Marshall County Republican. (Plymouth, Ind.) 1856-1878, 1874-08-20
THE GRANGE.
Address of s. HI. Ellis, Master of the Ohio
State Grange.

The following extracts are from the
address of Worthy Master Ellis, deliv-
cred before the Patrons of Husbandry
on the occasion of their first annual
Harvest Home, at Findlay, Ohio:
The old political organizations, in
themselves, do very little to inform the
people of the real principles. They
labor for mere party monopolies, as a
rule. Something beyond this IS needed
and that something is careful investi-
cation and thought on the part of every
man who dares to vote.
Yet, your oranges are not places in
which the discussion of political CUES
tons are tolerated, although they in
clude men of all shades of polit-
ical opinion. 1 asked an old Shaker, not
long ago, whether they, in taking new
member in the church, required him to
subscribe to any creed. "Nay," he re-
piled. "Then how do you get along?"
"If man will come and live with us,
and conform to our rules, he will come
to believe just as we do" With us
every man can believe as he pleases,
and vote as he pleases. No man dare
ask another why he votes so and so.
We believe that honest men shall be in
office, and you will see the effect of this
belief.
When our Government was formed
there were three branches coordinate
in power-the legislative, the executive,
and the judicial. Now there is the
fourth, which overshadows all-the
lobby. 1t is the power to which rail-
roads and other great corporations
never appeal in vain to get whatever
they want. A power to which railroad
and other corporations pay greater
tribute than it will ever cost to run the
entire grange of the United States. All
changes in laws which affect railroads,
etc., are modified and controlled by the
lobby, so that legislation is, to great
extent, made in favor not of the people.
/ will rot propose that we counteract
these things by sending up another
lobby, but we can send honest men to
Congress, and when we find them there,
keep them in power. Our influence
must be moral influence. Men-our
public servants standing up for u.s..
and fighting corrupt rings, must know
and feel that the people, that the
oranges, will stand by them, and not let
them be sacrificed at the dictation of
any ring or party managers, who are
really influenced to destroy the honest
servants of the people by the lobby
managers who failed to corrupt them.
/ say that our influence on politics and
politicians must be moral influence
tie influence which numbers always
commands. Should any one of you
tender railroad conductor three cents
mile fare, and refuse to pay more, he
might call his brakemen and put you
off. But, should five hundred get
aboard the train and tender this, and
refuse to pay more, you would proba-
bly, go ahead. Should all the farmers
demand reform, or encourage their
servants to fight corruption, it is very
likely they will be heard.
"We come with 10000 granges-a
grand moral power.
"The sectional differences in our
ers than with the laborers, SO that, to-
day, we find most friendly feeling
existing between the North and the
South. It was the leaders who were
ruling--running the machine. We, as
laborers, propose no further quarrel,
but as brothers, to live together in har-
mony, ignoring the wild and terrible
leadership of ambitious men who would
make us war with each other. The
laborers of the country are exercising a
moral power that is being listened to
and felt. If we are true to ourselves, a
reformation as grand as we dare ask
will be ours. ALI is in our power, and
we are accountable for our failure. ]
believe that God has called upon the
farmers to stop the torrent of corruption
that was overlooking our land. Let us,
fellow Patrons, see to it that we exer-
else this power wisely and well.
"Towhat extent cooperative arrange
ments may be entered into depends
wholly upon each subordinate grange
to determine for itself. Many thou
sands of dollars have been saved to the
farmers in buying.
eve have no quarrel with the mid
dlemen. As business was conducted
heretofore they were necessary. The
manufacturer could only reach the con-
sumner by or through agents, and that
at an expense which was very great.
Now we go direct to the manufacturer,
let our wants be known, and buy so as
to dispense with the expense of agents.
We had to foot the bills before"
Thespeaker here enumerated amounts
saved to the farmers In various ceun-
ties, showing valuable work done.
cit is left to each county and each
grange to say whether these benefits
shall be theirs. The amount of reduc-
ton we get would surprise many per-
sons. But right here I desire to eau
ton the Patrons. Many agents of man
ufactrrers who have not made terms
with us, will not unfrequently offer to
sell to you as low or lower than you can
purchase through the grange. This
they do in order to break down your
manner of operation. Do not buy of
such agents, even though they sell at a
third of what it costs them to manu-
facture, for in doing so you demoralize
the operations of the grange. and you
will thus destroy the very thing you
aim to build up. The system of agen-
cies had become great and powerful
one, and it may require much patience
and some inconvenience to substitute a
system for it.
"Though in your individual oranges
you may not seem to be accomplishing