing  quickly,  till  they  are  delicately  set.  Turn  in  the  edges,  let  it  rest  a 
moment  to  set,  turn  it  over  on  a  dish,  and  serve. 

Eggs  stewed  with  Cheese. —  One  egg  for  each  person.  Let  them  set  in  a 
frying-pan;  remove  them  to  a  plate.  Cut  some  cheese  very  thin.  Put  it  on  the  top 
of  the  eggs,  with  salt  and  pepper  to  taste.  Set  before  the  fire  or  in  the  oven  to  swell, 
and  serve  hot. 

Ham  and  Eggs.  —  Put  your  sliced  ham  on  in  a  cold  frying-pan.  Turn  it  two  or 
three  times,  taking  care  not  to  let  it  burn.  When  sufficiently  done,  lay  the  ham  on  a 
nice  hot  plate.  Break  the  eggs  into  a  cup,  taking  care  not  to  break  the  yolks.  Slip 
one  at  a  time  into  the  frying-pan,  and  baste  with  the  ham  fat.  Keep  the  eggs  as 
round  as  possible,  lift  with  a  slice,  and  lay  on  the  ham. 

How  to  boil  Eggs.  —  Put  one  pint  of  water  in  a  small  pan.  Let  it  boil.  Put  in 
the  t^g.  If  small,  three  minutes  will  set  it ;  if  large,  four  minutes.  When  boiling 
several  eggs,  see  that  they  are  as  nearly  as  possible  the  same  size.  Ten  minutes  are 
required  to  boil  an  &^<g  hard. 

Poached  Eggs.  —  Put  one  pint  of  water  in  a  small  pan,  with  half  a  teaspoonful 
of  salt  and  a  tablespoonful  of  vinegar.  Let  it  boil.  Break  the  egg  carefully  into  the 
pan,  and  simmer  for  four  minutes.     Take  it  out  carefully,  and  serve  on  toast. 

PIES. 

Fine  Puff  Pastry.  —  One  pound  of  flour,  a  little  more  for  rolling-pin  and  board, 
half  a  pound  of  butter,  and  half  a  pound  of  lard.  Cut  the  butter  and  lard  through 
the  flour  (which  should  be  sifted)  into  small,  thin  shells,  and  mix  with  sufficient  ice- 
water  to  roll  easily.  Avoid  kneading  it,  and  use  the  hands  as  little  as  possible  in 
mixing. 

Plainer  Pastry.  —  One  cup  of  butter,  one  cup  of  lard,  a  little  salt.  Cut  through 
the  flour,  and  mix  lightly  together.  Some  cooks  mbc  the  lard  through  the  flour  first, 
and  then  mix  with  water  and  roll  out.  Cut  the  batter  into  thin  sheets,  fold  over  and 
lay  aside,  cutting  off  from  the  roll  what  is  used  for  the  bottom  or  top  crust,  as  wanted. 

Lemon  Pie.  —  The  juice  and  grated  rind  of  one  lemon,  one  cup  of  water,  one 
tablespoonful  cornstarch,  one  cup  sugar,  one  egg,  and  a  piece  of  butter  the  size  of  a 
small  egg.  Boil  the  water,  wet  the  cornstarch  with  a  little  cold  water,  and  stir  it  in. 
When  it  boils  up,  pour  it  on  the  sugar  and  butter.  After  it  cools  add  the  egg  and 
lemon.     Bake  with  upper  and  under  crust. 

Lemon  Pie.  —  Grate  the  yellow  rind  of  two  lemons.  Beat  together  the  rind, 
juice,  ten  tablespoonfuls  of  loaf-sugar,  and  the  yolks  of  four  eggs,  until  very  light, 
then  add  two  tablespoonfuls  of  water.  Line  a  large  plate  and  fill  with  the  mixture. 
Bake  until  the  paste  is  done.  Beat  the  whites  stiff,  and  stir  into  them  two  table- 
spoonfuls of  white  sugar.     Spread  it  over  the  top,  and  bake  a  bright  brown. 

Squash  Pie.  — Take  a  winter  squash;  cut  in  pieces,  take  off  the  rind  and  remove 
the  seeds,  and  boil  it  until  tender,  then  rub  it  through  a  sieve.  When  cold,  add  to  it 
milk  to  thin  it,  and  to  each  quart  of  milk  five  well-beaten  eggs.  Sugar,  cinnamon, 
and  ginger  to  your  taste.  The  quantity  of  milk  must  depend  upon  the  size  and 
quality  of  the  squash.  These  pies  require  a  moderate  heat,  and  must  be  baked  until 
the  centre  is  firm. 

Pumpkin  Pie.  —  One  quart  of  strained  pumpkins,  two  quarts  rich  milk,  one  tea- 
spoonful  of  salt  and  two  of  ginger,  cooked  with  the  pumpkins,  six  well-beaten  eggs, 
and  one  and  one-half  teacups  of  sugar. 


666  HOME  AND  HOUSEHOLD. 

Mince  Pie. — Three  cups  chopped  cooked  meat,  six  cups  of  apples  chopped  fine. 
Make  moist  with  boiled  cider,  and  sweeten  with  molasses  or  dark  sugar.  Spice  to 
your  taste,  using  cloves,  cinnamon,  allspice,  and  a  very  little  black  pepper.  Put 
currants  and  raisins  into  the  pies  when  ready  to  bake. 

Ripe  Fruit  Pies  —  Peach,  Cherry,  Plum,  Currant,  and  Strawberry.  —  Line 
your  dish  with  paste.  After  picking  over  and  washing  the  fruit  carefully  (peaches 
must  be  pared,  and  the  rest  picked  from  the  stem),  place  a  layer  of  fruit  and  a  layer 
of  sugar  in  your  dish,  until  it  is  well  filled,  then  cover  it  with  paste,  and  trim  the  edge 
neatly,  and  prick  the  cover.  P'ruit  pies  require  about  an  hour  to  bake  in  a  thoroughly 
heated  oven. 

Raisin  Pie.  —  Take  one  pound  of  raisins.  Turn  over  them  one  quart  of  boiling 
water.  Keep  adding,  so  there  will  be  a  quart  when  done.  Grate  the  rind  of  one 
lemon  into  a  cup  of  sugar,  three  teaspoonfuls  of  flour,  and  one  egg.  Mix  well 
together.  Turn  the  raisins  over  the  mixture,  stirring  the  while.  This  makes  three 
pies.     Bake  as  other  pies. 

Crumb  Pie.  —  Line  a  plate  with  nice  paste.  Rub  together  one-half  cup  flour, 
three-quarters  cup  brown  sugar,  one  large  tablespoon  butter,  until  it  grains.  Fill  the 
pie,  and  bake  fifteen  minutes.     This  is  excellent. 

Apple  Pot-Pie.  —  Make  a  crust.  With  half  of  it  line  the  sides  of  a  stewpan 
having  a  close-fitting  cover  (a  porcelain  or  granite  one  is  the  best).  Fill  the  centre 
with  peeled  and  sliced  apples,  and  add  to  them  a  cupful  of  syrup,  a  pinch  of  ground 
cinnamon,  another  of  salt,  and  a  little  butter,  or  use  sugar  and  a  little  water  instead 
of  the  syrup.  Wet  the  edges  of  the  crust,  and  fit  the  balance  of  it  over  the  top  of 
the  apples,  being  careful  to  have  the  saucepan  only  two-thirds  full,  in  order  to  give 
room  for  rising.  Put  the  cover  on,  and  boil  for  an  hour  without  once  lifting  it,  but 
be  careful  it  does  not  stand  in  a  place  so  hot  as  to  burn.  Cut  the  top  crust  into  four 
equal  parts.  Dish  the  apples  and  lay  the  crust  from  the  sides.  Cut  into  even  pieces 
around  the  outer  edge,  and  then  the  top  crust  over  all,  and  serve  hot. 

Christmas  Pies.  —  One-half  pound  apples,  one-fourth  pound  figs,  one-fourth 
pound  currants,  one-fourth  pound  raisins,  one-fourth  pound  sugar,  one-half  ounce 
cinnamon,  one-half  ounce  ginger,  one  pound  flour,  one-fourth  pound  lard,  one  tea- 
spoonful  baking-powder.  Peel  and  core  the  apples,  and  cut  them  into  small  dice. 
Put  them  in  a  basin  with  the  sugar.  Mince  the  figs  fine.  Stone  and  mince  the 
raisins  (or  use  sultana  raisins).  Pick,  and  rub  the  currants  very  carefully  with  a  cloth. 
Put  all  into  a  basin  with  the  apples  and  sugar.  Add  the  cinnamon  and  ginger,  and 
any  other  flavoring  that  is  liked.  Mix  all  well  together.  The  mince  is  all  the  better 
of  being  prepared  some  time  before  it  is  wanted.  For  the  crust,  mix  the  flour,  lard, 
a  teaspoonful  of  baking-powder,  and  a  pinch  of  salt,  well  together,  then  add  enough 
cold  water  to  make  a  stiff  paste.  Roll  out  to  about  a  quarter  of  an  inch  thick.  The 
pies  can  either  be  made  in  small  tins  or  soup  plates.  Rub  the  tins  or  plates  well  with 
lard,  cut  the  pastes  to  the  right  size,  put  the  mince-meat  in  carefully,  wet  round  the 
edges,  and  cover  the  top  with  paste,  and  bake  in  a  not  too  quick  oven. 

Custard  Pie.  —  Make  a  custard  of  the  yolks  of  t^ree  eggs  with  milk.  Season  to 
taste.  Bake  it  in  an  ordinary  crust.  Put  it  in  a  brick  oven,  that  the  crust  may  not 
be  heavy,  and  as  soon  as  that  is  heated,  remove  it  to  a  place  in  an  oven  of  a  more 
moderate  heat,  that  the  custard  may  bake  slowly  and  not  curdle.  When  done,  beat 
the  whites  to  a  froth.  Add  sugar,  and  spread  over  the  top,  and  return  to  the  oven 
to  bro\\  n  slightly.  A  small  pinch  of  salt  added  to  a  custard  heightens  the  flavor.  A 
little  soda  in  the  crust  prevents  it  from  being  heavy.     Very  nice. 


kECIPES.  66^ 

Cream  Pie.  —  Boil  nearly  one  pint  of  new  milk.  Take  two  small  tablespoonfuls 
of  cornstarch,  beaten  with  a  little  milk.  To  this  add  two  eggs.  When  the  milk  has 
boiled,  stir  this  in  slowly,  with  one  scant  teacup  of  sugar,  one-half  cup  of  butter,  and 
two  teaspoonfuls  of  lemon.  Cakes :  Three  eggs,  one  cup  of  white  sugar,  one  and 
one-half  cups  of  flour,  one  teaspoonful  of  baking-powder.  Mix  it  in  flour.  Three 
tablespoonfuls  of  cold  water.  Bake  in  two  pie-pans  in  a  quick  oven.  Split  the  cake 
while  hot,  and  spread  in  the  cream. 

Strawberry  Shortcake.  —  Make  good  biscuit  crust.  Bake  in  two  tins  of  same 
shape  and  size.  Mix  berries  with  plenty  of  sugar.  Open  the  shortcake,  butter  well, 
and  place  the  berries  in  layers,  alternated  with  the  crust.  Have  the  top  layer  of 
berries,  and  over  all  put  charlotte  russe  or  whipped  cream. 

Orange  Shortcake.  —  Make  a  nice  shortcake.  Spread  in  layers  of  sliced  oranges, 
with  sugar  and  a  little  cream.     To  be  eaten  with  sweetened  cream. 

Open  ll'arts. — The  ingredients  are  ten  ounces  flour,  five  ounces  butter,  one  and 
one-half  gills  cold  water,  half  a  teaspoonful  yeast  powder,  a  few  teaspoonfuls  of  pre- 
serves of  any  kind,  and  a  pinch  of  salt.  First,  weigh  out  the  butter  and  flour  and 
put  them  in  a  bowl,  adding  a  pinch  of  salt.  Mix  the  butter  and  flour  together  lightly, 
and  put  in  the  yeast  powder.  These  must  be  mixed  well  together,  making  a  nice 
dough,  with  a  gill  and  a  half  of  cold  water.  Use  as  little  water  as  possible,  the  quan- 
tity of  water  to  be  determined  by  the  quality  of  the  flour.  A  fine  grade  of  flour 
absorbs  the  greatest  quantity  of  water.  Roll  out  the  dough,  and  cut  it  into  circular 
pieces  with  a  cake-cutter.  The  remainder  of  the  dough  is  rolled  out  again,  and 
smaller  circular  pieces  cut  out,  and  with  a  part  of  dough  that  is  still  left  make 
small,  narrow  strips.  There  is  still  sufficient  dough  to  make  a  thin  covering  for  a 
plate  or  flute-dish.  The  dish  should  first  be  wet  with  cold  water,  and  the  dough 
lining  pressed  closely  to  the  edges  of  the  dish.  Then  put  in  the  centre  the  jam,  and 
take  the  white  of  an  egg  and  wet  the  edges,  after  which  lay  on  the  narrow  strips  over 
the  top.  Now  put  on  the  smaller  pieces  of  dough,  and  bake  them  in  a  quick  oven 
for  twenty-five  minutes. 

Cranberry  Tart.  —  Take  cranberries,  pick,  and  wash  them  in  several  waters,  and 
put  them  into  a  dish  with  the  juice  of  half  a  lemon,  one-quarter  of  a  pound  of  moist 
sugar  or  pounded  loaf-sugar  to  one  quart  of  cranberries.  Cover  it  with  puff"  paste  or 
short  crust,  and  bake  it  three-quarters  of  an  hour.  If  short  crust  is  used,  draw  it  from 
the  oven  five  minutes  before  it  is  done,  and  ice  it.  Return  it  to  the  oven,  and  send  it 
to  the  table  cold. 

MISCELLANEOUS  DISHES. 

Cream  Griddle-Cakes.  —  One  pint  of  thick  cream,  one  teaspoonful  of  salt,  one 
tablespoonful  of  sugar,  three  well-beaten  eggs.  Make  a  thin  batter  of  graham  flour, 
and  bake  oh  a  griddle. 

Buckwheat  Cakes.  —  One  quart  of  buckwheat,  one  teaspoonful  of  salt,  two  table- 
spoonfuls of  good  yeast,  two  tablespoonfuls  of  molasses.  Wet  the  flour  with  warm 
water,  and  then  add  the  other  articles.  Keep  this  warm  through  the  night.  If  it 
sours,  add  half  a  teaspoonful  of  soda,  in  warm  water.  These  cakes  have  a  handsomer 
brown  if  wet  with  milk, .or  part  milk. 

Buckwheat  Cakes,  made  with  Baking-Powder.  —  One  quart  of  buckwheat 
flour,  one-half  a  teacupful  of  corn  meal,  wheat,  or  graham  flour,  a  little  salt,  and  two 
tablespoonfuls  of  syrup ;  wet  these  with  cold  or  warm  water  to  a  thin  batter.  Mix 
four  good  tablespoonfuls  of  baking-powder  with  the  flour.     If  soda  and  buttermilk 


668  HOME   AND  HOUSEHOLD. 

are  desired  to  be  used  instead  of  baking-powder,  use  it  in  proportion  of  an  even  tea- 
spoonful  to  a  cup  of  buttermilk,  if  the  milk  is  rich  and  sour. 

Rolls.  —  To  the  quantity  of  light  bread  dough  that  would  be  used  for  twelve 
persons,  add  the  white  of  one  egg,  well  beaten,  two  tablespoonfuls  of  white  sugar, 
and  two  tablespoonfuls  of  butter;  work  these  thoroughly  together;  roll  out  about 
one-half  inch  thick;  cut  the  size  desired,  and  spread  one  with  melted  butter,  and  lay 
the  other  upon  it.     Bake  delicately  when  they  have  risen. 

French  Rolls.  — One  quart  of  flour,  two  eggs,  one-half  pint  of  milk,  one  table- 
spoonful  yeast;  knead  well,  and  let  it  rise  till  morning.  Work  in  one  ounce  of  butter, 
and  mould  into  rolls;   let  them  rise  half  an  hour,  and  bake  in  a  hot  oven. 

Cream,  Tea,  or  Breakfast  Cakes.  —  Six  eggs,  beaten  separately,  one-half  pint  of 
sour  cream,  one  pint  of  sweet  milk,  one  and  one-half  teaspoonful  baking-powder,  flour 
enough  to  make  a  thin  batter.     Bake  in  cups  or  hot  gem-tins. 

Apple  Fritters.  —  One  teacupful  of  sweet  milk,  one  tablespoonful  of  sweet,  light 
dough,  dissolved  in  milk;  beat  with  a  fork  till  milk  and  dough  are  one.  Three  eggs 
beaten  separately,  one  teaspoonful  of  salt,  one  and  one-half  teacupfuls  of  flour,  one 
tablespoonful  of  sugar,  the  grated  peel  of  a  lemon,  and  peeled  apples  sliced  without 
the  core.  Drop  into  hot  lard  with  a  piece  of  apple  in  each  one,  and  sprinkle  with 
powdered  or  spiced  sugar.     Let  them  stand  after  making,  and  they  will  be  lighter. 

Indian  Meal  and  Flour  Scones.  —  One  pound  Indian  meal,  one  pound  flour, 
one  tablespoonful  treacle,  one  teaspoonful  baking-soda,  one  teaspoonful  cream  of 
tartar,  half  a  teaspoonful  salt,  and  buttermilk.  Mix  all  together,  and  then  add 
enough  buttermilk  to  make  a  nice,  soft  dough;  divide  it,  and  roll  out  each  piece  into 
about  a  fourth  of  an  inch  thick.     Cut  in  four,  and  bake  on  not  too  hot  a  griddle. 

Rice  Scones. — One  pound  rice,  one-fourth  pound  flour,  one  teaspoonful  sugar, 
and  half  teaspoonful  salt.  Put  the  rice,  sugar,  and  salt  into  a  saucepan,  with  one 
quart  water,  and  let  it  come  to  the  boil.  Then  set  it  to  the  side  of  the  fire  and  let 
it  steam  for  two  hours  with  the  lid  close,  till  all  the  water  has  been  absorbed  and  the 
rice  has  become  soft;  then  sprinkle  the  flour  on  the  baking-board,  and  turn  the  rice 
out  on  it.  Let  it  stand  till  cool;  then  divide  into  six  parts,  and  roll  out  very  thin. 
Cut  each  part  in  three,  and  bake  on  not  too  hot  a  griddle. 

Potato  Scones.  —  Potatoes,  flour,  and  salt.  Take  any  boiled  potatoes  left  from 
dinner;  bruise  them  nice  and  smooth  on  the  table  or  baking-board;  add  salt  to  season; 
then  shake  some  flour  over  them,  or  work  it  in;  roll  out  very  thin,  prick  with  a  fork, 
and  cut  in  three.     Bake  on  not  too  hot  a  griddle. 

Pancakes.  —  Rub  one  pound  of  flour,  two  ounces  dripping,  teaspoonful  carbonate 
of  soda,  teaspoonful  cream  of  tartar,  one-fourth  pound  sugar,  all  well  together.  Add 
buttermilk  to  make  a  soft  batter.  Rub  the  griddle  over  with  dripping,  and  put  a 
spoonful  on  for  each  pancake.  When  one  side  is  done,  turn.  Can  be  flavored  with 
anything  that  is  liked,  or  currants  may  be  added. 

The  Most  Economical  Breakfast  Dish.  —  Keep  a  jar  for  remnants  of  bread, 
both  coarse  and  fine,  for  potatoes,  remnants  of  hominy,  rice,  grits,  cracked  wheat, 
oat-meal,  and  all  other  articles  used  on  table.  Add  all  remnants  of  milk,  whether 
sour  or  sweet,  and  water  enough  to  soak  all,  so  as  to  be  soft,  but  not  thin.  When 
enough  is  collected,  add  enough  water  to  make  a  batter  for  griddle-cakes,  and  put  in 
enough  soda  to  sweeten  it.  Add  two  spoonfuls  of  sugar,  and  half  a  teaspoonful  of 
salt,  and  two  eggs  for  each  quart,  and  you  make  an  excellent  dish  of  material,  most 
of  it  usually  wasted.     Thicken  it  a  little  with  fine  flour,  and  it  makes  fine  waffles. 

Corn-Meal.  — Take  four  large  cups  of  corn-meal  and  scald  it.     In  all  cases,  scald 


OP  THF 


RECIPES.       ^<dk*-^-  669 

corn-meal  before  using  it.  Add  half  a  cup  of  fine  flour,  three  tablespoonfuls  of  sugar 
or  molasses,  one  teaspoonful  of  soda,  and  one  of  salt.  Make  a  batter,  and  boil  an 
hour  or  more,  stirring  often;  or,  better,  cook  in  a  tin  pail  set  in  boiling  water.  Use 
it  as  mush,  with  butter,  sugar,  and  milk  for  supper.  Next  morning,  thin  it  with  hot 
water;   add  two  or  three  eggs,  and  bake  either  as  muffins  or  griddle-cakes. 

Hominy.  —  Soak  and  then  boil  a  quart  of  hominy,  with  two  heaping  teaspoonfuls 
of  salt.  Use  it  for  dinner  as  a  vegetable,  or  for  supper  with  sugar  and  milk  or  cream. 
Next  morning  use  the  remainder,  soaked  in  water  or  milk,  with  two  eggs  and  a  salt- 
spoonful  of  salt.  Bake  as  muffins  or  griddle-cakes,  or  cut  in  slices,  dipped  in  flour, 
and  fried.     Farina  may  be  used  in  the  same  way. 

Rice.  —  Pick  over  one  pint  of  rice;  add  two  teaspoonfuls  of  salt  and  three  quarts 
of  boiling  water.  Then  boil  fifteen  minutes;  then  uncover;  let  it  steam  fifteen  minutes. 
This  to  be  used  for  a  vegetable  at  dinner,  or  for  a  tea-dish,  with  butter  and  sugar. 
At  night,  soak  the  remainder  in  as  much  milk  or  water,  and  next  morning  add  as 
much  fine  or  unbolted  flour  as  there  was  rice,  three  eggs,  a  teaspoonful  of  salt,  and 
half  a  teaspoonful  of  soda.  Thin  with  water  or  milk,  and  bake  as  muffins  or  griddle- 
cakes. 

BREAD. 

Hop  and  Potato  Yeast.  —  Pare  and  slice  five  large  potatoes,  and  boil  them  in 
one  quart  of  water,  with  a  large  handful  of  common  hops  (or  a  square  inch  of 
pressed  hops),  tied  in  a  muslin  rag.  When  soft,  take  out  the  hops  and  press  the 
potatoes  through  a  colander,  and  add  a  small  cup  of  white  sugar,  a  teaspoonful  of 
ginger,  two  teaspoonfuls  of  salt,  and  two  teacups  of  common  yeast,  or  half  as  much 
distillery.  Add  the  yeast  when  the  rest  is  only  blood- warm.  White  sugar  keeps 
better  than  brown,  and  the  salt  and  ginger  help  to  preserve  the  yeast.  Do  not  boil 
in  iron  or  use  an  iron  spoon,  as  it  colors  the  yeast.  Keep  yeast  in  a  stone  or  earthen- 
ware jar,  with  a  plate  fitting  well  to  the  rim.  This  is  better  than  a  jug,  as  easier  to 
fill  and  to  cleanse.  Scald  the  jar  before  making  new  yeast.  The  rule  for  quantity 
is,  one  tablespoonful  of  brewers'  or  distillery  yeast  to  every  quart  of  flour;  or  twice  as 
much  home-made  yeast. 

Potato  Yeast  is  made  by  the  above  rule,  omitting  the  hops.  It  can  be  used  in 
large  quantities  without  giving  a  bitter  taste,  and  so  raises  bread  sooner.  But  it 
has  to  be  renewed  much  oftener  than  hop  yeast,  and  the  bread  loses  the  flavor  of 
hop  yeast. 

Hard  Yeast  is  made  with  home-brewed  yeast  (not  brewers'  or  distillery),  thick- 
ened with  Indian  meal  and  fine  flour  in  equal  parts,  and  then  made  into  cakes  an 
inch  thick,  and  three  inches  by  two  in  size,  dried  in  the  wind,  but  not  in  the  sun. 
Keep  them  tied  in  a  bag  in  a  dry,  cool  place,  where  they  will  not  freeze.  One  cake 
soaked  in  a  pint  of  warm  water  (not  hot)  is  enough  for  four  quarts  of  flour.  It  is  a 
good  plan  to  work  in  mashed  potatoes  into  this  yeast,  and  let  it  rise  well  before 
using  it.  This  makes  the  nicest  bread.  Some  housekeepers  say  pour  boiling  water 
on  one-third  of  the  flour,  and  then  mix  the  rest  in  immediately,  and  it  has  the  same 
effect  as  using  potatoes.  When  yeast  ceases  to  look  foamy,  and  becomes  watery, 
with  sediment  at  the  bottom,  it  must  be  renewed.  When  good,  the  smell  is  pungent, 
but  not  sour.     If  sour,  nothing  can  restore  it. 

Milk  Yeast  or  Salt  Rising.  —  Take  a  cup  of  fresh  milk,  bring  it  to  a  boil,  then 
add  enough  cold  water  to  make  it  lukewarm.  Put  in  one  tablespoonful  of  corn- 
meal,  and  one  of  sugar,  enough  flour  to  make  a  tolerably  stiff  batter.     Keep  in  a 


670  HOME  AND  HOUSEHOLD. 

warm  place,  and  stir  about  every  half-hour  for  six  hours.  Then  let  it  stand  till  it 
rises.  Then  make  your  bread,  adding  a  little  more  sugar  and  warm  water,  if  the 
yeast  is  not  sufficient  for  as  large  a  loaf  as  you  wish.  Keep  the  bread  in  a  warm 
place  till  it  rises,  then  bake.     Put  in  the  stove  as  soon  as  the  fire  is  made. 

Bread  of  Fine  Flour.  — Take  four  quarts  of  sifted  flour,  one  quart  of  lukewarm 
water,  in  which  are  dissolved  two  teaspoonfuls  of  salt,  two  teaspoonfuls  of  sugar,  a 
tablespoonful  of  melted  butter,  and  one  cup  of  yeast.  Mix  and  knead  very  thoroughly, 
and  have  it  as  soft  as  can  be  moulded,  using  as  little  flour  as  possible.  Make  it  into 
small  loaves,  put  it  in  buttered  pans,  prick  it  with  a  fork,  and  when  light  enough  to 
crack  on  the  top,  bake  it.  Nothing  but  experience  will  show  when  bread  is  just  at 
the  right  point  of  lightness.  If  bread  rises  too  long,  it  becomes  sour.  This  is  dis- 
covered by  making  a  sudden  opening  and  applying  the  nose,  and  the  sourness  will  be 
noticed  as  different  from  the  odor  of  proper  lightness.  Practice  is  needed  in  this. 
If  bread  is  light  too  soon  for  the  oven,  knead  it  awhile,  and  set  it  in  a  cool  place. 
Sour  bread  can  be  remedied  somewhat  by  working  in  soda  dissolved  in  water  — 
about  half  a  teaspoonful  for  each  quart  of  flour.  Many  spoil  bread  by  too  much 
flour,  others  by  not  kneading  enough,  and  others  by  allowing  it  to  rise  too  much. 
The  goodness  of  bread  depends  on  the  quality  of  the  flour.  Some  flour  will  not 
make  good  bread  in  any  way.  New  and  good  flour  has  a  yellowish  tinge,  and  when 
pressed  in  fhe  hand  is  adhesive.  Poor  flour  is  dry,  and  will  not  retain  form  when 
pressed.  Poor  flour  is  bad  economy,  for  it  does  not  make  as  nutritious  bread  as  does 
good  flour.  Bread  made  with  milk  sometimes  causes  indigestion  to  invalids,  and  to 
children  with  weak  digestion.  Take  loaves  out  of  the  pans,  and  set  them  sidewise, 
and  not  flat,  on  a  table.  Wrapping  in  a  cloth  makes  the  bread  clammy.  Bread  is 
better  in  small  loaves.  *Let  your  pans  be  of  tin  (or  better,  of  iron),  eight  inches 
long,  three  inches  high,  three  inches  wide  at  the  bottom,  and  flaring  so  as  to  be  four 
inches  wide  at  the  top.  This  size  makes  more  tender  crust,  and  cuts  more  neatly 
than  larger  loaves.  Oil  the  pans  with  a  swab,  and  sweet  butter  or  lard.  They 
should  be  well  washed  and  dried,  or  black  and  rancid  oil  will  gather.  All  these 
kinds  of  bread  oan  be  baked  in  biscuit-form;  and,  by  adding  water  and  eggs,  made 
into  griddle-cakes.  Bread  having  potatoes  in  it  keeps  moist  longest,  but  turns  sour 
soonest. 

Bread  of  Middlings  or  Unbolted  Flour.  — Take  four  quarts  of  coarse  flour,  one 
quart  of  warm  water,  one  cup  of  yeast,  two  teaspoonfuls  of  salt,  one  spoonful  of 
melted  lard  or  butter,  two  cups  of  sugar  or  molasses,  and  half  a  teaspoonful  of  soda. 
Mix  thoroughly,  and  bake  in  pans  the  same  as  the  bread  of  fine  flour.  It  is  better  to 
be  kneaded  rather  than  made  soft  with  a  spoon. 

Brown  Bread. — One  quart  brown  flour,  one  quart  Indian  meal,  one  coffee- 
cup  of  molasses,  one  heaping  spoonful  of  soda  in  one  quart  of  buttermilk,  one  egg. 
If  too  thin,  add  a  little  rye  or  wheat  flour.     Bake  in  one  big  loaf,  three  hours. 

"Entire  Wheat"  Bread  is  very  nutritious  and  easily  made,  as  it  does  not 
require  any  kneading.  Take  three  pints  of  the  flour,  mixed  with  one  quart  of  water 
and  half  a  cake  of  compressed  yeast.  Let  this  stand  over  night,  and  in  the  morning 
add  another  pint  of  flour,  two  tablespoonfuls  of  salt,  two  of  sugar,  and  one  of  melted 
butter.  Stir  the  whole  well  and  set  it  to  rise  again  in  the  baking-tins.  They  should 
be  two-thirds  full,  allowing  it  to  rise  until  even  with  the  top,  M'hen  they  should  be 
put  in  the  oven. 

Steamed  Brown  Bread.  —  One  pint  Indian  meal,  half  a  cup  of  treacle,  salt,  one 
teaspoonful  baking-soda,  and  one  teaspoonful  cream  of  tartar.     Mix  meal,  treacle,  a 


RECIPES.  671 

pinch  of  salt,  baking-soda,  and  cream  of  tartar  well  together.  Then  add  enough 
buttermilk  to  make  a  firm  dough.  Mix  quickly  and  put  into  steamer  or  basin,  and 
steam  in  fast  boiling  water  for  four  hours. 

Baked  Brown  Bread.  —  One  pint  wheat-meal,  one  pint  Indian  corn-meal,  half  a 
cup  of  treacle,  salt,  one  egg,  two  teaspoonfuls  of  baking-soda,  two  teaspoonfuls  of 
cream  of  tartar,  milk  or  water.  Mix  wheat-meal,  Indian  meal,  half  teaspoonful  salt, 
baking-soda,  cream  of  tartar,  well  together.  Warm  the  treacle  and  add  it,  with  the 
milk  (or  water),  to  the  dry  ingredients.  Put  in  floured  tin,  and  bake  five  hours  in 
a  moderate  oven.  A  small  quantity  of  good  raisins  will  add  much  to  the  flavor  of 
brown  bread.  After  they  have  once  eaten  it,  children  invariably  ask  for  a  "  plum 
loaf." 

Boston  Brown  Bread  made  with  Sour  Milk.  —  Rye-meal,  one-half  pint; 
Indian  meal,  one  pint;  sour  milk,  one  pint;  molasses,  half  a  gill;  teaspoonful  Salt; 
one  teaspoonful  soda,  dissolved  in  little  hot  water.  Let  rise  one  hour,  and  steam 
four  hours. 

Rye  and  Indian  Bread. — The  Boston  or  Eastern  brown  bread  is  made  thus: 
One  quart  of  rye,  one  quart  of  corn-meal,  one  cup  of  molasses,  half  a  cup  of  distillery 
yeast,  or  twice  as  much  home-brewed;  one  teaspoonful  of  soda,  and  one  teaspoonful 
of  salt.  Wet  with  hot  water  till  it  is  stiff  as  can  be  stirred  with  a  spoon.  This  is  put 
in  a  large  brown  pan  and  baked  four  or  five  hours.  It  is  good  toasted,  and  improved 
by  adding  boiled  squash. 

Third  Bread.  — This  is  made  with  equal  parts  of  rye,  corn-meal,  and  unbolted 
flour.  To  one  quart  of  warm  water  add  one  teaspoonful  of  salt,  half  a  cup  of  dis- 
tillery, or  twice  as  much  home-brewed  yeast,  and  half  a  cup  of  molasses,  and  thicken 
with  equal  parts  of  these  three  kinds  of  flour.  It  is  very  good  for  a  variety,  and  some 
people  prefer  it  to  white  bread,  for  milk  toast. 

Rye  Bread. — Take  a  quart  of  warm  water,  a  teaspoonful  of  salt,  half  a  cup  of 
molasses,  and  a  cup  of  home-brewed  yeast,  or  half  as  much  of  distillery.  Add  flour 
till  you  can  knead  it,  and  do  it  very  thoroughly. 

Oat-Meal  Bread.  —  Oat-meal  is  sometimes  bitter  from  want  of  care  in  preparing. 
When  good,  it  makes  excellent  and  healthful  bread.  Take  one  pint  of  boiling  water, 
one  great-spoonful  of  sweet  lard  or  butter,  two  great-spoonfuls  of  sugar;  melt  them 
together,  and  thicken  with  two-thirds  oat-meal  and  one-third  fine  flour.  When 
blood-warm,  add  half  a  cup  of  home-brewed  yeast  and  two  well-beaten  eggs.  Mould 
into  small  cakes,  and  bake  on  buttered  tins,  or  make  two  loaves. 

Pumpkin  Bread  and  Apple  Bread.  —  These  are  very  good  for  a  variety.  Stew 
and  strain  pumpkins  or  apples,  and  then  work  in  either  corn-meal  or  unbolted  flour, 
or  both.  To  each  quart  of  the  fruit  add  two  tablespoonfuls  of  sugar,  a  pinch  of  salt, 
and  a  cup  of  home-brewed  yeast.  If  the  apples  are  quite  sour,  add  more  sugar. 
Make  it  as  stiff"  as  can  be  stirred  with  a  spoon,  and  bake  in  patties  or  small  loaves. 
Children  like  it  for  a  change. 

Corn-Meal  Bread.  —  Always  scald  corn-meal.  Melt  two  tablespoonfuls  of  butter 
or  sweet  lard,  in  one  quart  of  hot  water;  add  a  teaspoonful  of  salt,  and  a  teacup  of 
sugar.  Thicken  with  corn-meal  and  one-third  as  much  fine  flour,  or  unbolted  flour, 
or  middlings.  Two  well-beaten  eggs  improve  it.  Make  it  as  stiff"  as  can  be  easily 
stirred  with  a  spoon,  or,  as  some  would  advise,  knead  it  like  bread  of  white  flour.  If 
raised  with  yeast,  put  in  a  teacup  of  home-brewed  yeast,  or  half  as  much  of  distillery. 
If  raised  with  powders,  mix  two  teaspoonfuls  of  cream  tartar  thoroughly  with  the 
meal,  and  one  teaspoonful  of  soda  in  the  water. 


672  HOME  AND  HOUSEHOLD. 


PUDDINGS. 

Tapioca  Pudding,  with  Fruit.  —  Soak  a  teacup  of  tapioca  and  a  teaspoonful  of 
salt  in  three  tumblerfuls  of  warm,  not  hot,  water  for  an  hour  or  two,  till  softened. 
Take  away  the  skins  and  cores  of  apples  without  dividing  them;  put  them  in  the 
dish,  with  sugar  in  the  holes,  and  spice  if  the  apples  are  without  flavor,  not  otherwise. 
Add  a  cup  of  water  and  bake  till  the  apples  are  softened,  turning  them  to  prevent 
drying,  and  then  pour  over  the  tapioca  and  bake  a  long  time,  till  all  looks  a  brown- 
ish YELLOW.  Eat  with  a  hard  sauce.  Do  not  fail  to  bake  a  long  time.  This  can  be 
extensively  varied  by  mixing  chopped  apples,  or  quinces,  or  oranges,  or  peaches,  or 
any  kind  of  berries  with  the  tapioca;  and  then  sugar  must  be  added  according  to  the 
acid  of  the  fruit,  though  some  would  prefer  it  omitted  when  the  sauce  is  used.  The 
bea«ty  may  be  increased  by  a  cover  of  sugar  beaten  into  the  whites  of  eggs,  and  then 
turned  to  a  yellow  in  the  oven.  Several  such  puddings  can  be  made  at  once,  kept 
in  a  cool  place,  and,  when  wanted,  warmed  over;  many  relish  it  better  when  very 
cold.     Sago  can  be  used  instead  of  tapioca. 

Cream  Tapioca  Pudding.  —  Soak  three  tablespoonfuls  of  tapioca  in  water,  over 
night;  put  the  tapioca  into  a  quart  of  boiling  milk,  and  boil  half  an  hour.  Beat  the 
yolks  of  four  eggs,  with  a  cup  of  sugar.  Add  three  tablespoonfuls  of  prepared  cocoa- 
nut;  stir  in,  and  boil  ten  minutes  longer.  Pour  into  a  pudding-dish.  Beat  the 
whites  of  the  four  eggs  to  a  stiff  froth,  stir  in  three  teaspoonfuls  of  sugar,  and  put  this 
over  the  top.     Sprinkle  cocoanut  over  it,  and  brown  for  five  minutes. 

Apple  Tapioca  Pudding.  —  This  is  a  very  healthful  pudding,  and  may  be  freely 
indulged  in  by  invalids.  Soak  one  cupful  of  tapioca  in  six  cupfuls  of  water,  over 
night.  The  next  morning,  pare,  core,  and  chop  about  six  nice,  tart  apples,  and  stir 
in  the  tapioca,  with  one  cupful  of  sugar.  Bake  this  pudding  in  a  moderate  oven 
about  three  hours,  and  serve  either  warm  or  cold,  with  cream  or  sugar  if  desired. 

Queen  of  Puddings.  —  Into  one  quart  of  milk  put  one  pint  of  bread  crumbs, 
butter  the  size  of  an  egg,  the  yolks  of  four  eggs.  Sweeten  and  flavor  as  for  a  custard, 
and  bake.  Make  frosting  of  the  whites  of  the  eggs  and  one  cup  of  sugar.  Put  on 
a  layer  of  jelly  when  pudding  is  hot,  and  then  the  frosting.     Brown  slightly  in  oven. 

