^TRY  h 
VOL.  LI.  No.  2211. 
NEW  YORK,  JUNE  n,  1892. 
PRICE,  FIVE  CENTS. 
$2.00  PER  YEAR. 
Demands  of  the  New  York  Alliance. 
COMMENTS  BY  SOME  OUTSIDERS. 
On  page  116  of  The  R.  N.-Y.  for  February  20,  Mr. 
Edward  F.  Dibble,  President  of  the  New  York  State 
Farmers’  Alliance,  gave  a  list  of  the  demands  that 
were  to  be  made  by  that  organization.  Briefly  sum¬ 
marized,  they  are  as  follows  : 
1.  Personal  property  to  bear  a  just  proportion  of  taxes.  2.  Mortgages 
to  be  taxed  as  real  estate.  3.  Legal  Interest  rate  live  per  cent.  4.  Stop 
A  Liberal  Political  Education  Suggested. 
1.  If  “  personal  property  ”  includes  debts,  ought  they 
to  be  taxed  at  all  ?  Against  the  practice,  reasons 
which  seem  conclusive  have  been  advanced;  for  those 
in  favor  of  it  I  have  sought  in  vain  for  many  years. 
2.  If  this  means  that  debts  secured  by  mortgages 
should  be  taxed,  the  answer  is  already  given.  No 
debt  should  be  taxed.  In  the  interest  of  the  borrower, 
not  of  the  lender,  all  debts,  notes,  mortgages,  prom- 
cation  of  Bentham’s  famous  “  Defense  of  Usury.” 
The  reasons  against  them  seem  to  be  unanswerable. 
The  various  farmers’  organizations  are  foredoomed  to 
failure  because  they  do  not  heed  Crockett’s  rule,  “  Be 
sure  you’re  right,  then  go  ahead.”  In  their  haste  to 
go  ahead  they  forget  the  first  and  most  important 
part  of  the  rule.  Be  sure  you  are  right,  dear  friends, 
before  you  promulgate  your  “  demands.” 
On  two  points  I  believe  you  are  right :  1 ,  we  farmers 
Four  smart  fellows  behind  the  fence — plenty  of  cards  and  wine —  Four  men  trying  to  down  the  fence — jealous  each  of  each  brother, 
Folks  don’t  know  what  they’re  up  to,  hence  they  have  a  big  old  time.  Tugging  and  straining  with  force  immense — one  pulls  against  another.  < 
Three  big  fellows  take  to  one  rope — down  goes  the  fence — kerflop  ; 
Then  see  the  rascals  get  up  and  “slope” — don’t  think  they’ll  ever  stop. 
work  on  the  Capitol  at  Albany.  5.  No  more  appropriations  for  the 
Erie  Canal.  6.  Scht  ol  books  at  cost  by  the  State.  7.  Prevention  of 
dealings  In  ‘’futures.”  8.  Liberal  appropriations  for  stations,  Insti¬ 
tutes,  etc.  9.  Against  the  Adirondack  Park. 
We  invited  comment  on  these  propositions,  and  a 
number  of  communications  were  received.  We  regret 
that  they  could  not  be  printed  during  the  session  of 
the  legislature.  We  print  samples  of  them  now  in 
time  for  discussion  during  the  next  State  campaign. 
ses  to  pay  of  whatever  kind,  ought  to  be  exempt  from 
taxation. 
3.  If  this  means  the  imposition  of  penalties  for  what 
is  called  usury,  then  I  submit  that  the  Alliance  is 
bound  to  give  better  reasons  in  support  of  the  propo¬ 
sition  than  any  that  have  ever,  to  my  knowledge,  been 
offered.  So  far  as  I  know,  laws  about  usury  have 
never  been  defended  by  any  thinker  since  the  publj- 
suffer  undoubted  evils :  we  are  the  victims  of  gross  in¬ 
justice.  2,  These  evils  are  remediable  by  legislation. 
The  injustice  we  suffer  is  the  result  of  bad  laws,  and 
bad  laws  can  be  changed.  But  some  of  the  remedies 
proposed  are  worse  than  the  disease.  The  evils  of 
quack  legislation  are  not  to  be  cured  by  quack  legis¬ 
lation.  The  patient  is  not  to  be  cured  of  fever  by 
throwiiig  him  into  tits. 
