Under The Trees

A beautiful day- not too warm, not too cold, helped to make the farmers' picnic at North Lake, yesterday, a grandjsuccess. Between 2,000and 3,000 persons picnicked under the broad trees of Mr. Stevenson's grove. The Chelsea cornet band discoursed, from time to time, plea;!ii$ selections of music, and a "merry Audrew" made fun for those fortúnate persons who never get dizzy. In the early afternoon were delivered the speeches of the day. Prayer was offered by Rev. R. S. Cope, of Manchester. The Chelsea band played several Belections. The first speaker was A. E. COLE, of Fowlerville. Organization, said he, had never before been so strong among laboring men. This fact was evidence that the producing classes were not getting their due share of the nation's wealth. Some ask them to go back into the old economical ways, but they believe that they have a right to n portion of the benefits of progress. The 6peaker said the Farmers AUiance, organized in September, 1890, now had 600 sub-associations in Michigan. It was organized to combat all kinds of monopoly. In the case of the bindertwine trust its efforts had been remaikably successful. Two things had been agreed upon : First, the expansión of the currency, and, second, the abolition of the national banks and the issue of money direct to the people on real estáte security. The people of this country, thought the speaker, were wofully misinformed about economical subjects, and if the historian were ever called upon to write of the downfall of the United States, he would give as causes, ignor anee and party prejudice. EÜGENE H. BELDEN, of ,Iackson,was introduced as a member of the farming class. He believed that the government of the United States should be placed in the hands of the producers. Thus they might be freed from that "white slavery," which he thought far worse than the old ''negro slavery," because, ín the case of the former the master had no interest in the welfare of nis seryants. He did not give his sanction to the oft-repeated advice that the farmers should keep out of politics. Ihey had been doing that for thirty years and things had grown Bteadily worse. Mr. Belden's Bomewhat short address was followed by a very laughable declamation given by Herbert Cope, of Manchester. RALPH BEAUMONT, of Washington, D. C, who is one of the most prominent labor agitators of America, delivered the principal oration of the day. It was a long and eloquent effort, embellished with frequent touches of wit. Mr. Beaumont had made a study of the labor question for over twenty-five years. When people asked him when this would be settled, he could only answer that he did not inow. All this agitation simply marked the evolution of society from a lower to a higher plane. The platform drawn up by the St. Louis convention and by previous conTentions was discussed by the speaker, plank by plank. Men and women should be judged by moral standards and not by the eize of their bank accounts. Labor should enjoy all of the benefits of the wealth it creates. Bureaus of labor statistics should be established. This had been done in many states at the beek of the laboring men. The public laods should be given only to actual settlers. Over 20,000,000 acres of land in the United States were owned by foreign nobles nd syndicates. The speaker graphically told how the Union Pacific sharks had defrauded the people and the government though land grants and Wee issues of bonds. All laws which bear upon the labor'Bg men unjuatly should be abrogated. lawyers had adroitly covered the laws Hh technloalities. Mr. Beaumont inyeighed against ornaryaavings banks, which he believed 'o be maintained in the interest of Monopoly, and advocated the establishment of postal savings banks. The formation of the whiskey -trust M graphically traced. Ifthe govern&ent could collect the delinquent hjskey taxes, its surplus would be ♦68,000,000 larger. Corn, last fall, brought, in Kansa s, karteen cents a bushei; coal cost $14.00 aton. Kansas farmers were obliged t0 burn corn for fuel and the poor Penn"ylvania miner could not get it. ,Yet sme people talked of over-production, T&e speaker believed that the railys should be owned and operated by fle government. He thought that the success of the postoffice department warranted a belief that this new undertaking would be equally successful. The relative merits of specie and fiat money were diecussed, rauch to the disparagetnent of the former. A specie basis had always given English capitalists a chance to regúlate the ataount of money ir circulation, and thus to exploit the laboring man. English trickery had brought on the panic of 1857. The speaker highly extolled the policy followed by the government during the war, in isHuing large quantities of greenback money. The gold clause in the law, however, had given Wall-st a chance to derive all the benefits of a premium on gold. Mr. Beaumont inveighed against the policy of selecting secretaries of the treasury who work in the interest of Wall-st. Their method of managing the nation's bonded debt especiallywas attacked. Beform, said the speaker, would be accomplished in some way - if necessary, by revolution. Nothing would be done by the old parties, both of which Mr. Beaumont mercilessly scored. After the close of this oration the audience was entertained by two rollicking Irish songs by J. E. Harkins, of this city, and another declaination by Herbert Cope.