Sponge  Blueberry  Pudding.  —  Fill  a  dish  with  slices  of  sponge  cake.  Prepare 
a  pudding-sauce  by  cooking,  until  clear,  one  cup  sugar,  one  teaspoon  flour,  a  small 
piece  of  butter,  and  one  pint  of  boiling  water.  "When  partly  cooled,  pour  in  one 
pint  of  canned  berries  (fresh  ones  in  their  season),  and  turn  this  over  the  cake.  It 
is  good  hot  or  cold. 

Snow  Pudding.  —  Soak  one  ounce  of  gelatine  in  a  pint  of  cold  water  for  ten 
minutes;  place  the  same  over  the  fire,  stir,  and  remove  as  soon  as  it  is  dissolved, 
and,  when  nearly  cold,  beat  to  a  stiff"  froth  with  an  egg-beater.  Second,  beat  the 
whites  of  three  eggs  to  a  stiff"  froth;  add  it  to  the  gelatine  froth,  together  with  the 
juice  of  three  lemons,  and  pulverized  sugar  to  suit  the  taste,  and  mix  the  whole. 
Next,  pour  into  a  mould  and  set  aside  to  cool.  Serve  on  a  dish,  with  soft  custard 
made  from  the  yolks  of  the  eggs. 

Bread  and  Butter  Pudding.  —  Make  a  custard  of  half  a  pint  of  milk  and  one 
egg,  with  sugar,  in  which  soak  your  sliced  and  buttered  bread  for  an  hour  or  two; 
then  lay  them  in  a  dish,  with  fruit  or  jelly  sprinkled  with  sugar  between  each  two 
layers;   then  pour  over  another  half-pint  of  milk,  with  two  eggs,  and  bake. 

Rice  Pudding.  —  A  teacupful  of  rice,  the  yolks  of  four  eggs,  the  whites  of  three 
beaten  separately,  two  ounces  pounded  sugar,  two  ounces  raisins,  one-quarter  pound 


RECIPES.  6y^ 

suet  chopped  very  fine,  flavoring  of  ratafia  or  vanilla.  Put  these  ingredients  into  a 
mould,  and  boil  one  and  one-half  hours.     Serve  with  brandy  or  sweet  sauce. 

Another.  —  One  teacup  of  rice,  one  teacup  of  sugar,  one  cup  of  raisins,  one-half 
teacup  of  butter,  one  quart  of  milk;  nutmeg,  cinnamon,  and  salt  to  the  taste.  Put 
the  butter  in  melted.  Mix  all  in  a  pudding-dish  and  bake  it  two  hours,  stirring  it 
frequently  until  the  rice  is  swollen.     It  is  good  made  without  butter. 

Banana  Pudding.  —  Lay  in  a  pudding-dish  slices  of  sponge  cake.  Pour  over 
boiled  custard,  with  sliced  bananas.  Cover  with  soft  frosting,  which  may  be  made 
of  the  whites  of  the  eggs  used  in  custard. 

Steamed  Pudding.  —  One  and  one-half  cup  of  molasses,  one  cup  each  of  finely 
chopped  suet  and  dried  currants,  or  any  kind  of  berries,  two  well-beaten  eggs,  and 
four  cups  of  flour.     Spice  to  taste.     Steam  for  two  hours. 

An  Excellent  Indian  Pudding  without  Eggs.  —  Take  seveit  heaping  spoon- 
fuls of  scalded  Indian  meal,  half  a  teaspoonful  of  salt,  two  spoonfuls  of  butter  or 
sweet  lard,  a  teacup  of  molasses,  and  two  teaspoonfuls  of  ginger,  or  cinnamon  to  the 
taste.  Pour  into  these  a  quart  of  milk  while  boiling  hot.  Mix  well,  and  put  in  a 
buttered  dish.  Just  as  you  set  in  the  oven,  stir  in  a  teacup  of  cold  water,  which  \Cill 
produce  the  same  effect  as  eggs.  Bake  three-quarters  of  an  hour  in  a  dish  that  will 
not  spread  it  out  thin. 

Plum  Pudding.  —  Chop  and  rub  to  a  cream  one-half  pound  of  suet.  Add  a 
scant  half  gound  of  sugar.  Mix  well.  Add  three  well-beaten  eggs,  one  nutmeg 
grated,  one-half  teaspoonful  of  clove,  one-half  teaspoonful  of  mace,  one-half  teaspoon- 
ful of  salt,  one-fourth  cup  of  brandy  or  one  cup  of  milk,  one-half  pound  of  flour, 
one-half  pound  of  raisins,  one-half  pound  of  currants,  and  three-eighths  of  a  pound 
of  citron.  Steam  from  seven  to  eight  hours.  The  raisins  should  be  chopped.  When 
the  mixture  is  ready  for  steaming,  it  should  be  quite  thin.  The  longer  it  is  steamed, 
the  better. 

Rennet  Custard.  —  Put  three  tablespoonfuls  of  rennet  wine  to  a  quart  of  milk, 
and  add  four  or  five  great  spoonfuls  of  white  sugar  and  a  saltspoonful  of  salt.  Flavor 
it  with  wine,  or  lemon,  or  rose-water.  It  must  be  eaten  in  an  hour,  or  it  will  turn  to 
curds. 

Bird's-nest  Pudding.  —  Pare  tart,  well-flavored  apples;  scoop  out  the  cores  with- 
out dividing  the  apple;  put  them  in  a  deep  dish,  with  a  small  bit  of  mace  and  a 
spoonful  of  sugar  in  the  opening  of  each  apple.  Pour  in  water  enough  to  cook  them. 
When  soft,  pour  over  them  an  unbaked  custard,  so  as  just  to  cover  them,  and  bake 
till  the  custard  is  done. 

A  Minute  Pudding  of  Cornstarch.  — Take  four  heaped  tablespoonfuls  of  corn- 
starch, three  eggs,  a  teaspoonful  of  salt,  and  one  quart  of  milk.  Boil  the  milk,  reserv- 
ing a  little  to  moisten  the  flour.  Stir  the  flour  to  a  paste,  perfectly  smooth,  with  the 
reserved  milk,  and  put  it  into  the  boiling  milk.  Add  the  eggs  well-beaten;  let  it 
boil  till  very  thick,  which  will  be  in  two  or  three  minutes,  then  pour  into  a  dish  and 
serve  with  liquid  sauce.  After  the  milk  boils,  the  pudding  must  be  stirred  every 
moment  till  done. 

Cocoanut  Pudding  (plain).  —  Take  one  quart  of  milk,  five  eggs,  and  one  cocoa- 
nut,  grated.  The  eggs  and  sugar  are  beaten  together,  and  stirred  into  the  milk  when 
hot.  Strain  the  milk  and  eggs  and  add  the  cocoanut,  with  nutmeg  to  the  taste. 
Bake  about  twenty  minutes,  like  puddings. 

Carrot  Pudding.  —  Half  a  pound  each  of  grated  carrots  and  sweet  potatoes,  half 
a  pound  chopped  beef-suet,  half  a  pound  each  of  raisins  and  currants,  seeded  and 


674  HOME  AND  HOUSEHOLD, 

chopped  fine,  half  a  pound  stale  bread  crumbs,  one-quarter  of  a  pound  sugar,  teaspoon 
salt,  grated  lemon  peel  and  spice  to  taste.  Boil  in  a  mould  or  bag  four  hours.  Serve 
hot  with  rich  sauce.     This  is  a  winter  dessert,  and  a  nice,  inexpensive  pudding. 

Plain  Macaroni  or  Vermicelli  Puddings.  —  Put  two  ounces  of  macaroni  or 
vermicelli  into  a  pint  of  milk,  and  simmer  until  tender.  Flavor  it  by  putting  in  two 
or  three  sticks  of  cinnamon,  while  boiling,  or  some  other  spice  when  done.  Then 
beat  up  three  eggs;  mix  in  an  ounce  of  sugar,  half  a  pint  of  milk,  a  teaspoonful  of 
salt,  and  a  glass  of  wine.  Add  these  to  the  broken  macaroni  or  vermicelli,  and  bake 
in  a  slow  oven. 

Green  Corn  Pudding.  —  Twelve  ears  of  corn,  grated.  Sweet  corn  is  best.  One 
pint  and  a  half  of  milk.  Four  well-beaten  eggs.  One  teacup  and  a  half  of  sugar. 
Mix  the  above,  and  bake  it  three  hours  in  a  buttered  dish.  More  sugar  is  needed  if 
common  corn  is  used. 

English  Fruit  Pudding.  —  One  pound  currants,  one  pound  stoned  raisins,  one 
pound  sugar,  one  pound  suet,  two  pounds  grated  or  soaked  bread,  six  eggs,  one-half 
teaspoonful  saleratus,  one  teaspoonful  salt,  and  one  grated  nutmeg.  Crumb  the  soft 
part  of  the  bread  fine;  soak  the  crust  with  boiling  milk,  or  water  will  do;  beat  up 
the  eggs  and  put  all  together.  Mix  thoroughly  with  the  hands.  Take  a  square  piece 
of  cotton  cloth  and  lay  it  in  a  tin  pan;  put  the  pudding  into  the  cloth  and  tie  down 
close;  put  into  a  pot  of  boiling  water  and  boil  five  hours.  As  the  water  boils  away, 
add  more  boiling  water. 

Chocolate  Pudding.  —  One  quart  of  milk,  three  tablespoonfuls  sugar,  four  table- 
spoonfuls  cornstarch,  two  and  one-half  tablespoonfuls  chocolate.  Scald  the  milk 
over  hot  water.  Dissolve  the  cornstarch  in  a  little  scalded  milk,  and  before  it 
thickens,  add  the  chocolate,  which  has  been  dissolved  by  placing  in  a  small  basin, 
which  is  set  in  a  still  larger  one  of  boiling  water.  Stir  until  sufBciently  cooked.  Use 
with  cream,  or  sauce  of  butter  and  cream,  stirred  to  a  cream. 

Rice  and  Apple  Pudding.  — One  cup  of  rice,  boiled  very  soft ;  stir  well  to  keep 
from  burning.  Eight  large  apples,  stewed;  pass  the  pulp  through  a  sieve.  Mix  it 
thoroughly  with  the  rice.  Add  ©ne-half  teaspoonful  of  butter  and  the  yolks  of  two 
eggs,  well-beaten;  sweeten  to  the  taste;  bake.  Beat  the  whites  of  the  eggs  and  put 
on  top,  and  return  to  the  oven  a  few  moments  to  set  the  frosting.  It  is  better  almost 
cold. 

Orange  Pudding.  —  Peel  and  cut  five  good  oranges  into  thin  slices,  taking  out 
all  the  seed.  Put  over  them  a  coffee-cup  of  fine  white  sugar.  Let  a  pint  of  milk  get 
boiling  hot  by  setting  it  in  hot  water.  Add  the  yolks  of  three  eggs,  well-beaten,  one 
tablespoonful  of  cornstarch,  made  smooth  in  a  little  milk.  Stir  all  the  time,  and  as 
soon  as  it  thickens,  pour  over  the  fruit.  Beat  the  whites  to  a  stiff  froth  and  spread 
over  the  top  for  frosting,  and  set  in  the  oven  to  harden.     Best  eaten  cold. 

Boiled  Scrap  Bread  Pudding.  —  Any  odd  pieces  of  bread.  Put  into  a  bowl 
and  pour  boiling  milk  over  them.  Let  them  stand  till  well  soaked,  then  beat  up 
with  a  fork.  Add  a  small  piece  of  dripping,  a  few  currants  or  raisins,  a  little  moist 
sugar.  Mix  well  up,  put  into  a  greased  bowl,  tie  a  floured  cloth  over  the  top,  and 
boil  for  an  hour.     Good  either  hot  or  cold. 

Plum  Pudding  for  the  Million.  —  One-half  pound  chopped  suet,  one-half  pound 
flour,  one-half  pound  bread  crumbs,  one  pound  grated  carrots,  one  pound  potatoes, 
one  pound  currants,  one  pound  raisins,  one  pound  apples,  one  teaspoonful  of  ginger, 
one  teaspoonful  of  cinnamon,  one  teaspoonful  of  allspice,  one  teaspoonful  of  baking- 
powder,  half  a  nutmeg  (grated),  one  pound  sugar,  a  good  pinch  of  salt.     Mix  the 


RECIPES.  675 

flour,  bread  crumbs,  suet,  carrots,  potatoes,  ginger,  cinnamon,  allspice,  nutmeg, 
baking-powder,  salt,  and  sugar  well;  then  add  currants,  raisins  (stoned  and  cleaned), 
and  apples.  Mix  with  water  or  milk  into  a  soft  paste.  Boil  in  floured  cloth  for  four 
hours,  or  in  a  basin  or  mould  for  five  hours.     Good. 

Brown  Suet  Pudding. —  One  pound  flour,  one-fourth  pound  suet,  one-half 
pound  treacle,  one-half  pound  raisins,  salt,  half  nutmeg  (grated),  one  teaspoonful 
cinnamon,  one  teaspoonful  soda,  one  teaspoonful  cream  of  tartar,  milk.  Warm  the 
treacle,  chop  the  suet  very  fine,  mix  the  flour  with  a  pinch  of  salt,  soda,  cream  of 
tartar,  nutmeg,  cinnamon,  all  well  together;  add  treacle,  suet,  raisins,  and  put  in  a 
well-floured  cloth,  and  boil  quickly  for  three  hours. 

Fig  Pudding.  —  One  pound  figs,  one-half  pound  flour,  one-half  pound  bread 
crumbs,  one-fourth  pound  suet,  two  ounces  sugar,  fialf  a  teaspoonful  nutmeg,  one 
teaspoonful  cinnamon,  one  small  teaspoonful  baking-powder,  milk  or  water.  Chop 
the  suet  and  figs  fine.  Mix  flour,  bread  crumbs,  sugar,  cinnamon,  nutmeg,  and 
baking-powder  well  together.  Add  suet  and  figs,  with  enough  milk  or  water  to  make 
into  dough.  Roll  it  into  a  floured  cloth,  leaving  room  for  it  to  swell,  and  boil  very 
fast  for  three  hours. 

Indian.  Pudding.  —  One  quart  milk,  one-half  pound  Indian  meal,  one  small  cup 
treacle,  one  tablespoonful  dripping,  one  teaspoonful  ginger,  one  egg,  one  teaspoonful 
baking-powder,  a  pinch  of  salt.  When  the  milk  is  nearly  boiling,  wet  the  meal  with 
some  of  the  cold  milk  and  let  it  boil;  then  add  the  treacle,  dripping,  ginger,  pinch 
of  salt,  and  egg  well  beaten;  lastly,  the  baking-powder.  Turn  it  into  a  pie-dish  and 
bake  for  two  hours. 

Cottage  Pudding.  —  One  cup  milk,  one  teaspoonful  (large)  butter,  one  teaspoon- 
ful sugar,  three-fourths  pound  flour,  one  teaspoonful  soda,  one  teaspoonful  cream  of 
tartar,  yolks  of  two  eggs.  Mix  sugar,  yolks  of  eggs,  and  butter  to  a  cream;  then  add 
the  milk  and  flour  by  degrees.  Beat  very  light;  then  add  soda  and  cream  of  tartar, 
and  bake  for  one  hour. 

A  Few  Hints  on  Pudding  Making.  —  When  a  pudding  is  to  be  boiled,  see  that 
the  cloth  to  be  used  is  very  clean,  and  that  it  is  dipped  in  boiling  water,  dredged  with 
flour,  and  shaken  well  before  the  pudding  is  put  into  it. 

If  a  bread  pudding,  it  must  be  tied  loose.     If  a  batter  one,  it  must  be  tied  tight. 

When  a  shape  or  basin  is  to  be  used,  it  must  be  well  greased  before  the  pudding 
is  put  in.  When  it  is  ready,  care  must  be  taken  in  lifting  it  out.  Allow  it  to  stand 
for  a  few  minutes  before  unloosing  the  cloth. 

All  puddings  must  be  boiled  in  plenty  of  water,  turned  frequently,  kept  closely 
covered,  and  never  allowed  to  go  off  the  boil. 

If  the  pudding  is  to  be  baked,  the  dish  or  pan  must  be  also  greased  before  it  is 
put  in.  Bread  and  custard  puddings  require  time  and  a  moderate  oven,  to  raise 
them. 

As  a  rule,  steamed  puddings  are  put  in  an  earthenware  dish,  covered  with  a  tight 
cover  or  greased  paper,  which  is  placed  in  a  pan  of  boiling  water,  which  must  not 
come  more  than  three  parts  up  the  sides  of  the  pudding-dish.  If  the  water  boils 
away,  more  boiling  water  must  be  added,  and  it  must  be  kept  always  boiling.  Be 
careful  in  removing  the  lid  that  no  drops  fall  on  the  pudding.  Puddings,  etc.,  when 
steamed,  do  not  require  so  much  liquid  in  them  as  when  baked.  The  dry  air  of  the 
oven  dries  them;  steaming  keeps  them  moist. 


CHAPTER   IV. 

RECIPES    FOR   HORSES,    CATTLE,    SHEEP,    ETC. 

HORSES. 

Sure  Remedy  for  Bots.  —  When  a  horse  is  attacked  with  bots,  it  may  be  known 
by  the  occasional  nipping  at  his  own  sides,  and  by  red  pimples,  or  projections,  on  the 
inner  surface  of  the  upper  lip,  which  may  be  seen  plainly  by  turning  up  the  lip. 
First,  then,  take  two  quarts  of  new  milk,  with  one  quart  of  molasses,  and  give  the 
horse  the  whole  amount.  Second,  fifteen  minutes  afterwards,  give  two  quarts  of  very 
strong,  warm  sage  tea.  Lastly,  thirty  minutes  after  the  tea,  you  will  give  three  pints 
(or  enough  to  operate  as  physic)  of  courier's  oil.  The  cure  will  be  complete,  as  the 
milk  and  molasses  cause  the  bots  to  let  go  their  hold,  the  tea  puckers  them  up,  and 
the  oil  carries  them  entirely  away.  If  you  have  any  doubt,  one  trial  will  satisfy  you 
perfectly.  In  places  where  the  courier's  oil  cannot  be  obtained,  substitute  for  it  a 
double  handful  of  salt,  dissolved  in  just  what  warm  water  will  dissolve  it. 

Cure  for  Colic  in  Horses.  — Spirits  of  turpentine,  three  ounces;,  laudanum,  one 
ounce;  mix,  and  give  all  for  a  dose,  by  putting  it  into  a  bottle  with  one-half  pint  of 
warm  water,  which  prevents  injury  to  the  throat.  If  relief  is  not  obtained  in  one 
hour,  repeat  the  dose,  adding  one-half  ounce  of  the  best  powdered  aloes  well  dis- 
solved together,  and  have  no  uneasiness  about  the  result. 

Symptoms. — The  horse  often  lies  down  and  suddenly  rises  again  with  a  spring; 
strikes  his  belly  with  his  hind  feet,  stamps  with  his  fore  feet,  and  refuses  every  kind 
of  food,  etc.  I  suppose  there  is  no  other  medicine  in  use,  for  colic,  either  in  man  or 
horse,  equal  to  this  mixture. 

Dose.  —  For  persons,  a  dose  would  be  from  one  to  two  teaspoonfuls;  children  or 
weak  persons,  less,  according  to  the  urgency  of  the  symptoms;  to  be  taken  in  warm 
water  or  warm  tea. 

Positive  Cure  for  Poll  Evil  and  Fistula.  —  Take  common  potash,  one-quarter 
ounce;  extract  of  belladonna,  one-half  drachm;  gum-arabic,  one-quarter  ounce.  Dis- 
solve the  gum  in  as  little  water  as  practicable;  then,  having  pulverized  the  potash, 
unless  it  is  moist,  mix  the  gum  water  with  it,  and  the  potash  will  soon  dissolve;  then 
mix  in  the  extract  and  it  is  ready  to  use;  and  it  can  be  used  without  the  belladonna, 
but  it  is  more  painful  without  it,  and  does  not  have  quite  as  good  an  effect. 

Directions.  —  The  best  plan  to  get  this  into  the  pipes  is  by  means  of  a  small 
syringe,  after  having  cleansed  the  sore  with  soapsuds;  repeated  once  in  two  days, 
until  all  the  callous  pipes  and  hard  fibrous  base  around  the  poll  evil  or  fistula  are 
completely  destroyed. 

Grease-Heel  and  Common  Scratches.  — Take  lye  made  from  wood  ashes,  and 
boil  white  oak  bark  in  it  until  it  is  quite  strong,  both  in  lye  and  dark  ooze;  when  it 
is  cold  it  is  ready  for  use.  First,  wash  off  the  horse's  legs  with  dishwater  or  castile 
soap,  and  when  dry,  apply  the  ooze  with  a  swab  upon  a  stick  which  is  sufficiently 
long  to  keep  you  out  of  his  reach,  as  he  will  tear  around  like  a  wild  horse;  but  you 
must  wet  all  well  once  a  day,  until  you  see  the  places  are  drying  up.  The  grease-heel 
676 


RECIPES,  6^  J 

may  be  known  from  the  common  scratches  by  the  deep  crack,  which  does  not  appear 
in  the  common  kind.  Of  course,  this  will  fetch  off  the  hair,  but  the  disease  has  been 
known  to  fetch  off  the  hoof;  then,  to  bring  on  the  hair  again,  use  salve  made  by 
stewing  sweet  elder  bark  in  old  bacon.  Then  form  the  salve,  by  adding  a  little  resin, 
according  to  the  amount  of  oil  when  stewed,  about  one-quarter  pound  to  each  pound 
of  oil. 

Contracted  Hoof,  or  Sore  Feet.  No.  i. — Take  equal  parts  of  soft  fat,  yellow 
wax,  linseed  oil,  Venice  turpentine,  and  Norway  tar;  first,  melt  the  wax,  then  add  the 
others,  mixing  thoroughly.     Apply  to  the  edge  of  the  hair  once  a  day. 

No.  2.  —  Benzine,  one  ounce;  salts  of  nitre,  one  ounce;  alcohol,  three  ounces; 
aqua  ammonia,  two  ounces;  Venice  turpentine,  eight  ounces.  Mix.  Apply  to  the 
edge  of  the  hair  and  all  over  the  hoof  once  a  day  for  ten  days;  then  twice  a  week  for 
a  short  time. 

No.  3.  —  Resin,  four  ounces;  lard,  eight  ounces.  Heat  them  over  a  slow  fire. 
Then  take  off  and  add  powdered  verdigris,  one  ounce,  and  stir  well  to  prevent  its 
running  over.  When  partly  cool,  add  two  ounces  spirits  of  turpentine.  Apply  to 
the  hoof  about  one  inch  down  from  the  hair. 

Favorite  Recipes  for  Heaves. — No.  i.  Assafoetida  pulverized,  one  ounce; 
camphor  gum  pulverized,  one-half  ounce.  Mix,  and  divide  into  four  powders.  Feed 
one  every  other  night  for  a  week. 

No.  2.  —  Resin,  two  ounces;  tartar  emetic,  two  ounces;  Spanish  brown,  two 
ounces;  cayenne,  two  ounces.  Mix,  and  give  two  teaspoonfuls  twice  a  day,  in  the 
feed. 

No.  3.  —  A  horseman  with  whom  I  am  acquainted  says  he  has  cured  several  cases 
of  heaves  with  oil  tar.  He  gives  the  ordinary  case  a  teaspoonful  every  night,  or 
every  other  night,  by  pouring  it  onto  the  tongue,  and  then  giving  some  grain,  which 
carries  it  into  the  stomach.  He  says  he  has  given  very  bad  cases  two  or  three  table- 
spoonfuls  at  a  dose,  with  grand  results. 

Distemper.  —  Hops,  two  ounces;  carbolic  acid,  thirty  drops;  boiling  water,  two 
gallons.  Mix  the  hops  and  carbolic  acid  with  the  boiling  water,  and  compel  the 
animal  to  inhale  the  steam  for  fifteen  or  twenty  minutes  at  a  time.  Repeat  three 
times  a  day.  Apply  a  strong  mustard  paste  to  the  throat,  and  place  a  warm  poultice 
over  the  paste.  Feed  warm  mashes  and  boiled  vegetables.  Keep  the  stable  com- 
fortably warm  and  the  air  pure.  Give  the  following  powders  once  a  day :  Powdered 
Peruvian  bark,  two  ounces;  powdered  gentian,  one  ounce;  powdered  copperas,  one 
ounce.     Mix,  and  divide  into  eight  powders. 

Founder  cured  in  Twenty-four  Hours.  —  Boil  or  steam  stout  oat-straw  for 
half  an  hour.  Then  wrap  it  around  the  horse's  leg,  quite  hot.  Cover  up  with  wet 
woollen  rags,  to  keep  in  the  steam.  In  six  hours  renew  the  application.  Take  one 
gallon  of  blood  from  the  neck  vein,  and  give  one  quart  of  linseed  oil.  He  may  be 
worked  next  day. 

Cure  for  Staggers.  — Give  a  mess  twice  a  week,  composed  of  bran,  one  gallon; 
sulphur,  one  tablespoonful;  saltpetre,  one  teaspoonful;  boiling  sassafras  tea,  one 
quart;  assafoetida,  one  and  one-eighth  ounces.  Keep  the  horse  from  cold  water  for 
half  a  day  afterwards. 

Cracked  Heels.  — Tar,  eight  ounces;  beeswax,  one  ounce;  resin,  one  ounce; 
alum,  one  ounce;  tallow,  one  ounce;  sulphate  of  iron,  one  ounce;  carbolic  acid, 
one  drachm;  mix  and  boil  over  a  slow  fire.  Skim  off  the  tilth  and  add  two  ounces 
of  the  scraping  of  sweet  elder. 


678  HOME  AND  HOUSEHOLD. 

Ring-Bone  and  Spavin  Cure.  — Venice  turpentine  and  Spanish  flies,  of  each 
two  ounces;  euphorbium  and  aqua  ammonia,  of  each  one  ounce;  red  precipitate, 
one-half  ounce;  corrosive  sublimate,  one-quarter  ounce;  lard,  one  and  one-half 
poiinds.  Pulverize  all,  and  put  into  the  lard.  Simmer  slowly  over  coals,  not  scorch- 
ing or  burning,  and  pour  off  free  of  sediment.  For  ring-bones,  cut  off  the  hair  and 
rub  the  ointment  well  into  the  lumps,  once  in  forty-eight  hours.  For  spavins,  once 
in  twenty-four  hours  for  three  mornings.  Wash  well  with  suds  previous  to  each 
application,  rubbing  over  the  place  with  a  smooth  stick,  to  squeeze  out  a  yellow 
matter.     This  has  removed  very  large  ring-bones. 

Cure  for  Mange.  —  Oil  of  tar,  one  ounce;  lac  sulphur,  one  and  one-half  ounces; 
whale  oil,  two  ounces.  Mix.  Rub  a  little  on  the  skin  wherever  the  disease  appears, 
and  continue,  daily,  for  a  week,  and  then  wash  off  with  castile  soap  and  warm  water. 

To  grow  Hair.  —  Mix  sweet  oil,  one  pint;  sulphur,  three  ounces.  Shake  well, 
and  rub  well  into  the  dock  twice  a  week. 

For  Worms.  —  Calomel,  one  drachm;  tartar  emetic,  one-half  drachm;  linseed 
meal,  one  ounce;  fenugreek,  one  ounce.  Mix  and  give  in  feed  at  night,  and  repeat 
the  dose  for  two  or  three  times,  and  follow  with  one  and  one-half  pints  of  raw  linseed 
oil,  about  six  hours  after  the  last  powder  has  been  given. 

Physic  Balls  for  Horses.  —  Barbadoes  aloes,  from  four  to  five  or  six  drachms 
(according  to  the  size  and  strength  of  the  horse);  tartrate  of  potassa,  one  drachm; 
ginger  and  castile  soap,  each  two  drachms;  oil  of  anise  or  peppermint,  twenty  drops. 
Pulverize  and  make  all  into  one  ball,  with  thick  gum  solution.  Feed  by  giving 
scalded  bran,  instead  of  oats,  for  two  days  before  giving  the  physic,  and  during  its 
operation.  * 

Sweeney  Liniment. — Take  alcohol  and  spirits  of  turpentine,  of  each  eight 
ounces;  camphor  gum,  pulverized  cantharides,  and  capsicum,  of  each  one  ounce; 
oil  of  spike,  three  ounces.  Mix  all;  or  perhaps  the  best  plan  is  to  tincture  the 
capsicum  first,  and  use  the  tincture  instead  of  the  powder,  by  which  means  you  are 
free  of  sediment.  Bathe  this  liniment  in  with  a  hot  iron.  The  first  case  has  yet  to 
be  found  where  it  has  not  cured  this  disease,  when  faithfully  followed. 

Sprint  and  Spavin  Liniment.  —  Take  a  large-mouthed  bottle  and  put  into  it 
oil  of  origanum,  six  ounces;  gum  camphor,  two  ounces;  mercurial  ointment,  two 
ounces;  iodine  ointment,  one  ounce.  Melt  by  putting  the  bottle  into  a  kettle  of  hot 
water.  Apply  i*:  to  bone  spavins  or  splints  twice  daily,  for  four  or  five  days.  The 
lameness  will  trouble  you  no  more. 

Bog-Spavin  and  Wind-Gall  Ointment ;  also  Good  for  Curbs,  Splints,  Ring- 
Bone,  and  Spavin. — Take  pulverized  cantharides^  one  ounce;  mercurial  ointment, 
two  ounces;  tincture  of  iodine,  one  and  one-half  ounces;  spirits  of  turpentine,  two 
ounces;  cor-rsive  sublimate,  one  and  one-half  drachms;  lard,  one  pound.  Mix  well, 
and  when  des-  red  to  apply,  first  cut  off  the  hair,  wash  well  and  anoint,  rubbing  it  in 
well  with  the  hand,  or  glove  if  preferred.  Two  days  after,  grease  the  part  with  lard, 
and  in  two  days  more  wash  off  and  apply  the  ointment  again.  Repeat  the  process 
every  week,  as  long  as  necessary. 

Unhealthy  Ulcers.  —  Nitric  acid,  one  ounce;  blue  vitriol,  three  ounces;  soft 
water,  fifteen  ounces. 

Water  Farcy.  No.  i.  —  Saltpetre,  two  ounces;  copperas,  tv-o  ounces;  ginger, 
one  ounce;  fenugreek,  two  ounces;  anise,  one-half  ounce;  gentian,  one  ounce. 
Mix,  and  divide  into  eight  powders;   give  two  or  three  each  day. 

No.  2.  —  Gentian,  one  ounce;    ginger,  one-half  ounce;    anise,  one  ounce;  ele- 


RECIPES.  679 

campane,  two  ounces;  blue  vitriol,  one  ounce;  flaxseed  meal,  two  ounces;  saltpetre, 
two  ounces.  Mix,  and  divide  into  eight  powders.  Moderate  daily  exercise  and  rub- 
bing the  limbs  are  useful. 

For  Looseness  or  Scouring  in  Horses  or  Cattle. — Tormentil  root,  powdered; 
dose,  for  a  horse  or  cow,  one  to  one  and  one-half  ounces.  It  may  be  stirred  into  one 
pint  of  milk  and  given;  or  it  may  be  steeped  in  one  and  one-half  pints  of  milk,  then 
given  from  three  to  six  times  daily,  until  cured. 

Cough. — Quit  feeding  musty  hay,  and  feed  roots  and  laxative  food.  Sprinkle 
human  urine  on  his  fodder;  or  cut  up  cedar  boughs  and  mix  with  his  grain;  or  boil  a 
small  quantity  of  flaxseed  and  mix  it  in  a  mash  of  scalded  bran,  adding  a  few  ounces 
of  sugar,  molasses,  or  honey.  Administer  lukewarm.  If  there  should  be  any  appear- 
ance of  heaves,  put  a  spoonful  of  ground  ginger  once  per  day  in  his  provender,  and 
allow  him  to  drink  freely  of  Hme  water. 

Ointment  for  Horses. — Beeswax,  two  ounces;  resin,  two  ounces;  lard,  four 
ounces;  carbolic  acid,  one  drachm;  honey,  one-half  ounce.  Melt  all  together  and 
bring  slowly  to  a  boil;  then  remove  from  the  fire,  and  add  slowly  one  gill  of  spirits 
of  turpentine,  stirring  all  the  time  until  cool.  Used  with  good  success  for  galls, 
cracked  heels,  flesh  wounds,  or  bruises. 

Eye  Water.  —  Sugar  of  lead,  one  drachm;  tincture  of  opium,  two  drachms;  soft 
water,  one  pint.     Mix,  and  wash  the  eye  two  or  three  times  a  day. 

Splint,  or  Broken  Hoof.  —  Let  the  blacksmith  bore  two  holes  on  each  side  of  the 
crack  or  spht;  pass  along  nails  through  the  holes,  and  clinch  tight.  After  anointing 
with  the  hoof-bound  liquid,  it  will  soon  grow  together. 

For  Sprains,  etc.  —  Hog's  lard  and  spirits  of  turpentine.  Mix,  and  place  in  the 
hot  sunshine  for  four  or  five  days.     Apply  four  or  five  times  a  week. 


CATTLE. 

Garget.  —  Treatment.  —  This  is  an  inflammation  of  the  internal  substance  of  the 
udder.  One  or  more  of  the  teats,  or  whole  sections  of  the  udder,  become  enlarged 
and  thickened,  hot,  tender,  and  painful.  The  simplest  remedy,  in  mild  cases,  is  to 
put  the  calf  to  its  mother  several  times  a  day.  This  will  remove  the  flow  of  milk, 
and  often  dispel  the  congestion.  Sometimes  the  udder  is  so  much  swollen  that  the 
cow  will  not  permit  the  calf  to  suck;  then  a  dose  of  purging  medicine  and  frequent 
washing  of  the  udder,  in  mild  cases,  are  usually  successful.  The  physic  should  con- 
sist of  epsom  salts,  one  pound;  ginger,  half  an  ounce;  nitrate  of  potassa,  half  an 
ounce;  dissolved  in  a  quart  of  boiUng  water;  then  add  a  gill  of  molasses,  and  give  to 
the  cow  lukewarm.  Diet  moderate;  that  is,  on  bran,  or,  if  in  summer,  green  food. 
Rub  thorougJily  with  camphorated  spirits,  three  times  a  day,  and  milk  several  times  a 
day. 

Puerperal,  or  Milk  Fever.  —  Treatment.  —  A  pound  to  one  and  a  half  pounds  of 
epsom  or  Glauber's  salts,  according  to  the  size  and  condition  of  the  animal,  should  be 
given,  dissolved  in  a  quart  of  boiling  water;  and,  when  dissolved,  add  pulverized  red 
pepper,  a  quarter  of  an  ounce;  caraway,  ditto;  ginger,  ditto.  Mix,  and  add  a  gill  of 
molasses,  and  give  lukewarm.  If  this  medicine  does  not  act  on  the  bowels,  the 
quantity  of  ginger,  capsicum,  and  caraway  must  be  doubled.  The  insensible  stomach 
must  be  aroused.  When  purging  is  begun  in  an  early  stage,  the  fever  will  more 
readily  subside.  After  the  operation  of  the  medicine,  sedatives  may  be  given,  if 
necessary. 


68o  HOME  AND  HOUSEHOLD, 

Sore  Teats.  — Treatment.  —  First,  wash  with  warm  water  and  castile  soap;  then 
lubricate  the  parts  with  equal  portion*  of  lime-water  and  linseed  oil. 

Sore  Teats  and  Chafed  Udder.  —  Treatment.  —  Foment  the  parts  daily  with  an 
infusion  of  camomile  flowers,  for  at  least  fifteen  minutes  at  a  time;  then  wipe  dry  and 
use  the  lime  liniment.  These  temporary,  or  what  might,  with  more  propriety,  be 
termed  local  maladies,  will,  if  the  system  be  free  from  morbid  matter,  generally  yield 
to  local  remedies.  If,  however,  no  change  for  the  better  can  be  observed,  a  good 
aperient  should  be  given. 

Cow-pox.  —  Two  varieties  of  sore  teats  occur  in  the  cow,  in  the  form  of  pustular 
eruption.  They  first  appear  as  small  vesicles,  containing  a  purulent  matter,  and  sub- 
sequently assume  a  scabby  appearance;  or  small  ulcers  remain,  which  often  prove 
troublesome  to  heal.  This  latter  is  the  cow-pox,  from  which  Jenner  derived  the  vac- 
cine matter. 

Treatment.  —  Foment  the  teats  well  with  warm  water  and  castile  soap ;  after 
which  wipe  the  bag  dry,  and  dress  with  citrine  ointment.  The  preparations  of  iodine 
have  also  been  recommended,  and  they  are  very  serviceable. 

Coryza.  — In  the  spring,  and  late  in  the  fall,  catarrhal  affections  are  quite  com- 
mon, occurring  frequently  in  an  epizootic  form.  Coryza,  or  nasal  catarrh,  commonly 
called  a  cold  in  the  head,  is  not  very  common  among  cows.  As  its  name  implies,  it 
is  a  local  disease,  confined  to  the  Hning  membrane  of  the  nose ;  and,  consequently, 
the  general  system  is  not  usually  disturbed. 

Treatment.  —  The  animal  should  be  kept  on  a  low  diet  for  a  few  days,  the  nos- 
trils occasionally  steamed,  and  one  of  the  following  powders  given  night  and  morning, 
which,  in  most  cases,  will  be  all  the  medicine  required.  Nitrate  of  potassa,  one 
ounce;  digitalis  leaves  pulverized,  and  tartrate  of  antimony,  of  each  one  drachm; 
sulphate  of  copper,  two  drachms.  Mix,  and  divide  into  eight  powders.  Should  the 
disease  prove  obstinate,  give,  for  two  or  three  days,  two  ounces  of  epsom  salts  at  a 
dose,  dissolved  in  water,  three  times  a  day. 

Diarrhcea.  —  Cattle  are  frequently  subject  to  this  disease,  particularly  in  the  spring 
of  the  year,  when  the  grass  is  young  and  soft.  Occasionally  it  assumes  a  very  obsti- 
nate form,  in  consequence  of  the  imperfect  secretion  of  gastric  juice;  the  faeces  are 
thin,  watery,  and  fetid,  followed  by  very  great  prostration  of  the  animal. 

