260 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 that? 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 politics, as it is 



