316 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 hum of thousands of 

 spindles, the ring of thousands of anvils, and the whir of a million 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 liberal 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 