Treatment.  —  If  in  a  mild  form,  the  diet  should  be  low;  give  two  ounces  of  epsom 
salts  twice  a  day.  In  a  more  obstinate  form,  give  two  drachms  of  carbonate  of  soda 
in  the  food.  Oak-bark  tea  will  be  found  very  useful  in  these  cases;  or  one  of  the 
following  powders,  twice  a  day,  will  be  found  very  advantageous :  Pulverized  opium 
and  catechu,  each  one  and  a  half  ounces;  prepared  chalk,  one  drachm;  to  be  given 
in  the  feed.  Calves  are  particularly  subject  to  this  disease,  and  it  often  proves  fatal 
to  them.  It  sometimes  assumes  an  epizootic  form,  when  it  is  generally  of  a  mild 
character.  So  long  as  the  calf  is  lively  and  feeds  well,  the  farmer  should  entertain 
no  fear  for  him;  but  if  he  mopes  about,  refuses  his  food,  ceases  to  ruminate,  wastes 
in  flesh,  passes  mucous  and  blood  with  the  faeces,  and  exhibits  symptoms  of  pain,  the 
case  is  a  dangerous  one.  In  such  an  emergency  lose  no  time,  but  give  two  or  three 
ounces  of  castor  oil,  with  flour  gruel,  or  two  ounces  of  salts  at  a  dose,  followed  with 
small  draughts  of  oak-bark  tea;  or  give,  twice  a  day,  one  of  the  following  powders: 
Pulverized  catechu,  opium,  and  Jamaica  ginger,  of  each,  half  an  ounce;  prepared 
chalk,  one  ounce.  Mix,  and  divide  into  twelve  powders.  Bran  mashes,  green  food, 
and  flour  gruel  should  be  given,  with  plenty  of  salt. 


RECIPES.  68 1 

Foul  in  the  Foot.  —  Cows  and  other  stock,  when  fed  in  low,  wet  pastures,  will 
often  suffer  from  ulcers  or  sores,  generally  appearing  first  between  the  claws.  This  is 
commonly  called  foul  in  the  foot,  and  is  analagous  to  foot-rot  in  sheep.  It  is  often 
very  painful,  causing  severe  lameness  and  loss  of  flesh,  and  discharges  a  putrid  matter 
or  pus.  Sometimes  it  first  appears  in  the  form  of  a  swelling  near  the  top  of  the  hoof, 
which  breaks  and  discharges  foul  matter. 

Treatment.  —  If  the  case  has  been  neglected  till  the  pasterns  become  swollen  and 
tender,  the  sore  may  be  thoroughly  cleansed  out,  and  dressed  with  an  ointment  of 
sulphate  of  iron,  one  ounce;  molasses,  four  ounces;  simmered  over  a  slow  fire  till 
well  mixed.  Apply  on  a  piece  of  cotton  batting,  and  secure  upon  the  parts.  If  any 
morbid  growth  or  fungus  appear,  use  equal  parts  of  powdered  bloodroot  and  alum, 
sprinkled  on  the  sore,  and  this  will  usually  effect  a  cure.  Some  also  give  a  dose  of 
flowers  of  sulphur,  half  an  ounce;  powdered  sassafras  bark,  one  ounce;  and  burdock, 
two  ounces;  the  whole  steeped  in  a  quart  of  boiling  water,  and  strained  when  cool; 
and  if  the  matter  still  continues  to  flow  from  the  sore,  wash  it  morning  and  night 
with  chloride  of  soda,  one  ounce;  or  a  tablespoonful  of  common  salt  dissolved  in  a 
pint  of  water. 

Flatulent  Colic. — This  disease  is  generally  occasioned  by  some  derangement  of 
the  digestive  organs,  whereby  the  food,  instead  of  being  properly  digested,  undergoes 
fermentation,  and  thus  carbolic  acid  gas,  or  sulphuretted  hydrogen,  is  evolved. 

Treatment.  —  This  species  of  colic  can  generally  be  relieved  as  follows :  Take  one 
ounce  of  hyposulphite  of  soda.  Dissolve  the  same  in  a  quart  of  water.  Then  add 
tincture  of  ginger  and  tincture  of  golden  seal,  of  each  one  ounce.  Drench  the  animal 
with  the  same.  Clysters  of  soapsuds,  to  which  a  little  salt  may  be  added,  should  be 
thrown  into  the  rectum  occasionally.  The  belly  should  be  well  rubbed  with  coarse 
straw;  and,  in  severe  cases,  rub  some  mustard,  moistened  with  vinegar,  on  the  lower 
part  of  the  abdomen.  After  a  lapse  of  two  hours,  should  the  patient  appear  unre- 
lieved, a  second  dose  of  the  colic  drench  may  be  given.  Generally,  however,  one 
dose  is  sufficient. 

To  kill  Lice  on.  Cattle.  —  Treatment.  —  Take  one  ounce  of  carbolic  acid,  one 
quart  soft  soap,  one  and  a  half  gallons  water.     Mix,  and  apply. 

Yoke  Galls.  —  Treatment.  —  The  exciting  cause  is  local  irritation,  occasioned  by 
the  yoke.  As  soon  as  an  abrasion  is  discovered  on  the  neck,  the  animal  should  be 
excused  from  duty  for  a  few  days.  The  abraded  part  should  be  lubricated,  two  or 
three  times  daily,  with  a  small  quantity  of  glycerine.  In  most  cases,  however,  a  few 
applications  of  tincture  of  aloes  and  myrrh  will  produce  a  healthy  action,  and  thus 
restore  the  parts  to  soundness.  Should  there  be  no  abrasion,  yet  some  tumefaction, 
heat,  and  tenderness,  a  cold-water  bandage,  renewed  as  occasion  seems  to  require, 
will,  in  most  cases,  have  the  desired  effect.  Occasionally  the  integuments  are  so 
bruised  as  to  induce  induration  (hardening).  Local  induration  in  the  neck  is  a  mor- 
bid condition  of  parts,  known  to  the  farriers  of  old  as  "  sit-fast."  The  treatment 
consists  in  smearing  the  part  with  a  portion  of  the  following :  One-half  drachm  of 
iodine,  seven  drachms  of  simple  ointment,  one-half  drachm  of  powdered  bloodroot. 
Mix.  A  few  applications  of  a  portion  of  the  above  will  have  the  effect  of  removing 
the  sit-fast  or  eschar,  when  a  healthy  granulating  surface  will  appear. 

For  Hollow  Horn.  —  Treatment.  —  Give  once  a  week,  in  dry  feed,  sulphate  of 
iron,  two  drachms;  powdered  nux  vomica,  one  drachm;  powdered  gentian,  one 
ounce. 


682  HOME  AND  HOUSEHOLD, 


.  SHEEP. 

Administering  Medicine.  —  The  stomach  into  which  medicines  are  to  be  admin- 
istered is  the  fourth  _or  digesting  stomach.  The  comparatively  insensible  walls  of  the 
rumen,  or  paunch,  are  but  slightly  acted  upon,  except  by  doses  of  very  improper  mag- 
nitude. Medicine,  to  reach  the  fourth  stomach,  should  be  given  in  a  state  as  nearly 
approaching  fluidity  as  may  be.  Even  then  it  may  be  given  in  such  a  manner  as  to 
defeat  the  object  in  view.  If  the  animal  forcibly  gulps  fluids  down,  or  if  they  are 
given  hastily  and  bodily,  they  will  follow  the  caul  at  the  base  of  the  gullet  with  con- 
siderable momentum,  force  asunder  the  pillars,  and  enter  the  rumen;  if  they  are 
drank  more  slowly,  or  administered  gently,  they  will  trickle  down  the  throat,  glide 
over  these  pillars,  and  pass  on  through  the  maniplus  to  the  true  stomach. 

Foot  Rot. —  Causes.  —  General  debility,  exposure  in  wet  pastures,  contagion,  foul 
habit  of  the  body. 

Treatment.  —  Endeavor  to  ascertain  the  exciting  cause,  and,  if  possible,  remove 
it.  If  the  disease  has  assumed  a  putrid  type,  the  superfluous  horn  may  be  removed. 
The  parts  are  then  to  be  washed  with  four  ounces  of  pyroligneous  acid,  three  ounces 
of  water.  Mix.  A  piece  of  lint  is  afterward  to  be  saturated  with  the  above  and 
applied  as  a  dressing,  and  changed  as  occasion  may  require.  The  local  remedy  will 
avail  but  little  unless  we  sustain  the  living  powers,  and  thus  improve  the  secretions. 
The  usual  remedies  are :  One  ounce  of  powdered  golden  seal,  one-half  ounce  of  pow- 
dered sulphur,  one  ounce  of  powdered  charcoal,  one  ounce  of  powdered  sassafras, 
two  drachms  of  powdered  assafoetida,  two  pounds  of  flaxseed.  Mbc,  and  give  a  table- 
spoonful  twice  a  day,  in  the  food.  Supposing  a  number  of  animals  to  be  affected,  it 
would  occupy  too  much  time  to  treat  them  singly;  hence,  let  them  be  made  to  walk 
slowly,  or  linger  for  some  time,  in  a  wooden  trough,  the  floor  of  which  may  be  cov- 
ered to  the  depth  of  one  inch  with  the  following :  Two  pints  of  linseed  oil,  four  pints 
of  pyroligneous  acid,  one  pint  of  kerosene. 

Common  Catarrh.  —  This  aff'ection  prevails  most  extensively  among  sheep  that 
have  been  exposed  to  rains  and  unpleasant  weather.  The  disease  manifests  itself  in 
the  form  of  a  defluxion  from  the  nostrils  of  a  muco-serous  discharge,  accompanied 
by  frequent  sneezing  and  occasional  cough.  As  soon  as  the  disease  is  discovered,  the 
affected  animals  should  be  placed  in  comfortable  quarters.  Then  prepare  the  follow- 
ing drench :  Two  ounces  of  composition  powder  and  one  quart  of  boiling  water.  Pour 
the  boiling  water  on  the  powder.  Let  the  mixture  stand  in  a  warm  place  for  an  hour. 
Pour  off  the  clear  liquor,  and  add  two  ounces  of  sugar  of  milk. 

Dose.  —  A  wine-glassful  once  or  twice  daily.  Malignant  epizootic  catarrh  may  be 
treated  in  the  same  manner,  with  the  addition  of  one  ounce  of  chlorate  of  potash 
per  day,  which  can  be  dissolved  in  the  above  drench. 

Diarrhoea  and  Dysentery.  —  Curable  cases  of  the  above  character  are  brought 
to  a  favorable  termination  by  using  the  following  drench ;  One  ounce  of  finely  pulver- 
ized animal  charcoal,  one  gill  of  scalded  cow's  milk,  one  drachm  of  hyposulphite  of 
soda.  Mix.  The  above  constitutes  a  dose.  It  may  be  repeated  as  often  as  the 
emergency  seems  to  require;  but,  should  the  subject  be  a  young  lamb,  one-half  of 
the  quantity  will  suffice. 

Constipation  of  the  Bowels. — Constipation  is  almost  always  the  result  of  a 
deranged  condition  of  the  digestive  organs.  A  deranged  condition  of  the  liver,  for 
example,  will  result  in  costiveness,  for  which  the  following  drench  is  recommended : 
Two  ounces  of  Glauber's  salts,  one  teaspoonful  of  fluid  extract  of  leptandra,  one-half 


RECIPES.  683 

pint  of  thin  gruel.     Dissolve  the  salts  in  the  gruel,  and  drench  the  animal  with  the 
same. 

Tympanites.  —  This  disease  is  very  easily  recognized  by  the  bloated  appearance 
of  the  animal.  It  is  occasioned  by  the  food  running  into  fermentation  and  generating 
gas.  The  following  remedy  is  a  sure  cure  for  tympanites,  administered  as  a  drench : 
Four  drachms  of  hyposulphite  of  soda,  one  drachm  of  fluid  extract  of  golden  seal,  two 
drachms  of  fluid  extract  of  ginger,  one  wine-glassful  of  water. 

SWINE. 

Measles.  — This  is  one  of  the  most  common  diseases  to  which  pigs  are  liable. 

Treatment.  —  Suffer  the  animal  to  fast,  in  the  first  instance,  for  twenty-four  hours, 
and  then  administer  a  warm  drink,  containing  a  drachm  of  carbonate  of  soda  and  an 
ounce  of  bole  Armenian.  Wash  the  animal,  cleanse  the  sty,  and  change  the  bedding. 
Give  at  every  feeding,  say  thrice  a  day,  thirty  grains  of  flowers  of  sulphur,  and  ten  of 
nitre.  It  is  to  dirt,  combined  with  a  common  fault,  too  little  thought  of,  viz. :  giving 
the  steamed  food  or  wash  to  the  pigs  at  too  high  a  temperature,  that  this  disease  is 
generally  to  be  attributed.  It  is  a  troublesome  malady  to  eradicate,  but  usually  yields 
to  such  treatment  as  described,  and  is  rarely  fatal. 

Jaundice.  —  Symptoms.  —  Yellowness  of  the  conjunctiva,  or  "  white  of  the  eye,"  a 
similar  hue  extending  to  the  lips,  with  sometimes,  but  not  invariably,  swelling  of  the 
under  part  of  the  jaw.  Bleed  behind  the  ear,  diminish  the  quantity  of  food,  and  give 
a  smart  aperient  every  second  day.  Aloes  are,  perhaps,  the  best,  combined  with 
colocynth;  the  dose  will  vary  with  the  size  of  the  animal.  A  decoction  of  woodbine 
leaves  and  shoots  has  been  recommended  by  the  French  veterinarians. 

Foul  Skin.  —  A  simple  irritability  or  foulness  of  skin  will  usually  yield  to  cleanli- 
ness, and  a  washing  with  solution  of  chloride  of  lime;  but  if  it  has  been  neglected 
for  any  length  of  time,  it  assumes  a  malignant  character;  scabs  and  blotches,  or  red 
and  fiery  eruptions,  appear,  and  the  disease  rapidly  passes  off. 

Staggers.  —  Caused  by  excess  of  blood  to  the  head.  Bleed  freely  from  behind 
the  ears,  and  purge. 

Epilepsy.  —  This  is  a  disease  quite  common,  and  often  arises  from  the  ringing  of 
the  mother  during  the  period  of  gestation.  It  will  manifest  itself  by  trembling  and 
staggering  of  the  litter  when  young,  and  sometimes  show  its  effects  on  the  grown-up 
pigs.  It  is  far  best  to  pork  the  animals  at  once.  If  it  manifests  itself  in  store  ani- 
mals, full  grown,  anoint  the  backbone  with  turpentine  and  tallow,  in  equal  propor- 
tions, melted  together. 

Tumors. — These  hard  swellings  make  their  appearance  on  different  parts  of  the 
animal's  body.  It  would  not  be  easy  to  state  the  causes  which  gave  rise  to  the  tumors, 
for  they  vary  with  circumstances.  They  are  not  formidable,  and  require  only  to  be 
suffered  to  progress  until  they  soften ;  then  make  a  free  incision,  and  press  out  the 
matter.  Sulphur  and  nitre  should  be  given  in  the  food,  as  the  appearance  of  these 
swellings,  whatever  be  the  cause,  indicates  the  necessity  of  alterative  medicines. 

Colic. — This  is  not  an  uncommon  disease,  resulting  from  too  much  soured  food. 
It  is  manifested  by  great  and  violent,  but  intermittent  pains.  The  pig  will  roll  about 
and  kick  its  belly,  then  rise  up  and  walk  about  for  a  few  minutes,  and  again  have  a 
recurrence  of  the  paroxysm.  Administer,  during  the  interval,  one  gill  of  peppermint 
water,  forty  drops  of  tincture  of  opium.  The  animal  is  to  be  kept  warm,  and  supplied 
with  food  (new  milk,  warm),  until  entirely  better. 


684  HOME  AND  HOUSEHOLD. 

Cholera. — The  term  "  cholera  "  is  employed  to  designate  a  disease  which  has 
been  very  fatal  among  swine  in  different  parts  of  the  United  States,  and  for  the  reason 
that  its  symptoms,  as  well  as  the  indications  accompanying  its  termination,  are  very 
nearly  allied  to  what  is  manifested  in  the  disease  of  that  name  which  visits  man. 

Treat7nent.  —  As  a  preventive,  the  following  will  be  found  valuable :  Flowers  of 
sulphur,  six  pounds;  animal  charcoal,  one  pound;  sulphate  of  iron,  six  ounces;  cin- 
chona, pulverized,  one  pound.  Mix  well  together  in  a  large  mortar;  afterwards  give 
a  tablespoonful  to  each  animal,  mixed  with  a  few  potato-peelings  and  corn-meal, 
three  times  a  day.  Continue  this  for  one  week,  keeping  the  animal  at  the  same  time 
in  a  clean,  dry  place,  and  not  allowing  too  many  together. 

Lice.  —  These  are  sometimes  troublesome  in  store  pigs.  Let  them  be  well  washed 
with  soft  soap  and  water;  or,  if  this  fails,  with  a  decoction  of  tobacco. 

POULTRY. 

Asthma.  —  This  common  disease  seems  to  differ  sufficiently  in  its  characteristics 
to  warrant  a  distinction  into  two  species. 

Treatment.  —  Confirmed  asthma  is  difficult  to  cure.  For  the  disease  in  its  incip- 
ient state,  the  fowl  should  be  kept  warm,  and  treated  with  repeated  doses  of  hippo- 
powder  and  sulphur,  mixed  with  butter,  with  the  addition  of  a  small  quantity  of 
cayenne  pepper. 

Diarrhoea.  — There  are  times  when  fowls  dung  more  loosely  than  at  others,  espe- 
cially when  they  have  been  fed  on  green  or  soft  food ;  but  this  may  occur  without  the 
presence  of  disease.  Should  this  state,  however,  deteriorate  into  a  confirmed  and 
continued  laxity,  immediate  attention  is  required  to  guard  against  fatal  effects.  The 
causes  of  diarrhoea  are  dampness,  undue  acidity  in  the  bowels,  or  the  presence  of  irri- 
tating matter  there. 

Treatment,  —  This,  of  course,  depends  upon  the  cause.  If  the  disease  is  brought 
on  by  a  diet  of  green  or  soft  food,  the  food  must  be  changed,  and  water  sparingly 
given;  if  it  arises  from  undue  acidity,  chalk  mixed  with  meal  is  advantageous,  but 
rice-flour  boluses  are  most  reliable.  Alum  water,  of  moderate  strength,  is  also  bene- 
ficial. In  cases  of  bloody  flux,  boiled  rice  and  milk,  given  warm,  with  a  little  mag- 
nesia or  chalk,  may  be  successfully  used. 

Roup.  —  This  disease  is  caused  mainly  by  cold  and  moisture,  but  it  is  often 
ascribed  to  improper  feeding  and  want  of  cleanliness  and  exercise.  It  affects  fowls 
of  all  ages,  and  is  either  acute  or  chronic,  sometimes  commencing  suddenly,  on 
exposure,  at  others  gradually,  as  the  consequence  of  neglected  colds,  or  damp  weather 
or  lodging.     Chronic  roup  has  been  known  to  extend  through  two  years. 

Treatment.  —  The  fowls  should  be  kept  warm,  and  have  plenty  of  water  and 
scalded  bran,  or  other  light  food.  When  chronic,  change  of  food  and  air  is  advis- 
able. The  ordinary  remedies,  such  as  salt  dissolved  in  water,  are  inefficacious.  A 
solution  of  sulphate  of  zinc,  as  an  eye  water,  is  a  valuable  cleansing  application. 
Rue  pills,  and  a  decoction  of  rue,  as  a  tonic,  have  been  administered  with  apparent 
benefit.  Perhaps,  however,  the  best  mode  of  dealing  with  roup  and  all  putrid  affec- 
tions, is  as  follows :  Take  of  finely  pulverized,  fresh- burnt  charcoal,  and  of  new  yeast, 
each  three  parts;  of  pulverized  sulphur,  two  parts;  of  flour  a  sufficient  quantity.  Mix 
wellj  and  make  into  two  doses,  of  the  size  of  a  hazel  nut,  and  give  one  three  times  a 
day.  Cleanliness  is  no  less  necessary  than  warmth,  and  it  will  sometimes  be  desirable 
to  bathe  the  eyes  and  nostrils  with  warm  milk  and  water  or  suds,  as  convenient. 


RECIPES,  685 

Costiveness.  —  The  existence  of  this  disorder  will  become  apparent  by  observing 
the  unsuccessful  attempts  of  the  fowl  to  relieve  itself.  It  frequently  results  from 
continued  feeding  on  dry  diet,  without  access  to  green  vegetables;  indeed,  without 
the  use  of  these,  or  some  substitute,  —  such  as  mashed  potatoes,  —  costiveness  is 
certain  to  ensue.  The  want  of  a  sufficient  supply  of  good  water  will  also  occasion 
the  disease,  on  account  of  that  peculiar  structure  of  the  fowl,  which  renders  them 
unable  to  void  their  urine,  except  in  connection  with  the  faeces  of  solid  food,  and 
through  the  same  channel. 

Treatment.  —  Soaked  bread,  with  warm  skimmed  milk,  is  a  mild  remedial  agent, 
and  will  usually  suffice.  Boiled  carrots  or  cabbage  are  more  efficient.  A  meal  of 
earth-worms  is  sometimes  advisable;  and  hot  potatoes,  mixed  with  bacon  fat,  are 
said  to  be  excellent.  Castor  oil  and  burned  butter  will  remove  the  most  obstinate 
cases;  though  a  clyster  of  oil,  in  addition,  may  sometimes  be  required,  in  order  to 
effect  a  cure. 

Lice.  —  Treatmefit. — To  attain  this,  whitewash  frequently  all  the  parts  adjacent 
to  the  roosting-pole ;  take  the  poles  down,  and  run  them  slowly  through  a  fire  made 
of  wood  shavings,  dry  weeds,  or  other  light  combustibles.  Flowers  of  sulphur  placed 
in  a  vessel,  and  set  on  fire  in  a  close  poultry  house,  will  penetrate  every  crevice  and 
effectually  exterminate  the  vermin.  When  a  hen  comes  ofT  with  her  brood,  the  old 
nest  should  be  cleaned  out  and  a  new  one  placed;  and  dry  tobacco  leaves,  rubbed  to 
a  powder  between  the  hands,  and  mixed  with  the  hay  of  the  nest,  will  add  much  to 
the  health  of  the  poultry.  Flowers  of  sulphur  may  also  be  mixed  with  Indian  meal 
and  water,  and  fed  in  the  proportion  of  one  pound  of  sulphur  to  two  dozen  fowls,  in 
two  parcels,  two  days  apart.  Almost  any  kind  of  grease,  or  unctuous  matter,  is  also 
certain  death  to  the  vermin  of  domestic  poultry.  In  the  case  of  very  young  chickens, 
it  should  only  be  used  in  a  warm,  sunny  day,  when  they  should  be  put  into  a  coop 
with  their  mother,  the  coop  darkened  for  an  hour  or  two,  and  everything  made  quiet, 
that  they  may  secure  a  good  rest  and  nap  after  the  fatigue  occasioned  by  greasing 
them.  They  should  be  handled  with  great  care,  and  greased  thoroughly;  the  hen, 
also.  After  resting,  they  may  be  permitted  to  come  out  and  bask  in  the  sun;  and  in 
a  few  days  they  will  look  sprightly  enough.  To  guard  against  vermin,  however,  it 
should  not  be  forgotten  that  cleanliness  is  of  vital  importance,  and  there  must  always 
be  plenty  of  slacked  lime,  dry  ashes,  and  sand,  easy  of  access  to  the  fowls,  in  which 
they  can  roll  and  dust  themselves. 

MISCELLANEOUS  RECIPES. 

Wound  Balsam,  for  Horse  or  Human  Flesh.— Take  gum  benzoin,  in  powder, 
six  ounces;  balsam  of  tolu,  in  powder,  three  ounces;  gum  storax,  two  ounces;  frank- 
incense, in  powder,  two  ounces;  gum  myrrh,  in  powder,  two  ounces;  Socotorine 
aloes,  in  powder,  three  ounces;  alcohol,  one  gallon.  Mix  them  all  together  and  put 
them  in  a  digester,  and  give  them  a  gentle  heat  for  three  or  four  days;   then  strain. 

Nerve  and  Bone  Liniment.  —  Take  beefs  gall,  one  quart;  alcohol,  one  pint; 
volatile  liniment,  one  pound;  spirits  of  turpentine,  one  pound;  oil  of  origanum,  four 
ounces;  aqua  ammonia,  four  ounces;  tincture  of  cayenne,  one-half  pint;  oil  of  amber, 
three  ounces;  tincture  of  Spanish  flies,  six  ounces.  Mix.  Uses  too  well  known  to 
need  description.     This  is  more  particularly  applicable  to  horse  flesh. 

St.  John's  Condition  Powders. — Take  fenugreek,  cream  of  tartar,  gentian, 
sulphur,  saltpetre,  resin,  black  antimony,  and  ginger;   equal  quantities  of  each,  say 


686  HOME  AND  HOUSEHOLD. 

one  ounce;  all  to  be  finely  pulverized;  cayenne,  also  fine,  half  the  quantity  of  any 
one  of  the  others,  say  one-half  ounce.  Mix  thoroughly.  It  is  used  in  yellow  water, 
hide-bound,  coughs,  colds,  distemper,  and  all  other  diseases  where  condition  powders 
are  generally  administered.     They  carry  off  gross  humors  and  purify  the  blood. 

Dose.  —  In  ordinary  cases,  give  two  teaspoonfuls  once  a  day,  in  feed.  In  extreme 
cases,  give  it  twice  daily. 

Imperial  Drops  for  Gravel  and  Kidney  Complaints.  —  Oil  of  origanum,  one 
ounce;  oil  of  hemlock,  one-quarter  ounce;  oil  of  sassafras,  one-quarter  ounce;  oil  of 
anise,  one-half  ounce;   alcohol,  one  pint.     Mix. 

Dose.  —  From  one-half  to  one  teaspoonful,  three  times  a  day,  in  sweetened  water, 
will  soon  give  relief  when  constant  weakness  is  felt  across  the  small  of  the  back,  as 
well  as  gravelly  affections  causing  pain  about  the  kidneys. 

Barren's  Indian  Ointment.  —  Alcohol,  one  quart;  tincture  of  capsicum,  one 
ounce;  oils  of  origanum,  sassafras,  pennyroyal,  and  hemlock,  of  each,  one-half  ounce. 
Mix.  More  than  seventy  thousand  dollars  have  been  cleared  by  the  sale  of  this 
medicine,  during  the  last  twelve  years,  in  the  Western  States. 

Tooth  Wash. —  To  remove  Blackness.  —  Pure  muriatic  acid,  one  ounce;  water, 
one  ounce;  honey,  two  ounces.  Mix.  Take  a  toothbrush  and  wet  it  freely  with  the 
preparation,  and  briskly  rub  the  black  teeth,  and  in  a  moment's  time  they  will  be 
perfectly  white;  then  immediately  wash  out  the  mouth  with  water,  that  the  acid  may 
not  act  upon  the  enamel  of  the  teeth. 

Yankee  Shaving  Soap.  —  Take  three  pounds  of  white  bar  soap,  one  pound  of 
Castile  soap,  one  quart  of  rain-water,  one-half  pint  of  beefs  gall,  one  gill  of  spirits 
of  turpentine.  Cut  the  soap  into  thin  slices,  and  boil  five  minutes  after  the  soap  is 
dissolved.  Stir  while  boiling.  Scent  with  oil  of  rose  or  almonds.  If  wished  to  color 
it,  use  one-half  ounce  vermilion. 

Neuralgia.  —  Internal  Remedy.  —  Sal-ammoniac,  one-half  drachm;  dissolve  in 
water,  one  ounce. 

Dose. —  One  tablespoonful  every  three  minutes  for  twenty  minutes,  at  the  end  of 
which  time,  if  not  before,  the  pain  will  have  disappeared. 

Egyptian  Cure  for  Cholera.  —  Best  Jamaica  ginger  root,  bruised,  one  ounce; 
cayenne,  two  teaspoonfuls.  Boil  all  in  one  quart  of  water,  to  one-half  pint,  and  add 
loaf-sugar  to  form  a  thick  syrup. 

Dose.  — One  tablespoonful  every  fifteen  minutes,  until  vomiting  and  purging  cease; 
then  follow  up  with  a  blackberry  tea. 

King  of  Oils,  for  Neuralgia  and  Rheumatism.  —  Burning  fluid,  one  pint;  oils 
of  cedar,  hemlock,  sassafras,  and  origanum,  of  each  two  ounces;  carbonate  of 
ammonia,  pulverized,  one  ounce.     Mix. 

Directions.  —  Apply  freely  to  the  nerve  and  gums  around  the  tooth,  and  to  the 
face,  in  neuralgic  pains,  by  wetting  brown  paper  and  laying  on  the  parts  ;  not  too 
long,  for  fear  of  blistering.     To  the  nerves  of  teeth,  by  lint. 

Mead's  Salt-Rheum  Ointment.  —  Aqua-fortis,  one  ounce  ;  quicksilver,  one 
ounce;  good,  hard  soap,  dissolved  so  as  to  mix  readily,  one  ounce  ;  prepared  chalk, 
one  ounce  ;  mix  with  one  pound  of  lard.  Incorporate  the  above  by  putting  the 
aqua-fortis  and  quicksilver  into  an  earthen  vessel,  and^  when  done  efTervescing,  mix 
with  the  other  ingredients,  putting  the  chalk  in  last;  add  a  little  spirits  of  turpentine, 
say  one-half  teaspoonful. 

Good  Samaritan  Liniment. — Take  ninety-eight  per  cent  alcohol,  two  quarts, 
and  add  to  it  the  following  articles :  Oils  of  sassafras,  hemlock,  spirits  of  turpentine. 


RECIPES.  687 

tincture  of  cayenne,  catechu,  guaiacum  (guac),  and  laudanum,  of  each  one  ounce;  tinc- 
ture of  myrrh,  four  ounces;  oil  of  origanum,  two  ounces;  oil  of  wintergreen,  one-half 
ounce;  gum  camphor,  two  ounces;  and  chloroform,  one  and  one-half  ounces.  This 
is  one  of  the  best  applications  for  internal  pains  known;  it  is  superior  to  any  other 
enumerated  in  this  work. 

Shampooing  Mixture,  for  Five  Cents  a  Quart.  —  Will  be  found  just  the  thing 
desired.  Take  purified  carbonate  of  potash,  commonly  called  salts  of  tartar,  one 
ounce;  rain-water,  one  quart;  mix,  and  it  is  ready  for  use.  Apply  a  few  spoonfuls 
to  the  head,  rubbing  and  working  it  thoroughly;  then  rinse  out  with  clean,  soft  water, 
and  dry  the  hair  well  with  a  coarse,  dry  towel,  applying  a  little  oil  or  pomatum  to 
supply  the  natural  oil  which  has  been  saponified  and  washed  out  by  the  operation  of 
the  mixture. 

Hair  Restorative  Equal  to  Wood's,  for  a  Trifling  Cost. — Preparation. — 
Take  sugar  of  lead,  borax,  and  lac  sulphur,  of  each  one  ounce;  aqua  ammonia,  one- 
half  ounce;  alcohol,  one  gill.  These  articles  to  stand' mixed  for  fourteen  hours;  then 
add  bay  rum,  one  gill,  and  one  tablespoonful  of  fine  table  salt,  with  three  pints  of  soft 
water,  and  flavor  with  one  ounce  of  essence  of  bergamot.  This  preparation  not  only 
gives  a  beautiful  gloss  to  the  hair,  but  will  cause  hair  to  grow  on  bald  heads,  arising 
from  all  common  causes,  and  turn  gray  hair  to  a  dark  color. 

Manner  of  Application.  —  Where  the  hair  is  thin  or  bald,  make  two  applications 
daily,  until  this  amount  is  used  up,  unless  the  hair  has  come  out  sufficiently  to  satisfy 
you  before  that  time.  Work  it  well  to  the  roots  of  the  hair  with  a  soft  brush,  or  the 
ends  of  the  fingers,  rubbing  well  each  time.  For  gray  hair,  one  application  daily  is 
sufficient.  It  is  harmless,  and  will  do  all  that  is  claimed  for  it,  and  will  cost  only  a 
trifle  in  comparison  with  the  advertised  restoratives  of  the  day,  and  will  be  found  as 
good  as,  or  better  than,  most  of  them. 

Erasive  Soap.  —  For  six  pounds  common  bar  soap,  one  ounce  sal-soda,  one  ounce 
borax;  soap  shaved  fine;  two  quarts  soft  water.  Boil  all  together  twenty  minutes;  let 
it  cool  a  little ;  add  two  tablespoonfuls  of  hartshorn,  one  ounce  spirits  of  turpentine. 

British  Oil.  —  Fearing  that  British  oil  is  not  now  generally  kept,  as  it  should  be, 
I  give  its  composition.  Take  oils  of  turpentine  and  linseed,  each  eight  ounces;  oils 
of  amber  and  juniper,  each  four  ounces;  Barbadoes  tar,  three  ounces;  Seneca  oil,  one 
ounce.  Mix.  This  of  itself  is  an  excellent  application  to  cuts,  bruises,  swellings,  and 
sores  of  almost  any  description,  and  this  recipe  alone  is  worth  treble  the  price  paid 
for  this  book,  to  those  who  have  not  got  it. 

Green  Mountain  Liniment.  —  Take  ninety-five  per  cent  alcohol,  two  quarts,  and 
add  to  it  the  following  articles :  Oils  of  sassafras,  hemlock,  spirits  of  turpentine,  bal- 
sam of  fir,  chloroform,  and  tinctures  of  catechu  and  guaiacum  (guac),  of  each  one 
ounce;  oil  of  origanum,  two  ounces;  oil  of  wintergreen,  one-half  ounce;  gum  cam- 
phor, one-half  ounce. 

Oil  of  Gladness.  —  Oils  of  marjoram,  peppermint,  horsemint  (monarda),  each  one 
drachm;  ether,  two  drachms;  tincture  capsicum,  four  drachms ;  tincture  opium,  rubri 
(red  Saunders),  each  one  drachm;  alcohol,  sufficient  to  make  eight  ounces.  Mix. 
Used  externally  for  rheumatism,  neuralgia,  stiffness,  etc.;  internally  for  colic,  cramps, 
and  diarrhoea. 

Bill  Wright's  Cure  for  Inflammatory  Rheumatism.  — Take  one  ounce  each  of 
sulphur  and  nitrate  of  potassa;  gum  guaiacum,  one-half  ounce;  colchicum  root  and 
nutmegs,  one-quarter  ounce;  all  to  be  pulverized  and  mixed  with  simple  syrup  or 
molasses,  two  ounces. 


688  HOME  AND  HOUSEHOLD, 

Dose.  —  One  teaspoonful  three  times  daily. 

Dr.  Thompson's  Celebrated  Composition  Powder.  — Take  bayberry  bark,  two 
f>ounds;  hemlock  bark,  one  pound;  ginger  root,  one  pound;  cayenne  pepper,  two 
ounces;   cloves,  two  ounces;   all  finely  pulverized  and  well  mixed. 

Dose.  —  Take  one-half  of  a  teaspoonful  of  it,  and  a  spoonful  of  sugar,  and  put 
them  into  a  teacup,  and  pour  it  half  full  of  boiling  water;  let  it  stand  a  few  minutes 
and  fill  the  cup  with  milk,  and  drink  freely.  If  no  milk  is  to  be  obtained,  fill  up  the 
cup  with  hot  water.  This,  in  the  first  stages,  and  less  violent  attacks  of  disease,  is  a 
valuable  medicine,  and  may  be  safely  employed  in  all  cases.  It  is  good  in  relax,  pain 
in  the  stomach  and  bowels,  and  to  remove  all  obstructions  caused  by  cold.  A  few 
doses  of  this,  the  patient  being  in  bed  with  a  steaming  stone  at  the  feet,  or  having 
soaked  the  feet  fifteen  or  twenty  minutes  in  hot  water,  drinking  freely  of  the  tea  at 
the  same  time,  will  cure  a  bad  cold,  and  often  throws  off  disease  in  its  first  stages. 

Asthma  Remedy.  —  Grindelia,  fine  powder,  eight  ounces;  jaborandi,  fine  powder, 
eight  ounces;  eucalyptus,  fine  powder,  four  ounces;  digitalis,  fine  powder,  four 
ounces;  cubeb,  fine  powder,  four  ounces;  stramonium,  fine  powder,  sixteen  ounces; 
nitrate  of  potassium,  fine  powder,  twelve  ounces;  cascarilla  bark,  fine  powder,  one 
ounce.  Mix,  and  dry  thoroughly.  Used  by  burning  one-quarter  to  a  teaspoonful  or 
more,  and  inhaling  the  smoke. 

Horse  Liniment.  —  Alcohol,  ninety-five  per  cent,  eight  ounces ;  spirits  turpentine, 
eight  ounces;  oil  sassafras,  one  ounce;  oil  pennyroyal,  one  ounce;  oil  origanum, 
one  ounce;  British  oil,  one  ounce  ;  tincture  arnica,  one  ounce;  tincture  caHtharides, 
one  ounce;   spirits  of  camphor,  one  ounce;   water  of  ammonia,  one  ounce.     Mix. 

Magic  Liniment.  —  Alcohol,  one  quart;  gum  camphor,  four  ounces;  turpentine, 
two  ounces;  oil  origanum,  two  ounces;  sweet  oil,  one  ounce.  For  cuts  or  calks  in 
winter,  must  be  applied  often, 

Radway's  Ready  Relief. — Tincture  of  capsicum,  sixty-four  grams;  liquid  am- 
monia caustic,  four  grams;  castile  soap,  one-quarter  gram;  camphor,  four  grams; 
oil  of  rosemary,  two  grams. 

Dr.  R.  W.  Hutchings'  Indian  Healing,  formerly  Peckham's,  Cough  Balsam. 
—  Take  rosin,  five  pounds,  and  melt  it,  adding  spirits  of  turpentine,  one  quart;  bal- 
sam of  tolu,  one  ounce;  balsam  of  fir,  four  ounces;  oil  of  hemlock,  origanum,  with 
Venice  turpentine,  of  each,  one  ounce;  strained  honey,  four  ounces;  mix  well  and 
bottle.  It  is  a  valuable  preparation  for  coughs,  internal  pains  or  strains,  and  works 
benignly  upon  the  kidneys. 

Dose.  —  Six  to  ten  drops;  for  a  child  of  six,  three  to  five  drops,  on  a  little  sugar  or 
molasses.  The  dose  can  be  varied  according  to  ability  to  bear  it  upon  the  stomach. 
It  is  highly  recommended  also  for  burns  and  bruises,  as  an  external  application. 

For  Baldness.  —  White  liquid  vaseline,  one  hundred  grams;  pilocarpine,  fifty 
grams.     Mix,  and  dissolve  with  light  heat. 

