The Grange advance., 1873-11-19
The Secrecy Feature of the Patrons
MiSapprehended.

Misapprehended.
Our readers will observe, in this issue.
two communications from correspondents,
who, like many other worthy persons,
seem to have mistaken notions on the sub
ject Of the Farmers Movement, especially
as respects the secrecy feature of the Order
Of Patrons or Husbandry. These letters
We admit to our columns in accordance
with our usual custom of allowing the
widest possible scope to discussion, and as
tending to bring out more forcibly the
real objects of the movement.
The Oranges Of Patrons of Husband
ry form but one wing of the great army
of farmers who are engaged in this move
ment. Farmers Clubs, Farmers Unions,
Farmers Cooperative Societies, are all
part and parcel Of the organization.-
The individual farmer can choose the Or
ganization he likes best. The Patrons
of Husbandry is the only Order Of which
secrecy is feature and the secrecy en-
joined among the Patrons is but slight.
There is, apparently, a widespread i'm
preston abroad that the Patrons are Il
sort Of Carbonari or are members of a
kind of Vehm Gericht, sworn to advance
the interests Of their organization by any
means, fair or foul that they are bound
by terrible oaths sworn on dagger-hilts,
skulls and crossbones to assassinate any
one whom mysterious secret council de-
sires out Of the way that their con-
claves are held at midnight, the officials
being clad in scarlet robes and impene-
I trably masked that there the office of
poignarding the luckless wiz ght who has
incurred the condign displeasure of the
Order is thrust, willy-nilly, upon some
neophyte Granger, whose head is the
surety of his obedience, all this, because
| the Patrons choose occasionally to exclude
outsiders from their business delibera-
: tions.
No one, we presume, would question
the right of an individual to use re.
volver upon a highwayman who attacks
with the same weapon. This case, which
one Of our correspondents used to illus
trate the secrecy feature, is not a gooo
one as applied to the Farmers Move
ment. Certainly violence is not advo
Gated, but simply lawful resistance to thu
consolidation Of great corporations to tn,
: injury Of the people.
The fact that railroads, and monopo
lists generally, have secret understanding,
, with each other, is too well known t
need much telling. The merchant let,
no one know his private trademarks
neither does he permit any one but hi
employees to know the state of his books
business, etc. Why is an organization
Of farmers bound to expose its inner
: most workings to the world?
There is, undoubtedly, danger tha,
. bad men will seek to divert the Farmers
movement to their own aggrandizement
SO far, however, it has been with inditfer
ent success. The real object of the up
rising of the farmers,-or rather of tn,
industrial classes, for it must eventual,
come to this, is not as against the rail
roads on behalf of the people, although
this has been made one of the prominent
t features; it is as against the power O
gigantic monopolies Of every kind, which
through the Capitalization and consoli
dation of capital, bribes politicians O
every grade and party, to subserve thei
i ends.- Western Rura1.
The NEBRASKA PATRONS AMI
THEIR PRoDUcE-The Central U,,io,
Agricsslturist Of Omaha, Neb., says -
+ We are credibly informed that Grangers
in this vicinity have been shipping thei,
own wheat to Baltimore, and realized
; .05 per bushel net, and that for tn,
: much abused Arnautka or Russian
wheat. Some person must be making
money, when our grain-buyers only pay
: seventy-fve to eighty cents per bushe
l here .... =. ..
New GRANGE PAPER.-The new Grane,
7 paper, The ADVANCE, published at Rec
Wing, is we'll up to the times, and if i
holds out as it has begun will more thar
! repay the cost to the Patrons. The frs
! copy is running over with good things ant
just what the Patrons need to concentrat,
; their efforts in one channel. Janesville AZ
gus, Waseca Co.