Marshall County Republican. (Plymouth, Ind.) 1856-1878, 1873-12-25

His Personal Appearance and Character
The Slow Growth of the Order-Its
Remarkable Progress i'm the Last Ten
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS Purchasing.
Washington Correspondence New York Tribune. ]
have recently enjoyed several pleas
ant conversations with William Saun-
ders, the man who dreamed, and Thought
out, and inaugurated, the order of the
Patrons of Husbandry, commonly re-
ferred to as the Order of the Changers.
Mr.. Saun ders Is a genial, transformations,
sensible Scotchman. He is upward of
90 years of age, a man of large frame,
something above medium height, with
gray hair, beard almost white; and,
although his complexion is rather dark,
he has the iightest blue eyes ever saw
eyes which would delight the trans
cendental Alcott, who believes that the
blue-eyed viii Inherit the earth. He
has a high and somewhat retreating
forehead, a nose which evinces strength
of character, and a rather sober express
sion of countenance, as of man of
thought rather than OF "a man who is
controlled by his feelings. His bearing
is such that he elicits good will from
him holding him in profound and even
tender regard
Mr. Saunders came to this country in
1917. Prior to that time he had been
engaged in horticulturala and agricultural
pursuits in and about London, where he
also organized several societies of per-
sons engaged in occupations similar to
his own For several years past he has
been, as he is at present, the Superin-
tendent of the gardens of the Depart
ment of Agriculture, and the beauty of
the gardens, considering the brief
period they have been in existence, GER
tainly does credit to his skill and
taste.
The order of the Patrons of Hus-
bandry was first conceived in his mind
some seven years ago. The grand OBJ
jects he had in view were general i'm
provement in husbandry, the promotion
of the welfare and happiness OF those
engaged in agriculture and kindred pur-
suits, and the increase, consequent upon
these, of the general wealth and pros
perity of the country. He had observed
that the popular modes of creating an
interest In husbandry, and of securing
diffusion of knowledge with a view to
its application for the increase of the
products of the soil, were imperfect and
wholly inadequate. He saw that, for
the welfare of the great producing
masses of the country, and for efficiency
In their labors, two things were essen
tial; education, especially instruction
In relation to the best method of pro-
duction and unity of action, and these
two essentials he kept. and still keeps,
steadily in view.
The first remark he made to me, upon
my referring to the great interest the
public was taking in the Order of the
Changers, was, that there was a gross
misunderstanding in the popular mind
as to the main purposes of the order.
He said it was generally supposed that
it was an organization to fight monopo-
lies and to control political action, but
that, so far from this being the case, it
was an organization of the Patrons of
Husbandry for purposes of simple edu-
cation and business, for instruction in
horticulture and agriculture, and for
economy and efficiency in their private
business transactions.
Having settled upon the ends to be
accomplished, he spent two years-1865
and 1S66-in corresponding with the
principal agriculturists of this country
and Great Britain, with the view of in
teresting them in his project. Refer
ring to his correspondence then and
since, which has been very extensive,
he assured me that In itall he had never
made use of a. franked envelope, al
though the franked envelopes Of the
Agricultural Bureau were always at his
disposal. At length, after much labor
and preparation, in December, 1867,
the first grange was organized in this
city, consisting of agriculturists from
various States of the Union. Soon
afterward the Secretary of this first
grange, while, on visit to his friends
In Minnesota, organized the second
grange, and during the fiveyears follow
ing societies were formed to cOnsidera-
bic number In various States. But the
progress of the movement was slow, and
the founder met with numerous dis
couragements. Many oranges dis
banded, failing to realize the great adj
vantages that had beenheld out to them,
and he was obliged to urge the others,
by letter, to hold on. Assuring them
that considerable results could not be
come extensive, but that, they would.
to use his phrase. do big business. y
Mr.. Saunders stated that during the
SIX years when he was seeking to place
before the farmers of the country his
plans for their self-improvement and
self-protection. he sought, with little
success, to enlist the press in the service
of his cause. He said that publishers
seldom cared to hear further of his pro-
ject after he had once informed them
that one of his purposes was to get rid
of the vast number of middlemen-
agents and retailers-who operated be-
tween the manufacturer and the farmer.