THE NATIONAL ALLIANCE. 69 



ers 1 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 



