294 



FARMER'S CONGRESS. 



National Wealth," by Mr. Stahl, of Illinois; 

 " Business Methods in Farming," by Mr. War- 

 ren, of Georgia; " Thorough Agriculture," by 

 Mr. Rankin, of Tennessee ; ' The Oyster as Hu- 

 man Food," by Dr. A. Oemler, of Georgia; 

 " Profitable Stock on the Farm," by Mrs. A. E. 

 Edwards, of Nebraska ; " Farming in the West,' 

 by Mr. Hefelbower, of Kansas. These subjects, 

 as well as the report of the Committee on Resolu- 

 tions, were debated at length. 



The following officers were elected to serve 

 fer two years : President, B. F. Clayton, Indian- 

 ola Iowa ; Vice-President, Major G. M. Ryals, 

 Savannah, Ga.; Treasurer, Henry Haden, In- 

 dianola, Iowa ; Secretary in Chief, J. M. Stahl, 

 Chicago, 111.; First Assistant, W. J. Whidby, 

 Atlanta, Ga. ; Second Assistant, T. J. Apple- 

 yard, Sanford, Fla. 



Parkersburg, W. Va., was selected as the place 

 for the next meeting, which is. to be held in Oc- 

 tober, 1894. 



The following resolutions were adopted : 



Whereas, Among many farmers of the various 

 States of the Union certain prejudices exist as to rail- 

 roads, or what some are pleased to call railroad mo- 

 nopolics^ when in reality there is no just cause for such 

 prejudices; and 



Whereas, These prejudices are often induced and 

 intensified by the speeches or arguments of persons 

 seeking official positions, mainly for the purpose of in- 

 fluencing the favor and votes of farmers and others in 

 aid of their desires for office ; and 



Whereas, Under such circumstances men are some- 

 times elected as members of legislative bodies, 

 pledged to inaugurate and support, in the supposed 

 interests of farmers, such unnecessary and radical 

 measures as would interfere with the just rights and 

 privileges of railroads, when there was no proper 

 cause for such interference or need of the measures 

 named : Therefore, be it 



Resolved, By the Farmers' National Congress of the 

 United States now assembled : 



1. That we regard such prejudices on the part of 

 farmers as unjust, as a general rule, and would herein 

 condemn any action on the part of office-seeking 

 politicians tliat is calculated to induce or intensify 

 such prejudices as wrong, and which arc often detri- 

 mental to the true interests of those whom they are 

 seeking to represent. 



2. That in many respects we regard the interests of 

 farmers and railroads as being identical ; that the gen- 

 eral prosperity of one often depends mainly upon the 

 prosperity of the other; and that for the true interests 

 of both there should exist, as far as possible, proper 

 harmony and friendship between them. 



3. That while we would favor, and even recom- 

 mend, such just and proper State and national legis- 

 lation as would guard and fully protect farmers and 

 other classes from unjust discrimination or wrongful 

 imposition of any kind on the part of railroad com- 

 panies or other corporations or combinations of capital, 

 we are opposed to, and would herein condemn, as con- 

 trary to all principles of right and justice, any such 

 unjust and radical legislative enactments as would 

 seriously hamper or interfere in any manner with the 

 proper constitutional and vested rights or interests of 

 the railroad system of our country, unless some just 1 

 and rational cause for the same is known to exist and is 

 fully understood, before action is taken in the matter. 



4. That members of our legislative assemblies, 

 both State and national, be, and are hereby, requested 

 to give clue consideration to the subject contained in 

 the foregoing resolutions ; trusting that their actions 

 as regards the matter may be controlled by such wis- 

 dom and forethought as the true principles of right 

 and justice would demand. 



Resolved, By the Farmers' Congress of the United 



FINANCIAL REVIEW OF 1893. 



States, that the legislature of each State in the Union 

 should enact such measures as will render more ef- 

 fective the work of the department of agriculture and 

 of the experimental station, and that the results of 

 their labor may be more widely disseminated. 



.Resolved, further, That statistical information is of 

 great importance to agriculturists and the advance- 

 ment of the interests of the farmer, and we urge that 

 means should be adopted in all States to secure more 

 extended and trustworthy data in that line. 



Resolved, That we are in favor of the economical 

 improvement of our water-ways and harbors, by 

 liberal appropriations systematically expended^ in 

 conformity with comprehensive plans and specifica- 

 tions prepared by a board of competent engineers ; 

 and 



Resolved, That we commend especially to the fa- 

 vorable consideration of the Congress of the United 

 States the connection of the Mississippi and Great 

 Lakes by means of a ship canal, and the substantial 

 improvement of the Mississippi and its tributaries, as 

 well as the important harbors on the Gulf and At- 

 lantic coasts. 



Whereas, It has been proved by actual test that free 

 mail delivery can be extended to villages and the 

 more thickly settled farming communities with but 

 little, if any increase, in the net expense of the Post- 

 Office Department ; therefore 



Resolved, That we are heartily in favor of rural free 

 mail delivery ; and we hereby call upon the Congress 

 of the United States and upon the Post-Office Depart- 

 ment to extend the free delivery of mail into the 

 country as fast as the same can be done without an 

 onerous increase in the expense of the same ; and 



Resolved, That there should not be any lowering of 

 the present rate of letter postage until mail is de- 

 livered at least 3 times each week throughout all 

 townships having a population of ten or more to each 

 square mile. 



Jtesolved, In view of the great benefit not only to 

 agricultural interests but to all others accruing from 

 a well-conducted system of improved highways, we 

 urge upon the governors of the several States of the 

 Union to specifically call the attention of their State 

 legislatures to the importance of action in devising 

 such a system of highway improvements. 



Resolved, That we urge upon all who are interested 

 in the business of agriculture, and on those who are 

 interested in pursuits on which agriculturists depend 

 for supplies, to associate together in business organi- 

 zations for the protection of crops and supplies, and 

 for the transportation and marketing of the same. 



Resolved, That the Farmers' Congress of the United 

 States, by virtue of its constitution and organization, 

 is not a political organization, but was founded for 

 the purpose of benefiting the agricultural and other 

 productive interests of the country, and to elevate 

 and enlighten these great industrial interests. 



FINANCIAL REVIEW OF 1893. The 



event of paramount importance this year was the 

 repeal, after one of the most disastrous panics 

 of the century, of the act of J uly 14, 1890, which 

 required the 'Secretary of the Treasury to pur- 

 chase monthly 4,500,000 ounces of silver bullion. 

 Soon after the opening of the year there was a 

 partial recovery from the feeling of depression 

 which marked the close of 1892, encouraged by 

 the hope that Congress would promptly act 

 upon the measure introduced in the Senate in 

 December for the repeal of the silver-purchase 

 law ; but when it was seen that there was a dis- 

 position to delay action, hope was almost aban- 

 doned, and public attention was directed to the 

 efforts of the Treasury Department to postpone 

 that crisis which, it was evident, would ere long 

 be precipitated. Gold continued to move to 

 Europe, and by the end of February $6,775,000 



