The aegis & intelligencer. [volume] (Bel Air, Md.) 1864-1923, 1873-10-24
The Patrons of Husbandry.

SOME PROMINENT FEATURES OF THE ORDER
The order, as it at p: esent exists, has
three distinct and prominent features
namely, the social, the intellectual and the
business. Ofthe social feature, Mr. Saun-
ders, late Master of the National Grange
at the annual session of that body in 1870
said, in an address recapitulating the OBJ
jects Of the society: ITO make country
homes and country society attractive, re-
fined and enjoyable ; to balance exhaustive
labor by instructive social amusements and
accomplishments is part of our mission
and our aim Ofthe admission of women
he said in the same address "Their as
sistance in the workings of the Order is
proving of incalculable value; it is indeed
doubtful whether the objects of the insti-
tuition, especially in regard to the refine
ments of education, and all that tends to
brighten hearths and enliven homes could
have been accomplished without her pres
ence and aid" In one. Of tue circulars
sent out by the National Grange it is fur
ther said in defence of the female feature
"Every husband and brother knows that
where he can he accompanied by his wife
or sister, no lessons will be learned but
those of purity and truth" One of the
pleasant social features of the Oranges is
the feasts provided by the ladies once a
month. In some parts of the West these
banquets take the form of picnics in the
woods. They are quite popular and have
doubtless done much toward swelling the
membership of the order.
The Grange room is q kind ofmoral club
room for the enjoyment Of both sexes.
There is much music in the ritual to enli-
ven the ceremonies, and many of the Oranges
possess libraries for the amusement and in
struction of its members. This, it is calcu-
lated, naturally has a tendency to prevent
young men from leaving a rural life where
they possess comfortable competence for
precarious competition in the large cities.
The Order proposes to abolish the COM
missions of the middlemen as far as it is
practicable to do so, and deal directly with
the manufacturers and consumers. 1t also
proposes in localities where it may be
deemed necessary, to reduce fares and
freights on railroads by system of co-ope-
ration, and to promote the interests of the
agricultural classes in every legitimate and
honorable way that may suggest itself.
One of the cardinal principles of the Or
der is to buy for cash. Ii a worthy men,
Der of the Order desires to make pur-
chase, but is not possessed of the means,
the Grange to which he belongs advances
the money. 1t is common for deputies of
the Order to make arrangements for the
purchase of certain articles by members of
the Grange, at wholesale rates, and they
are always to instruct the manufacturer or
producer not to fill any single order for
goods unless it is signed by the Master and
Secretary Of the Grange, bears the seal of
the same, and is invariably accompanied
by the cash. Some four hundred deputies
whose expenses have been paid, but who
have received no compensation for their
services, have been sent out by the State
and National Oranges within the past five
years, to act in the capacity Of intermedia-
ries between the farmers and manufacturers,
tradsmen, transportation companies, &c.