Note. — This  solution  makes  the  finest  kind  of  a  cosmetic.  No  "  brilliantine  " 
can  be  compared  to  it;  it  glosses  the  hair.  The  idea  of  its  use  is  derived  from  the 
fact  that  pilocarpine  acts  on  the  glands  of  the  skin. 

Sage's  Catarrh  Remedy.  —  Hydrastis  Canadensis,  grs.  v.;  indigo,  grs.  ss.;  cam- 
phors pulverized,  acidum  carbolicum,  aa  grs.  ij.;  sodii  chloridum,  grs.  i.  Powder 
the  camphor  by  means  of  a  drop  of  alcohol,  and  mix  with  the  salt  previously  reduced 
to  a  moderately  fine  powder;  rub  the  indigo  and  carbolic  acid  together,  and  lastly 
add  the  powdered  hydrastis,  and  intimately  mix,  without  much  pressure,  in  a  mortar. 

Camphor  Ice,  for  Chapped  Hands  or  Lips.  —  Take  Spermaceti  tallow,  one  and 


RECIPES.  689 

one-half  ounces;  oil  of  sweet  almonds,  four  teaspoonfuls;  gum  camphor,  three-quarter 
ounce,  made  fine.  Set  on  the  stove  until  dissolved,  constantly  stirring.  Use  only 
just  sufficient  heat  to  melt  them  together.  While  warm,  pour  into  moulds,  if  desired 
to  sell ;  then  paper  and  put  up  in  tinfoil.  If  for  your  own  use,  put  up  in  a  tight  box. 
Apply  to  the  chaps  or  cracks  two  or  three  times  daily,  especially  at  bed-time.  It  is 
also  good  for  salt-rheum  and  piles. 

Burns,  Salve  to  Cure  Without  Pain  ;  also  Sore  or  Cracked  Nipples.  — Take 
equal  parts  of  turpentine,  sweet  oil,  and  beeswax;  melt  the  oil  and  wax  together,  and 
when  a  little  cool  add  the  turpentine  and  stir  until  cold,  which  keeps  them  evenly 
mixed.  Apply  by  spreading  upon  thin  cloth  (linen  is  best),  and  only  apply  a  thin 
cloth  over  the  one  on  which  the  salve  is  spread,  unless  the  burn  is  very  extensive,  and 
more  covering  is  needed  to  keep  the  patient  warm. 

Felon,  if  Recent,  to  Cure  in  Six  Hours. — Take  Venice  turpentine,  one  ounce; 
and  put  into  it  half  a  teaspoonful  of  water,  and  stir  them  with  a  rough  stick  until  the 
mass  looks  like  candied  honey;  then  spread  a  good  coat  on  a  cloth  and  wrap  around 
the  finger.  If  the  case  is  only  recent,  it  will  remove  the  pain  in  six  hours;  but  if  of 
long  standing,  it  will  require  a  longer  time. 

Frost  Bites  and  Itching  Feet,  a  Liniment  to  Cure. — Take  alcohol,  one  quart; 
Thompson's  No.  6,  one  quart;  and  camphor  gum,  one  ounce;  this  cures  frost  bites, 
itching  feet,  etc.  Use  it  freely  and  often;  it  makes  a  good  liniment  also  for  common 
purposes. 

Cure  for  Corns.  —  If  a  cripple  will  take  a  lemon,  cut  off  a  piece,  then  nick  it  so 
as  to  let  in  the  toe  with  the  corn,  the  pulp  next  the  corn,  tie  this  on  at  night  so  that 
it  cannot  move,  he  will  find  next  morning  that,  with  a  blunt  knife,  the  corn  will 
come  away  to  a  great  extent.  Two  or  three  applications  of  this  will  make  "  a  poor 
cripple  happy  for  life." 

Syrup  for  Consumptives.  — Take  a  peck  of  tamarack  bark;  spikenard  root,  one- 
half  pound;  dandelion  root,  one-quarter  pound;  hops,  two  ounces.  Boil  these  suffi- 
ciently to  get  the  strength,  in  two  or  three  gallons  of  water;  strain  and  boil  down  to 
one  gallon.  When  blood  warm,  add  three  pounds  of  honey  and  three  pints  of  best 
brandy;   bottle  and  keep  in  a  cool  place. 

Dose.  —  Drink  freely  of  it  three  times  a  day  before  meals,  at  least  a  gill  or  more, 
according  to  the  strength  and  age  of  the  patient. 

Ointment  for  Old  Sores.  —  Take  red  precipitate,  one-half  ounce;  sugar  of  lead, 
one-half  ounce;  burnt  alum,  one  ounce;  white  vitriol,  one-quarter  ounce,  or  a  little 
less;  all  to  be  very  finely  pulverized;  have  mutton  tallow  made  warm,  one-half  pound; 
stir  all  in,  and  stir  until  cool. 

Dr.  Peabody's  Cure  for  Jaundice,  in  its  Worst  Forms.  —  Take  red  iodide  of 
mercury,  seven  grains;  iodide  of  potassium,  nine  grains;  aqua  dis.  (distilled  water), 
one  ounce.  Mix,  Commence  by  giving  six  drops  three  or  four  times  a  day,  increas- 
ing one  drop  a  day,  until  twelve  or  fifteen  are  taken  at  a  dose.  Give  in  a  little  water, 
immediately  after  meals.  If  it  gives  a  griping  sensation  in  the  bowels,  and  fullness 
in  the  head  when  you  get  up  to  twelve  or  fifteen  drops,  go  back  to  six  drops,  and  up 
again  as  before. 

Pinusine  Corn  Killer.  —  Tincture  of  pine  needles,  four  hundred  parts;  liquid 
ammonia  caustic,  four  hundred  parts;  tincture  of  iodine,  two  hundred  parts.  This 
fluid  may  also  be  employed  for  frost  bites. 

Mexican  Oil.  —  Petroleum,  two  ounces,  fluid;  aqua  ammonia,  one  ounce,  fluid; 
brandy,  one  drachm,  fluid.    Mix.    This  is  also  known  as  Mexican  Mustang  Liniment. 


690  HOME  AND  HOUSEHOLD. 

Lyon's  Kathairon.  —  Alcohol,  ninety- five  per  cent,  twelve  fluid  ounces;  oil  ricinis, 
four  fluid  ounces;  tincture  cantharis,  one-half  fluid  ounce;  acid,  tannic,  thirty  grains; 
oils,  citronnella,  bergamot,  and  cloves,  one-half  fluid  drachm  each;  oils  lavender, 
flo.,  and  rosemary,  one  fluid  drachm.     M.  Sec.  art.  Filter. 

Diphtheria.  —  For  treatment  of  this  terrible  disease,  the  following  recipes  are 
said  to  be  excellent :  — 

No.  I.  —  Take  of  sulphuric  acid,  four  drops;  water,  three-quarter  tumblerful. 
Mix,  and  stir  well,  and  give  at  one  dose  to  an  adult;  children  in  proportion  to  age. 
Repeat  as  occasion  requires.  It  is  said  to  coagulate  the  diptheritic  membrane,  and 
cause  its  ready  removal  by  coughing;  and  is  considered  by  some  almost  as  a  specific. 

No.  2.  —  Take  one  teaspoonful  of  sulphur  and  two  ounces  of  water,  and  stir  with 
the  finger,  instead  of  a  spoon,  until  it  is  well  mixed;  then  use  it  as  a  gargle;  also 
have  the  patient  take  a  teaspoonful  of  the  sulphur  in  two  ounces  of  water,  and  repeat 
the  dose  four  or  five  times  during  the  day,  and  repeat  the  gargle  every  hour  until 
improvement  takes  place.  If  the  patient  is  so  badly  off  that  he  cannot  use  the  gargle, 
put  a  teaspoonful  of  the  sulphur  on  a  live  coal,  and  let  the  patient  stand  over  it  and 
inhale  the  smoke  made  by  its  burning;  or,  in  some  bad  cases,  where  the  throat  is 
nearly  closed,  it  might  be  well  to  blow  a  little  of  the  sulphur  through  a  quill  into  the 
throat.  It  is  said  that  Dr.  Field  of  England  has  treated  many  cases  in  this  way,  and 
all  recovered. 

Earache.  — Take  equal  parts  of  tincture  of  opium  and  glycerine.  Mix,  and  from 
a  warm  teaspoon  drop  two  or  three  drops  into  the  ear,  and  stop  the  ear  tight  with 
cotton,  and  repeat  every  hour  or  two.  If  matter  should  form  in  the  ear,  make  a  suds 
with  Castile  soap  and  warm  water,  about  one  hundred  degrees  F.,  or  a  little  more  than 
milk  warm,  and  have  some  person  inject  it  into  the  ear,  while  you  hold  that  side  of 
the  head  the  lowest.  If  it  does  not  heal  in  due  time,  inject  a  little  carbolic  acid  and 
water,  in  the  proportion  of  one  drachm  of  the  acid  to  one  pint  of  warm  water,  each 
time  after  using  the  suds. 


DIVISION   V. 


MISCELLANEOUS  INFORMATION. 


CHAPTER   I. 

COMMERCIAL    FORMS    AND    USEFUL    TABLES. 

Law  Points  for  Farmers.  —  If  a  note  is  lost  or  stolen,  it  does  not  release 
the  maker.  He  must  pay  it,  if  the  consideration  for  which  it  was  given  and 
the  account  can  be  proven. 

Notes  bear  interest  only  when  so  stated. 

Principals  are  responsible  for  the  acts  of  their  agents. 

Each  individual  in  partnership  is  responsible  for  the  whole  amount  of  debt 
of  the  firm,  except  in  cases  of  special  partnership. 

Ignorance  of  the  law  excuses  no  one. 

The  law  compels  no  one  to  do  impossibilities. 

An  agreement  without  consideration  is  void ;  a  note  made  on  Sunday  is 
void ;  contracts  made  on  Sunday  cannot  be  enforced. 

A  note  made  by  a  minor  is  void  ;  contracts  made  with  a  minor  are  void  ;  a 
contract  made  with  a  lunatic  is  void. 

A  note  obtained  by  fraud,  or  from  a  person  in  a  state  of  intoxication,  can- 
not be  collected. 

It  is  fraud  to  conceal  a  fraud. 

Signatures  made  with  a  pencil  are  good  in  law. 

A  receipt  of  money  is  not  always  conclusive. 

"  Value  received ''  is  usually  written  in  a  note,  and  should  be,  but  it  is  not 
necessary.  If  not  written,  it  is  presumed  by  the  law,  or  may  be  supplied  by 
proof. 

The  maker  of  an  "  accommodation "  bill  or  note  —  one  for  which  he  has 
received  no  consideration,  having  lent  his  name  or  credit  for  the  accommoda- 
tion of  the  holder  —  is  bound  to  all  other  parties  precisely  as  if  there  was  a 
good  consideration. 

No  consideration  is  sufficient  in  law,  if  it  be  illegal  in  its  nature. 

If  the  drawer  of  a  check  or  draft  has  changed  his  residence,  the  holder  must 
use  all  reasonable  diligence  to  find  him. 

If  one  holding  a  check,  as  payee  or  otherwise,  transfers  it  to  another,  he 
has  a  right  to  insist  that  the  check  be  presented  that  day,  or  the  next  day 
following. 

691 


692  MISCELLANEOUS  INFORMATION. 

A  note  indorsed  in  blank  —  the  name  of  the  indorser  only  written  —  is 
transferable  by  delivery,  the  same  as  if  made  payable  to  bearer. 

The  time  of  payment  of  a  note  must  not  depend  upon  a  contingency :  the 
promise  must  be  absolute. 

A  bill  may  be  written  upon  any  paper  or  substitute  for  it,  either  with  ink 
or  pencil. 

The  payee  should  be  distinctly  named  in  the  note,  unless  payable  to  bearer. 

An  indorsee  has  a  right  of  action  against  all  whose  names  were  on  the  bill 
when  he  received  it. 

If  the  letter  containing  a  protest  of  non-payment  be  put  in  the  post-ofRce, 
any  miscarriage  does  not  affect  the  party  giving  notice. 

Notice  of  protest  may  be  sent  either  to  the  place  of  business  or  of  residence 
of  the  party  notified. 

Any  oral  agreement  must  be  proved  by  evidence.  A  written  agreement 
proves  itself.  The  law  prefers  written  to  oral  evidence,  because  of  its  pre- 
cision. 

Articles  of  Agreement.  —  An  agreement  is  a  contract,  by  which  a  certain 
person,  or  persons,  agrees  or  contracts  to  perform  certain  duties  within  a  spec- 
ified time.  It  is  of  much  importance,  in  all  matters,  upon  which  may  arise  a 
difference  of  opinion,  or  misunderstanding,  that  contracts  be  reduced  very 
explicitly  to  writing.  Agreements  should  show  that  they  are  made  for  a  rea- 
sonable consideration ;  otherwise  they  are  void  in  law.  The  contract  expires 
at  the  end  of  a  year,  unless  it  is  expressly  stipulated  that  the  agreement  is 
binding  for  a  longer  time.  A  signature  should  always  be  written  with  pen 
and  ink,  for  safety,  although  a  pencil  signature  is  legal.  Misrepresentation, 
or  discovery  of  fraud,  or  changing  of  date  by  one  party  to  the  agreement, 
renders  the  contract  void.  Agreements  should  state  explicitly  within  what 
time  their  conditions  are  to  be  complied  with.  Always  duplicate  copies  of  an 
agreement,  that  each  party  may  retain  a  copy. 

Bills  of  Sale.  —  A  written  agreement,  by  which  one  party  transfers  to 
another,  for  a  consideration  on  delivery,  all  his  right,  title,  and  interest  in  per- 
sonal property,  is  a  bill  of  sale.  The  ownership  of  personal  property,  in  law, 
is  not  changed  until  the  delivery,  and  the  purchaser  takes  actual  possession  of 
such  property;  though  in  some  States  a  bill  of  sale  \^  prima  facie  evidence  of 
ownership,  even  against  creditors,  unless  the  sale  was  fraudulently  made  for 
the  purpose  of  avoiding  the  payment  of  debts. 

Deeds.  —  A  deed  is  an  instrument  in  writing,  by  which  lands  and  appurte- 
nances thereon  are  conveyed  from  one  person  to  another,  signed,  sealed,  and 
properly  subscribed.  A  deed  may  be  written  or  printed  on  parchment  or 
paper,  and  must  be  executed  by  parties  competent  to  contract.  One  witness 
is  required  in  New  York,  and  two  in  Vermont,  New  Hampshire,  Rhode 
Island,  Connecticut,  Ohio,  Pennsylvania,  Georgia,  and  Indiana.  Should  the 
deed  be  proven  by  witnesses,  two  are  also  required  in  Tennessee,  Delaware, 
and  South  Carolina.  In  the  other  States,  no  witnesses  are  necessary,  the 
deed  being  acknowledged  by  a  person  duly  authorized  by  law.  There  must 
be  a  realty  to  grant,  and  a  sufficient  consideration,  to  render  a  deed  valid. 


LAW  POINTS.  693 

The  following  requisites  are  necessary  to  enable  a  person  to  legally  convey 
property  to  another:  First,  he  or  she  must  be  of  sane  mind ;  second,  of  age ; 
and  third,  he  or  she  must  be  the  rightful  owner  of  the  property.  The  grantor 
is  the  person  who  makes  the  deed,  and  the  grantee  the  person  who  receives 
the  deed.  The  wife  of  the  grantor,  in  the  absence  of  any  statute  regulating 
the  same,  must  acknowledge  the  deed,  or  else,  after  the  death  of  her  husband, 
she  will  be  entitled  to  one-third  interest  in  the  property,  as  dower  during  her 
life.  Her  acknowledgment  of  the  deed  must  be  of  her  own  free  will  and 
accord,  and  the  officer  before  whom  the  acknowledgment  is  taken  must  sign 
his  name  as  a  witness  to  the  fact  that  her  consent  was  without  compulsion. 
Special  care  should  be  taken  to  have  the  deed  properly  acknowledged  and 
witnessed,  and  the  "proper  seal  attached.  The  deed  takes  effect  upon  its  de- 
livery to  the  properly  authorized  person.  Any  alterations  or  interlineations 
in  the  deed  should  be  noted  at  the  bottom  of  the  instrument,  and  properly 
witnessed.  After  the  acknowledgment  of  a  deed,  the  parties  have  no  right 
to  make  the  slightest  alteration.  An  alteration  after  the  acknowledgment,  in 
favor  of' the  grantee,  vitiates  the  deed.  By  a  general  warrantee  deed,  the 
grantor  agrees  to  warrant  and  defend  the  property  conveyed,  against  all  per- 
sons whatsoever.  A  quitclaim  deed  releases  what  interest  the  grantor  may 
have  in  the  land,  but  does  not  warrant  and  defend  against  others.  Deeds, 
upon  their  delivery,  should  be  recorded  in  the  Recorder's  office  without  delay. 

Chattel  Mortgages.  —  A  mortgage  on  personal  property,  given  by  a  debtor 
to  a  creditor,  as  security  for  the  payment  of  a  sum  that  may  be  due,  is  a  chat- 
tel mortgage.  The  property  mortgaged  may  remain  in  the  possession  of 
either  party  while  the  mortgage  is  in  force.  In  order  to  hold  the  property 
secure  against  other  creditors,  the  mortgagee,  or  person  holding  the  mortgage, 
must  have  a  true  copy  filed  in  the  Clerk's  or  Recorder's  office  of  the  place 
where  the  mortgagor,  or  person  giving  the  mortgage,  resides,  and  where  the 
property  is  when  mortgaged.  A  justice  of  the  peace,  according  to  the  laws 
of  some  States,  in  the  voting  precinct  where  such  property  mortgaged  is 
located,  must  acknowledge  and  sign  the  mortgage,  taking  a  transcript  of  the 
same  upon  his  docket,  while  the  mortgage  itself  should  be  recorded,  the  same 
as  real  estate  transfers.  When  the  person  giving  the  mortgage  retains  pos- 
session of  the  property,  he  may  empower  the  party  holding  the  mortgage  with 
authority  to  take  the  goods  and  chattels  mortgaged  into  his  possession  at  any 
time  he  may  deem  the  same  insufficient  security  for  his  claims ;  or  if  he  shall 
be  convinced  that  an  effort  is  being  made  to  remove  such  property,  whereby 
he  would  be  defrauded  of  his  claim  ;  or  for  other  reasons,  when  he  may  deem 
it  necessary  to  secure  his  claim,  he  can  proceed  to  take  possession  of  it;  and 
said  property,  after  legal  notice  of  sale  has  been  given,  according  to  the  law 
of  the  State  governing  the  same,  he  is  allowed  to  sell  at  public  sale,  to  the 
highest  bidder.  Out  of  the  money  obtained  therefrom  he  can  retain  sufficient 
to  liquidate  his  demand  and  defray  the  necessary  expenses,  turning  over  any 
moneys  remaining  to  the  mortgagor. 

Landlord  and  Tenant.  —  No  particular  form  of  wording  a  lease  is  neces- 
sary.    It  is  important,  however,  that  the  lease  state,  in  a  plain,  straightfor- 


694  MISCELLANEOUS  INFORMATION. 

ward  manner,  the  terms  and  conditions  of  the  agreement,  so  that  there  may 
be  no  misunderstanding  between  the  landlord  and  tenant.  The  lease  must 
state  all  the  conditions,  as  additional,  verbal  promises  avail  nothing  in  law. 
It  is  held,  generally,  that  a  written  instrument  contains  the  details,  and  states 
the  bargain  entire,  as  the  contracting  parties  intended.  The  tenant  can  sub- 
let a  part,  or  all,  of  his  premises,  unless  prohibited  by  the  terms  of  the  lease. 
A  lease  by  a  married  woman,  even  if  it  be  upon  her  own  property,  is  not  valid 
at  common  law ;  but,  by  recent  statutes,  in  many  States,  she  may  lease  her 
own  property  and  have  full  control  of  the  same;  neither  can  the  husband 
effect  a  lease  that  will  bind  her  after  his  death.  His  control  over  her  property 
continues  only  so  long  as  he  lives.  Neither  a  guardian  nor  a  minor  can  give 
a  lease  extending  beyond  the  ward's  majority,  which  can  be  enforced  by  the 
lessee ;  yet  the  latter  is  bound  unless  the  lease  is  annulled.  If  no  time  is 
specified  in  a  lease,  it  is  generally  held  that  the  lessee  can  retain  possession  of 
the  real  estate  for  one  year.  A  tenancy  at  will,  however,  may  be  terminated 
in  the  Eastern  States  by  giving  three  months'  notice  in  writing;  in  the  Middle 
and  Southern  States,  six  months ;  and  in  the  Western  States,  one  month ; 
though  recent  statutes,  in  some  States,  have  modified  the  above  somewhat. 
The  lease  that  specifies  a  term  of  years,  without  giving  the  definite  number,  is 
without  effect  at  the  expiration  of  two  years.  A  lease  for  three  or  four  years, 
being  signed  by  the  Commissioner  of  Deeds  and  recorded  in  the  Recorder's 
ofllice,  is  an  effectual  bar  to  the  secret  or  fraudulent  conveyance  of  such  leased 
property;  and  it  further  obviates  the  necessity  of  procuring  witnesses  to 
authenticate  the  validity  of  the  lease.  Duplicate  copies  of  a  lease  should  al- 
ways be  made,  and  each  party  retain  a  copy  of  the  same.  A  new  lease  invali- 
dates an  old  one.  A  landlord  misrepresenting  property  that  is  leased,  thereby 
subjecting  the  tenant  to  inconvenience  and  loss,  such  damages  can  be  recov- 
ered from  the  landlord  by  deduction  from  the  rent.  A  lease  on  property  that 
is  mortgaged  ceases  to  exist  when  the  person  holding  such  mortgage  fore- 
closes the  same.  A  landlord  consenting  to  take  a  substitute,  releases  the  first 
tenant.  Where  there  is  nothing  but  a  verbal  agreement,  the  tenancy  is  un- 
derstood to  commence  at  the  time  of  taking  possession.  Where  there  is  no 
time  specified  in  the  lease,  tenancy  is  regarded  as  commencing  at  the  time  of 
delivering  the  writing.  If  it  is  understood  that  the  tenant  is  to  pay  the  taxes 
on  the  property  he  occupies,  such  fact  must  be  distinctly  stated  in  the  lease, 
as  a  verbal  promise  is  of  no  effect. 

Partnership.  — An  agreement  between  two  or  more  persons  to  invest  their 
labor,  time,  and  means  together,  sharing  in  the  loss  or  profit  that  may  arise 
from  such  investment,  is  termed  a  partnership.  This  partnership  may  consist 
in  the  contribution  of  skill,  extra  labor,  or  acknowledged  reputation  upon  the 
part  of  one  partner,  while  the  other,  or  others,  contribute  money,  each  sharing 
alike  equally,  or  in  fixed  proportion,  in  the  profit ;  or  an  equal  amount  of  time, 
labor,  and  money  may  be  invested  by  the  partners,  and  the  profits  equally 
divided,  the  test  of  partnership  being  the  joint  participation  in  profit,  and 
joint  liability  to  loss.  A  partnership  formed  without  limitation  is  termed  a 
general  partnership.     An  agreement  entered  into  for  the  performance  of  only 


LAW  POINTS.  695 

a  particular  work,  is  termed  a  special  partnership ;  while  the  partner  putting 
in  a  limited  amount  of  capital,  upon  which  he  receives  a  corresponding  amount 
of  profit,  and  is  held  correspondingly  responsible  for  the  contracts  of  the  firm, 
is  termed  a  limited  partnership,  the  conditions  of  which  are  regulated  by 
statute  in  different  States.  A  partner  signing  his  individual  name  to  negotia- 
ble paper,  which  is  for  the  use  of  the  partnership  firm,  binds  all  the  partners 
thereby.  Negotiable  paper  of  the  firm,  even  though  given  on  private  account 
by  one  of  the  partners,  will  hold  all  the  partners  of  the  firm,  when  it  passes 
into  the  hands  of  holders  who  are  ignorant  of  the  facts  attending  its  creation. 
Partnership  effects  may  be  bought  and  sold  by  a  partner ;  he  may  make  con- 
tracts ;  may  receive  money ;  indorse,  draw,  and  accept  bills  and  notes  ^  and 
while  this  may  be  for  his  own  private  account,  if  it  apparently  be  for  the  use 
of  the  firm,  his  partners  will  be  bound  by  his  action,  provided  the  parties 
dealing  with  him  were  ignorant  that  the  transaction  was  on  his  private  account ; 
and  thus  representation  or  misrepresentation  of  a  partner,  having  relation  to 
business  of  the  firm,  will  bind  the  members  in  the  partnership.  An  individual 
lending  his  name  to  a  firm,  or  allowing  the  same  to  be  used  after  he  has  with- 
drawn from  the  same,  is 'still  responsible  to  third  persons,  as  a  partner.  A 
partnership  is  presumed  to  commence  at  the  time  articles  of  copartnership  are 
drawn,  if  no  stipulation  is  made  to  the  contrary,  and  the  same  can  be  dis- 
continued at  any  time,  unless  a  specified  period  of  partnership  is  designated 
in  tht  agreement ;  and  even  then  he  may  withdraw,  by  giving  previous  notice 
of  such  withdrawal  from  the  same,  being  liable,  however,  in  damages,  if  such 
are  caused  by  his  withdrawal.  Should  it  be  desired  that  the  executors  and 
representatives  of  the  partner  continue  the  business  in  the  event  of  his  death, 
it  should  be  so  specified  in  the  articles,  otherwise  the  partnership  ceases  at 
death.  Should  administrators  and  executors  continue  the  business  under 
such  circumstances,  they  are  personally  responsible  for  the  debts  contracted 
by  the  firm.  If  it  is  desired  that  a  majority  of  the  partners  in  a  firm  have  the 
privilege  of  closing  the  affairs  of  the  company,  or  in  any  way  regulating  the 
same,  such  fact  should  be  designated  in  the  agreement ;  otherwise  such  right 
will  not  be  presumed.  Partners  may  mutually  agree  to  dissolve  a  partner- 
ship, or  a  dissolution  may  be  effected  by  a  decree  of  a  court  of  equity.  Dis- 
solute conduct,  dishonesty,  habits  calculated  to  imperil  the  business  of  a  firm, 
incapacity,  or  the  necessity  of  partnership  no  longer  continuing,  shall  be 
deemed  sufficient  causes  to  invoke  the  law  in  securing  a  dissolution  of  part- 
nership, in  case  the  same  cannot  be  effected  by  mutual  agreement.  After 
dissolution  of  partnership,  immediate  notice  of  the  same  should  be  given  in 
the  most  public  newspapers,  and  a  notice  likewise  should  be  sent  to  every 
person  having  special  dealings  with  the  firm.  These  precautions  not  being 
taken,  each  partner  continues  liable  for  the  acts  of  the  others,  to  all  persons 
who  have  no  knowledge  of  the  dissolution. 

Wills.  —  The  legal  declaration  of  what  a  person  determines  to  have  done 
with  his  property  after  death  is  termed  a  will.  All  persons  of  sufficient  age, 
possessed  of  sound  mind,  excepting  married  women  in  certain  States,  are 
entitled  to  dispose  of  their  property  by  will.     Children  at  the  age  of  four- 


696  MISCELLANEOUS  INFORMATION, 

teen,  if  males,  and  females  at  the  age  of  twelve,  can  thus  dispose  of  personal 
property. 

No  exact  form  of  words  is  necessary  in  order  to  make  a  will  good  at  law ; 
though  much  care  should  be  exercised  to  state  the  provisions  of  the  will  so 
plainly  that  its  language  may  not  be  misunderstood.  The  person  making  the 
will  is  termed  the  testator ;  if  a  female,  a  testatrix.  A  will  is  of  no  force  until 
the  death  of  the  testator,  and  can  be  cancelled  or  modified  by  the  maker  at 
any  date.     The  last  will  made  annuls  the  force  of  all  preceding  wills. 

The  law  regards  marriage,  and  offspring  resulting,  as  a  prima  facie  evi- 
dence of  revocation  of  a  will  made  prior  to  such  marriage,  unless  the  wife  and 
chil(^ren  are  provided  for  by  the  husband  in  some  other  way,  in  which  case 
the  will  remains  in  full  force. 

To  convey  real  estate  by  will,  it  must  be  done  in  accordance  with  the  law 
of  the  State  where  such  land  is  located ;  but  personal  property  is  conveyed  in 
harmony  with  the  law  that  obtains  at  the  place  of  the  testator's  residence. 

There  are  two  kinds  of  wills,  namely,  written  and  verbal,  or  nuncupative; 
the  latter,  or  spoken  wills,  depending  upon  proof  of  persons  hearing  the  same, 
generally  relate  to  personal  property  only,  and  are  not  recognized  in  all  the 
States,  unless  made  within  ten  days  previous  to  the  death.  Verbal  or  un- 
written wills  are  usually  unsafe,  and,  even  when  well  authenticated,  often 
make  expensive  litigation ;  hence  the  necessity  of  having  the  wishes  of  the 
testator  fully  and  clearly  defined  in  a  written  will. 

To  give  or  make  a  devise  of  property  by  will,  and  subsequently  dispose  of 
the  same,  without  altering  the  will  to  conform  to  such  sale,  destroys  the  valid- 
ity of  the  entire  will. 

A  will  made  by  an  unmarried  woman  is  legally  revoked  by  marriage ;  but 
she  can  take  such  legal  steps  in  the  settlement  of  property,  before  marriage, 
as  will  empower  her  to  dispose  of  the  same  as  she  may  choose,  after  marriage. 

No  husband  can  make  a  will  that  will  deprive  the  wife  of  her  right  of  dower 
in  the  property ;  but  the  husband  can  will  the  wife  a  certain  amount  in  lieu  of 
her  dower,  stating  it  to  be  in  lieu  thereof.  Such  bequest,  however,  will  not 
exclude  her  from  her  dower,  provided  she  prefers  it  to  the  bequest  made  in 
the  will.  Unless  the  husband  states  distinctly  that  the  bequest  is  in  lieu  of 
dower,  she  is  entitled  to  both.  Property  bequeathed  must  pay  debts  and 
encumbrances  upon  the  same,  before  its  distribution  can  be  made  to  the  lega- 
tees of  the  estate.  Though  property  may  be  willed  to  a  corporation,  the  cor- 
poration cannot  accept  such  gift  unless  provision  is  made  for  so  doing,  in  its 
charter.  A  will  may  be  revoked  by  marriage,  codicil,  destruction  of  the  will, 
disposing  of  property  devised  in  a  will,  or  by  the  execution  of  another  will. 
The  person  making  a  will  may  appoint  his  executors,  but  no  person  can  serve 
as  such  executor  if  he  or  she  be  an  alien  at  the  time  of  proving  the  will ;  if  he 
be  under  twenty-one  years  of  age,  a  convict,  a  drunkard,  a  lunatic,  or  an 
imbecile.  No  person  appointed  as  an  executor  is  obliged  to  serve,  but  may 
renounce  his  appointment  by  legal  written  notice,  signed  before  two  witnesses, 
which  notice  must  be  recorded  by  the  officer  before  whom  the  will  is  proved. 

In  case  a  married  woman  possesses  property,  and  dies  without  a  will,  her 


PROMISSORY  NOTES.  697 

husband  is  entitled  to  administer  upon  such  property,  in  preference  to  any  one 
else,  provided  he  be  of  sound  mind. 

Any  devise  of  property  made  to  a  subscribing  witness  is  invalid,  although 
the  integrity  of  the  will  in  other  respects  is  not  affected. 

In  all  wills,  the  testator's  full  name  should  be  made  at  the  end.  If  he  be 
unable  to  write,  he  may  have  his  hand  guided  in  making  a  mark  against  the 
same.  If  he  possesses  a  sound  mind,  and  is  conscious  at  the  time  of  the 
import  of  this  action,  such  mark  renders  the  will  valid. 

Witnesses  should  always  write  their  respective  places  of  residence  after 
their  names,  their  signatures  being  written  in  the  presence  of  each  other  and 
in  the  presence  of  the  testator. 

It  should  be  stated,  also,  that  these  names  are  signed  at  the  request  of,  and 
in  the  presence  of,  the  testator,  and 'in  the  presence  of  each  other. 

The  following  States  require  two  subscribing  witnesses:  Missouri,  Illinois, 
Ohio,  Kentucky,  Arkansas,  North  Carolina,  Tennessee,  Iowa,  Utah,  Texas, 
California,  New  Jersey,  Delaware,  Indiana,  Virginia,  and  New  York.  Three 
witnesses  are  required  to  authenticate  a  will  in  the  following  States :  Florida, 
Mississippi,  Maryland,  Louisiana,  Georgia,  South  Carolina,  Wisconsin,  Ore- 
gon, Minnesota,  Michigan,  Massachusetts,  Rhode  Island,  Connecticut,  Maine, 
New  Hampshire,  and  Vermont.  Proof  of  signature  of  the  testator,  by, the 
oath  of  two  reputable  witnesses,  is  sufficient  to  establish  the  validity  of  a  will 
in  Pennsylvania,  no  subscribing  witnesses  being  absolutely  necessary. 

Witnesses  are  not  required  to  know  the  contents  of  a  will.  They  have 
simply  to  know  that  the  document  is  a  will,  and  witness  the  signing  of  the 
same  by  the  testator. 

Codicils.  — An  addition  to  a  will,  which  should  be  in  writing,  is  termed  a 
codicil.  A  codicil  is  designed  to  explain,  modify,  or  change  former  bequests, 
made  in  the  body  of  the  will.  It  should  be  done  with  the  same  care  and  pre- 
cision as  was  exercised  in  the  making  of  the  will  itself. 

Forms  of  Notes. — 

Wo.  I.  — Wegfotiable  Witliout  Indorsement. 

$100.  New  York,  Sept.  2,  1883. 

Ninety  days  after  date,  I  promise  to  pay  Leonard  Smith,  or  bearer.  One 
Hundred  Dollars,  value  received. 

H.  B.  McIntyre. 

No.  2.  —  Negotiable  Only  by  Indorsement. 

$100.  New  York,  Sept.  2,  1883. 

Ninety  days  after  date,  I  promise  to  pay  Leonard  Smith,  or  order.  One 

Hundred  Dollars,  value  received. 

H.  B.  McIntyre. 

No.  3.  —  Not  Negotiable. 

$100.  New  York,  Sept.  2,  1883. 

Ninety  days  after  date,  I  promise  to  pay  Leonard  Smith  One  Hundred  Dol- 
lars, value  received. 

H.  B.  McIntyre. 


698  MISCELLANEOUS  INFORMATION. 

No.  4.  —Payable  on  Demand. 

$100.  New  York,  Sept.  2,  1883. 

On  demand,  I  promise  to  pay  H.  C.  Spencer,  or  bearer,  One  Hundred  Dol- 
lars, value  received. 

John  Thomas. 
Ho.  5.— Principal  and  Surety. 

I345.40.  Flint,  Mich.,  Dec.  4,  1883. 

Three  months  after  date,  I  promise  to  pay  L.  L.  Walker,  or  order,  Three 
Hundred  Forty-five  and  ^^f^  Dollars,  with  interest,  value  received. 

Frank  Stone,  Principal. 
Jay  C.  Worcester,  Surety. 

Ho.  6.— PayaWe  at  Bank. 

$200.  New  York,  Oct.  8,  1883. 

Ninety  days  after  date,  I  promise  to  pay  H.  W,  Fairbanks,  or  order,  at  the 
Park  National  Bank,  Two  Hundred  Dollars,  value  received. 

Wheat  Howard. 
Ifo.  7.— Joint  and  Several  Notes. 

$100.  Grand  Rapids,  Mich.,  Dec.  i,  1870. 

Three  months  after  date,  we  jointly  and  severally  promise  to  pay  to  the 
order  of  James  Finn,  One  Hundred  Dollars,  at  City  National  Bank,  Grand 
Rapids,  Michigan.     Value  received,  with  interest  at  ten  per  cent  per  annum. 

John  Dunn. 

Charles  Dunn. 
Ho.  8.— Joint  Hotes. 

$100.  Grand  Rapids,  Mich.,  Dec.  i,  1870. 

Three  months  after  date,  we  jointly  promise  to  pay  to  the  order  of  James 
Finn,  One  Hundred  Dollars,  at  City  National  Bank,  Grand  Rapids,  Michigan. 
Value  received,  with  interest  at  ten  per  cent  per  annum. 

John  Dunn. 
Charles  Dunn. 

In  addition  to  the  notes  above  given,  there  are  two  other  kinds  of  notes 
sometimes  used:  (i)  The  chattel  note,  where  the  payment  is  to  be  made  in 
something  besides  money ;  and  (2)  a  note  payable  in  money  to  a  particular 
person,  without  the  word  "  order"  or  "  bearer." 

Ho.  9.- Chattel  Hote. 

Grand  Rapids,  Mich.,  Dec.  i,  1870. 
Three  months  after  date,  I  promise  to  pay  James  Finn,  one  hundred  bushels 
of  white  wheat.     Value  received. 

John  Dunn. 
Ho.  10.— Money  Hote  —  Hot  HegotiaWe. 

$100.  Grand  Rapids,  Mich.,  Dec.  i,  1870. 

Three  months  after  date,  I  promise  to  pay  James  Finn,  One  Hundred  Dol- 
lars.    Value  received,  with  interest. 

John  Dunn. 


PROMISSORY  NOTES.  699 

A  promissory  note  is  a  written  promise  to  pay  a  certain  sum  of  money,  at 
a  future  time,  unconditionally. 

A  note  may  be  payable  at  a  particular  place,  as  in  numbers  6,  7,  and  8 ;  or 
may  be  payable  to  the  payee  simply,  as  in  i  and  2. 

In  a  joint  and  several  note,  like  No.  7,  the  makers  are  liable  jointly  or  sev- 
erally ;  that  is,  the  holder  may  sue  both  the  makers  in  one  suit ;  or,  if  he 
choose,  may  sue  one  of  them  alone,  each  maker  being  liable  to  pay  the  whole 
amount  to  the  payee ;  but  payment  by  one  satisfies  the  debt,  and  it  cannot  be 
twice  collected.  In  No.  4,  the  makers  are  jointly  liable,  and  cannot  be  sued 
separately.  A  note  signed  by  more  than  one  person,  but  using  the  singular 
number  in  the  body  of  the  note  (as,  I  promise  to  pay),  is  a  joint  and  several 
note ;  while  one  using  the  plural  number  (as,  we  promise  to  pay)  is  a  joint 
note. 

It  is  always  desirable  for  a  farmer  to  have  the  notes  he  gives  payable  at  a 
place  designated,  as  the  holder  may  not  at  the  time  of  maturity  of  the  note  be 
known  to  the  maker,  and  he  may  be  put  to  the  expenses  of  a  suit,  as  suit  may 
be  brought  without  previous  notice. 

