The Grange advance., 1874-06-17
The Grange Not q tsDark Lantern.
Affair.

From time to time granger asks for
and obtains demit from his grange. 1t is
not expected he shall assign any reasons
therefor. So long as he deports himsel:
properly his brothers are glad of his aid
and companionship but if for reasons of
his own he withdraws, his friends bid him
farewell with kind affection.
Our thoughts are called to this subject
in order to make brief reply to an article
going the rounds Of the public press recap
itulating the reasons why a Mr.. Green
withdrew from the order. Mr.. Green says
he abandoned the P. of H. because after he
had worked with them for time he found
there were men at the head of the order
not so pure and heavenly as his imagina-
ton had pictured them, and upon this
discovery he demitted himself out of the
order.
In measure Mr.. Green may be right.
Some of the men may lie far behind angelic
perfection they may be less fitted for the
places t 2y occupy tl4an others who could
be selected but this fault is temporary,
and can be renedied at any annual e,ec-
ton of officers, and at most it can be no
argument against the excellence of the Or
ganization. Even if it could he proved
that bad men invented the scheme OF grange
life for sinister purposes, the host OF good
people who quickly embraced it thwarted
their intentions for evil, and forced them
to assume virtue" as a necessity.
The public charge by Mr.. Green is the
first hint we have seen imputing wrong mo-
tives to the founders of the order. and this
we regard as carrying no weight whatever.
The grange is not governed by individuals,
but by national and state constitutions.
There is no arbitrary power controlling the
order, and if Mr. Green had carefully read
the preamble to tie National Constitution
of the order of P. of H. he would have
found a synopsis of the philosophical
principles, or elements Of political science,
which uhderlies the tEeory of this new
feature in agricultural life. 1t lays down
as an axiom that human happiness is the
acme o. earthly ambition" That" knowl-
edge is the foundation Of happiness" A
system OF social organization that cultivates
and strengthens the mind; that puts it
in pursuit of knowledge, and aids it
in that pursuit is certainly not striving to
enslave the mind or envelop it in mys-
terry. Oranges, according to the preamble,
band together for " mutual instruction -;
for protection for "diffusing knowl-
edge"; to expand the mind" and trace
the laws Of Nature from " Nature up to
Natures God.''
If bad men invented this system, for an
evil purpose, they made a huge blunder
by introducing all the cardinal virtues and
omitting the vices. Beside, the officers are
all elective and may be held accountable
for misconduct. The elementary truths
enumerated by the National Grange, when
applied as rule of lite, are as eternal as
the stars. The grange may perish, but the
principles can never die.
AS these beautiful principles cannot be
too well understood or appreciated we give
a further illustration:
The ultimate object of this organiza-
| tion is for mutual instruction and protec-
tion !; to tighten labor by acquiring knowl-
edge of its aims and purposes; expand the
mind by tracing the beautiful laws the
Great Creator has established in the uni
verse. and to enlarge our views Of Creative
wisdom and power"
The man whose blinded see pticism can
find evil in such pursuits should be pitied
or despised for his wilful infatuation to
error. Political demagogues are also busy
working up hostility to the order by mag
nifying imaginary evils of their own crea-
ton that may grow out of the secret -
feature OF grangerism. Mr.. Wright of
Iowa has introduced into the United States
Senate petition to disqualify grangers
from holding Office under the government,
and in places societies are Icing formed for
| much the same purpose. Now the secret
! feature is one of the most beautiful charms
of this new mode Of country life. 1t is a
powerfully cohesive element, for through
this means patrons can utilize to their own
advantage the benefits for which the order
was created. The brotherhood supports
the weak and assists the needy. The af-
ficted find relief, comfort and hope. The
grange devises means to increase the ma
terial property of the healthy, and relieve
| the wants of the sick and unfortunate II