Marshall County Republican. (Plymouth, Ind.) 1856-1878, 1874-02-05
THE YEOMANRY.
Progress of the Grange In the North
western States.
Growth of the Order in Wisconsin,
Minnesota, Michigan and Kansas
What Has Been Done
and is Being Done.
WISCONSIN.

OSHKOSH, WIS, Jan. 27.-The organ
ization known as the Patrons of Hus-
bandry is rapidly spreading among the
rural classes of the country its subor-
dinate oranges are daily being instituted
in States and Territories where twelve
month ago, even the name of the order
was scarcely known to score of yeomen.
Hundreds of thousands are to-day join
ing in its rallying watchword of 'Down
with monopoly" and gloryin the honest
titles of Patrons and the Grange.
In many a rural district where church
facilities were few, and neighborly COM
munion was frequently o term unknown,
where naught but the district election
brought each rustic from his self-im-
posed hermitage, and the women were
drudged week in and year out, with but
little to cheer beyond the unenlivening
"chat of their "better" halves, the
grange to-day has wrought a miracle.
Now, upon the common floor of the
grange hall, where the CHEEKY terms of
"brother and "sister" are the only
greetings, the stern iapors of daily life
are forgotten for the nonce; local
prejudices and common jealousies are
dispelled men and women learn that
there are others in the world besides
themselves, and fully as deserving of
the Creators blessings, and their SYM
pathies. The result is, that nearly a
million OF men and women are better
and truer for the advent of the grange !;
and, as a consequence, the world is bet
ter for the order having existed, even
were it to die tomorrow.
But, looking beyond this great and
enobling feature of the order, we find
ment almost without limit, needing only
strong minds and ready hands at the
wheel to guide its course in the proper
channel. We are informed by statisti-
clans that about three fifths of the pop
ulation of the United States are engaged
in rural pursuits yet, Notwithstanding
the great preponderance of the farming
class, it has ever been held down, po-
litically and financially, by the minority.
The reasons are simple. The yeomen,
like q broken horse, knew not their
strength, and were uaOrganized, while,
on the other hand, the minority, being
organized, was the stronger element of
the two. The order of Patrons affords
a means for hitherto homogeneous mass
to unite under well and truly-organ-
lied system.
Although one of the latest of the
Western States to strike hands with its
sisters In the movement, Wisconsin
claims and is awarded a prominent place
in the councils of the order. 1t might
be well, at this point, before enlarging
on its work In our State, to give short
sketch of the history of the grange In
Wisconsin.
As early as the latter part of 1870,
DIR. Burnham was commissioned by the
National Grange to organize subordin-
ate oranges in the State of Wisconsin.
The order was then comparatively un-
known to the people of the country, and
then only through some semi-occasional
straw in the weekly press. Hence the
work of organization progresses slowly
indeed. Deputy Burnham managed,
however, to organize a few-scarcely
Observation-Disclosures oranges most of
them in the sandy wastes of Waushara
and Portage counties. In the summer
of 1871, a meeting was held at Plain
field, Waushara county, at which State
grange was organized; or rather partly
organized, for the system then in vogue
seemed to be imperfect in the extreme.
Discussions then arose among the State
officials the deputies proved incompe-
tent, and failing to see good In the or
ganization, the work was voluntaril sus-
pended. In July, 1872, General Deputy
j. G. Abbott, of Iowa, was sent 70 re-
suscitate the order in Wisconsin, if pos
sible, because we would have quit the
work disheartened had not one solitary
grange Forward, No. 5, of this city,
volunteered to reorganize, which it did
in the following month. Although but
three of its original thirteen members
were sufficiently interested to take hold
of the matter, the deputy was encour-
aged, and from that nucleus the work
spread until to-day, Is months from that
time, the subordinate oranges in the
Otate NUMBER olU, With TOTAL MEMBER
ship of nearly 49,, 900 souls.
Grand Master Cochrane, In his ad-
dress to the State Grange, says:
"On the 10Th day Of October, 1872, the
State Grange of Wisconsin was organized in
Portage City. At that time there were twen-
ty-six oranges in the State.
"a subsequent meeting was held on the 10th
day of December following, at Ripon, when
the bylaws were adopted, which provide for
the annual meetings being held on the third
Tuesday Of January. At this, the second ses-
sion Of the State Grange, there are. perhaps,
325 subordinate oranges in the State, with .
membership of not less than from Ii, 900 to
20, 900, being an increase Of nearly 800 oranges
since our organization. period of scarcely
fifteen months. With view to the probable
increase next year, would call your attention
to the necessity Of making change in the
basis Of representation of the State Grange,
by reducing 1T to q reasonable limit expe-
rience in other States, having proved the pres
emit liberal representation to be net only very
expensive, but unwieldy.
ION the I'D of Jnly last, an unauthorized
call having been issued to the Grange of the
State to take part in q convention cesigned for
political action, / deemed it my duty to warn
the order against being committed to partisan
political action, and subsequently called the
Masters of the subordinate oranges to meet
with the Executive Committee at Watertown
In prevent eerious coneeouencoa and doclara