Vermont farmer. [volume] (Newport, Orleans County, Vt.) 1870-1877, 1874-12-18


Dr. Hoskins' assertion in the Republican,
a few days ago, that the Denisou men in the
boiling convention at White River Junction
"made no secret Of their determination to
return to Poland rather than support Col.
Mead" calls to mind the fact that he made
a similar statement in the Montpelier Jour.
nal of Nov. 8. lie there said, speaking of
the Patrons:
In gathering round Col. Mead they were
acting intelligibly rs u third party. But
when they and their brother boilers from
the White River Junction Convention met,
and they found that they were not only in
the minority, but that the majority faction
was not merely indifferent, us the Judge
was assumed to be, but bitterly hostile to tho
farmers movement, openly declaring that
under no circumstances would they help to
elect Mead. what, we ask, was their situa.
ton, and what their obvious duty us sensible
menp Was it not either to secode from the
seceders, and adhere to their candidate
through thick and thin, or to drop out of tho
canvass altogether until they could rally suf-
ficient strength to make u new and inde-
pendent startP Such seemed to be the view
for Mead. which very nearly represented the
voting strength of the oranges. But the
leaders had no such idea. They sold out to
Denison, and so discouraged the rank and
file that ut the second trial the granger vote
went en- mdSSe to Denison.
In the first place, the DR.. tells no.such.
thing, whether ignorantlY or Intentionally is
of little moment, when he charges the Deni-
son boilers with "openly declaring that un-
der no circumstances would they help to
elect Mead" The matter was talked over
in the boiling convention before the ballot
and it was agreed: First, that there was
no use in voting for any one save Mead or
Denison and, second, that the one receiving
the most votes on the first ballot should be
their candidate. This last agreement was
made toithout a dissenting eoice as all who
engaged in the boiling convention were de-
termined not to support Poland in any
event.
The next misstatement is where he claims
that the 665 votes which were cast for
Mead Every nearly represented the voting
strength of the grangers." We claim
that the strength of the grangers in this dis
trict is much larger than thus represented.
The vote could not be usedin computing the
strength Of the Patrons, for the reason that
the Patrons did not, as charged by Hoskins,
in the same article quoted IRON above, seek
"to unite upon candidate Of their own"
thus "as grangers violating their principles. D."
They did not NEEDLE with politics, as grang-
ers, and the charge is false and needless
one which DIR. Hoskins, protesting to be
friend to the order, kneW better than to
make. He closed his article with the fol-
lowing sneering queries
And what in any form, have the grangers
to show, of which they can be proud. rs the
result of this first venture in the field of
politics. Have they not been ploughed
with simply, for the benefit of certain selfish
polilciansP
We took no notice of these slanderous at
tacks on the order at the time because they
appeared in a paper avowedly opposed to
the order of Patrons at time when the edi-
tor was casting about for some scapegoat
upon which to throw the blame for his
brothers defeat, and whose circulation and
influence were not of Importance enough to
have much effect But seeing the DIR. per-
sists in his abuse and Misrepresentation of
the order, accusing it of having been prosti-
tuted to political ends in this state, and
using paper so well known as the RepuJH.
can as the vehicle of that abuse, we have
felt impelled, in justice to the Patrons Of
Husbandry in Vermont, to make this plain
statement of facts.
And this man, after speaking of the Pat
by the Denison leaders and $50 discouraged
rank aud file that at the second trial the
granger vote went en- masse to Denison,"
talks in the Republican about the confidence
which the grangers had in the VERMONT
FARMER under his management, but which
is failing so fast now, "under another man
agement!" Perhaps when he assumes the
editorial supervision Of the Watchman'S ag-
ricultural department, he will inspire them
with a similar confidence in that sheet, but
we rather think if he does he will have to
change his hand and cease making such
base and groundless charges against the or
der as he has DONE How refreshing it will
seem to see hun advocating the cause of the
farmers after the abuse he has heretofore
heaped upon them, and more especially in
paper which, after the September election,
said
1t is said by those who profess to know
that this result as well rs some others OF
like kind, was brought about by that I'M
known quantity, the granger element. If
this is so, the granger has shown himself
equal to ways that are dark, to policies that
are peculiar, AID to results over which only
ignorance and folly can boast. And here
we may rs well bear our testimony against |
the granger us not We may respect him rs
Il man, but aOe dislike and condemn him as q
granger, bringing to bear secret organiza- |
ton and class feeling upon the politics Of
the state. There is rs much pro-
priety, abstractly, in the Ku-Klux as in the
Good Templar, or the granger, ms secret
association, designed 10 mass men for politi- |
cal action. If the grangers did
this thing IN the second district, then the less
Vermont has of the granger the better
PATRONS AND SOVEREIGNS.
A o. In aLra "a