Indorsement  is  simply  writing  the  name  of  the  payee,  with  or  without 
other  words,  across  the  back  of  the  note. 

There  are  two  kinds  :  — 

First,  Blank  indorsement,  in  which  the  payee  writes  his  name  and  nothing 
else;  as,  "James  Finn." 

Second,  Where  the  payee  indorses  it  to  some  person  called  the  indorsee ; 
as,  — 

Pay  to  the  order  of  John  Lun, 

James  Finn. 

In  the  first  place,  the  blank  indorsement  makes  the  note  payable  to  the 
holder,  and  it  may,  after  indorsement,  be  transferred,  like  a  note  payable  to 
bearer. 

In  the  second  place,  the  indorsee  must  again  indorse  it,  if  he  desires  to 
transfer  it. 

Indorsers  are  liable  in  the  order  in  which  they  indorse ;  the  first  is  liable 
to  the  second,  the  second  to  the  third,  etc. 

A  note  given  for  patent  right  is  as  collectible  as  though  given  for  any  other 
consideration. 

The  chattel  note  may  be  made  payable  to  order,  and  may  call  for  so  much 
money  payable  in  wheat,  at  a  certain  price  named,  or  at  current  prices,  etc. 

Neither  Nor.  9  nor  No.  10  is  negotiable.  They  may  be  assigned  like  any 
other  contract,  and  made  payable  at  a  particular  place.  If  assigned,  the  pur- 
chaser gets  no  greater  right  than  the  assignor,  and  if  there  is  any  fraud  or 
want  of  consideration,  which  would  render  the  note  void  in  the  hands  of  the 
original  payee,  it  is  equally  void  in  the  hands  of  the  purchaser,  even  though 
he  purchased  in  good  faith,  with  no  notice  of  the  fraud. 

Any  material  alteration  of  any  note,  after  it  passes  out  of  the  hands  of 
the  maker,  renders  it  void. 

The  liability  of  an  indorser  is  not  absolute. 


700  MISCELLANEOUS  INFORMATION. 

In  order  to  hold  an  indorser,  the  holder  of  the  note  must  present  it  to  the 
maker  on  the  very  day  of  its  maturity  {i.e.  the  third  day  of  grace),  demand 
payment,  and  before  the  expiration  of  the  next  day  notify  the  indorser  that 
the  note  has  been  presented  for  payment  to  the  maker,  and  that  payment  has 
been  refused,  and  that  he,  the  holder,  looks  to  the  indorser  for  payment. 
The  following  form  may  be  used  :  — 

Grand  Rapids,  March  4,  1871. 

Please  to  take  notice  that  a  promissory  note  of  one  hundred  dollars,  dated 
December  i,  1870,  payable  three  months  after  date,  made  by  John  Dunn 
and  indorsed  by  you,  has  been  duly  presented  by  me,  and  payment  demanded, 
which  was  refused.     I  therefore  look  to  you  for  payment  of  said  note. 

Yours,  etc., 
To  James  Finn.  .  John  Lun. 

A  carefully  compared  copy  of  tlie  notice  served  should  always  be  kept,  in 
order  to  make  proof  of  the  notice  served,  if  it  should  become  necessary. 

All  negotiable  notes  have  three  days  of  grace ;  that  is,  three  days  longer  to 
run  than  the  time  mentioned  in  the  note.  If  a  note  is  made  payable  January 
I  St,  it  is  really  not  due  until  January  4th ;  and  that  is  the  day  for  presentation 
and  demand,  and  the  notice  should  be  given  the  next  day,  unless  the  same 
should  be  Sunday,  when  it  may  be  given  on  Monday. 

If  the  third  day  of  grace  falls  on  Sunday,  or  a  legal  holiday,  then  the  note 
is  due  on  the  day  before ;  and  if  the  day  before  is  Sunday  or  a  legal  holiday, 
then  the  note  will  mature  on  the  first  day  of  grace. 

The  indorser  may,  at  the  time  of  making  the  indorsement,  or  afterwards, 
waive  demand  on  the  maker  and  notice. 

The  following  form  is  sufficient :  — 

Presentation,  demand,  and  notice  of  non-payment  are  hereby  waived. 

James  Finn. 

In  order  to  prevent  the  danger  of  failure  to  make  the  demand  on  the  maker 
of  the  note,  and  of  not  giving  sufficient  notice,  it  is  always  well  to  have  the 
indorser  waive  presentation,  demand,  and  notice. 

If  a  note  is  payable  at  a  particular  place,  it  must  be  at  such  place  at  matur- 
ity ;  and  if  payable  at  a  bank,  should  be  left  at  the  bank,  where  it  will  be 
properly  attended  to. 

If  an  indorser  does  not  wish  to  render  himself  liable,  he  can  indorse  as 
follows :  — 

James  Finn, 
Without  recourse. 

Which  means  that  the  holder  will  have  no  recourse  on  him  for  payment. 
This  indorsement  is  sufficient  to  transfer  the  note,  but  does  not  render  the  in- 
dorser liable  for  its  payment. 

If  a  party  indorses  a  note  payable  to  bearer,  before  the  delivery  of  the  note 
to  the  payee,  he  is  liable  the  same  as  the  maker. 


NOTES  AND  RECEIPTS.  70 1 

A  person  can  sign  his  name  below  the  maker,  with  the  word  "surety" 
after  his  name,  which  will  make  him  liable  to  pay  the  note. 

Guaranty. 

There  are  two  kinds  of  guaranty. 

First,  Of  collection,  which  may  be  as  follows  :  — 

For  value  received,  I  hereby  guarantee  the  collection  of  the  within  note. 

James  Finn. 

Second,  Guaranty  of  payment,  which  may  be  as  follows  :  — 

For  value  received,  I  hereby  guarantee  the  payment  of  the  within  note. 

James  Finn. 

Neither  guaranty  requires  notice  to  the  guarantor.  In  the  first  case,  the 
holder  cannot  look  to  the  guarantor  until  he  has  exhausted  the  remedy  against 
the  maker.  In  the  second  case,  he  may  bring  suit  directly  against  the  guar- 
antor, without  any  notice  to  the  maker  or  guarantor  before  suit.  This  security 
is  preferable  to  an  indorsement,  and  should  be  obtained  in  preference  to  it,  in 
all  cases  where  practicable. 

A  guaranty  is  applicable  to  mortgages,  contracts,  etc. 

Receipts  —  On  Account. 
$500.  Chicago,  April  25,  1883. 

Received  of  H.  B.  Mclntyre,  Five  Hundred  Dollars  on  account. 

Field,  Leiter  &  Co. 
In  Full  of  All  Demands. 

$300.  New  York,  April  15,  1883. 

Received  of  S.  S.  Pierce,  Three  Hundred  Dollars,  in  full  of  all  demands  to 

date. 

Chas.  Fellows. 
For  a  Note. 

$500.  Charleston,  S.C,  Dec.  31,  18 — . 

Received  of  Goldwin  Hubbard,  his  note  at  sixty  days  for  Five  Hundred 

Dollars,  in  full  of  account. 

Murray  Campbell. 
For  a  Note  of  Another  Person. 

$200.  Pensacola,  Fla.,  May  2,  18—. 

Received  of  Herbert  Spencer,  a  note  of  Robt.  Hatfield,  for  the  sum  of  Two 
Hundred  Dollars,  which,  when  paid,  will  be  in  full  of  all  demands  to  date. 

Sampson  &  Collins. 

Form  of  Due-Bill  payable  in  Money. 

$100.  Rochester,  N.Y.,  Oct.  2,  18 — . 

Due  Walter  W.  Kimball,  or  order,  on  demand.  One  Hundred  Dollars,  value 

received. 

C.  T.  Marsh. 


702  MISCELLANEOUS  INFORMATION, 

Payable  in  Flour. 

$400.  Kalamazoo,  Mich.,  Feb.  i,  18 — . 

Due,  on  demand,  to  Stanford  Burton,  Four  Hundred  Dollars,  in  flour,  at 
the  market  value  when  delivered.     Value  received. 

C.  H.  Walker. 
Time  Draft. 

$50.  Memphis,  Tenn.,  April  4,  18 — . 

Thirty  days  after  date,  pay  to  the  order  of  Cobb  &  Co.,  Fifty  Dollars,  value 
received,  and  charge  to  our  account. 

To  Harmon  Mosher  &  Co.,  Buffalo,  N.Yc  A.  B.  Moore. 

Siffht  Draft. 
$400.  Cincinnati,  O.,  June  10,  18 — . 

At  sight,  pay  to  the  order  of  Higgins  &  Co.,  Four  Hundred  Dollars,  value 
received,  and  charge  the  same  to  our  account. 

To  B.  L.  Smith,  Milwaukee,  Wis.  Pollok  Bros.  &  Co. 

Common  Form  of  Bill  of  Sale. 

Know  all  Men  by  these  Instruments,  That  I,  Philetus  Howe,  of  Mid- 
dlebury,  Vermont,  of  the  first  part,  for  and  in  consideration  of  Four  Hundred 
and  Fifty  Dollars,  to  me  paid  by  Charles  Rose  of  the  same  place,  of  the  second 
part,  the  receipt  whereof  is  hereby  acknowledged,  have  sold,  and  by  this  instru- 
ment do  convey  unto  the  said  Rose,  party  of  the  second  part,  his  executors, 
administrators,  and  assigns,  my  undivided  half  of  twenty  acres  of  grass,  now 
growing  on  the  farm  of  Lorenzo  Pease,  in  the  town  above  mentioned  ;  one  pair 
of  mules,  ten  swine,  and  three  cows,  belonging  to  me,  and  in  my  possession  at 
the  farm  aforesaid  :  to  have  and  to  hold  the  same  unto  the  party  of  the  second 
part,  his  executors  and  assigns,  forever.  And  I  do,  for  myself  and  legal  rep- 
resentatives, agree  with  the  said  party  of  the  second  part,  and  his  legal  repre- 
sentatives, to  warrant  and  defend  the  sale  of  the  afore-mentioned  property 
and  chattels  unto  the  said  party  of  the  second  part,  and  his  legal  representa- 
tives, against  all  and  every  person  whatsoever. 

In  witness  whereof  I  have  hereunto  affixed  my  hand,  this  tenth  day  of 
June,  one  thousand  eight  hundred  and  seventy. 

Philetus  Howe. 

General  Form  of  Agreement  or  Contract. 

This  agreement,  made  the  first  day  of  August,  18 — ,  between  Isaac  E.  Hill, 
of  Irish  Grove,  County  of  Atchison,  State  of  Missouri,  of  the  first  part,  and 
Vard  Blevins,  of  the  same  place,  of  the  second  part  — 

Witnesseth,  that  the  said  Isaac  E.  Hill,  in  consideration  of  the  agreement 
of  the  party  of  the  second  part,  hereinafter  contained,  contracts  and  agrees  to 
and  with  the  said  Vard  Blevins,  that  he  will  deliver,  in  good  and  marketable 
condition,  at  the  village  of  Corning,  Missouri,  during  the  month  of  September, 
of  this  year.  One  Hundred  Tons  of  Prairie  Hay,  in  the  following  lots,  and  at 
the  following  specified  times ;  namely :  twenty-five  tons  by  the  seventh  of 
September ;  twenty-five  tons  additional  by  the  fourteenth  of  the  month  ;  twenty- 


COMMERCIAL  FORMS.  703 

five  tons  more  by  the  twenty-first ;  and  the  entire  one  hundred  tons  to  be  all 
delivered  by  the  thirtieth  of  September. 

And  the  said  Vard  Blevins,  in  consideration  of  the  prompt  fulfilment  of 
this  contract,  on  the  part  of  the  party  of  the  first  part,  contracts  to  and  agrees 
with  the  said  Isaac  E.  Hill,  to  pay  for  said  hay  six  dollars  per  ton,  for  each 
ton,  as  soon  as  delivered. 

In  case  of  failure  of  agreement  by  either  of  the  parties  hereto,  it  is  hereby 
stipulated  and  agreed  that  the  party  so  failing  shall  pay  to  the  other  One 
Hundred  Dollars,  as  fixed  and  settled  damages. 

In  witness  whereof  we  have  hereunto  set  our  hand,  the  day  and  year  first 
above  written. 

Isaac  E.  Hill. 
Vard  Blevins. 

A  bond  is  a  written  admission  of  an  obligation  on  the  part  of  the  maker, 
whereby  he  pledges  himself  to  pay  a  certain  sum  of  money  to  another  person 
or  persons,  for  some  botiafide  consideration. 

Common  Form  of  Bond. 

Know  all  Men  by  these  Presents,  That  I,  Jonas  Clayton,  of  Wilming- 
ton, Hanover  County,  State  of  North  Carolina,  am  firmly  bound  unto  Henry 
Morse,  of  the  place  aforesaid,  in  the  sum  of  One  Thousand  Dollars,  to  be 
paid  to  the  said  Henry  Morse,  or  his  legal  representatives  ;  to  which  payment, 
to  be  made,  I  bind  myself,  or  my  legal  representatives,  by  this  instrument. 

The  condition  of  this  bond  is  such  that,  if  I,  Jonas  Clayton,  my  heirs, 
administrators,  or  executors,  shall  promptly  pay  the  sum  of  Five  Hundred 
Dollars  in  three  equal  annual  payments  from  the  date  hereof,  with  annual 
interest,  then  the  above  obligation  to  be  of  no  effect ;  otherwise  to  be  in  full 
force  and  valid. 

Dated  this  first  day  of  July,  one  thousand  eight  hundred  and  seventy-three. 

Signed  and  delivered  in 

presence  of  \  Jonas  Clayton,     [l.  s.] 

George  Downing. 

Short  Form  of  Lease  for  a  House. 

This  instrument,  made  the  first  day  of  May,  1872,  witnesseth  that  Theodore 
Shonts,  of  Asheville,  County  of  Buncombe,  State  of  North  Carolina,  hath 
rented  from  Tilgham  Schnee,  of  Asheville  aforesaid,  the  dwelling  and  lot  No. 
46  Broadway,  situated  in  said  town  of  Asheville,  for  four  years  from  the  above 
date,  at  the  yearly  rental  of  Two  Hundred  and  Forty  Dollars,  payable  monthly, 
on  the  first  day  of  each  month,  in  advance,  at  the  residence  of  said  Tilgham 
Schnee. 

At  the  expiration  of  said  above-mentioned  term,  the  said  Shonts  agrees  to 
give  the  said  Schnee  peaceable  possession  of  the  said  dwelling,  in  as  good 
condition  as  when  taken,  ordinary  wear  and  casualties  excepted. 


704  MISCELLANEOUS  INEORMATION. 

In  witness  whereof,  we  place  our  hands  and  seals  the  day  and  year  afore- 
said. 

Signed,  sealed,  and  delivered  "^  ^  ^  ^        ^ 

in  presence  of  \  Theodore  Shonts.      l.  s.] 

JOHN  EDMIN.STER.  j  TiLGHAM   SCHNEE.  [L.S.] 

Notice  to  Quit. 
To  Chandler  Peck:  — 

Sir :     Please  observe  that  the  term  of  one  year,  for  which  the  house  and 

land,  situated  at  No.  14  Elm  Street,  and  now  occupied  by  you,  were  rented 

to  you,  expired  on  the  first  day  of  May,  1873;  and,  as  I  desire  to  repossess 

said  premises,  you  are  hereby  requested  and  required  to  vacate  the  same. 

Respectfully  yours, 

Denslow  Moore. 

Newton,  Mass.,  May  4,  1873. 

Tenant's  Notice  of  Leavingr. 
Dear  Sir:  — 

The  premises  I  now  occupy  as  your  tenant,  at  No.  14  Elm  Street,  I  shall 
vacate  on  the  first  day  of  May,  1873.     You  will  please  take  notice  accordingly. 
Dated  this  first  day  of  February,  1873. 

Chandler  Peck. 
To  Denslow  Moore,  Esq. 

Chattel  Mortg^ages. 

The  following  form  may  be  used  in  ordinary  cases  :  — 

Know  all  Men  by  these  Presents,  That  I,  John  Dunn,  of  the  town- 
ship of  Greenfield,  Wayne  County,  Michigan,  party  of  the  first  part,  being 
justly  indebted  unto  James  Finn,  of  the  same  place,  of  the  second  part,  in  the 
sum  of  Three  Hundred  Dollars,  have,  for  the  purpose  of  securing  payments 
of  said  debt,  and  the  interest  thereof,  granted,  bargained,  sold,  and  mort- 
gaged, and  by  these  presents  do  grant,  bargain,  sell,  and  mortgage  unto  the 
said  James  Finn,  the  following  goods,  chattels,  and  personal  property,  to  wit : 
One  bay  gelding,  seven  years  old,  being  the  same  horse  this  day  purchased 
by  me  of  said  James  Finn  (describe  the  property  fully  and  particularly),  which 
said  above-described  goods,  chattels,  and  property,  at  the  date  hereof,  are 
situated  at  my  farm  in  the  township  of  Greenfield,  Wayne  County,  Michigan, 
and  are  free  and  clear  from  all  liens,  conveyances,  encumbrances,  and  levies; 
and  for  a  valuable  consideration  I  hereby  warrant  the  above  representations  to 
be  true. 

To  have  and  to  hold  the  same  forever,  provided  always,  and  the  condition 
of  these  presents  is  such,  that  if  the  said  John  Dunn  will  pay,  or  cause  to  be 
paid,  the  said  James  Finn  the  debt  aforesaid,  with  the  interest  at  seven  per 
cent,  on  or  before  the  first  day  of  March,  a.d.  i88r,  then  this  instrument  shall 
be  void  and  of  no  effect.  And  I,  the  said  John  Dunn,  agree  to  pay  the  same 
accordingly.  But  if  default  be  made  in  such  payment  of  the  said  sum  of  Three 
Hundred  Dollars,  or  any  part  thereof,  the  second  party  is  hereby  authorized 


COMMERCIAL   FORMS.  705 

to  and  shall  sell  at  public  auction,  after  the  like  notice  as  is  required  by  law 
for  constables'  sales,  the  goods,  chattels,  and  personal  property  hereinbefore 
mentioned,  or  so  much  thereof  as  may  be  necessary  to  satisfy  the  said  debt, 
interest,  and  reasonable  expenses,  and  to  retain  the  same  out  of  the  proceeds 
of  such  sale,  the  overplus  or  residue,  if  any,  to  belong  to  and  be  returned  to 
me,  the  said  John  Dunn. 

In  witness  whereof,  the  said  party  of  the  first  part  has  hereunto  set  his 
hand  and  seal,  the  first  day  of  December,  in  the  year  of  our  Lord,  one  thou- 
sand eight  hundred  and  eighty. 

John  Dunn. 

Every  chattel  mortgage,  or  a  copy,  should  be  filed  in  the  office  of  the  town 
clerk  of  the  township  where  mortgagor  resides,  except  in  cases  where  the 
mortgagor  resides  out  of  the  State,  in  which  cases  it  should  be  filed  in  the 
township  where  the  property  is  situated. 

The  filing  must  be  renewed  every  year,  by  making  and  attaching  to  the 
mortgage  or  copy  on  file  an  affidavit,  in  substance  as  follows :  — 


n 


State  of  Michigan, 
County  of  Wayne 

James  Finn,  of  the  township  of  Greenfield,  in  said  county,  being  duly 
sworn,  deposes  and  says  he  is  the  mortgagee  named  in  the  annexed  mortgage  ; 
that  his  interest,  by  virtue  of  said  mortgage,  in  the  goods  and  chattels  in  said 
mortgage  particularly  described,  is  the  sum  of  Three  Hundred  Dollars,  and 
further  saith  not. 

James  Finn. 

Subscribed  and  sworn  to  before  me,  this  first  day  of  January,  a.d.  1881. 

Thomas  Wright, 
Notary  Public,  Wayne  County,  Mich. 

The  renewal  may  be  at  any  time  within  thirty  days  before  the  expiration  of 
the  year  from  the  filing  of  the  mortgage. 

In  some  States  the  mortgage  is  good  as  between  the  mortgagor  and  mort- 
gagee without  filing, 'but  is  void  as  against  a  purchaser  or  subsequent  mort- 
gagee, who  has  no  knowledge  of  the  unrecorded  mortgage. 

Power  of  Attorney,  in  a  Short  Form. 

Know  all  Men  by  these  Presents,  That  I  {name  of  principal),  have 
made,  constituted,  and  appointed,  and  by  these  presents  do  make,  constitute, 
and  appoint  (jtatne  of  attorney),  my  true  and  lawful  attorney,  for  me  and  in 
my  name,  place,  and  stead  to  {here  describe  the  thijig  to  be  done),  giving  and 
granting  unto  my  said  attorney  full  power  and  authority  to  do  and  perform  all 
and  every  act  and  thing  whatsoever  requisite  and  necessary  to  be  done  in  and 
about  the  premises,  as  fully,  to  all  intents  and  purposes,  as  I  might  or  could 
do  if  personally  present,  with  full  power  of  substitution  and  revocation  ;  here- 
by ratifying  and  confirming  all  that  my  said  attorney  or  his  substitute  shall 
lawfully  do,  or  cause  to  be  done,  by  virtue  hereof. 


7o6  MISCELLANEOUS  INFORMATION. 

In  witness  whereof,  I  have  hereunto  set  my  hand  and  seal,  the  day 

of ,  in  the  year  one  thousand  eight  hundred  and  

(Signature.)        [Seal.] 

Executed  and  delivered  in  the  presence  of 

Form  of  a  Will. 

In  the  name  of  God.    Amen.    I,  ,  of  the  town  of , 

in  the  County  of ,  being  of  sound  mind  and  memory,  do  make 

and  publish  this  my  last  will  and  testament. 

I  give  and  bequeath  to  my  sons,  ,  eight  hundred  dollars 

each,  if  they  shall  have  attained  the  age  of  twenty-one  years  before  my  de- 
cease ;  but  if  they  shall  be  under  the  age  of  twenty-one  at  my  decease,  then  I 
give  to  them  one  thousand  dollars  each,  the  last  mentioned  to  be  in  place  of 
the  first  mentioned. 

I  give  and  bequeath  to  my  beloved  wife,  ,  all  my  household 

furniture  and  all  the  rest  of  my  personal  property,  after  paying  from  the  same 
the  several  legacies  already  named,  to  be  hers  forever;  but  if  there  should 
not  be  at  my  decease  sufficient  personal  property  to  pay  the  aforesaid  legacies, 
then  so  much  of  my  real  estate  shall  be  sold  as  will  raise  sufficient  money  to 
pay  the  same. 

I  also  give,  devise,  and  bequeath  to  my  beloved  wife,  ,  all 

the  rest  and  residue  of  my  real  estate,  as  long  as  she  will  remain  unmarried, 
and  my  widow ;  but  on  her  decease  or  marriage,  the  remainder  thereof  I  give 
and  devise  to  my  said  children  and  their  heirs,  respectively,  to  be  divided  in 
equal  shares  between  them. 

I  do  nominate  and  appoint  my  beloved  wife, ,  to  be  the  sole 

executrix  of  this  my  last  will  and  testament. 

In  testimony  whereof,  I  hereunto  set  my  hand  and  seal,  and  publish  and 
decree  this  to  be  my  last  will  and  testament,  in  presence  of  the  witnesses 

named  below,  this  day  of ,  in  the  year  of  our 

Lord  one  thousand  eight  hundred  and  

[L.S.] 

Signed,  sealed,  declared,  and  published  by  the  said  as  and 

for  his  last  will  and  testament,  in  presence  of  us,  who,  at  his  request,  and  in 
his  presence,  and  in  presence  of  each  other,  have  subscribed  our  names  as 
witnesses  hereto. 

residing  at  in  county. 

residing  at  in  county. 

Assignment  of  Wages,  with  Power  of  Attorney. 

Know  ALL  Men  by  these  Presents,  that  I,  ,  of , 

in  the  County  of ,  State  of ,  in  consideration 

of  to   me   paid   by  of  , 

the    receipt  whereof   I    do    hereby    acknowledge,   do    hereby   assign    and 

transfer  to  said  all  claims  and  demands  which  I  now  have, 

and  all  which,  at  any  time  between  the  day  hereof  and  the  day  of 


COMMERCIAL   FORMS.  707 

next,  I  may  and  shall  have  against  for  all 

sums  of  money  and  demand  which,  at  any  time  between  the  date  hereof  and 

the  said  day  of next,  may  and  shall  become  due  to 

me,  for  services  as  ,  to  have  and  to  hold  the  same  to  the  said 

,  his  executors,  administrators,  and  assigns  forever. 

And  I,  ,  do  hereby  constitute  and  appoint  the  said  

and  his  assigns,  to  be  my  attorney  irrevocable  in  the  premises,  to  do  and 
perform  all  acts,  matters,  and  things  touching  the  premises,  in  the  like  man- 
ner, to  all  intents  and  purposes,  as  I  could  if  personally  present. 

In  witness  whereof,  I  have  set  my  hand  and  seal,  this  day  of 

,  18.... 

(Signature.)     [Seal.] 

Assigrnment  of  Mortgage. 

I  hereby  assign  the  above  {or  within)  mortgage  to  

Witness  my  hand  and  seal,  this  of 

(Signature.)     [Seal] 

Release  on  Satisfaction  of  a  Mortgage. 

I  hereby  release  the  above  {or  within)  mortgage. 

Witness  my  hand  and  seal,  this  day  of 

(Signature.)     [Seal.] 

An  assignment  is  a  transfer  to  another  of  the  entire  lawful  right  which  one 
has  in  any  property,  as  the  transfer  of  debts  or  obligations,  judgments,  wages, 
bonds,  and  the  like. 

Assignments  are  sometimes  written  on  the  backs  of  the  instruments  to  be 
transferred  by  the  assignment. 

The  forms  here  given  do  not  include  assignments  of  deeds,  of  mortgages, 
or  of  leases. 

Form  of  Assignment  of  a  Promissory  Rote,  or  any  Similar  Promise  or  Agreement. 

I  hereby,  for  value  received,  assign  and  transfer  the  within  written  {or  the 
above  written) ,  together  with  all  my  rights  under  the  same,  to  {name  of  the 
assigftee).  (Signature.) 

General  Form  of  Assignment,  wltb  Power  of  Attorney. 

Know  All  Men  by  These  Presents,  That  I,  ,  for  value 

receive  1,   have  sold,  and  by  these  presents  do  grant,  assign,  and  convey 

unto  

{Here  insert  a  description  of  the  thing  or  things  assigned.) 

To  have  and  to  hold  the  same  unto  the  said  ,  his  executors, 

administrators,  and  assigns  forever,  to  and  for  the  use  of  the  said  , 

hereby  constituting  and  appointing  him  my  true  and  lawful  attorney  irre- 
vocable, in  my  name,  place,  and  stead,  for  the  purposes  aforesaid,  to  ask, 
demand,  sue  for,  attach,  levy,  recover,  and  receive  all  such  sum  and  sums  of 


7o8  MISCELLANEOUS  INFORMATION. 

money,  which  now  are,  or  may  hereafter  become  due,  owing  and  payable  for, 
or  on  account  of,  all  or  any  of  the  accounts,  dues,  debts,  and  demands  above 
assigned  to  him ;  giving  and  granting  unto  the  said  attorney  full  power  and 
authority  to  do  and  perform  all  and  every  act  and  thing  whatsoever  requisite 
and  necessary,  as  fully,  to  all  intents  and  purposes,  as  I  might  or  could  do,  if 
personally  present ;  with  full  power  of  substitution  and  revocation,  hereby  rati- 
fying and  confirming  all  that  the  said  attorney  or  his  substitute  shall  lawfully 
do,  or  cause  to  be  done  by  virtue  thereof. 

In  witness  whereof,  I  have  hereunto  set  my  hand  and  seal  the  

day  of ,  one  thousand  eight  hundred  and  

Executed  and  delivered  in  presence  of 

[Seal.] 

Sbort  Form  of  Lease  for  Farm  and  Boildlngs  Thereon. 

This  Indenture,  made  this  first  day  of  March,  one  thousand  eight  hun- 
dred and  ninety,  between  N.  A.  Dunning,  of  the  township  of  Stafford,  County 
of  Tolland,  and  State  of  Connecticut,  of  the  first  part,  and  L.  C.  Hascall,  of 
the  said  township  and  county,  of  the  second  part ; 

Witnesseth,  That  the  said  N.  A.  Dunning,  for,  and  in  consideration  of  the 
yearly  rents  and  covenants  hereinafter  mentioned,  and  reserved  on  the  part 
and  behalf  of  the  said  L.  C.  Hascall,  his  heirs,  executors,  and  administrators, 
to  be  paid,  kept,  and  performed,  hath  demised,  set,  and  to  farm  let,  and  by 
these  presents  doth  demise,  set,  and  to  farm  let,  unto  the  said  L.  C.  Hascall, 
his  heirs  and  assigns,  all  that  certain  piece,  parcel,  or  tract  of  land  situate, 
lying,  and  being  in  the  township  of  Stafford  aforesaid,  known  as  lot  No.  {here 

describe  land)  now  in  the  possession  of ,  containing  one  hundred  acres, 

together  with  all  and  singular  the  buildings  and  improvements,  to  have  and 
to  hold  the  same  unto  the  said  L.  C.  Hascall,  his  heirs,  executors,  and  assigns, 

from  the  day  of next,  for,  and  during  the  term  of,  five  years, 

thence  next  ensuing,  and  fully  to  be  complete,  and  ended,  yielding  and  pay- 
ing for  the  same,  unto  the  said  N.  A.  Dunning,  his  heirs  and  assigns,  the 

yearly  rent,  or  sum  of dollars,  on  the  first  day  of in  each  and 

every  year,  during  the  term  aforesaid,  and  at  the  expiration  of  said  term,  or 
sooner  if  determined  upon,  he,  the  said  L.  C.  Hascall,  his  heirs  or  assigns, 
shall  and  will  quietly  and  peaceably  surrender  and  yield  up  the  said  demised 
premises,  with  the  appurtenances,  unto  the  said  N.  A.  Dunning,  his  heirs  and 
assigns,  in  as  good  order  and  repair  as  the  same  now  are,  reasonable  wear, 
tear,  and  casualties,  which  may  happen  by  fire,  or  otherwise,  only  excepted. 

In  witness  whereof,  we  have  hereunto  set  our  hands  and  seals. 

Signed,  sealed,  and  delivered  ^  xt     a     t^  r        n 

^     . '    ,  ^  {  N.  A.  Dunning,  [l.  s.] 

in  the  presence  of)-  t^tt  r"; 

^  ^^^  j  L-    C.  Hascall.  [l.  s.] 

Surrender  of  a  Lease. 

In  consideration  of  one  dollar,  to  me  paid  by  John  Clark,  I  do  hereby 
surrender  to  the  lessor,  the  within  written  lease  of  the  premises  therein  men- 
tioned, and  all  my  ©state  yet  unexpired,  which  premises  are  free  from  encum- 


COMMERCIAL   FORMS.  yog 

brances  through  me :    to  hold  the  same  to  the  said  lessor  and  his  assigns 

forever. 

Witness  my  hand  and  seal,  this  ist  day  of  April,  a.d.  i88i. 

Executed  in  presence  of  >  xt     a     t^  r        •^ 

„    ^^  S  N.  A.  Dunning,  [l.  s.l 

R,  Doe.  S 

Landlord's  Agreement. 

This  is  to  Certify,  That  I  have,  this  first  day  of  April,  1881,  let  and 
rented  unto  Peter  Jones  my  house  and  lot,  known  as  Number  638  Wabash 
Ave.,  in  the  city  of  Chicago,  111.,  with  the  appurtenances  and  sole  and  unin- 
terrupted use  thereof,  for  one  year,  to  commence  on  the  first  day  of  May  next, 
at  the  yearly  rent  of  Six  Hundred  Dollars,  payable  in  equal  sums  of  Fifty  Dol- 
lars, on  the  first  day  of  each  and  every  month. 

R.  Doe. 

An  Assignment  of  a  Copyright. 

To  ALL  WHOM   IT   MAY  CONCERN:  Whereas   I,    (name  of  assignor)   of 

,  in  the  County  of ,  and  State  of  ,  did  obtain  a 

copyright  from  the  United  States  for  a  work  entitled  ,  and  the  certifi- 
cate of  said  copyright  bears  date  a.d.  eighteen  hundred  and  

Now  this  deed  witnesseth,  That  for  a  valuable  consideration,  viz 

to  me  in  hand  paid,  the  receipt  of  which  is  hereby  acknowledged,  I  have 
assigned,  sold,  and  set  over,  and  by  these  presents  do  assign,  sell,  and  set 
over  unto  the  said  {name  of  assignee)  all  the  right,  title,  and  interest  I  have 
in  the  above  book  {or  design,  etc.)  as  secured  to  me  by  said  copyright ;  the 
same  to  be  held  and  enjoyed  by  the  said  {name  of  assignee)  for  his  own  use 
and  behoof,  and  for  the  use  and  behoof  of  his  legal  representatives,  to  the 
full  end  of  the  term  for  which  said  copyright  was  issued,  as  fully  and  entirely 
as  the  same  would  have  been  held  and  enjoyed  by  me,  had  this  assignment 
and  sale  not  been  made. 

In  testimony  whereof,  I  have  hereunto  set  my  hand  and  affixed  my  seal, 

this  day  of ,  in  the  year  of  our  Lord  one  thousand  eight 

hundred  and  

(Signature.)     [Seal.] 

Sealed  and  delivered  in  presence  of 

Rule  to  Find  the  Horse  Power  of  a  Stationary  Engine.  —  Multiply  the 
area  of  the  piston  by  the  average  pressure  in  pounds  per  square  inch.  Multi- 
ply this  product  by  the  travel  of  the  piston  in  feet  per  minute ;  divide  by 
33,000.     This  will  give  the  horse  power. 

Example.  —  Diameter  of  the  cylinder,  12  inches;  squared  =  144  square 
inches ;  multiplied  by  7854  =1,1 30,976,  as  the  area  of  the  piston.  The  pressure 
is  70;  the  average  pressure  is  50  pounds  to  the  square  inch.  Multiply  last 
product  by  50,  gives  5,654,880  ;  and  that  multiplied  by  the  travel  of  the  piston 
per  minute,  which  is  300  inches,  gives  1,696,454;  and  that  divided  by  33,000, 
gives  5 1  as  the  number  of  horse  power. 

Power  of  Engines.  —  Horse  power  in  steam  engines  is  calculated  as  the 
power  which  would  raise  33,000  pounds  a  foot  high  in  a  minute,  or  90  pounds 


7IO  MISCELLANEOUS  INFORMATION. 

at  the  rate  of  4  miles  an  hour.  One-horse  power  is  equal  to  the  lifting,  by  a 
pump,  of  250  hogsheads  of  water  10  feet  in  an  hour;  or  it  would  drive  100 
spindles  of  cotton  yarn  twist,  or  500  spindles  of  No.  48  mule  yarn,  or  1000  of 
No.  no,  or  12  power  looms.  One-horse  power  is  produced  by  19  pounds  of 
Newcastle  coal,  50  pounds  of  wood,  or  34  pounds  of  culm.  Coal  i,  wood  3, 
and  culm  2,  give  equal  heats  in  the  production  of  steam. 

The  Law  of  Friction.  —  As  an  exponent  of  the  laws  of  friction,  it  may  be 
stated  that  a  square  stone,  weighing  1080  pounds,  which  required  a  force  of 
758  pounds  to  drag  it  along  the  floor  of  a  quarry,  roughly  chiselled,  required 
only  a  force  of  22  pounds  to  move  it  when  mounted  on  a  platform  and  rollers, 
over  a  plank  floor.  A  power  of  250  tons  is  necessary  to  start  a  vessel  weigh- 
ing 3000  tons,  over  greased  slides,  on  a  marine  railway.  When  in  motion,  150 
tons  only  is  required. 

Coal  and  Water  Used.  —  Good  practice  requires  combustion  of  the  carbon 
and  hydrogen  available  in  the  fuel.  Insufficient  air  causes  a  dense,  black 
smoke  to  issue  from  the  chimney,  and  the  loss  of  heating  effect  and  too  much 
air  lower  the  temperature  of  the  flame  and  dissipate  the  heat.  Of  good  coal, 
62.2  per  cent  goes  to  form  steam,  and  i  pound  will,  in  good  practice,  evaporate 
'j\  pounds  of  water. 

Shrinkage  of  Grain.  —  Farmers  rarely  gain  by  holding  on  to  their  grain 
after  it  is  fit  for  market,  when  the  shrinkage  is  taken  into  account.  Wheat, 
from  the  time  it  is  threshed,  will  shrink  2  quarts  to  the  bushel,  or  6  per  cent, 
in  6  months,  in  the  most  favorable  circumstances.  Hence  it  follows  that  94 
cents  a  bushel  for  wheat,  when  first  threshed  in  August,  is  as  good,  taking  into 
account  the  shrinkage  alone,  as  %\  in  the  following  February. 

Corn  shrinks  much  more  from  the  time  it  is  husked.  One  hundred  bush- 
els of  ears,  as  they  come  from  the  fields  in  November,  will  be  reduced  to  not 
far  from  80.  So  that  40  cents  a  bushel  for  corn  in  the  ear,  as  it  comes  from 
the  field,  is  as  good  as  50  in  March,  shrinkage  only  being  taken  into  account. 

In  the  case  of  potatoes,  taking  those  that  rot  and  are  otherwise  lost,  to- 
gether with  the  shrinkage,  there  is  but  little  doubt  that,  between  October  and 
June,  the  loss  to  the  owner  who  holds  them  is  not  less  than  33  per  cent. 

This  estimate  is  taken  on  the  basis  of  interest  at  7  per  cent,  and  takes  no 
account  of  loss  by  vermin. 

Measuring  Grain.  —  By  the  United  States  standard,  2150  cubic  inches 
make  a  bushel.  Now,  as  a  cubic  foot  contains  1728  cubic  inches,  a  bushel  is 
to  a  cubic  foot  as  2150  to  1728 ;  or,  for  practical  purposes,  as  4  to  5.  There- 
fore, to  convert  cubic  feet  to  bushels,  it  is  necessary  only  to  multiply  by  |  or  .8. 

To  measure  the  bushels  of  grain  in  a  granary  : 

Rule.  —  Multiply  the  length  in  feet  by  the  breadth  in  feet,  and  that  again 
by  the  depth  in  feet,  and  that  again  by  |.  The  last  product  will  be  the  num- 
ber of  bushels  the  granary  contains. 

