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 18, 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, 

 Brother Macune was doing a noble work in allaying the fears of 

 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 Texae. 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. 





