The Emporia news. [volume] (Emporia, Kan.) 1859-1881, 1874-05-01
THE sOYEREIGNs OF INDUSTRY.

It is only a matter of elgh
months since the Republican sug
gested to Deputy Abbott that tn,
grange, in a modified form, nigh
very wen move into town; that i
social intercourse and CO opera
ton were good for the men OF
farms, they must be good for thu
men in the workshops and facto
ries, too. It is not yet twl
months since this suggestion bore
visible fruit in the organization IL
this city of the first couHcil of the
Sovereigns of Industry. Yet, in
this short time, this vigorous
young order has sent its shoots to
the Pacific and the Gulf. Coun.
ellis have been established in elev.
en- States of the Union, commits
stoned deputies are at work in ten
other States; and, to-day, the na-
tional council is in special session
in this city, simply because the
unexpected and astonishing
growth of the order has made fur
Their consultation and legislation
necessity.
As some rather wild gossip has
got into print, it may be well to
state, just here, that the debates
and proceedings of the council,
thus far, have been harmony it
self, and promise to continue so to
the end of the chapter.
For the benefit of the inatten-
tive and forgetful reader, we will
again explain what the order is,
and what it is for. The "sov-
ereign" is the city cousin of the
''patron." His council" is the
complement of the others
grange" It has the same two
fold character of social club and
cooperative society. 1t has the
same objects-to cheaper the ne
cessities of life by eliminating the
middle man and bringing produc-
or and consumer together; to pro-
mote intimate social intercourse
among people engaged in like per
suits, and having common inter-
ests; in a word, to benefit the
workingman in mind, heart and
pocket. 1t CONSTITUTES the word
"working-man" very literally,
opening its doors to professional
men, manufacturers and employ
ers of any kind, provided it finds
In them sympathy with its pur-
poses and reverence for the digni-
ty and just rights of labor. It
values and uses secrecy simply as
an additional safeguard against
the intrusion of people who are
not wanted-spies and emissaries
of the enemy. It is free from
any trace of communism; indeed,
hopes in time to so modify the re-
lations between capital and labor
as to Danish the noun strike
from the newspaper vocabulary.
1t is non-political; but it aims to
make the individual Sovereign"
more of q man, to shake up his
brains, to get him into the habit |
of thinking for himself, and so to
make him better citizen, a more
intelligent and independent voter.
Little doubt is entertained that |
the ''sovereigns" and "grangers,"
as they come to know each other |
better, will be very good friends, |
and will get along together nicely. |
Certainly, there is no apparent |
reason why they should not, and
every apparent reason why they
should. The council is not to
be run as an opposition shop to
the "grange;" the greatest care
will be taken to avoid even the
of rivalry. This is
well understood by the officers of
the national grange, and the gen.
eral purchasing agents of the
patrons have offered to buy for
the "sovereigns" on the same
terms. This, of itself, is a great
point gained for the new order,
and will go far towards insuring
its popularity and success. Its
founders talk very sanguinely
about it, seeing in it a sort of
Moses rod that is to swallow up
and assimilate all the other labor
organizations = always excepted
the grange. They have a reason
to give for the faith that is in
them, too; in fact, a number of
reasons.-Springfeld Republican.