Belmont chronicle. [volume] (St. Clairsville, Ohio) 1855-1973, 1873-10-02
THE Massey LET GERS.
uome Trouble Occurs in Mr.. Mas
by's Grange-.T'ie Honest
Farmers Move for
their Riehts.
Beer STATIor

N.<~--
BREr STAIIor
(which ia in the state Nv Illinoy.
\" .' August q. .S73.
Things Amt workin' ez SID Doth wit
ms ez / could wish, in our movemer
for the releef NV the ..har a-handed as
r;eultoorists nv nlinoy, We hev mad
some blanders ounel- ses, and beside:
the farmers their elves didn't sho,
that abstract ent 'aeosiasm witch want
ed TO see. They are too much devote'
tothiHgspp rely pursonal to take broa'
svisws nv things. -
Our rust misforchoon occurred in tn
electiou us officers NV our Grange.
GET q list of the officers, and we Wen
on on to FIJI 'em. g Mr.. Cephas Billins wa
= - saiiecsed Mastnr; Mr. Pettus, Treasurer
!. MI nj, Bisthers, Secretary, and the othe
= principal Eofiees wuz filed by othe
gentlemen who woedent decline ;
Ycophfyoms ief they wuz urged hare
&c enuf. - I=-z- - ;s,E5.r-. p y 80
"Wat am to hev?" 1 asked.
, 9 BiIIins ran hisintellectooal eve dowr
: the list.
81 "Woud it SCOT you to be Flora?" he
replied.
"Anythingw wuz my answar.
Whereupon Z wuz elected Flora, and
the list xuz published in the county
papers.
There wuz guffaw all over the coun-
try. Not one of US knowed that Flora
wuz a female! knowledge is power
The idee of my being a Flora-the god
dess NV Flowers, and sichl I mite ez
well put on a white muslin dress, with
low neck and shcrt sleeves, ana stand
In Taboo ez the Goddess NV Liberty!
But we endoored the lafture of the
populis at this little blunder, and went
to work viggerusly to drum up recroots.
We held daily meetings in the back
room of the Jackson Hotel, discussin
the wrongs NV the laborin classes. To
see US there wuZ a site witch shood hev
melted the hearts NV the laborin men.
Billinses favorite attitude wuz leanin
ON his elbows on temprary bar. Put
tus, lying on a long table, at full length
mournfulIy victim his lips ever and
anon with q little whisky and water,
while Blathers wuz tipped back in a
q cheer, with his feet on a winder sill,
where he Good see the sons Nv toll,
whose interests he wuz watchin over, q
sweatin in a distant field.
ssObserve," said Blathers, "that hon.
est yeomanry putin in ibis unrequit-
ted toll. My sole aches for him."
And to drown his sorrows at the site,
Mr.. Blathers ordered glass Nv whisky,
remarkin to the landlord in the most
aasentminded manner to jist chalk ii
down, wich the landlord, hevin heerd
the concloodin sentence Nv the order,
in an ekally absent.minded manner
didn't bring the likker at all His on
feelin remark wuz that he was iist out
nv chalk! t
That afternoon got hold NV three
farmers, anG had long and satifactory
talk with them. They were incensed
agin monopolies, and were ready to
line in movement to bust EN-. told
EN- uv our new organizashun, and in
vited EN- to come with me and enroll
themselves with choice band Nv noble
sperits, who wuz a-goin to bust their
bonds and elevate labor to its proper
place.
klaAre 700 willin to jine sieh a holy
croosade?p I demanded. care yool
willin to jine an organizashen wich will
give the farmers NV the country pro-
per reward for their labor, wich will
give EN-, in short, wat belongs to emp"
"We air! we air!" said they in korious.
'"Fhen, come with me-" sed j.
I ushered em into the back room of
the Jacksonville Hotel.
e.Bilins, Blathers, Pettus," yelled,
exuitingly, shere is three honest yeo-
many who hes bin ground into the
dust by thievin' monopolies, who want
their rites-here is three recroots for
our noble army of freemen!"
Itstruck me at the time that my
friends did not look so exultant ez they
should, that they wore the general ap-
pearslnce NV three men who wood hev
liked 70 hev bin somewhere else.
"Mr. BiIlins,n said farmer No. /
"you propose to give the farmers wat
Is their doc, do yoo?'
ssMr. Blathers, you are agoin' to
restore to the farmers wat is their own,
amt yoo? sed farmers No. 2.
aMr Pettus you propose to help to
restore to labor wat belongs to it, don't
yoo?'
Certainly sed Billins, Blather,
and Pettus, ez white ez sheets.
"Then commence in this holy croo-
SADIE by payin' me for the load NV hay
I sold yoo eight years ago. sed tie
infooriated man, seezin Billins by the
throat.
PAY me for the load NV potatoes yool
bought of me last winter" shouted No.
2, seezin Blathers.
= Pay me for the load NV wood
drawd yoou last fall, waz year ago.
shouted No. 3, g(in' for Pettus.
The farmers didn't git their pay, and
we hev abandoned all LopeS nv sekoor-
in them. where amt no use NV sym
pathisers with labor tryin to do any-l
thing with men who take sich narrer
and grovelin views NV things ez the
men do. Principles are broad and
general in their nacher, and can not be
,brot down TO sieh small matters ez
,Wood, potatot,ss and hay OntiI men
kin be made broader our labors will be
vain. Can't Pettus, Blathers, and Bill
1ins srmIlaf hize with lahor iist OF ,aalI