In  Pennsylvania,  80  pounds  coarse,  70  pounds  ground,  or  62  pounds  fine 
salt,  make  one  bushel ;  and  in  Illinois,  50  pounds  common,  or  55  pounds  fine 
salt,  make  one  bushel.  In  Tennessee,  100  ears  of  corn  are  a  bushel.  A  heap- 
ing bushel  contains  2815  cubic  inches.  In  Maine,  64  pounds  of  rutabaga  tur- 
nips or  beets  make  i  bushel. 


RULES  FOR   MEASUREMENTS.  711 

A  cask  of  lime  is  240  pounds.  Lime  in  slacking  absorbs  2\  times  its 
volume,  and  2J  times  its  weight,  in  water. 

To  Measure  Corn  on  the  Cobs,  in  Cribs.  —  Corn  is  generally  put  up  in  cribs 
made  of  rails ;  but  the  rule  will  apply  to  a  crib  of  any  size  or  kind,  whether 
equilateral  or  flared  at  the  sides. 

When  the  crib  is  equilateral : 

Rule. —  Multiply  the  length  in  feet  by  the  breadth  in  feet,  and  that  again 
by  the  height  in  feet ;  which  last  product  multiply  by  0.63  (the  fractional  part 
of  a  heaped  bushel  in  a  cubic  foot),  and  the  result  will  be  the  heaped  bushels 
of  ears.  For  the  number  of  bushels  of  shelled  corn,  multiply  by  0.42  (two- 
thirds  of  0.63),  instead  of  0.63. 

In  measuring  the  height,  of  course  the  height  of  the  corn  is  intended. 
And  there  will  be  found  to  be  a  difference  in  measuring  corn  in  this  mode, 
between  fall  and  spring,  because  it  shrinks  very  much  in  the  winter  and  spring, 
and  settles  down. 

When  the  crib  is  flared  at  the  sides : 

Rule.  —  Multiply  half  the  sum  of  the  top  and  bottom  widths  in  feet  by  the 
perpendicular  height  in  feet,  and  that  again  by  the  length  in  feet,  which  last 
product  multiply  by  0.63  for  heaped  bushels  of  ears,  and  by  0.42  for  the  num- 
ber of  bushels  of  shelled  corn. 

Note.  —  The  above  rule  assumes  that  3  heaping  half-bushels  of  ears  make 
I  struck  half-bushel  of  shelled  corn.  This  proportion  has  been  adopted  upon 
the  authority  of  the  major  part  of  our  best  agricultural  journals. 

Measurement  of  Hay.  —  The  only  correct  way  of  measuring  hay  is  to 
weigh  it.  This,  on  account  of  its  bulk  and  character,  is  very  difficult,  unless 
it  is  baled  or  otherwise  compacted.  This  difficulty  has  led  formers  to  esti- 
mate the  weight  by  the  bulk  or  cubic  contents, — a  mode  which  is  only 
approximately  correct.  Some  kinds  of  hay  are  light,  while  others  are  heavy, 
their  equal  bulks  varying  in  weight.  But  for  all  ordinary  farming  purposes  of 
estimating  the  amount  of  hay  in  meadows,  mows,  and  stacks,  the  following 
rules  will  be  found  sufficient :  — 

As  nearly  as  can  be  ascertained,  25  cubic  yards  of  average  meadow  hay,  in 
windrows,  make  a  ton. 

When  loaded  on  wagons,  or  stored  in  barns,  20  cubic  yards  make  a  ton. 

When  settled  in  mows  or  stacks,  15  cubic  yards  make  a  ton. 

l^ote.  —  These  estimates  are  for  medium-sized  mows  or  stacks  ;  if  the  hay 
is  piled  to  a  great  height,  as  it  often  is  where  horse  hay-forks  are  used,  the 
mow  will  be  much  heavier  per  cubic  yard. 

When  hay  is  baled,  or  closely  packed  for  shipping,  10  cubic  yards  will  weigh 
a  ton. 

To  find  the  number  of  tons  in  long,  square  stacks : 

Rule.  —  Multiply  the  length  in  yards  by  the  width  in  yards,  and  that  by 
half  the  altitude  in  yards,  and  divide  the  product  by  15. 

To  find  the  number  of  tons  in  circular  stacks : 

Rule.  —  Multiply  the  square  of  the  circumference  in  yards  by  4  times  the 
altitude  in  yards,  and  divide  by  100 ;  the  quotient  will  be  the  number  of  cubic 
yards  in  the  stack;  then  divide  by  15,  for  the  nuniber  of  tons. 


712 


MISCELLANEOUS  INFORMATION. 


Produce  of  One  Acre. 


One  acre  will  produce  224  pounds  mutton,  186  pounds  beef,  2900  pounds 
milk,  300  pounds  butter,  and  200  pounds  cheese ;  a  fair  crop  of  potatoes  from 
16  bushels  of  seed  is  340  bushels. 


names  and  Dimensions  of  Various  Sizes  of  Paper. 


PRINT. 

Medium 19  x 

Royal  (20x24) 20  X 

Super  Royal •  .  22  x 

Imperial 22  x 

Medium  and  a  half 24  x 

Small  Double  Medium  ....  24  x 

Double  Medium 24  x 

Double  Royal 26  x 

Double  Super  Royal 28  x 

Double  Super  Royal 29  x 

Broad  Twelves 23  x 

Double  Imperial 32  x 

FOLDED. 

Billet  Note 6  x 

Octavo  Note 7  x 

Commercial  Note 8  x 

Packet  Note 9  x 

Bath  Note 8V2X 

Letter 10  x 

Commercial  Letter 11  x 


Packet  Post 11V2X  18 

Foolscap 12V2X  16 

FLAT. 

Legal  Cap 13  x  16 

Flat  Cap 14  X  17 

Crown 15  X  19 

Double  Flat  Letter 16  x  20 

Demy 16  x  21 

Folio  Post 17  X  22 

Check  Folio 17  x  24 

Double  Cap 17  x  28 

Extra  Size  Folio 19  x  23 

♦Medium 18  x  23 

♦Royal 19  X  24 

♦Super  Royal 20  x  28 

♦Imperial 22  x  30 

Double  Demy 21  x  313^ 

Elephant 22V4X  27% 

Columbier 23  x  3iVi 

Atlas 26  X  33 

Double  Elephant 26  x  40 


Amount  of  Seed  Po^toes 

Required  when   cut   or  uncut,  and  when  set  at  different  distances  apart,  in  drills  28 
inches  from  crown  to  crown. 

Whole. 


Halved, 


6  in.  apart,  77  bushels  per 

acre. 

Halved,      18  in 

apart,  13 

9        " 

50 

• 

Quartered,   6 

19 

12        " 

38 

• 

9 

"  .      13 

18 

26 

• 

"          12 

"         10 

24 

19 

' 

Five  parts,    6 

IS 

6 

48 

< 

9 

10 

9        " 

24 

• 

Six  parts,     6 

13 

12        " 

16 

•• 

' 

Amount  of  Butter  and  Cheese  from  Milk. 

100  pounds  of  milk  contain  about  3  pounds  pure  butter. 
loo      "  "  "  "     7.8     "       cheese. 

100       "  "  average  about  3.5  pounds  common  butter. 

100       "  "  "  "     1 1.7       "  "     •    cheese, 

loo      "       of  skim-milk  yield  about  13.5  pounds  skim-milk  cheese. 
Ingredients  contained  in  various  kinds  of  milk.    In  100  parts  there  are  of 

Cow. 

Water 87.0 

Milk  Sugar 4.8 

Butter 3.1 

Casein 4.5 


Ass. 

Goat. 

Ewe. 

91.7 

86.7 

85.6 

6.1 

5-3 

S-o 

0,1 

3-3 

4.2 

1.8 

4.1 

4.5 

A  man  walks  .    .    . 
A  horse  trots  .    . 

MISCEL 
Average 

Miles 
per  hour. 

•    .        3 

.      .           7 

LANE 
Velocity 

Feet 
per  sec. 

4 
lo 
29 
26 
14 

4 

OUS  TABLES. 
of  Various  Bodies. 

Rapid  rivers  flow    .    . 
Moderate  wind  blows . 
A  storm  moves   .    .    . 
A  hurricane  moves 
A  rifle  ball  moves  ,    . 

Miles 
per  hour 

7 

7 

.      36 

.       80 

.  1,000 

Feet 

per  sec 

10 

lO 

52 

117 

1,466 

1,142 

Steamboat  runs  .    . 
Sailing  vessel  runs  .    . 

.     .       i8 

.      .         lO 

•    .        3 

Slow  rivers  flow  .     . 

Sound  moves .... 

.    743 

Light  moves  192,000  miles  per  sec.  Electricity  moves  288,000  miles  per  sec. 


Evaporative  Powers  of  Fuel,  etc. 

I  pound  of  coal  evaporates  9  pounds  of  water. 

I  pound  of  coke  evaporates  7^^  to  9  pounds  of  water. 

I  pound  of  wood  evaporates  4%  pounds  of  water. 

I  pound  of  turf  (peat)  evaporates  6  pounds  of  water. 

Stationary  engines  use  from  3  to  7  pounds  coal  per  horse  power  an  hour. 

Locomotive  passenger  engines,  26  to  30  pounds  of  coal  per  mile. 

Locomotive  freight  engines,  45  to  55  pounds  of  coal  per  mile. 


Comparative  Table. 

100  Pounds  of  Hay  are  Equal  to 

275  pounds 

of  green  Indian  corn. 

300  pounds 

of  carrots. 

442       " 

rye  straw. 

54        " 

rye. 

360       '• 

wheat  straw. 

46        •' 

wheat. 

164       " 

oat 

59        " 

oats. 

180 

barley     " 

45        " 

beans  and  peas  mixed. 

153       " 

pea         " 

64        '• 

buckwheat. 

200       " 

buckwheat  straw. 

57        " 

Indian  corn. 

201 

raw  potatoes. 

68 

acorns. 

175       " 

boiled      " 

105        " 

wheat  bran. 

339        " 

mangel  wurtzel. 

109        " 

rye  bran. 

504 

turnips. 

167        " 

wheat,  pea,  and  oat  chaff. 

179        •• 

rye  and  barley  mixed. 

The  following  table  shows  the  amount  of  hay,  or  its  equivalent  per  day,  required  by 
each  100  pounds  of  live  weight  of  various  animals :  — 


Working  horses 3.08  pounds. 

Working  oxen 2.40        " 

Fatting  oxen 5.00       " 

Fatting  oxen,  when  fat  .    .    .    4.00       " 
Milch  cows  .    .      from  2.25  to  2.40       " 


Dry  cows 2.42  pounds. 

Young  growing  cattle  .    .    .  3.08       " 

Steers 2.84       " 

Pigs 3.00 

Sheep 3.00 


Growtb  and  Life  of  Animals. 


Years 
Grow. 

Years 
Live, 

Years 
Grow. 

Years 
Live. 

Man     .... 

....     20 

90  to  100 

Dog 

.     .     .       2 

12  to  14 

Camel .... 

....       8 
....      5 

40 

25 

Cat  . 

.     .     .       1V2 

9  or  10 
8 

Horse  .... 

Hare 

...       I 

Ox 

....     4 

IS  to  20 

Guinea 

pig   .    .    . 

.    .    .  7  mos. 

6  or  7 

Lion    .    .    .    . 

....     4 

20 

714 


MISCELLANEOUS  INFORMATION. 


Shrinkage  in  Drying  Fruits. 

The  following  table  will  show,  pre«y  nearly,  the  loss  in  drying  some  of  the  principal 

fruits :  — 

Pounds 
Fruit.  Green  Fruit. 

Apples loo 

Peaches loo 

Pears loo 

Apricots loo 

Plums loo 

Blackberries loo 

Pitted  cherries loo 

Gooseberries loo 

Grapes loo 


Per  cent 

Pounds 

of  Waste. 

Dried  Fruit 

88 

12 

88 

12 

88 

12 

86 

14 

86 

14 

84 

16 

84 

16 

80 

20 

80 

20 

Measures. 


Long  Measure— -For  ^.f/z^/Zz  and 
Distance. 


12  inches 
3foet 
5V2  yd.,  or  16V3  ft. 


make 


40  rods 
8  furl's,  or  320  rods 
3  miles 

60  geographic  miles,    ) 
or  69y2  statute  miles  ) 
The  entire  round  of  circle,  say  of  the 
earth,  is  360  degrees. 


I  foot. 
I  yard. 
I  rod,  perch,  or 

pole. 
I  furlong. 
I  mile. 
I  league. 

I  degree. 


Square  1\tl^SMVJL— For  Surfaces. 
144  inches  make  i  foot. 

9  feet 

30V4  yards,  or  I 
272V4  feet  J 

40  rods 

4  roods,  or  160  rods 
640  acres 


I  yard. 

I  rod,  pole, 

perch. 
I  rood. 
I  acre. 
I  mile. 


Cubic  or  Solid  Measure  — i^?r  Solids. 
1728  cubic  inches        make  i  cubic  ft. 
27  cubic  feet 


40  ft.  of  round,  or     )  „ 
50  ft.  of  hewn  tirab'r  J 
42  cubic  feet  " 


•  16  cubic  feet 

8  cord  feet,  or 
128  cubic  feet 

Beer  Measure - 

2  pints 
4  quarts 


I  cubic  yd. 
I  ton. 

I  ton  of  ship- 
ping. 
I  foot  of  wood, 
or  a  cord  foot. 

I  cord. 


■For  Ale,  Porter,  Milk, 
etc. 
make  i  quart. 
"      I  gallon. 


36  gallons  make     i  barrel. 

52  gallons  (1V4  bbl.)        "      i  hogshead. 

Wine  Measure— /or  Wines,  Spirits, 
Oils,  etc. 

4  gills  make  i  pint. 

2  pints  "      I  quart. 

4  quarts  "      i  gallon. 

3114  gallons  "      I  barrel. 

42  gallons  "      I  tierce. 

63  gallons,  or  2  bbl.        "      i  hogshead. 

2  hogsheads  "      i  pipe,  or  butt. 

2  pipes  "      I  tun. 

Cloth  Measure  — /^or  Z)rj/  Goods. 
2V4  inches  make  i  nail. 

4  nails,  or  9  inches  "      i  quarter  of  a 

yard. 
4  quarters  "      i  yard. 


3  quarters,  or  ) 
%  of  a  yard     J 

5  quarters,  or  iV^  yd. 

6  quarters,  or  1%  yd. 

Time  Measure. 

make  i  minute 
"      I  hour. 


I  Flemish  ell. 

I  English  ell. 
I  French  ell. 


60  seconds 
60  minutes 
24  hours 

7  days 

4  weeks 

12  calendar  months.or 
365  days,  6  hrs.,  nearly 

13  lunar  months,  or 

52  weeks 
100  years 

Circular  Measure. 
60  seconds  (")  make  i  minute  ('). 

60  minutes  (  )  "      i  degree  (°). 

30  degrees  (°)  "      i  sign  (s.). 

12  signs  (s.)  "      1  circle  (c). 


I  day. 

I  week. 

I  lunar  month. 

I  civil  year. 

I  year. 
I  century. 


MISCELLANEOUS  TABLES. 


715 


Measures.  —  Continued. 


Miles, 

1 

An  English            mile  contains  1,760  yards. 

Russian 

1,100     " 

Irish  and  Scotch 

2,200     '• 

Italian                       " 

1,467     " 

Polish 

4,400     " 

Spanish                      " 

5,028     " 

German                      "          ' 

'        5.866     " 

Swedish  and  Danish" 

7.233     " 

Hungarian                "          ' 

8,800     " 

In   France  they   measure  by  the  mean 
league  of  3666  yards. 

Dry  Measure  — /^or  Gram,  Salt,  Roots, 
Fruits,  Coal,  etc. 

2  pints  (pt.)  make  i  quart  (qt.). 

8  quarts  "      i  peck  (pk.). 

4  pecks,  or  32  qts.         "      i  bushel  (bu.). 

8  bushels  "      i  quarter  (qr.). 

32  bushels  '■      I  chaldr'n(ch.) 


Weights. 


Troy  Weight  —  For  Gold,  Silver, 
Liquors,  etc. 
24  grains  make  i  pennyweight. 

20  pennyweights  "      I  ounce. 

12  ounces  "      i  pound. 


Avoirdupois  Weight  —  For  Groceries 

and  Heavy  Goods. 
16  drams  make  i  ounce. 

16  ounces  "      i  pound. 

14  pounds  "      I  stone. 

28  pounds  "      I  quarter. 

4  quarters  "      i  hundred. 

20  cwt.  "      I  ton. 

N.B.  —  There  appears  to  be  a  change  in 
progress  in  the  U.  S.,  by  which  the  ton  will 
be  only    2000    lbs.,   instead   of   2240  lbs., 
thus:  — 
25  pounds  make  1  quarter. 

4  quarters,  or  100  lbs.  '*      i  cwt. 
20  cwt.  "      I  ton. 

Apothecaries'  Weight. 
20  grains  make  i  scruple. 

3  scruples  "      i  dram. 

8  drams  "      i  ounce. 

12  ounces  "      i  pound. 


Wool  Weight. 

7  pounds 

make 

I  clove. 

2  cloves 

I  stone. 

2  stones 

I  tod. 

6V2  tods 

I  wey. 

2  weys 

I  sack. 

12  sacks 

I  last. 

12  score 

1  pack. 

Bread  and  Flour. 


Peck  loaf 

17  lbs.    6  oz.    1     dr. 

Half-peck  loaf 

8  lbs.  II  oz.  11V2  dr. 

Quartern     " 

4  lbs.    5  oz,    8V4  dr. 

V2     " 

2  lbs.    2  oz.  12%  dr. 

A  peck  of  flour 

14  lbs. 

A  bushel  of  flour 

56  lbs. 

A  sack  of  flour 

290  lbs. 

Coal 

BY  Measure. 

4  pecks 

make  i  bushel. 

3  bushels 

I  sack. 

9  bushels 

"      I  vat. 

12  sacks 

"       I  chaldron. 

5V4  chaldrons 

I  room. 

21  chaldrons 

"      I  score. ' 

Paper. 

24  sheets 

make  i  quire. 

20  quires 

I  ream. 

2  reams 

"      I  bundle. 

5  bundles 

"      I  bale. 

Books. 

4  pages  make  i  sheet  folio  (fol.). 

8  pages      "      I     "     quarto  (410). 
16  pages      "      I     "     octavo  (8vo). 
24  pages      "      I     "     duodecimo  (i2mo). 
36  pages      "      I     "     eighteen  mo  (i8mo). 

Hay  and  Straw. 
36  lbs.  make  i  truss  of  straw. 

56  lbs.  "      I        "       old  hay. 

60  lbs.  "      I        "       new  hay. 

35  trusses  "      i  load. 


7i6 


MISCELLANEOUS  INFORMATION. 


Weights  and  Measures. 

As  recognized  by  the  Laws  of  the  United  States. 


Bushel  of 
Wheat    .    . 
Shelled  corn 
Corn  in  the  ear 
Rye     .    .    . 
Oats    .    .    . 
Barley     .     . 
White  beans 
Irish  potatoes 
Sweet  potatoes 
Castor  beans 
Clover  seeds 


lbs. 
60 
56 
70 
56 
32 
48 
62 
60 

55 
46 
60 


Bushel  of 
Timothy  seed  . 
Flax  seed  .  . 
Hemp  seed  . 
Millett  seed  . 
Peas  .... 
Blue-grass  seed 
Buckwheat  .  . 
Dried  peaches 
Dried  apples  . 
Onions  .  .  . 
Salt     .... 


lbs. 
45 
56 
40 

50 
60 

45 
52 
33 
24 
57 
65 


Peanuts,  per  bushel :  African,  32  lbs. ;  Tennessee,  28  lbs. 
A  box  24  by  16  inches,  22  deep,  contains  i  barrel. 
A  box  16  by  i6Vi  inches,  8  deep,  contains  i  bushel. 
A  box  8  by  8^/2  inches,  8  deep,  contains  i  peck. 
A  box  8  by  8  inches,  414  deep,  contains  y^  peck. 


Bushel  of  lbs. 

Stone  coal 80 

Malt 38 

Bran 20 

Plastering  hair     ....  8 

Turnips 55 

Unslacked  lime   ...  30 

Corn-Meal 48 

Fine  Salt 55 

Hungarian  grass  seed  .  54 

Ground  peas  ....  20 


Virginia,  22  lbs. 


RoiULd  Tim1)er. 

Round  timber,  when  squared,  is  estimated  to  lose  one-fifth ;  hence  (50  cubic  feet,  or)  a 
ton  of  round  timber  is  said  to  contain  only  40  cubic  feet. 

Round,  sawed,  and  hewn  timber  are  bought  and  sold  by  the  cubic  foot. 

Rule  to  measure  round  timber :  Take  the  girth  in  feet  at  both  the  large  and  small  ends ; 
add  them,  and  divide  their  sum  by  2,  for  the  mean  girth ;  then  multiply  the  length  in  feet 
by  the  square  of  one-fourth  of  the  mean  girth,  and  the  quotient  will  be  the  contents  in 
cubic  feet,  according  to  the  common  practice. 

Rule  to  measure  round  timber,  as  the  frustum  of  a  cone ;  that  is,  to  measure  all  the 
timber  in  a  log:  Multiply  the  square  of  the  circumference  at  the  middle  of  the  log,  in  feet, 
by  8  times  the  length,  and  the  product  divided  by  100  will  be  the  contents.  (Very  near 
the  truth.) 

Interest  Tables :  Seven  Per  Cent. 


Time. 

$^ 

$-z 

U 

^4 

u 

J556 

$1 

%Z 

%9 

^10 

5100 

^lOOO 

1  Day 

2  Days 

3  Days 

4  Days 

5  Days 

6  Days 

IS  Days 

I  Month 

3  Months.  .. 
6  Months.  .. 
9  Months. .. 
I  Year 

.01 
.02 
.04 

•OS 
.07 

.01 
.01 
.04 
.07 
.11 
.14 



.01 
.02 

•OS 
.11 
.16 
.21 

.01 
.02 
.07 
.14 
.21 
.28 

.01 
.01 

•03 

.26 

•35 

.01 
.01 
.02 
.04 
.11 
.21 
•32 
•42 

.01 

.OI 

.01 
.02 
.04 
.12 
•25 
•37 
•49 

.01 
.01 
.01 
.02 
.05 

.42 
•56 

.01' 
.01 
.01 
.01 
•03 

:°i 

.32 

•47 
•63 

.01 
.01 
.01 
,01 

.18 
.35 
.53 
.70 

.02 

:ol 
.08 
.10 
.12 

% 

1^75 
3^50 

5^25 
7.00 

.19 

•78 

.97 
I.I7 

2.92 

5.83 

17-50 
35.00 

52.50 

70.00 

MISCELLANEOUS  TABLES. 


717 


Interest  TaUes:  Ten  Per  Cent. 


Time. 

$1 

^2 

»3 

$^ 

is 

$6 

$1 

$8 

%9 

$ro 

^100 

^1000 

I  Day 

.... 

.... 

.03 

.28 

15  Days 

.01 

.01 

.02 

.02 

.03 

•03 

.03 

.04 

.04 

.42 

4.17 

30  Days 

.01 

.02 

.03 

•03 

.04 

.05 

.06 

.07 

.08 

.08 

•»3 

».33 

2  Months. . . 

.02 

•03 

•OS 

.07 

.08 

.10 

.12 

•13 

.15 

•17 

1.67 

16.67 

4  Months. . . 

.03 

.07 

.10 

.13 

.17 

.20 

•23 

.27 

•30 

•33 

3-33 

33.33 

6  Months. . . 

.0=; 

.iq 

•I"; 

.20 

•s"; 

.30 

•a"; 

.40 

•4.S 

•.SO 

5.00 

50.00 

8  Months. . . 

.07 

•13 

.20 

.27 

•33 

.40 

•47 

•.S3 

.60 

.67 

6.67 

66.67 

I  Year 

.10 

.20 

.30 

40 

■50 

.60 

.70 

.80 

.90 

1. 00 

10.00 

100.00 

Weights  Per  Bushel  of  Grain,  etc. 

The  following  table  shows  the  number  of  pounds  per  bushel  required,  by  law  or  cus- 
tom, in  the  sale  of  articles  specified,  in  the  several  States :  — 


States. 


cS 

^ 

>. 

% 

•s 

iS 

3 

PQ 

PQ 

48 

48 

48 

48 

48 

48 

4S 

48 

48 

48 

50 

47 

48 

48 

48 

47 

48 

48 

48 

48 

52 

48 

SO 

48 

56 

40 

32 

48 

S2 

48 

SO 

48 

S2 

48 

so 

48 

48 

48 

so 

48 

S2 

48 

so 

48 

42 

48 

S2 

48 

52 

SO 

.so 

48 

52 

SO 

40 

46 

42 

Ti 

C 

.•s 

1. 

-i 

in 

1 

c3 

0 

id 

(5 

I 

I 

1> 

P< 

1 

c 

1 

Maine 

New  Hampshire 

Vermont 

Massachusetts 

Connecticut 

New  York 

New  Jersey 

Pennsylvania 

Delaware 

Maryland 

District  of  Columbia. 

Virginia 

West  Virginia 

North  Carolina 

South  Carolina 

Georgia 

Louisiana 

Arkansas 

Tennessee 

Kentucky 

Ohio 

Michigan 

Indiana 

Illinois 

Wisconsin 

Minnesota  . . ,". 

Iowa 

Missouri 

Kansas 

Nebraska 

California 

Oregon 


56 
56 

58 
56 

^\ 
56 

56 

56  I  48 

56  50 


60 
60 
60 
60 
56 
60 
60 
60 
60 
60 
60 
60 

6?r 

60 

60 

60 

60 

60 

60 

60 

60 

60 

60 

60 

60 

60 

60 

60 

56 

60 

60 

50 


70 


85 


50 


58 


62 


60 


64 
60 

64  j 


60 


42 


44 


60  45 
64 


45 


7i8 


MISCELLANEOUS  INFORMATION. 


Cubic  Weight  Table. 


13  cubic  feet  of  marble 


I3i 

34 

29 

30 
51 
60 

65 


granite  . 
mahogany 

oak    .  . 

ash     .  . 

beech  . 

elm    .  . 

fir  .    .  . 


Weights  of  Cordwood. 

Pounds. 

I  cord  of  hickory    ....  4,468 

hard  maple .    .    .  2,864 

beech 3.234 

ash 3449 

birch 2,398 


Various 

Tables. 

Pounds. 

Carbon 

Weight. 

I  cord  of  pitch  pine    . 

.     .  1,903 

43 

I  ton. 

Canada  pine 

.     .   1,870 

42 

yellow  oak   . 

.     .  2,920 

61 

I 

white  oak    . 

.     .  1,870 

81 

I    " 

Lombardy  poplar,  1,775 

41 

I    " 

red  oak    .    . 

•     .  3.255 

70 

I    " 

A  Table  of  Daily  Savings,  at  Com- 

I    " 

POUND   INTEREST. 

Per  Day. 

Per  Year. 

Ten  Yrs. 

Fifty  Yrs 

j^  .023 

$xo 

;^i3o 

^2,900 

Carbon. 

.054 

20 

260 

5,800 

100 

.11 

40 

520 

11,600 

58 

.27i 

100 

1,300 

29,000 

64 

.55 

200 

2,600 

58,000 

79 

I.IO 

400 

5.290 

116,000 

49 

1.37 

Soo 

6,500 

145.000 

Power  Required  for  Various  Purposes. 

To  drive  a  20  to  30-inch  circular  saw,  4  to  6  horse  power. 

32  to  40    "  "  "    12  "         " 

48  to  50    "  "  "    IS 

50  to  62    *'  "  "    25  "         *' 

Power  Necessary  to  Grind  Grain  with  Portable  Mills. 


orse  Power. 

Size  of  Stones. 

Revolutions  per 
Minute. 

Bu.  Corn  ground 
per  Hour. 

Bu.  Wheat  ground 
per  Hour. 

2  to     4 

1 2-inch 

800  to  900 

I  to     4 

I  to     3 

2  to     6 

20-inch 

650  to  700 

5  to     8 

4  to     6 

6  to     8 

30-inch 

550  to  600 

10  to  15 

7  to  10 

7  to  12 

36-inch 

450  to  500 

18  to  25 

12  to  15 

12  to  15 

48-inch 

350  to  400 

25  to  35 

15  to  18 

CHAPTER  II. 

POSTAL,  INTERNAL  REVENUE,  AND  NATURALIZATION  LAWS. 

United  States  Postal  Regulations. 

As  Revised  under  Act  of  March  3, 1885. 

First  Class  Mail  Matter.  —  Letters.  —  This  class  includes  letters,  postal 
cards,  and  anything  sealed  or  otherwise  closed  against  inspection,  or  anything 
containing  writing  not  allowed  as  an  accompaniment  to  printed  matter,  under 
class  three. 

Postage.  —  2  cents  each  ounce,  or  additional  fraction  of  an  ounce,  to  all 
parts  of  the  United  States.  On  local  or  drop-letters,  at  free-delivery  offices, 
2  cents.     At  offices  where  there  is  no  delivery  by  carrier,  i  cent. 

Prepayment  by  stamps  invariably  required.  .  Postal  cards,  i  cent. 

Registered  letters,  10  cents  in  addition  to  the  proper  postage.  The  Post- 
Office  Department,  or  its  revenue,  is  not  by  law  liable  for  the  loss  of  registered 
mail  matter. 

For  immediate  delivery,  10  cents  additional  postage,  prepaid  by  special 
stamp,  only  at  offices  designated  by  the  Post-Office  Department. 

Second  Class.  —  Regular  Publications.  —  This  class  includes  all  news- 
papers, periodicals,  or  matter  exclusively  in  print,  and  regularly  issued  at 
stated  intervals,  as  frequently  as  four  times  a  year,  from  a  known  office  of 
publication  or  news  agency.  Postage,  i  cent  a  pound  or  fraction  thereof,  pre- 
paid by  special  stamps.  Publications  designed  primarily  for  advertising  or 
free  circulatioo,  or  not  having  a  legitimate  list  of  subscribers,  are  excluded 
from  the  pound  rate,  and  pay  third  class  rates.  On  newspapers  and  periodicals, 
mailed  by  other  than  publishers  or  news  agents,  i  cent  for  each  4  ounces  or 
fractional  part  thereof. 

Third  Class.  —  Mail  matter  of  the  third  class  includes  books,  circulars, 
unsealed  publications  for  advertising  purposes,  and  other  matter  wholly  in 
print,  legal  and  commercial  papers  filled  out  in  writing,  photographs,  proof- 
sheets,  corrected  proof-sheets,  and  manuscript  copy  accompanying  the  same. 

MS.,  accompanied  by  proof-sheets,  letter  rates. 

Limit  of  weight,  4  pounds  each  package,  except  single  books  —  weight  not 
limited. 

Postage,  I  cent  for  each  2  ounces  or  fractional  part  thereof,  invariably  pre- 
paid by  stamps. 

Fourth  Class.  — Embraces  merchandise,  and  all  matter  not  included  in  the 
first,  second,  or  third  class, Which  is  not  liable  to  injure  the  mail  matter.  Limit 
of  weight,  4  pounds. 

Postage,  I  cent  each  ounce  or  fraction  thereof,  prepaid. 

719 


720  MISCELLANEOUS  INFORMATION, 

All  packages  of  matter,  of  the  third  or  fourth  class,  must  be  so  wrapped  or 
enveloped  that  their  contents  may  be  examined  by  postmasters,  without 
destroying  the  wrappers. 

Matter  of  the  second,  third,  or  fourth  class,  containing  any  writing,  except 
as  here  specified,  or  except  bills  and  receipts  for  periodicals,  or  printed  com- 
mercial papers  filled  out  in  writing,  as  deeds,  bills,  etc.,  will  be  charged  with 
letter  postage ;  but  the  sender  of  any  book  may  write  names  or  addresses 
therein,  or  on  the  outside,  with  the  word  "  from  "  preceding  the  same,  or  may 
write  briefly  on  any  package  the  number  and  names  of  the  articles  inclosed. 

Postal  Money  Orders.  —  An  order  may  be  issued  for  any  amount,  from  i 
cent  to  $ioo  inclusive,  but  fractional  parts  of  a  cent  cannot  be  included. 

The  fees  for  orders  are:  For  sums  not  exceeding  $5,  5  cents;  $5  to  $10, 
Scents;  %\o  to  $15,  10  cents;  $15  to  $30,  15  cents;  $30  to  $40,  20  cents; 
$40  to  $50,  25  cents ;  $50  to  $60,  30  cents ;  $60  to  $70,  35  cents ;  $70  to  $80, 
40  cents ;  ^80  to  $100,  45  cents. 

When  a  larger  sum  than  $100  is  required,  additional  orders  must  be  ob- 
tained ;  but  no  more  than  three  orders  will  be  issued  in  one  day,  fronf  the 
same  post-office,  to  the  same  remitter,  in  favor  of  the  same  payee. 

Postal  Notes,  for  any  sura  under  $5,  are  sold  at  any  money-order  post- 
office  ;  price,  3  cents  each.  These  are  payable  to  the  bearer  at  any  designated 
post-office,  within  three  months  after  their  date. 

Free  Delivery.  —  The  free  delivery  of  mail  matter,  at  the  residences  of 
people  desiring  it,  is  required  by  law  in  every  city  of  50,000  or  more  popula- 
tion, and  may  be  established  at  every  place  containing  not  less  than  20,000 
inhabitants.     Number  of  free-delivery  offices,  178. 

The  franking  privilege  was  abolished  July  i,  1873,  but  the  following  mail 
matter  may  be  sent  free  by  legislative  saving-clauses,  viz. :  — 

1.  All  public  documents  printed  by  order  of  Congress,  the  Congressional 
Record  and  speeches  contained  therein,  franked  by  members  of  Congress,  or 
the  Secretary  of  the  Senate,  or  Clerk  of  the  House. 

2.  Seeds  transmitted  by  the  Department  of  Agriculture,  or  by  any  member 
of  Congress,  procured  from  that  Department. 

3.  All  periodicals  sent  to  subscribers,  within  the  county  where  printed. 

4.  Letters  and  packages  relating  exclusively  to  the  business  of  the  govern- 
ment of  the  United  States,  mailed  only  by  officers  of  the  same ;  publications 
required  to  be  mailed  to  the  Librarian  of  Congress  by  the  copyright  law,  and 
letters  and  parcels  mailed  by  the  Smithsonian  Institution.  All  these  must  be 
covered  by  specially  printed  "  penalty"  envelopes  or  labels. 

All  communications  to  government  officers,  and  to  or  from  members  of 
Congress,  are  required  to  be  prepaid  by  stamps. 

United  States  Internal  Revenue  Tax. 

Ale,  per  barrel  of  31  gallons $1  00 

Banks  and  bankers,  on  capital  and  deposits.    By  act  ot  March  3, 1883,  "  To  reduce 

internal  revenue  taxation,"  etc.,  all  taxes  on  capital  and  deposits  ot  banks  and 

bankers  were  repealed,  after  March  3, 1883. 


INTERNAL  REVENUE   TAX.  72 1 

Banks  and  bankers,  on  average  amount  of  circulation,  each  month,  1-12  of  i  per 
cent. 

Banks,  on  average  amount  of  circulation,  beyond  90  per  cent  of  the  capital,  an  ad- 
ditional tax  each  month,  1-6  of  i  per  cent. 

Banks,  persons,  firms,  associations,  etc.,  on  amount  of  notes  of  any  person,  firm, 
association  (other  than  a  national  banking  association),  corporation.  State 
bank,  or  State  banking  association,  town,  city,  or  municipal  corporation,  used 

and  paid  out  as  circulation 10  per  ct. 

Banks,  persons,  firms,  associations  (other  than  national  bank  associations),  and 
every  corporation,  State  bank,  or  State  banking  association,  on  the  amount  of 
their  own  notes,  used  for  circulation  and  paid  out  by  them 10  per  ct. 

Beer,  per  barrel  of  31  gallons $1  00 

Brandy,  per  gallon 90 

Brewers,  manufacturing  500  barrels  or  more  annually 100  00 

—  manufacturing  less  than  500  barrels  annually 50  00 

Cigars,  manufacturers  of,  special  tax 6  00 

Cigars  of  all  descriptions,  made  of  tobacco  or  any  substitute,  per  looo 3  00 

Cigarettes,  not  weighing  more  than  3  pounds  per  thousand,  per  1000 50 

Cigarettes,  weight  exceeding  3  pounds  per  thousand,  per  1000 3  00 

Cigars  or  cigarettes,  imported,  in  addition  to  import  duty  to  pay  same  as  above. 

Liquors,  fermented,  per  barrel 1  00 

Liquors,  distilled,  per   gallon go 

Liquor  dealers  (wholesale),  special  tax 100  00 

Malt  liquor  dealers  (wholesale) 50  00 

Liquor  dealers  (retail), special  tax 25  00 

Malt  liquor  dealers  (retail) 20  00 

Manufacturers    of   stills 50  00 

Manufacturers  of  stills,  for  each  still  or  worm  made 20  00 

Oleomargarine,  per  pound 02 

Manufacturers  of  oleomargarine,  or  other  substitutes  for  butter.    Special  annual 

tax .  600  00 

Wholesale  dealers  in  oleomargarine.     Special  annual  tax 480  00 

Retail  dealers  in  oleomargarine.     Special  annual  tax 48  00 

Rectifiers,  special  tax,  less  than  500  barrels loo  00 

—  above  500  barrels 200  00 

Snuff,  or  snuff  flour,  manufactured  of  tobacco  or  any  substitute,  per  pound.    .    .  08 

Spirits  distilled,  per  proof  gallon 90 

Stamps  for  distilled  spirits  for  export,  wholesale  liquor  dealers,  special  bonded 

warehouse,  distillery  warehouse,  and  rectified  spirits,  each 10 

Stamps,  on  bank  checks,  drafts,  etc.    Tax  repealed  after  July  i,  1883. 

Tobacco,  all  kinds,  per  pound,  after  May  i,  1883 8 

Tobacco,  dealers  in  manufactured,  after  May  i,  1883 2  40 

Tobacco,  manufacturers  of,  after  May  i,  1883 6  00 

Tobacco,  dealers  in  leaf,  wholesale,  after  May  i,  1883 12  00 

Tobacco,  dealers  in  leaf,  retail,  after  May  i,  1883,  $250,  and  30  cents  per  dollar  on 

sales  above  ^500  per  annum.     But  farmers  and  producers  may  sell  tobacco  of 

their  own  raising  to  consumers,  to  an  amount  not  exceeding  $100  annually. 

