DUTY OF THE MEMBERSHIP. 329 



tunities for doing good are never wanting, and all such efforts usually 

 result satisfactorily ; the farmers being, as a rule, an appreciative class, 

 who hardly ever fail to profit by example or advice. 



When difficulties are increasing, and the weight of oppression grows 

 heavier, or the storm cloud of opposition becomes more threatening, the 

 duties which are demanded of the membership become more burden- 

 some and more exacting. At the present time the Alliance is on the up 

 grade. It has required courage as well as fidelity to convictions to 

 place it where it now is. More and greater efforts, stronger and more 

 devoted friends, wiser counsels, and more willing sacrifices must be 

 made in the near future, to preserve the trophies which the Alliance has 

 already won. Nothing but an abiding faith in the ultimate triumph of 

 truth, and a fearless, conscientious discharge of every duty, will secure to 

 future membership the privileges and prospects of the present. 



The Alliance is now in excellent condition and splendidly equipped 

 for aggressive work. Its methods are nearly, if not quite, perfected. 

 Its declaration of principles is clearly defined, its membership is fully 

 alive to the necessities of the times, and the country at large acknowl- 

 edges the justness of its cause. The one factor absolutely necessary 

 to complete success is a perfect performance of duty among the 

 members. A strict adherence to duty will rid the Alliance of all 

 factional strife, and eliminate the demagogue, the traitor, and the 

 coward. It will add courage, strength, and power to the undertaking, 

 and give dignity, wisdom, and standing to the order. It will cement 

 the organization into one solid phalanx, whose ranks cannot be broken 

 by envy, slander, or internal dissensions. It is not the assaults of the 

 open enemy that now threaten the perpetuity of the order ; it is the 

 insidious attacks of an unseen and secret foe, one who works through 

 stealth, whose weapons are promises which satisfy the greed or ambi- 

 tion of the members ; one who can stir up strife in the order, and then 

 add fuel to the fire already lighted. These are the dreaded enemies 

 of the order, and can only be defeated in their nefarious scheming by 

 a rigid performance of duty. When one member can depend upon 

 other members to fulfil their duties at all times, fealty to the order 

 becomes absolute, and a determination to do right becomes unswerving. 

 The Alliance is rapidly teaching its membership their duties and obli- 

 gations to the order, and it is a pleasure to know that these lessons are 

 bringing forth the rich, ripe fruit of obedience. Nothing indicates the 

 power and ultimate triumph of the principles of the Alliance more 

 forcibly than the manner in which the membership are standing by their 

 duties. If this condition can be perpetuated, future generations will 



