Richland beacon. [volume] (Rayville, La.) 1869-1890, 1873-06-28
AGRICULTURAL ORANGES.

The organization of Agriculture
Oranges is o subject now agitatin,
the minds of our people. In our las
issue, We promised to give our read
crs some light, such as we possessed
concerning the manner and conduc
of these organizations.
A Grange, as we understand it, is
in one sense, a secret organization
and why? 1t is composed Of labor
ing men, and women or, rather, those
interested in agricultural pursuits. II
is intended for the mutual benefit and
protection of its members, and is 9
secret organization in so far that i,
attends to its own business, and what
is its own business no one else except @
member has any right or any business
to know. Some old fogics' always
have, and probably always will seri
ously object to anything which bears
the name of Secret organization
and yet, ifthey are men of good and
properly raised families, they are each
at the very head of a little secret socic.
ty. Every well regulated family con-
stituteS within itself a secret Orrani.
cation; around the family freside the
private business affairs, the secret dis
appointments and trials, and the status
and reliability of their neighbors and
business contemporaries, are all freely
discussed. Through the medium of
kindred love and affection each bears
each others burthen, communicating
to each other their secret thoughts,
enlightening each others minds, and
offending their heads and hearts ia
the noble effort of privately and faith
fully protecting and pomoting each
others welfare and happiness, to the
public detriment Of none. BY the Or
ganization of Grange (for instance,
among the planters of Richland Par
ish, } it is to be understood that the
members thereof bind themselves to.
gcther by sacred ties, born of kindred
pursuits, for the sole protection, bene-
fit and advancement of that pursuit
in which they are all alike interested.
At the appointed time and place of
meeting, the wants, the success or
failure of each member may be made
known, the opinions ofeach expressed,
the best interests of all taken into
careful consideration and, instead of
the isolated effort of feeble individual
ism heretofore exercised, may be found
the combined intellects and energies of
a hardy phalanx combating with the
aristocratic monopolists who would
glide through life in gilded phae-
tons Of affluence at the expense of
honest tillers of the soil. Thus alone |
can our planters invest themselves
with power and influence corrective
to the elements of opposition now
wrestling wealth from the
profits of their industry, and leaving
the farmer with only a scanty subsis-
tence until another crop is gathered
and made prey to the greedy clutch
es of inscriptions mammon worship
crs. Truly does past experience, the
new developments in the scientific
world, and the recent unwilling of
lucre hugging dcmagogues among the
public functionaries of our State and
Nation, all cry aloud to our agricultu-
'al communities to come out from the
luagmires of old fogyism and walk
n the sun light of common sense
All over our land the cry is being
,eeded, and Oranges are being organ
zed. Let Richland Parish fall into
inc.
now TO ORGANIZE.
In order thst this new departure,
mong our Planting friends, may be
aade more efectual, and invested !,
nth greater power, q State, Parish, :
r neighborhood Grange should be
rganized as auxiliary or subordinate %
, the National Grange, now in sue
sssful operation. Under the juris-
lotion of the National Grange a Sub F
rdinate Grange is composed of four
egrees, with beautiful and impress &c
We forms and ceremonies of initia- u
on. The Ritual adobted by the d,
ational Grange is to be used in all W
Oranges. The proper u
20 essential to membership is, males G
}, females l6. Applications for &C
am horc hin occoronop;o1 he tLo e.. iii