Tobacco  peddlers,  travelling  with  more  than  2  horses,  mules,  etc.,  after  May  i,  1883.  30  00 
Tobacco  peddlers,  travelling  with  2  horses,  mules,  or  other  animals,  after  May  i, 

1883 15  00 

Tobacco  peddlers,  travelUng  with  i  horse,  mule,  or  other  animal,  after  May  i, 

1883 7  20 

Tobacco  peddlers,  travelling  on  foot,  or  by  public  conveyance,  after  May  i,  1883.    .  3  60 

Tobacco,  snuff,  and  cigars,  for  export,  stamps  for,  each,  after  May  i,  1883.    ...  10 


722  MISCELLANEOUS  INFORMATION. 

Whiskey,  per  proof  gallon 90 

Wines  and  champagne  (imitation),  not  made  from  grapes  grown  in  the  United 
States,  and  liquors  not  made  from  grapes,  currants,  rhubarb,  or  berries,  grown 
in  the  United  States,  but  rectified  or  mixed  with  distilled  spirits,  or  by  infusion 
of  any  matter  in  spirits,  to  be  sold  as  wine  or  substitute  for  it,  per  dozen  bottles 

of  more  than  a  pint,  and  not  more  than  a  quart 2  40 

Imitation  wines,  containing  not  more  than  i  pint,  per  dozen  bottles i  20 


The  Copyright  Laws  of  the  United  States. 

Every  applicant  for  a  copyright  must  state  distinctly  the  name  and  resi- 
dence of  the  claimant,  and  whether  right  is  claimed  as  author,  designer,  or 
proprietor.     No  affidavit  or  formal  application  is  required. 

A  printed  copy  of  the  title  of  the  book,  map,  chart,  dramatic  or  musical 
composition,  engraving,  cut,  print,  or  photograph,  or  a  description  of  the 
painting,  drawing,  chromo,  statue,  statuary,  or  model  or  design  for  a  work  of 
the  fine  arts,  for  which  copyright  is  desired,  must  be  sent  by  mail  or  other- 
wise, prepaid,  addressed  "  Librarian  of  Congress,  Washington,  District  of 
Columbia."  This  must  be  done  before  publication  of  the  book  or  other 
article. 

A  fee  of  50  cents,  for  recording  the  title  of  each  book  or  other  article, 
must  be  inclosed  with  the  title  as  above,  and  50  cents  in  addition  (or  |i  in 
all),  for  each  certificate  of  copyright  under  seal  of  the  Librarian  of  Congress, 
which  will  be  transmitted  by  early  mail. 

Within  ten  days  after  publication  of  each  book  or  other  article,  two  com- 
plete copies  must  be  sent,  prepaid,  or  under  free  labels  furnished  by  the  Libra- 
rian, to  perfect  the  copyright,  with  the  address,  "Librarian  of  Congress, 
Washington,  District  of  Columbia." 

Without  the  deposit  of  copies  above  required,  the  copyright  is  void,  and  a 
penalty  of  $25  is  incurred. 

No  copyright  is  valid,  unless  notice  is  given  by  inserting  in  every  copy 
published : 

"  Entered  according  to  act  of  Congress,  in  the  year ,  by ,  in  the 

office  of  the  Librarian  of  Congress,  at  Washington ;  "  or,  at  the  option  of  the 
person  entering  the  copyright,  the  words,  "Copyright,  18 — ,  by ." 

The  law  imposes  a  penalty  of  $100  upon  any  person  who  has  not  obtained 
copyright,  who  shall  insert  the  notice,  "  Entered  according  to  act  of  Con- 
gress," or  *♦  Copyright,"  or  words  of  the  same  import,  in  or  upon  any  book  or 
other  article. 

Each  copyright  secures  the  exclusive  right  of  publishing  the  book  or  arti- 
cle copyrighted,  for  the  term  of  twenty-eight  years.  Six  months  before  the 
end  of  that  time,  the  author  or  designer,  or  his  widow  or  children,  may  secure 
the  renewal  for  the  further  term  of  fourteen  years,  making  forty-two  years  in 
all. 

Any  copyright  is  assignable  in  law  by  any  instrument  of  writing,  but  such 
assignment  must  be  recorded  in  the  office  of  the  Librarian  of  Congress,  within 
sixty  days  from  its  date.     The  fee  for  this  record  and  certificate  is  one  dollar. 


NATURALIZATION  LAWS.  723 

A  copy  of  the  record  (or  duplicate  certificate)  of  any  copyright  entry  will 
be  furnished,  under  seal,  at  the  rate  of  50  cents. 

Copyrights  cannot  be  granted  upon  trademarks,  nor  upon  labels  intended 
to  be  used  with  any  article  of  manufacture.  If  protection  for  such  prints  or 
labels  is  desired,  application  must  be  made  to  the  Patent  Office,  where  they 
are  registered,  at  a  fee  of  $6  for  labels,  and  $25  for  trademarks. 

Naturalization  Laws  of  the  United  States. 

The  conditions  under  and  the  manner  in  which  an  alien  may  be  admitted 
to  become  a  citizen  of  the  United  States,  are  prescribed  by  section  2,  165-174, 
of  the  Revised  Statutes  of  the  United  States. 

Declaration  of  Intention.  —  The  alien  must  declare  upon  oath,  before  a 
circuit  or  district  court  of  the  United  States,  or  a  district  or  supreme  court 
of  the  Territories,  or  a  court  of  rdtord  of  any  of  the  States  having  common- 
law  jurisdiction,  and  a  seal  and  clerk,  two  years  at  least  prior  to  his  admis- 
sion, that  it  is,  bona  fide^  his  intention  to  become  a  citizen  of  the  United 
States,  and  to  renounce  forever  all  allegiance  and  fidelity  to  any  foreign  prince 
or  state,  and  particularly  to  the  one  of  which  he  may  be  at  the  time  a  citizen 
or  a  subject. 

Oath  on  Application  for  Admission.  —  He  must,  at  the  time  of  his  appli- 
cation to  be  admitted,  declare  on  oath,  before  some  one  of  the  courts  above 
specified,  that  he  "will  support  the  Constitution  of  the  United  States,  and 
that  he  absolutely  and  entirely  renounces  and  abjures  all  allegiance  and  fidelity 
to  every  foreign  prince,  potentate,  state,  or  sovereignty,  and  particularly,  by 
name,  to  the  prince,  potentate,  state,  or  sovereignty  of  which  he  was  before  a 
citizen  or  subject ;  "  which  proceedings  must  be  recorded  by  the  clerk  of  the 
court. 

Conditions  for  Citizenship.  —  If  it  shall  appear  to  the  satisfaction  of  the 
court,  to  which  the  alien  has  applied,  that  he  has  resided  continuously  within 
the  United  States  for  at  least  five  years,  and  within  the  State  or  Territory 
where  such  court  is  at  the  time  held,  one  year  at  least ;  and  that,  during  that 
time,  **he  has  behaved  as  a  man  of  good  moral  character,  attached  to  the 
principles  of  the  Constitution  of  the  United  States,  and  well  disposed  to  the 
good  order  and  happiness  of  the  same,"  he  will  be  admitted  to  citizenship. 

Titles  of  Nobility. —  If  the  applicant  has  borne  any  hereditary  title  or 
order  of  nobility,  he  must  make  an  express  renunciation  of  the  same  at  the 
time  of  his  application. 

Soldiers.  —  Any  alien  of  the  age  of  twenty-one  years  and  upward,  who  has 
been  in  the  armies  of  the  United  States,  and  has  been  honorably  discharged 
therefrom,  may  become  a  citizen  on  his  petition,  without  any  previous  declara- 
tion of  intention ;  provided  that  he  has  resided  in  the  United  States  at  least 
one  year  previous  to  his  application,  and  is  of  good  moral  character. 

Minors.  —  Any  alien  under  the  age  of  twenty-one  years,  who  has  resided 
in  the  United  States  three  years  next  preceding  his  arrival  at  that  age,  and 
who  has  continued  to  reside  therein  to  the  time  he  may  make  application  to 
be  admitted  a  citizen  thereof,  may,  after  he  arrives  at  the  age  of  twenty-on§ 


724  MISCELLANEOUS  INFORMATION. 

years,  and  after  he  has  resided  five  years  within  the  United  States,  including, 
the  three  years  of  his  minority,  be  admitted  a  citizen ;  but  he  must  make  a 
declaration  on  oath,  and  prove  to  the  satisfaction  of  the  court,  that  for  two 
years  next  preceding  it  has  been  his  bona  fide  intention  to  become  a  citizen. 

Children  of  Naturalized  Citizens.  —  The  children  of  persons  who  have 
been  duly  naturalized,  being  under  the  age  of  twenty-one  years  at  the  time  of 
the  naturalization  of  their  parents,  shall,  if  dwelling  in  the  United  States,  be 
considered  as  citizens  thereof. 

Citizens'  Children  who  are  bom  Abroad. — The  children  of  persons  who 
are  now,  or  have  been,  citizens  of  the  United  States  are,  though  born  out  of 
the  limits  and  jurisdiction  of  the  United  States,  considered  as  citizens  thereof. 

Protection  Abroad  to  Naturalized  Citizens.  —  Section  2000  of  the  Revised 
Statutes  of  the  United  States  declares  that  "all  naturalized  citizens  of  the 
United  States,  while  in  foreign  countries,  are  entitled  to  and  shall  receive 
from  this  government  the  same  protection  of  person  and  property  which  is 
accorded  to  native-born  citizens." 

Right  of  Suffrage.  —  The  right  to  vote  comes  from  the  State,  and  is  a 
State  gift.  Naturalization  is  a  Federal  right,  and  is  a  gift  of  the  nation,  not 
of  any  one  State.  In  nearly  one-half  the  Union,  aliens  who  have  declared 
intentions,  vote,  and  have  the  right  to  vote  equally  with  naturalized  or  native- 
born  citizens.  In  the  other  half,  only  actual  citizens  may  vote.  The  Federal 
naturalization  laws  apply  to  the  whole  Union  alike,  and  provide  that  no  alien 
male  may  be  naturalized  until  after  five  years'  residence.  Even  after  five 
years'  residence  and  due  naturalization,  he  is  not  entitled  to  vote  unless  the 
laws  of  the  State  confer  the  privilege  upon  him,  and  he  may  vote  in  one  State 
(Michigan)  six  months  after  landing,  if  he  has  immediately  declared  his  inten- 
tion, under  United  States  law,  to  become  a  citizen. 


CHAPTER   III. 

DECLARATION    OF    INDEPENDENCE,    PRESIDENTS,    AND    SENATORS. 


THE  DECLARATION   OF   INDEPENDENCE. 

Adopted  by  Congress,  July  4,  1776. 

A    DECLARATION    BY    THE    REPRESENTATIVES    OF    THE    UNITED    STATES    OF 
AMERICA,    IN  CONGRESS  ASSEMBLED. 

When,  in  the  course  of  human  events,  it  becomes  necessary  for  one  people 
to  dissolve  the  political  bands  which  have  connected  them  with  another,  and 
to  assume  among  the  powers  of  the  earth  the  separate  and  equal  station  to 
which  the  laws  of  nature  and  of  nature's  God  entitle  them,  a  decent  respect 
to  the  opinions  of  mankind  requires  that  they  should  declare  the  causes  which 
impel  them  to  the  separation. 

We  hold  these  truths  to  be  self-evident :  that  all  men  are  created  equal ; 
that  they  are  endowed  by  their  Creator  with  certain  inalienable  rights ;  that 
among  these  are  life,  liberty,  and  the  pursuit  of  happiness ;  that,  to  secure 
these  rights,  governments  are  instituted  among  men,  deriving  their  just 
powers  from  the  consent  of  the  governed  ;  that,  whenever  any  form  of  gov- 
ernment becomes  destructive  of  these  ends,  it  is  the  right  of  the  people  to 
alter  or  abolish  it,  and  to  institute  a  new  government,  laying  its  foundation 
on  such  principles,  and  organizing  its  powers  in  such  form,  as  to  them  shall 
seem  most  likely  to  effect  their  safety  and  happiness.  Prudence,  indeed,  will 
dictate  that  governments  long  established  should  not  be  changed  for  light  and 
transient  causes ;  and,  accordingly,  all  experience  hath  shown  that  mankind 
are  more  disposed  to  suffer,  while  evils  are  sufferable,  than  to  right  themselves 
by  abolishing  the  forms  to  which  they  are  accustomed.  But  when  a  long 
train  of  abuses  and  usurpations,  pursuing  invariably  the  same  object,  evinces 
a  design  to  reduce  them  under  absolute  despotism,  it  is  their  right,  it  is  their 
duty,  to  throw  off  such  a  government,  and  to  provide  new  guards  for  their 
future  security.  Such  has  been  the  patient  sufferance  of  these  Colonies  ;  and 
such  is  now  the  necessity  which  constrains  them  to  alter  their  former  systems 
of  government.  The  history  of  the  present  King  of  Great  Britain  is  a  history 
of  repeated  injuries  and  usurpations,  all  having  in  direct  object  the  establish- 
ment of  an  absolute  tyranny  over  these  States.  To  prove  this,  let  facts  be 
submitted  to  a  candid  world  :  — 

He  has  refused  his  assent  to  laws  the  most  wholesome  and  necessary  for 
the  public  good. 

725 


726  MISCELLANEOUS  INFORMATION. 

He  has  forbidden  his  governors  to  pass  laws  of  immediate  and  pressing 
importance,  unless  suspended  in  their  operations  till  his  assent  should  be 
obtained ;  and,  when  so  suspended,  he  has  utterly  neglected  to  attend  to 
them. 

He  has  refused  to  pass  other  laws  for  the  accommodation  of  large  districts 
of  people,  unless  those  people  would  relinquish  the  right  of  representation 
in  the  legislature ;  a  right  inestimable  to  them,  and  formidable  to  tyrants 
only. 

He  has  called  together  legislative  bodies  at  places  unusual,  uncomfortable, 
and  distant  from  the  repository  of  their  public  records,  for  the  sole  purpose  of 
fatiguing  them  into  compliance  with  his  measures. 

He  has  dissolved  representative  houses  repeatedly  for  opposing,  with 
manly  firmness,  his  invasions  on  the  rights  of  the  people. 

He  has  refused,  for  a  long  time  after  such  dissolutions,  to  cause  others  to 
be  elected  ;  whereby  the  legislative  powers,  incapable  of  annihilation,  have 
returned  to  the  people  at  large,  for  their  exercise ;  the  State  remaining,  in  the 
meantime,  exposed  to  all  the  dangers  of  invasions  from  without,  and  convul- 
sions within. 

He  has  endeavored  to  prevent  the  population  of  these  States ;  for  that  pur- 
pose, obstructing  the  laws  for  the  naturalization  of  foreigners ;  refusing  to 
pass  others  to  encourage  their  migration  hither,  and  raising  the  conditions 
of  new  appropriations  of  lands. 

He  has  obstructed  the  administration  of  justice,  by  refusing  his  assent  to 
laws  for  establishing  judiciary  powers. 

He  has  made  judges  dependent  on  his  will  alone,  for  the  tenure  of  their 
offices,  and  the  amount  and  payment  of  their  salaries. 

He  has  erected  a  multitude  of  new  officers,  and  sent  hither  swarms  of 
officers,  to  harass  our  people  and  eat  out  their  substance. 

He  has  kept  among  us,  in  times  of* peace,  standing  armies,  without  the 
consent  of  our  legislatures. 

He  has  affected  to  render  the  military  independent  of,  and  superior  to,  the 
civil  power. 

He  has  combined  with  others  to  subject  us  to  a  jurisdiction  foreign  to  our 
constitution,  and  unacknowledged  by  our  laws;  giving  his  assent  to  their 
acts  of  pretended  legislation  :  — 

For  quartering  large  bodies  of  armed  troops  among  us ; 

For  protecting  them,  by  mock  trial,  from  punishment  for  any  murders 
which  they  should  commit  on  the  inhabitants  of  these  States ; 

For  cutting  off  our  trade  with  all  parts  of  the  world ; 

For  imposing  taxes  on  us,  without  our  consent ; 

For  depriving  us,  in  many  cases,  of  the  benefits  of  trial  by  jury ; 

For  transporting  us  beyond  seas,  to  be  tried  for  pretended  offences ; 

For  abolishing  the  free  system  of  English  laws  in  a  neighboring  province, 
establishing  therein  an  arbitrary  government,  and  enlarging  its  boundaries, 
so  as  to  render  it  at  once  an  example  and  fit  instrument  for  introducing  the 
s^me  absolute  rule  into  these  Colonies ; 


DECLARATION  OF  INDEPENDENCE,  727 

For  taking  away  our  charters,  abolishing  our  most  valuable  laws,  and  alter- 
ing, fundamentally,  the  powers  of  our  governments  ; 

For  suspending  our  own  legislatures,  and  declaring  themselves  invested 
with  power  to  legislate  for  us  in  all  cases  whatsoever. 

He  has  abdicated  government  here,  by  declaring  us  out  of  his  protection, 
and  waging  war  against  us. 

.  He  has  plundered  our  seas,  ravaged  our  coasts,  burned  our  towns,  and  de- 
stroyed the  lives  of  our  people. 

He  is,  at  this  time,  transporting  large  armies  of  foreign  mercenaries  to 
complete  the  works  of  death,  desolation,  and  tyranny,  already  begun  with  cir- 
cumstances of  cruelty  and  perfidy  scarcely  paralleled  in  the  most  barbarous 
ages,  and  totally  unworthy  the  head  of  a  civilized  nation. 

He  has  constrained  our  fellow-citizens,  taken  captive  on  the  high  seas,  to 
bear  arms  against  their  country,  to  become  the  executioners  of  their  friends 
and  brethren,  or  to  fall  themselves  by  their  hands. 

He  has  excited  domestic  insurrections  amongst  us,  and  has  endeavored  to 
bring  on  the  inhabitants  of  our  frontiers,  the  merciless  Indian  savages,  whose 
known  rule  of  warfare  is  an  undistinguished  destruction  of  all  ages,  sexes,  and 
conditions. 

In  every  stage  of  these  oppressions,  we  have  petitioned  for  redress  in  the 
most  humble  terms ;  our  repeated  petitions  have  been  answered  by  repeated 
injury.  A  prince  whose  character  is  thus  marked  by  every  act  which  may 
define  a  tyrant,  is  unfit  to  be  the  ruler  of  a  free  people. 

Nor  have  we  been  wanting  in  attentions  to  our  British  brethren.  We  have 
warned  them,  from  time  to  time,  of  attempts  by  their  legislature  to  extend  an 
unwarrantable  jurisdiction  over  us.  We  have  reminded  them  of  the  circum- 
stances of  our  emigration  and  settlement  here.  We  have  appealed  to  their 
native  justice  and  magnanimity,  and  we  have  conjured  them,  by  the  ties  of 
our  common  kindred,  to  disavow  these  usurpations,  which  would  inevitably 
interrupt  our  connections  and  correspondence.  They,  too,  have  been  deaf  to 
the  voice  of  justice  and  of  consanguinity.  We  must,  therefore,  acquiesce  in 
the  necessity  which  denounces  our  separation,  and  hold  them,  as  we  hold 
the  rest  of  mankind,  enemies  in  war;  in  peace,  friends. 

We,  therefore,  the  representatives  of  the  United  States  of  America,  in 
General  Congress  assembled,  appealing  to  the  Supreme  Judge  of  the  world  for 
the  rectitude  of  our  intentions,  do,  in  the  name  and  by  the  authority  of  the 
good  people  of  these  Colonies,  solemnly  publish  and  declare,  that  these  United 
Colonies  are,  and  of  right  ought  to  be,  Free  and  Independent  States ;  that 
they  are  absolved  from  all  allegiance  to  the  British  crown,  and  that  all  political 
connection  between  them  and  the  State  of  Great  Britain  is,  and  ought  to  be, 
totally  dissolved ;  and  that,  as  Free  and  Independent  States,  they  have  full 
power  to  levy  war,  conclude  peace,  contract  alliances,  establish  commerce,  and 
do  all  other  acts  and  things  which  Independent  States  may  of  right  do.  And 
for  the  support  of  this  Declaration,  with  a  firm  reliance  on  the  protection  of 
Divine  Providence,  we  mutually  pledge  to  each  other  our  lives,  our  fortunes, 
and  our  sacred  honor. 

John  Hancock. 


728  MISCELLANEOUS  INFORMATION. 

New  Hampshire.  —  Josiah  Bartlett,  William  Whipple,  Matthew  Thorn- 
ton. 

Massachusetts  Bay.  —  Samuel  Adams,  John  Adams,  Robert  Treat  Paine, 
El  bridge  Gerry. 

Rhode  Island,  etc.  —  Stephen  Hopkins,  William  Ellery. 

Connecticut.  —  Roger  Sherman,  Samuel  Huntington,  William  Williams, 
Oliver  Wolcott. 

New  York.  —  William  Floyd,  Philip  Livingston,  Francis  Lewis,  Lewis 
Morris. 

New  Jersey.  —  Richard  Stockton,  John  Witherspoon,  Francis  Hopkinson, 
John  Hart,  Abraham  Clark. 

Pennsylvania.  —  Robert  Morris,  Benjamin  Rush,  Benjamin  Franklin, 
John  Morton,  George  Clymer,  James  Smith,  George  Taylor,  James  Wilson, 
George  Ross. 

Delaware. — Caesar  Rodney,  George  Read,  Thomas  M'Kean. 

Maryland.  —  Samuel  Chase,  William  Paca,  Thomas  Stone,  Charles  Car- 
roll, of  Carrollton. 

Virginia.  —  George  Wythe,  Richard  Henry  Lee,  Thomas  Jefferson,  Ben- 
jamin Harrison,  Thomas  Nelson,  Jr.,  Francis  Lightfoot  Lee,  Carter  Braxton. 

North  Carolina.  —  William  Hooper,  Joseph  Hewes,  John  Penn. 

South  Carolina.  —  Edward  Rutledge,  Thomas  Hayward,  Jr.,  Thomas 
Lynch,  Jr.,  Arthur  Middleton. 

Georgia.  —  Button  Gwinnett,  Lyman  Hall,  George  Walton. 


Presidents  of  the  United  States. 

The  following  is  a  list  of  the  Presidents  of  the  United  States,  with  the  date 
of  their  election,  vote  of  electoral  college,  name  of  opposing  candidate,  and 
leading  features  of  political  differences  in  each  campaign :  — 

George  Washington,  1789.  Received  the  unanimous  vote  of  the  elec- 
toral college  for  the  presidency.  Political  differences  had  not  as  yet  crystal- 
lized into  parties. 

George  Washington,  1792.  Received  a  second  time  the  unanimous  vote 
of  the  electoral  college  for  the  presidency.  While  there  was  no  opposition  to 
the  election  of  Washington  for  a  second  term,  yet  public  opinion  had  become 
divided  upon  questions  of  policy,  and  the  people  had  taken  sides  upon  these 
issues.  One  party,  headed  by  Mr.  Jefferson,  was  called  both  Democratic  and 
Republican.  The  other  party,  led  by  Alexander  Hamilton,  was  styled  Fed- 
eralists. The  first  demanded  that  the  government  should  confine  its  action 
strictly  within  the  specific  and  limited  sphere  defined  by  the  Constitution. 
The  second  asked  for  the  enlargement  of  such  action  by  inference  and 
implication. 

John  Adams,  1796.  Received  in  the  electoral  college  71  votes.  His  op- 
ponent, Thomas  Jefferson,  received  68.  As  the  rule  was  at  that  time,  the 
person  receiving  the  highest  number  of  votes  was  elected  President,  while  the 
one  receiving  the  next  highest  became  Vice-President.     The  doctrine  of  strict 


PRESIDENTS   OF  THE    UNITED  STATES.         729 

construction  of  the  Constitution  was  contended  for  by  the  Democratic- Repub- 
lican party,  (this  party  was  commonly  known  as  Republican,  until  1812,  when 
it  took  the  name  Democratic,  which  name  it  has  since  retained) .  The  Fed- 
eralists demanded  the  utmost  flexibility  consistent  with  good  government. 

Thomas  Jefferson,  1800.  Received  in  the  electoral  college  72^  votes. 
His  opponent,  Aaron  Burr,  received  71  votes  also.  There  being  no  choice, 
the  election  was  thrown  into  the  House  of  Representatives.  On  the  thirty- 
sixth  ballot,  Mr.  Jefferson  received  10  votes  and  Mr.  Burr  4.  This  result  elected 
Mr.  Jefferson  President,  and  Mr.  Burr  Vice-President.  The  political 
parties  were  divided  upon  the  "alien  and  sedition  laws."  By  the  one,  the 
President  might  order  any  foreigner  whom  he  believed  to  be  dangerous,  out 
of  the  country ;  and  by  the  other  it  was  a  crime,  with  heavy  penalties,  to 
'*  write,  print,  utter,  or  publish  any  false,  scandalous,  or  malicious  writing 
against  either  house  of  Congress  or  the  President,  with  intent  to  defame  or 
bring  either  of  them  into  contempt  or  disrepute." 

Thomas  Jefferson,  1804.  Received  in  the  electoral  college  162  votes. 
His  opponent,  Charles  C.  Pinckney,  received  but  14  votes.  During  Mr.  Jeffer- 
son's first  term,  many  important  measures,  touching  American  institutions, 
were  brought  to  a  successful  termination ;  such  as  the  purchase  of  Louisiana 
from  France,  additional  amendments  to  the  Constitution,  and  the  repeal  of 
the  odious  "alien  and  sedition  laws."  His  administration  was  so  popular 
that  little  opposition  was  made  to  his  re-election. 

James  Madison,.  1808.  Received  in  the  electoral  college  122  votes.  His 
opponent,  Charles  C.  Pinckney,  received  47  votes.  The  political  differences 
entering  into  this  contest  were  over  the  "  embargo  act."  The  war  between 
England  and  France  was  followed  by  decrees  which  prohibited  American 
trade  with  either.  Also  the  right  to  search  American  vessels  was  claimed  by 
Great  Britain.  These  demands  led  to  the  "embargo  act,"  as  a  retaliatory 
measure. 

James  Madison,  181 2.  Received  in  the  electoral  college  128  votes.  His 
opponent,  De  Witt  Clinton,  received  89  votes.  The  War  of  1812  with  Eng- 
land, and  the  cry  of  "  Free  trade  and  sailors'  rights,"  carried  Mr.  Madison  to 
his  second  term,  although  opposed  by  a  portion  of  the  old  Federalists  and  the 
anti-Administration  party. 

James  Monroe,  1816.  Received  in  the  electoral  college  183  votes.  His 
opponent,  Rufus  King,  received  34  votes.  What  was  known  as  the  "era  of 
good  feeling"  began  at  the  close  of  the  war,  and  but  little  opposition  was 
made  to  the  election  of  Mr.  Monroe. 

James  Monroe,  1820.  Received  every  vote  in  the  electoral  college  but 
one,  which  was  cast  for  John  Quincy  Adams.  With  such  a  unanimity  of 
choice,  but  little  party  difference  was  possible. 

John  Quincy  Adams,  1824.  The  result  of  the  vote  in  the  electoral  college 
was,  Andrew  Jackson,  99;  John  Quincy  Adams,  84;  William  H.  Crawford, 
41 ;  Henry  Clay,  37  —  no  choice.  For  a  second  time  the  election  of  President 
went  to  the  House  of  Representatives,  where  Mr.  Adams  was  chosen.  The 
main  issues  in  this  election  were  the  questions  of  internal  improvement,  and 
the  American  system  of  protective  tariff. 


730  MISCELLANEOUS  INFORMATION. 

Andrew  Jackson,  1828.  Received  in  the  electoral  college  178  votes.  His 
opponent,  John  Quincy  Adams,  received  83  votes.  The  powers  and  limita- 
tion of  government,  with  the  protective  tariff,  made  up  the  issues  during  this 
contest.  At  this  time  the  parties  were  divided  into  the  Democratic  party,  led 
by  Mr.  Jackson,  and  the  National-Republican  party,  headed  by  Mr.  Clay. 

Andrew  Jackson,  1832.  Received  in  the  electoral  college  209  votes ; 
Henry  Clay,  49;  and  William  Wirt  (Anti-Masonic),  7.  The  parties  during 
this  campaign  divided  on  questions  of  the  tariff,  State  rights,  internal  im- 
provements, and  the  United  States  bank. 

Martin  Van  Buren,  1836.  Received  in  the  electoral  college  170  votes. 
His  opponents:  Daniel  Webster,  14;  William  H.  Harrison,  73;  Willie  P. 
Mangum,  1 1  ;  Hugh  L.  White,  26.  Mr.  Van  Buren  was  the  acknowledged 
successor  of  President  Jackson,  and,  with  the  opposition  divided  into  factions, 
was  easily  elected.  About  the  same  issues  as  in  the  preceding  campaign  were 
discussed,  but  with  much  less  bitterness. 

William  Henry  Harrison,  1840.  Received  in  the  electoral  college  234 
votes.  His  opponent,  Martin  Van  Buren,  received  60  votes.  The  questions 
following  the  money  panic  of  1837,  and  the  sub-treasury,  together  with  the 
military  record  of  General  Harrison,  formed  the  issues  during  this  campaign. 
President  Harrison  died  within  a  month  after  his  inauguration,  and  Vice- 
President  John  Tyler  became  President  instead, 

James  K.  Polk,  1844.  Received  in  the  electoral  college  170  votes.  His 
opponent,  Henry  Clay,  received  105  votes.  In  this  election,  James  G.  Birney, 
Abolition  candidate,  received  about  65,000  votes.  During  this  campaign  the 
issues  between  the  Whigs  and  Democrats  were,  the  reoccupation  of  Oregon, 
the  annexation  of  Texas,  currency,  and  a  tariff  for  revenue. 

Zachary  Taylor,  1848.  Received  in  the  electoral  college  163  votes.  His 
opponent,  Lewis  Cass,  received  127  votes.  The  Free  Soil  party  nominated 
Martin  Van  Buren,  who  received  about  300,000  votes.  The  war  with  Mexico, 
non-interference  with  slavery,  tariff,  and  the  Missouri  compromise  furnished 
the  political  issues  for  this  contest.  General  Taylor  died  in  July  following  his 
inauguration,  and  Millard  Fillmore  became  President. 

Franklin  Pierce,  1852.  Received  in  the  electoral  college  251  votes.  His 
opponent.  General  Winfield  Scott,  received  42  votes.  The  Anti-Slavery 
party  put  in  nomination  John  P.  Hale,  who  received  about  155,000  votes. 
The  questions  entering  into  this  campaign  were  those  of  a  strict  construction 
of  the  Constitution,  and  the  fugitive  slave  law.  State  rights  and  the  question 
of  slavery  assumed  prominence  in  the  discussions  before  the  people. 

James  Buchanan,  1856.  Received  in  the  electoral  college  174  votes.  His 
opponent,  John  C.  Fremont,  received  114  votes.  The  American  or  Know 
Nothing  party  nominated  Millard  Fillmore,  and  gave  him  8  electoral  votes. 
Mr.  Buchanan  represented  the  Democratic  party,  while  Mr.  Fremont  headed 
the  new  Republican  party.  Slavery  in  the  Territories  was  the  all-absorbing 
issue. 

Abraham  Lincoln,  i860.  Received  in  the  electoral  college  180  votes.  His 
opponents:  John  C.  Breckenridge,  72;  Stephen  A.  Douglas,  12;  and  John 


PRESIDENTS    OF  THE    UNITED  STATES.         73 1 

Bell,  39.  The  popular  vote  cast  for  Mr.  Lincoln  was  1,857,610,  while  the 
aggregate  vote  cast  against  him  was  2,804,560.  The  issues  in  this  election  are 
too  well  known  to  need  recapitulation.  Slavery,  State  rights,  and  a  general 
distrust  between  the  northern  and  southern  portions  of  the  country,  conspired 
to  make  the  results  of  the  campaign  one  of  great  importance,  as  was  subse- 
quently proved. 

Abraham  Lincoln,  1864.  Received  in  the  electoral  college  212  votes.  His 
opponent,  George  B.  McClellan,  received  21  votes.  The  issues  in  this  cam- 
paign were  principally  those  arising  from  the  war  then  in  progress.  Presi- 
dent Lincoln  was  assassinated  April  14,  1865,  and  Andrew  Johnson  became 
President. 

Ulysses  S.  Grant,  1868.  Received  in  the  electoral  college  217  votes. 
His  opponent,  Horatio  Seymour,  received  J7  votes.  The  results  of  the  war, 
such  ^s  reconstruction,  public  debt,  reduction  of  the  army,  currency,  and 
universal  amnesty,  made  up  the  issues  in  this  political  contest. 

Ulysses  S.  Grant,  1872.  Received  in  the  electoral  college  286  votes. 
His  opponent,  Horace  Greeley,  would  have  received  65  ;  but,  dying  soon  after 
election,  no  votes  in  the  college  were  cast  for  him.  The  split  in  the  Republican 
party  was  caused  by  a  strong  dislike  to  the  renomination  of  President  Grant. 
The  dissenters  nominated  Mr.  Greeley,  and  the  Democratic  party  indorsed  his 
nomination.  The  public  debt,  currency,  and  the  condition  of  the  Southern 
States,  formed  the  basis  for  the  political  discussion  of  this  campaign. 

Rutherford  B.  Hayes,  1876.  The  result  of  this  election  was  the  closest 
ever  held  in  the  United  States.  The  returns  from  some  States  were  duplicated, 
and  general  chaos  seemed  to  prevail.  It  required  185  electoral  votes  to  elect. 
Samuel  J.  Tilden,  Democratic  candidate,  claimed  203  votes.  In  the  contro- 
versy which  followed,  a  joint  high  commission  was  formed,  to  whom  the  ques- 
tion of  which  candidate  was  elected  was  referred.  After  much  investigation, 
a  decision  was  made  March  2,  1877,  which  gave  185  electoral  votes  to  Mr. 
Hayes,  and  184  to  Mr.  Tilden.  The  justice  and  correctness  of  this  decision 
have  both  been  questioned.  Peter  Cooper  was  a  candidate  of  the  Greenback 
party,  and  received  nearly  100,000  votes.  This  party  demanded  radical 
changes  in  financial  legislation. 

James  A.  Garfield,  1880.  Received  in  the  electoral  college  214  votes. 
His  opponent,  General  W.  S.  Hancock,  received  155  votes.  General  James 
B.  Weaver  was  nominated  by  the  Greenback  party,  and  received  307,000 
votes.  While  the  Democratic  and  Republican  parties  discussed,  in  a  mild 
manner,  the  tariff  and  a  few  minor  measures,  they  ignored,  by  concerted 
agreement,  the  demands  of  the  reform  party.  That  party,  however,  made  a 
vigorous  campaign,  and  did  much  to  open  the  eyes  of  the  people  to  the  true 
financial  policy  of  government.  President  Garfield  was  assassinated  July  2, 
1 88 1,  and  Chester  A.  Arthur  became  President. 

Grover  Cleveland,  1884.  Received  in  the  electoral  college  219  votes. 
His  opponent,  James  G.  Blaine,  received  182  votes.  John  P.  St.  John,  Pro- 
hibition candidate,  received  151,000,  and  Benjamin  F.  Butler,  Greenback, 
133,000.     During  this  canvass,  the  usual  charges  and  counter-charges  were 


73^  MISCELLANEOUS  INFORMATION, 

made  by  the  two  old  parties  ;  the  tariff  came  in  for  a  share,  as  usual.  Butler, 
being  unpopular  with  many  reformers,  failed  to  materialize  much  strength, 
and,  as  a  consequence,  the  Greenback  party  practically  disbanded  with  this 
campaign.  But  the  reform  movement  continued  to  grow  among  the  people, 
and  manifested  its  strength  in  many  ways. 

Benjamin  Harrison,  1888.  Received  in  the  electoral  college  233  votes. 
His  opponent,  Grover  Cleveland,  received  168  votes.  Clinton  B,  Fisk,  Pro- 
hibition candidate,  received  250,000  votes,  and  Alanson  J.  Streeter,  Union 
Labor  candidate,  147,000.  The  question  of  tariff  again  monopolized  the  entire 
attention  of  the  people,  almost  to  the  exclusion  of  all  other  issues.  The 
Union  Labor  party,  headed  by  Mr.  Streeter,  did  all  in  their  power  to  awaken 
an  interest  among  the  people  to  their  own  welfare,  but  the  task  was  hopeless. 
Both  the  old  parties  saw  in  the  contest  that  failure  meant  political  death,  and 
they  fought  with  all  the  energy  of  despair.  After  the  campaign  was  over,  the 
country  seemed  to  realize  the  trap  they  had  fallen  into,  and  organized  labor 
has  been  gaining  rapidly  since  that  time. 


United  States  Senators. 

One  of  the  demands  of  the  Farmers'  Alliance  is  for  the  election  of  senators 
directly  by  the  people. 

It  may  be  interesting  to  say  something  as  to  how  the  Senate  came  to  have 
its  present  form.  There  was  no  Senate  in  the  Continental  Congress.  There 
was  but  one  house,  and  each  State  had  a  single  vote  in  it.  The  constitutional 
convention  of  1787,  following  the  model  of  the  British  government,  then  the 
best  form  known,  was  in  favor  of  two  houses,  but  sorely  puzzled  how  to  con- 
stitute an  upper  house  which  would  be  different  from  the  lower  one,  and  a 
check  upon  it.  It  was  a  long  while  before  the  idea  of  a  Senate  was  conceived, 
and  it  really  grew  out  of  the  jealousy  of  the  smaller  States  of  the  larger  ones. 
But  eleven  States  took  part  in  the  earlier  proceedings  of  the  convention. 
Two  of  the  four  delegates  from  New  Hampshire  came  in  later,  and  no  dele- 
gates were  appointed  by  Rhode  Island.  The  "small  States" — five  in  num- 
ber—  were  Connecticut,  New  York,  New  Jersey,  Delaware,  and  Maryland. 
The  "large  States"  were  Massachusetts,  Pennsylvania,  Virginia,  North  and 
South  Carolina,  and  Georgia. 

The  small  States  feared  that  they  would  be  overslaughed  by  the  large  ones, 
and  so  they  hung  out  stubbornly  for  equal  voice  in  Congress.  Several  of  the 
plans  suggested  did  not  contemplate  an  upper  house,  but  the  Virginia  plan, 
which  was  eventually  made  the  basis  of  Congress,  did.  It,  however,  gave  no 
name  to  the  upper  house,  but  proposed  that  its  members  should  be  chosen  by 
the  House  of  Representatives,  out  of  a  number  of  persons  nominated  by  the 
legislatures  of  the  several  States.  Three  ways  in  all  were  suggested  to  con- 
stitute the  membership :  — 

I.  Appointment  by  the  chief  executive,  from  nominations  by  the  legisla- 
tures. 


UNITED  STATES  SENATORS.  "J^^) 

2.  Election  by  the  people. 

3.  Election  by  the  legislatures. 

Alexander  Hamilton  urged,  as  an  amendment,  that  the  members  should  be 
chosen  by  electors  chosen  by  the  people  of  the  States,  and  that  they  should 
serve  during  good  behavior.  Pinckney  proposed  a  term  of  three  years.  The 
committee  of  the  whole  digested  these  propositions,  and  reported  in  favor  of 
a  "second  branch";  the  members  of  which  were  to  be  elected  by  the  legis- 
latures for  seven  years,  and  to  be  ineligible  to  any  office  for  a  year  after  the 
expiration  of  their  term,  and  the  number  was  to  be  in  proportion  to  the  popu- 
lation. 

This  was  the  shape  in  which  it  appears  in  the  first  draft  of  the  Constitu- 
tion. June  24-25,  1787,  the  convention  adopted  the  report  of  the  committee, 
except  that  the  term  was  changed  from  seven  to  six  years,  and  the  ineligibility 
clause  was  stricken  out.  The  convention  then  entered  upon  a  protracted 
struggle  as  to  the  representation  of  each  State,  and  various  propositions  were 
urged.  One  scheme  gave  Rhode  Island  and  Delaware  each  one,  and  Virginia 
five,  with  the  other  States  proportioned  between  these.  Dr.  Franklin  pro- 
posed that  each  State  have  an  equal  representation,  with  a  vote  on  money  bills 
proportionate  to  its  share  of  the  taxes.  Delaware  threatened  to  withdraw  from 
the  confederation  if  the  small  States  were  not  given  an  equal  representation, 
and  finally,  after  the  debate  had  gone  on  for  six  weeks,  the  plan  of  giving  each 
State  two  members  was  adopted,  and  the  small  States  concentrated  their 
efforts  upon  giving  the  "  second  branch  "  the  utmost  power  and  importance. 
August  6  the  name  "Senate"  was  formally  given  the  "second  branch." 
September  6  the  office  of  Vice-President  was  agreed  upon,  and  he  was  made 
the  presiding  officer  of  the  Senate,  in  order  to  give  him  something  to  do. 
The  Constitution  was  finally  adopted  September  17. 

The  Farmers'  Alliance  platform  confines  itself  to  a  mere  demand  for  the 
election  of  senators  by  the  people,  and  does  not  specify  how  this  is  to  be 
done.  Here  is  opportunity  for  a  wide  diversity  of  opinion.  Shall  it  be  by 
the  whole  vote  of  a  State,  as  a  governor  is  elected,  or  shall  each  State  be 
divided  into  two  senatorial  districts?  Shall  the  present  rule  of  two  senators 
for  each  State  —  large  or  small  —  continue,  or  shall  each  State  have  a  vote 
in  the  Senate  in  proportion  to  its  population? 

Before  any  change  can  be  made  it  will  be  necessary  to  get  section  3,  article 
I,  of  the  Constitution  amended.     This  reads  :  — 

"  The  Senate  of  the  United  States  shall  be  composed  of  two  senators  from 
each  State,  chosen  by  the  legislature  thereof,  for  six  vears,  and  each  senator 
shall  have  one  vote." 

To  secure  this  amendment  it  will  be  necessary  to  have  it  proposed  by  two- 
thirds  of  the  members  of  both  houses  of  Congress,  and  it  must  then  be  ratified 
by  the  legislatures  of  three-fourths  of  the  States.  That  is,  assuming  that  the 
house  will  consist  of  356  representatives,  it  will  have  to  receive  the  votes  of 
234  representatives  and  59  senators,  and  be  ratified  by  the  legislatures  of  2>2> 
States. 


CHAPTER  IV. 

HISTORY  OF  THE  SUB-TREASURY  PLAN. 

So  much  has  been  said  about  the  origin  of  the  sub-treasury 
plan,  that  a  brief  mention  of  its  history  will  doubtless  be  read 
with  interest.  The  sub-treasury  plan  originated  with  Dr.  C.  W. 
Macune.  During  the  session  of  the  Texas  State  Alliance,  in 
1888,  Brother  Macune  delivered  an  address,  in  which  he  ad- 
vanced the  proposition  of  inaugurating  a  system  of  trade  cur- 
rency, one  that  would  "purchase  goods. and  make  exchanges." 
His  plan  was  to  establish  trading  centres  where  goods  were  sold 
at  about  cost ;  issue  currency  payable  in  such  goods,  and  receive 
nothing  but  such  currency  in  payment ;  refuse  all  other  kinds 
of  currency,  and  force  customers  to  obtain  this  trade  currency 
in  order  to  purchase  the  low-priced  goods.  The  fact  that  this 
currency  would  pay  for  goods  at  a  much  cheaper  rate  than  other 
currency,  would  induce  people  to  take  it  in  the  ordinary  transac- 
tions of  business,  and  keep  it  at  or  above  par. "  Nothing  was 
done  about  it,  however,  and  Brother  Macune  came  to  Washing- 
ton during  the  winter  of  1889,  and  started  the  National  Econo- 
mist. The  idea  of  supplying  a  volume  of  currency  to  the  people, 
free  from  the  tribute  of  the  money  changer,  continued  to  occupy 
his  attention  more  or  less. 

Some  time  during  the  summer  following,  in  discussing  the 
matter  at  home,  the  idea  of  the  sub-treasury  plan  presented  it- 
self. The  more  he  considered  it,  the  more  practicable  it  ap- 
peared, and  it  soon  developed  into  the  true  theory  of  a  flexible 
volume  of  currency.  He  reasoned  from  every  point  that  pre- 
sented itself,  and  failed  to  find  an  error  in  the  principle  involved. 
Some  time  in  the  month  of  November  he  wrote  it  out  and  sub- 
mitted the  main  points  to  Brother  Harry  Tracy  and  myself. 
Then  he  prepared  it  in  full,  and  read  it  to  the  men  connected 
with  the  office.  It  was  received  with  much  favor.  Others  were 
consulted  in  regard  to  it ;  among  them,  Brothers  Polk  and  Liv- 
ingston, and  it  was  agreed  to  bring  it  before  the  national  meet- 
734 


THE  SUB-TREASURY  PLAN.  735 

ing  at  St.  Louis,  in  December.  The  country  seemed  prepared 
for  it,  as  a  similar  proposition  had  been  made  in  California  and 
one  or  two  other  localities.  It  was  presented  and  argued  before 
the  meeting,  and  adopted  with  but  a  few  dissenting  votes. 

The  propaganda  began  in  earnest,  and  in  less  than  ninety 
days  from  its  presentation  at  St.  Louis,  petitions  began  to  come 
in,  asking  Congress  to  enact  it  into  law.  The  next  thing  in 
order  was  to  draft  a  bill  that  would  meet  the  requirements. 
This  was  no  small  task.  Finally  recourse  was  had  to  Secretary 
Windom's  silver  bill,  that  he  had  prepared  with  great  care,  and 
which  was  then  before  Congress.  That  bill  was  made  the  basis 
upon  which  the  sub-treasury  bill  was  drawn.  If  any  one  will 
take  it  and  read  in  the  place  of  silver,  corn,  and  in  the  place  of 
market  value,  eighty  per  cent,  and  add  the  warehouse  and  help, 
the  sub-treasury  plan  can  easily  be  discerned.  The  same  prin- 
ciple was  involved,  and  about  the  same  provisions  required  for 
the  enforcement  of  one  that  became  necessary  in  the  other. 

After  the  bill  was  drafted,  a  consultation  was  held  with  Presi- 
dent Polk,  and  it  was  introduced  in  the  House  by  Brother  J.  A. 
Pickler,  and,  with  slight  modifications,  introduced  in  the  Senate 
by  Senator  Vance.  Since  this  time  it  has  become  the  one  eco- 
nomic question,  and  may  truly  be  said  to  be  the  most  potent 
factor  at  the  present  time  in  national  politics.  It  was  reaffirmed 
at  the  national  meeting  at  Ocala,  with  but  seven  dissenting 
votes,  out  of  a  representation  of  twenty-nine  States  and  Terri- 
tories. It  may  be  justly  considered  the  leading  demand  of  the 
Alliance,  and  the  one  on  which  the  success  or  failure  of  the 
order  depends.  It  has  been  thoroughly  discussed  in  another 
part  of  this  book. 


APPENDIX. 

TEN  USEFUL  RULES  OF  PARLIAMENTARY  USAGE. 

1.  No  motion  is  in  order  unless  the  person  making  the  motion  has  the 
floor,  and  no  person  has  the  floor  until  recognized  by  the  President.  A 
motion  is  not  before  the  house  for  any  remarks  or  discussion  until  it  has  been 
seconded  and  has  been  stated  by  the  President. 

2.  A  motion  to  adjourn  is  always  in  order,  provided  the  person  making  it 
has  secured  the  floor  and  been  recognized  by  the  chair,  and  provided  the  body 
is  a  convention  or  any  public  meeting  that  closes  its  sessions  by  adjournment. 
If,  however,  the  body  is  a  secret  society,  the  motion  to  adjourn  may  not  be  in 
order,  because  there  are  usually  regular  closing  exercises  and  forms  that  the 
President  is  under  obligations  to  see  carried  out.  When  a  motion  to  adjourn 
is  properly  made,  and  is  in  order,  it  is  not  subject  to  amendment,  discussion, 
or  modification  in  any  way ;  it  must  be  voted  on.  However,  a  qualified  mo- 
tion to  adjourn,  as  to  a  certain  specified  time  or  place,  is  debatable,  and  may 
be  amended. 

3.  Questions  that  are  subject  to  amendment  may  be  modified  twice  and 
not  more ;  that  is  to  say,  the  question  may  be  amended,  and  the  amendment 
may  be  amended. 

4.  A  motion  to  lay  on  the  table  is  not  debatable,  cannot  be  amended ;  if 
carried,  cannot  be  reconsidered,  and  requires  a  simple  majority  vote.  When 
a  motion  to  table  an  amendment  or  a  substitute,  or  any  modification  of  the 
main  question,  is  carried,  the  original  question  goes  to  the  table  with  it,  and 
is  subject  to  all  the  restrictions  imposed  by  the  vote. 

5.  A  motion  to  limit  debate  may  be  amended,  and  usually  requires  a  two- 
thirds  vote. 

6.  The  following  motions  or  calls  do  not  require  a  second,  and  are  in  order 
even  when  some  other  person  has  the  floor :  First,  a  call  to  order ;  second, 
objection  to  the  consideration  of  a  question ;  motions  for  orders  of  the  day  or 
regular  order  of  business ;  third,  question  whether  subject  shall  be  discussed. 
A  motion  to  appeal  from  ruling  or  decision  of  the  President  may  be  in  order 
when  some  other  person  has  the  floor,  but  it  always  requires  a  second. 

7.  A  motion  for  the  "previous  question"  is  intended  to  shut  off  debate 
and  bring  the  body  at  once  to  a  vote  on  the  question.  It  should  not  be  en- 
tertained by  the  chair  unless  it  has  three  seconds.  Large  bodies  usually  re- 
quire five.  This  motion  should  be  avoided  as  much  as  possible,  because  it  is 
not  generally  advisable  to  refuse  any  one  the  right  to  discuss  a  subject. 
When  the  motion  is  properly  made  and  seconded,  the  President  immediately 
says:  '*  Shall  the  main  question  be  now  put?  "  If  two-thirds  of  the  votes  are 
in  the  affirmative,  he  declares  it  carried,  and  proceeds  to  put  the  main  ques- 

736 


PARLIAMENTARY  RULES,  737 

tion,  commencing  with  the  amendments  if  there  be  any  pending.  The  effect 
of  the  call  and  vote  on  the  previous  question,  as  it  is  called,  is  simply  to  shut 
off  all  debate  and  have  the  voting  proceeded  with  in  the  regular  way. 

8.  A  motion  to  reconsider  must  be  made  by  a  person  who  voted  in  the 
affirmative  when  the  question  was  adopted ;  is  debatable  when  the  main  ques- 
tion was,  and  opens  up  the  whole  subject  for  discussion.  The  following 
motions  cannot  be  reconsidered :  First,  to  reconsider ;  second,  to  adjourn ; 
third,  to  refer  a  question ;  fourth,  that  the  committee  do  not  rise ;  fifth,  to 
suspend  the  rules ;  sixth,  to  take  up  from  the  table,  and  probably  some 
others. 

9.  A  person  claiming  a  question  of  privilege  may  interrupt  another  who 
has  the  floor,  by  rising  to  his  feet  and  addressing  the  President  with  a  "  ques- 
tion of  privilege."  The  President  will  ask  him  to  state  his  question  of  privi- 
lege. He  should  then  state  why  the  subject  he  wishes  to  speak  on  is  a 
privileged  question,  and  if  the  President  rules  that  it  is,  he  may  keep  the  floor 
and  speak  on  the  question,  and  when  he  has  concluded  the  floor  will  revert  to 
the  person  interrupted.  A  person  wishing  to  make  a  point  of  order  has  a 
similar  right  to  the  floor  for  that  purpose  at  any  time.  He  should  rise  and 
say:  "Mr.  President,"  and  when  recognized  say,  *♦  a  point  of  order."  The 
President  will  say:  "  State  the  point  of  order."  When  stated  the  President 
shall  rule  the  point  of  order  "  well  taken  "  or  "  not  well  taken."  If  the  ruling 
does  not  give  satisfaction,  an  appeal  may  be  taken  to  the  house.  An  appeal 
on  a  simple  point  of  order  is  not  debatable,  but  if  it  involves  a  question  of 
law  it  is  usually  debatable. 

10.  The  person  who  makes  a  motion  has  the  right  to  claim  the  floor  for 
opening  and  closing  the  debate,  and  may  claim  the  floor  even  after  a  call  has 
been  made  for  the  "previous  question."  The  rule  is  that  all  other  persons 
can  only  speak  once  to  a  question  without  consent  of  the  house.  The  Presi- 
dent is  supposed  to  protect  the  audience  from  having  their  time  consumed  by 
those  who  would  rise  and  express  every  new  idea  that  popped  into  their 
heads,  consequently  he  will  not  allow  the  second  speech  on  the  same  question 
without  the  consent  of  the  house. 


INDEX. 


A. 


Aborigines,  agriculture  of,  444-448. 

Addresses  : 

Of  Mr.  G.  Campbell  of  Kansas,  10;  of 
S.  O.  Daws,  36 ;  official  call  of  Dr.  Ma- 
cune,  50;  messages  of  President  Macune, 
67,  78;  of  President  Jones,  99;  of  Presi- 
dent Macune,  105 ;  on  monetary  system, 
124;  of  President  Polk,  139;  of  Isaac 
McCracken,  202;  ib.,  212;  by  J.  A.  Tetts 
of  Alexandria,  La,,  218;  statement  of  Mr. 
F.  P.  Root  of  Brockport,  N.Y.,  230;  sec- 
tionalism, by  Hon.  B.  H.  Clover,  253;  of 
Colonel  Robert  Beverley,  298  ;  by  Presi- 
dent Polk, 464;  report  of  Dr.George  Vasey, 
botanist,  Department  of  Agriculture,  550 ; 
James  M.  Swank  on  origin,  ib.,  605. 

Advent  of  Trades-unions,  i. 

Agriculture  : 

Organizations,  i  ;  ancient  situation  in 
Europe,  2 ;  the  May/lower  "  compact,"  3 ; 
economic  conditions,  4;  societies  for  po- 
litical and  other  purposes,  4,  5  ;  effects  of 
the  Civil  War,  5;  Patrons  of  Husbandry 
appear  in  1867,  6;  events  leading  up  to 
the  Farmers'  Congress  of  1875,  8,  9. 

History  of,  371 ;  chronologically  con- 
sidered, 373;  in  Egypt,  375;  among  the 
Jews  and  other  nations  of  antiquity,  377 ; 
of  the  Greeks,  380 ;  among  the  Romans 
from  second  century  B.C.  to  the  fifth  cen- 
tury A.D.,  383 ;  Roman,  in  respect  to  gen- 
eral science  and  art,  413  ;  extent  in  Roman 
provinces  and  its  decline,  415;  in  Italy 
during  the  Middle  Ages,  417 ;  of  France 
from  the  fifth  to  the  seventeenth  century, 
419 ;  of  Germany  and  other  northern  states 
from  the  fifth  to  the  seventeenth  century, 
421 ;  in  Britain,  ib.,  422;  in  Britain  during 
the  Anglo-Saxon  dynasty,  ib.,  after  the 
Norman  Conquest,  424;  in  Britain  from 
the  thirteenth  century  to  the  time  of  Henry 
VIII.,  428;  from  the  time  of  Henry  VIII. 
to  the  Revolution  of  1688,  430;  in  the 
United  States,  444;  of  the  Indians,  ib.; 
Spanish  colonial,  448;  Puritan  English 
colonists,  449;   in   the  Cavalier  English 


colonies,  454 ;  among  the  French  colonists, 
458 ;  during  the  Revolutionary  Period,  461. 
The  Farm  ami  Farm  Buildings,  477 ; 
barnyards,  490 ;  farm  roads,  491 ;  under- 
draining,  492;  farm  drainage,  493;  live- 
stock, 498-510. 

Fruits,  Planting,  511 ;  cultivation,  512; 
apples   in   the   nursery  row,  513 ;    apple 
orchard,  514;  picking,  grading,  and  pack- 
ing apples,  518  ;  small  fruits,  519-525. 
Fertilizers,  526-549. 
Grasses,  Grains,  and  Plants,  550-589. 
Department  of,  605  ;  history,  ib.-6i6. 
Agricultural  Wheel,  the,  10,  64,  73,  77,  80, 

88,  89-91,  93-95,  100,  182,  197-215. 
Alfalfa,  571. 
Alliance: 

Degree  of —  capturing  a  horse  thief — 16 ; 
insurance  proposed,  87,  166;   demands, 
149,  150,  295 ;  of  the  Northwest,  133,  225, 
226 ;  of  colored  formers,  288. 
Articles  of  Agreement,  692. 
Autumn  Leaves,  636. 


Baggett,  W.  T.,  293. 

Bailey,  575. 

Bedrooms,  642-646. 

Bermuda  Grass,  564. 

Beverley,  Robert  (Colonel),  298. 

Bills  of  Sale,  692. 

Blythe's  Book,  441. 

Black  Belt,  the,  274. 

Blue-joint :  small  red-grass,  567. 

Bonds  and  taxation,  268. 

Bridal  Flowers,  preservation  of,  636. 

British  Agriculture,  422,  424,  428,  430. 

Brothers  of  Freedom,  the,  216-218. 

Buckwheat,  581. 

Buffalo-grass,  568. 

Bunch-grass,  567. 

Business  efforts  of  the  Alliance,  355-370. 


C. 

Campbell,  G.,  10. 
Chattel  Mortgages,  693. 


738 


INDEX. 


739 


Charter  of  National  Alliance,  62,  63. 

Chavose,  Captain  L.  S.,  16,  34. 

Clover : 
Hon.  B.  H.,  Address  of,  253-256. 
Red,    Common,    Alsike,    570;     White, 
Dutch,  Japan,  571. 

Colored  Farmers'  Alliance: 

Resolutions  of  greeting,  153;  ib.,  162; 
confederation  with,  176;  history  of,  288; 
order  for  exchanges,  charter,  289;  char- 
ters, state,  290 ;  declaration  of  purposes, 
292. 

Commercial  Forms,  702-709. 

Confederation: 

Plan  of,  155,  156;  with  other  organiza- 
tions, 296. 

Conference  at  Louisville,  321. 

Constitution   of  National  Alliance,  58-61, 
93,  167-177. 

Cooperation    for    business    purposes,   113, 
114,  358-370. 

Copyright  laws,  722,  723. 

Cotton : 

States  growing,  76 ;  plant,  584. 

Crab-grass,  566. 

Crops,  Rotation  —  fertilizers,  526-549. 

Crystallized  Grasses,  637. 

Culinary  Department,  651-655. 


Daws,  S.  O.,  21,  29, 36,  38,  39. 

Deeds,  692. 

Decrees: 
Early  Alliance,  16;  names  of,  29;  changes 
of  1880,  32;  reduced  to  one,  34,  35. 

Department  of  Agriculture,  605-616. 

Declarations  of  Purposes,  28,  41,  42,  43,  47. 


E. 


Elections  in  So.  Carolina  and  Kansas,  147. 
Egyptian  Agriculture,  375, 
Eleventh  Census,  the,  121. 
Emancipation  Proclamation,  272. 
Endorsement  of  "  St.  Louis  Platform,"  156. 
English  Treatise  on  Husbandry,  first,  431. 
E.xchangcs,  Colored  Alliance,  290. 


Farmers  : 
Congress  of,  1875,  9.  298-302. 
Mutual  Benefit  Association,    10,  94,  97, 

98,  100,  156,  163,  176,  226-228. 
Union,   10,  46,   57,  62,  95,  99,  104,   109, 

152,  156,  164,  182,  218-224. 
And  Laborers'  Union,  91. 
Political  League,  228,  229. 


Farms: 
How  to  buy,  480  ;  fences,  485 ;  buildings, 
486,  488,  489 ;  barnyards,  490 ;  roads, 
491 ;  underdraining,  492,  493,  495 ;  live- 
stock, 498;  fruits,  511;  varieties,  515; 
how  to  plant,  516;  cultivation,  517  ;  prun- 
ing, 518;  small  fruits,  519;  fertilizers, 
526;  grasses,  grains,  and  plants,  550; 
how  plants  grow,  590;  fertilizers,  and 
where  they  come  from,  602-604. 

Fertilizers,  526-549. 

Feudal  System,  the,  2. 

Financial  Disaster  of  1873,  6. 

First  Bond,  21,  22. 

Flower  Garden,  the,  618-622. 

French  Agriculture,  419. 

Fruits,  511-525. 


G. 


Genius  of  Government,  115. 

German  Agriculture,  421. 

German  Millet,  565. 

Government  Control  of  Money,  262-271. 

Grama-grass  :  Mesquite  Grass,  568. 

Grange,  the,  6,  10,  31,  35,  232-236. 

Grasses,  Grains,  and  Plants: 
Report  of  Dr.  Vasey,  550 ;  grasses  for  gen- 
eral culture,  553;  history  of  grass  cul- 
ture, 554;  in  the  United  States,  556;  in 
the  South,  ib.\  permanence  of  pastures 
and  meadows,  557;  drainage  of  grass 
lands,  558 ;  relation  of  stock  to  pastures, 
559;  management  of  the  pasture,/^.;  sup- 
plementary feed,  560;  grasses  for  meadows 
and  pastures,  561 ;  mixed  grasses  for  pas- 
turage, 562 ;  time  and  manner  of  seeding 
grass-seed,  563;  Bermuda  grass,  564; 
Hungarian  grass,  German  millet,  565 ; 
crab-grass,  566;  Johnson  grass,  Mean's 
grass,  ib. ;  blue-joint,  small  reed-grass, 
567 ;  bunch-grass,  ib. ;  velvet-grass,  vel- 
vet Mesquite,  soft-grass,  etc.,  ib. ;  Grama- 
grass,  Mesquite  grass,  568  ;  buffalo-grass, 
ib.\  orchard  and  Kentucky  blue-grass, 
569;  red,  common,  and  Alsike  clovers, 
570;  white,  Dutch,  and  Japan  clovers. 
Alfalfa,  571;  grains  and  plants,  zA-589; 
how  plants  grow,  590-604. 

Grecian  Agriculture,  380. 

Greenback  Campaign  of  1876,  18. 

Growth  of  the  Alliance,  293-297. 


H. 

Historical  and  Political,  197-335. 
History  of  Agriculture: 
See  Agriculture, 


740 


INDEX. 


Home  and  Household  : 
The  home,  617 ;  the  flower  garden,  618  ; 
house  plants,  622;  annuals,  climbers, 
bulbs,  626-635 ;  preserving  natural  flow- 
ers, ib.-627  ;  parlor,  ib. ;  living-room,  641 ; 
bed-rooms,  642-646;  sick-room,  647-651 ; 
culinary  department,  ib.-6$$. 

Recipes ;  for  the  kitchen,  656-675;  for 
horses,  cattle,  sheep,  etc.,  676-685. 

Miscellaneous,  685-690;  commercial 
forms  and  useful  tables,  691-718;  postal 
regulations,  internal  revenue,  and  natu- 
ralization laws,  719-724. 

Horses  in  England  and  Scotland,  435. 

House  Plants,  622-637. 

Hungarian  Grass  :  German  Millet,  565. 


Independence,  Declaration  of,  725-728. 

Indian  Corn  (Maize),  578. 

Interest  Tables,  716,  717. 

Internal  Revenue  Tax,  720-722. 

Italian  Agriculture,  417. 

Iron  Moulders'  International  Union,  320. 


J. 


Jewish  Agriculture  —  other  nations  of  an- 
tiquity, 377. 
Johnson's  Grass  :  Mean's  Grass,  566. 
Jones,  Evan,  94,  99,  352. 


K. 


Kentucky  Blue-grass,  569. 
Knights  : 

Of  Labor,  10,  19,  122.  133,  154,  291,  307, 

318,  325 ;  of  St.  Crispin,  321. 

L. 

Labor  Movement,  the,  318-326. 
Landlord  and  Tenant,  693. 
Law  points  for  farmers,  691. 
Legislative  Council,  179. 
Live-stock,  498-510. 
"  Living-rooms,"  641,  642. 
Loans,  Philosophy  of,  266. 

M. 

Macune,  Dr.  C.  W.,  46,  48,  54,  62,  64,  67, 

78,  93,  95.  105,  137,  154,  257,  352. 
Maize  (Indian  corn),  578. 
Maple  Sugar,  first,  447. 
Mayfioiver  "  Compact,"  the,  3. 
Mean's  Grass,  566. 


Measurements,  Rules  of,  709-711. 

Mesquite  Grass,  568. 

Millet,  582. 

Money,  proper  function  of,  264. 

Monetary  System,  124-130. 

Mortgages: 

Examination   of  Records,   155;    chattel, 

693- 

National  Farmers'  Alliance  : 
Unrecorded  history  of,  10-19;  history  of, 
56 ;  roll  of  delegates  and  first  constitution, 
58  ;  charter  of,  62, 63 ;  invitations  extended 
to  other  organizations,  64,  65 ;  first  na- 
tional meeting,  66 ;  message  of  President 
Macune,  67-72 ;  demands  upon  Congress, 
74-76 ;  national  meeting  of  1888,  78  ;  mes- 
sage of  President  Macune,  ib.-58;  con- 
solidation of  National  Agricultural  Wheel 
with,  89-91 ;  national  organ,  ib.;  The  Na- 
tional Economist,  93;  proclamation  con- 
cerning Agricultural  Wheel,  93-95;  na- 
tional meeting  of  1889,  96;  address  of 
President  Jones,  99-105 ;  address  of  Ex- 
President  Macune  on  the  aims  and  prin- 
ciples of  the  Farmers'  and  Laborers' 
Union  of  America,  105-120;  resolutions 
concerning  the  Eleventh  Census,  ib.-izx ; 
report  of  Committee  on  Demands,  122, 
123;  report  of  Committee  on  Monetary 
System,  124-130;  admission  and  charter 
of  South  Dakota,  ib.,  131 ;  offices  opened 
in  Washington,  133 ;  spread  of  the  Alli- 
ance on  the  basis  of  the  "  St.  Louis  Com- 
pact," 134-137 ;  the  Sub-treasury  Plan  in 
Congress,  137 ;  national  meeting  of  1890, 
138;  annual  message  of  President  Polk, 
139-152 ;  examinations  of  mortgage  rec- 
ords recommended,  154,  155;  report  of 
Committee  on  Confederation,  ib.,  156; 
report  of  Executive  Committee,  157-160; 
of  Legislative  Committee,  ib.,  161 ;  Geor- 
gia Resolutions,  ib.,  162;  report  of  Com- 
mittee on  Salutation  and  Fraternal  Rela- 
tions, ib.,  163 ;  of  Committee  on  Demands, 
7^.-165;  seal  of  National  Farmers'  Alli- 
ance and  Industrial  Union,  167;  consti- 
tution as  amended  in  1890,  ib.-ijj ;  three 
great  questions:  "Land,"  "Transporta- 
tion," and  "Currency,"  179;  mission  of 
the,  180-191 ;  statistics,  1865-1889, 192, 193. 
Growth  of  the,  293 ;  other  bodies,  con- 
solidations with,  294. 

Duty  of  the  membership,  327-330 ;  the 
duty  of  a  reformer,  331-335. 

National: 
Trade-union,  80,  84;  Labor  Union,  322- 
326. 


INDEX. 


741 


Naturalization  Laws,  723,  724. 
Newspapers: 
See  Official. 
Non-taxable  Currency,  270,  271. 
North  American  Indian  Agriculture,  444. 
North  of  Europe  Agriculture,  421. 
Notes,  forms  of,  697,  698. 


O. 

Oats,  577. 

Object  of  the  Order,  260,  261. 

Officers,  National  Alliance: 

First  board  of,  58  ;  second,  74 ;  third,  90 ; 
fourth,  121;  fifth,  162. 

Official  : 

Newspapers  —  first  organ,  32;  subse- 
quent designations,  35,  74,  91,  92,  106, 
107,  log,  118,  132,  136,  143,  162,  225,  230, 
249,  257,  290,  318,  322,  323,  331,  336,  346, 

563.  564. 

National  Alliance  offices,  133. 

Directory,  National  Alliance  and  Indus- 
trial Union,  237. 
Orchard-grass,  569. 

Order  of  Business,  National  Alliance,  177. 
Organizations: 
Agricultural,  i ;  introductory  history,  1-9 ; 
unrecorded  history  of  Alliance,   10-19 -^ 
history  of  Alliance  in  Texas,  20-55 1  ^>s- 
tory  of  National  Alliance,  56-196. 

Kindred:  The  Agricultural  Wheel, 
197;  original  constitution, /^.,  199;  name 
and  history,  200-208  ;  address  of  President 
McCracken,  202-206 ;  demands,  ib. -2.0Z  ; 
constitution,  ib.-T.w;  national  meeting, 
and  consolidation  with  National  Alliance 
and  Industrial  Union,  ib-o.x^. 

The  Brothers  of  Freedom,  216 ;  declara- 
tion of  principles,  217,  218. 

The  Farmers  Union,  218-220;  Louisi- 
ana State  Union,  221 ;  constitution  and 
by-laws,  222-224. 

The  Northivest  Alliance,  225 ;  declara- 
tion of  principles,  226. 

The  Farmers'  Mutual  Benefit  Associa- 
tion, 226;  ritual,  and  assemblies,  227, 
228. 

77ie  Farmers'  Political  League,  228 ; 
States  in  which  it  exists,  229. 

The  Alliance  in  the  State  of  Neio  York, 
230;  Farmer's  League  in  New  York,  232. 

The  Grange,  232 ;  ritualistic  framework, 
233,  234 ;  first  State  Grange,  ib, ;  work  of, 
235.  236. 

State  Alliances,  237  ;  history  of,  ib.-'Z^Z. 
Origin  of  the  Alliance,  10-13,  357* 


Patrons  of  Husbandry,  6,  232-236. 

Parliamentary  rules  and  usages,  736,  737. 

Parlor,  the,  637. 

Partnership,  694. 

"  Philosophy  of  Price,"  193. 

Plants;  How  grown: 
The  air,  590 ;  water,  ib. ;  the  soil,  591 ; 
varieties,  592 ;  food  supply  of,  593 ;  food 
from  the  air,  594  ;  food  from  the  soil,  596 ; 
kind  of  food  from  the  soil,  597 ;  what  is 
manure,  601 ;  fertilizers  —  potash,  phos- 
phorus, 602;  nitrogen,  603. 

Political  and  Historical: 
Sectionalism  and  the  Alliance,  249; 
the  evils  under  which  the  great  laboring 
millions  are  suffering,  251 ;  address  of  Hon. 
B.  H.  Clover,  on  "  Sectionalism,"  253- 
256;  the  purposes  of  the  Farmers'  Alli- 
ance, 257  ;  government  control  of  money^ 
262 ;  statistics  of  circulation,  264,  265 ; 
the  philosophy  of  loans,  266;  bonds 
and  taxation,  268 ;  additional  circulation 
needed,  269;  currency  non-taxable  (plan 
of),  270,  271;  the  race  problem,  272; 
the  "Black  Belt,"  274;  the  Alliance  and 
the  negroes,  ib.-2fj();  the  political  rebel- 
lion in  Kansas,  280;  the  needs  of  the 
South,  284 ;  Colored  Farmers'  Alliance, 
288-292;  the  Farmers'  Congress,  298 ;  ad- 
dress of  Colonel  Robert  Beverley,  ib.-'^oo; 
Nashville  meeting  in  1884,  301 ;  New  Or- 
leans meeting  of  Farmers'  Congress,  302 ; 
the  situation  in  the  Northwest,  303-307 ; 
the  influence  of  women  in  the  Alliance, 
308-312 ;  religion  in  the  Alliance,  313-317 ; 
the  labor  movement,  318-326;  duty  of  the 
membership,  327-330. 

Sub-treasury  Plan;  copy  of  bill,  336- 
338;  history  of,  and  explanation,  /T-. -346; 
objections, /^ .-351 ;  business  efforts  of  the 
Alliance,  355-370;  history  of,  734,  735. 

Polk,  L.  L.   (Colonel).  89,  134,   139,  154, 
249 ;  statistical  address,  464-476. 

Potatoes,  582. 

Powderly,  T.  V.,  154. 

Powell,  W.S,  (How  Plants  Grow),  590-604. 

Preserving  natural  flowers,  635-637. 

Presidents  of  the  United  States,  728-732. 

Promissory  notes,  697-700. 

People's  general  agent,  263,  264. 

Protest  against  the  "  Lodge  Election  Bill," 

153.  154- 
Purposes  : 
Of  tlie  Farmers'  Alliance,  257-261 ;  dec- 
laration of  Colored  Alliance,  292. 


742 


INDEX. 


R. 


Race  Problem,  the,  272-279. 

Rebellion  in  Kansas,  the  political,  280-283. 

Receipts,  forms  of,  701,  702. 

Recipes  : 

For  the  Kitchen,  656 ;  soups,  657 ;  meats, 

660  ;  pies,  665 ;  miscellaneous  dishes,  667 ; 

bread,  669  ;  puddings,  672. 

For  Horses,  Cattle,  Sheep,  etc.,  —  horses, 

676;  cattle,  679;  sheep,  682;  swine,  683; 

poultry,  684  ;  miscellaneous,  685-690. 
Reformer,  the  duty  of  a,  331-335- 
Regalia  of  Texas,  34. 
Relation  of  the  Alliance  to  4Darty,  119. 
Religion  in  the  Alliance,  313-317- 
Rice,  588. 

Roman  Agriculture,  383.  413,  415. 
Rules  for  Measurements,  709-711. 
Rye,  573- 


S. 


School  Text-books,  74. 

Schism,  the  first,  45,  46,  54. 

Seal,    National    AUicnce    and    Industrial 
Union,  167. 

Secret  Work: 

Committee  on  new  work,  27;  report 
on,  29;  changes  in,  32;  simplified,  34; 
amended.  38;  Committee  of,  88;  un- 
written law,  115;  National  Committee  of, 
117;  exemplified,  132;  custodian  of,  170. 

Sectionalism  and  the  Alliance,  249-256. 

Senators,  United  States,  732,  733. 

Ship-carpenters  and  Calkers'  International 
Union,  321. 

Sinking  fund  of  power,  a,  259. 

Sick-rooms,  care  of,  647-651. 

Skeletonized  Leaves,  637. 

Socialistic  Labor  Party,  324. 

South,  the  needs  of  the,  284-287. 

STATISTICS  : 

Farms  in  United  States  and  values,  131, 
132;  miliionnaires,  186;  public  domain, 
187;  farm  products,  188,  189;  circulation 
of  money,  per  capita,  192 ;  failures  in  the 
United  States,  193;  the  national  debt  and 
farm  products,  194-196;  circulation,  264, 
265;  Colored  Alliance,  290;  membership, 
1890,  294 ;  in  the  Northwest,  303 ;  mort- 
gage, 304;  Sub-treasury  Plan,  351,  352; 
agriculture  in  the  United  States,  463-476; 
live-stock,  498-510;  cotton,  586;  tobacco, 
558;  cane  sugar  and  molasses,  1881-90, 

589- 

St.  Louis  Platform,  the,  122,  123. 

Sub-treasury  Plan  : 

Its  introduction  into  Congress,  137;  ig- 
nored by  that  body,   148;    in  hands  of 


Committee  of  Ways  and   Means,   155; 
vote  by  States,  164;  loans  on  real  estate 
added,  179;    non-taxable  currency,  270, 
271,  326,  336-354;  history  of,  734,  735. 
Sugar-cane,  588. 

T. 

Tables,  Weights  and  Measures,  and  Inter- 
est, 712-718. 

Texas: 

The  mother  of  the  Alliance,  13,  14 ;  Land 
League,  15 ;  first  county  organizations,  17 ; 
State  Grand  Alliance,  ib. ;  greenback  cam- 
paign of  1876, 18  ;  records  from  December 
27, 1879,  to  February,  5, 1884,  20 ;  meeting 
of  1879,  and  officers  of  Grand  Alliance  for 
1880,  21 ;  proceedings  of  1880,  23-32 ;  ib. 
1881,32,33;  application  for  charter,  29; 
copy  of  same,  30;  proceedings  of  1881, 
33;  burial  service,  33,  34;  the  first  se- 
cret order  having  no  privileged  classes, 
35;  proceedings  of  1882,  1883,  1884,  36- 
38 ;  proceedings  of  1885-86,  39-46 ;  pro- 
ceedings of  1887,  46-55. 

Action  relative  to  National  Alliance, 
56,  58 ;  loan  by,  65 ;  delegates  to  first  ses- 
sion of  National  Alliance,  66;  the  ex- 
change plan,  84,  85. 

Tobacco,  586. 

Trade  system  proposed  and  discussed,  39. 

Trades-unions  : 
Advent  of,  i;  the  labor  movement,  318; 
the  exodus  from  the  farm  to  the  mills, 
319;  cheap  labor  and  the  unions,  320; 
Knights  of  St.  Crispin  organized,  321; 
the  Louisville  Conference,/^.;  National 
Labor  Union,  322-326. 


U. 


United  States  : 
Af^riculture  in,  444,  448,  449,  454, 458,  461, 
556;  postal  regulations,  719-720. 


Velvet-grass ;  Velvet  Mesquite  ;  Soft-grass, 
etc.,  567. 

W. 

Washington,  George,  462. 

Weights  and  Measures,  712-718. 

Wheat,  571. 

Wills,  696- 

Window  Gardening,  626-635. 

Women  : 

Eligible  for  membership,   35;   influence 

of,  308-312. 
Worlidge's  "  System  of  Agriculture,"  442. 


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