Staunton vindicator. [volume] (Staunton, Va.) 1860-1896, 1874-03-27

and another al Chicago. Not one OF then
lived probably more than two months. He
then went to his farm, where his family
lived in Minnesota, and established 3
grange near st. Pauls, which was the first
one that lasted 1t IS now the first grange
on our books and that at Minneapolis is
the second. In the first year there were
ten oranges put in operation, in second Sc
and in the third 3S. In the five years we
have been in operation not more than l0C
oranges were instituted in the first three.
In 1873 there were 10000 oranges institu-
ted, and in January and February of "a
there have been 1000, and now we have
10000 oranges and 81 State organizations,
with Connecticut, Rhode Island and Della
ware as the States that have no organi.
Zation. We are
GROWING BECAUSE WE ARE BECOMING
UNDERSTOOD,
and the best men in the States are in the
oranges. At Lexington Va, have just
organized one, with Col. Paxton as Master.
In North Carolina, where | came from
last, the men, was told, were the best
men in the State, and i'll South Carolina,
the wealth of the agricultural interest of
the State is in it, and it is so all through
the South. Up North at Burlington, OH
Lake Champlain, one grange represents
81 900, 600 of property. To day we have
over 100000 members. Does this
vast assembling of men together mean
nothing Out of 100000 votes in the
the United States 100000 are in the ag-
ricultural interest. Does it mean moth
ing, to see so large class, ignoredby those
who legislate for the country ?
THE MIDDLE MEN-WHERE THE FAR
MERs' PROFITS GO.
In the Northwest where I live, when we
went to market we had to ask the buyers
''what will YOU give" and when we want
ed to buy anything we had to say ''what
will you take''-ours the only interest in the
country that could fix no price Of it's own.
III give you an example OF how they
worked us in Minnesota. We are obliged
there to use vast amount of farm machin-
cry. The manufacturers looked to tie
farmers for purchasers but as they
conldn't see them, they appointed
county agents. The county agent couldn't
see the farmers, so he appointed canvas :
ers who would go through the county, often
worrying the farmer into buying more
than he wanted, and so the farmers got
grossly in debt-frst paying the 10 per cent
for collection, then the county agents COM
mission and then the canvassers commits
sion-all coming out of the farmer. And
more the canvassers being anxious to
make sales, sold to bad customers and these
bad debts were in the end made up in the
price of the machine, thus making A and
B, who paid for their machines pay for C's
who wouldn't pay at ali. If we wrote to
the manufacturers we were referred to the
county agents,
A LITTLE MORE THAN ONE HALF
the money we paid, lodged in the hands of
the middle men. A case in point is that Of
one farmer who bought a machine, made
in Dayton Ohio at SLY, another bought at
$40 and another at $120-the same ma
chine. The master of my grange bought
it at less than one half of the $11O-the
lowest price. We can now reach the man.
ufacturers from a hoe up to a steam engine
at greatly reduced rates. | see you have
sewing machines here. Now can buy a
sewing machine at SIS per cent. less than
YOU pay the agents. We can buy parlor
organs for houses and churches at less than
half of the $3.50 which you have to pay fol
them. The sulky horse rake for which
you pay $125 we get for much less. But
all the manufacturers wont do that. Some
of the sewing machine makers wont do it.
But the day is near at hand when the last
man will come to it. Last year the ILL.,
nois plow makers formed ring to sell at
q certain rate. The grangers resolved not to
use the Deer ploW, and now the maker says
that when his contract is over with the
ring this year he will sell. In Illinois the
grangers asked Mccormick to make an az
about the sale Of his reaper, and
received letter scouting the idea and say
ing "when the grangers could dictate the
prices to merchants for goods i'll their
counties they might dictate the price OF
the reaper" The grangers passed resolu
lutions
NOT 70 BUY HIS REAPER
and to borrow and lend, and mend old rea-
pers and not trouble McCormicks. In Ju-
w last Mccormick came out with a letter,
saving it was his clerk who wrote the first
letter, and that he was now ready to deal
with the grangers. We are the most pow
erful organization of purchasers in the
world but we mean to do no Injustice
Manufacturers must live and we are will
ing to give them their profits. But the
manufacturer sells TO the dealer whose ex-
penses are added to that profit, and the far
mer comes in from the country and pays
both. Just so with goods-the importer
has his profits, the jobber has his, the mer-
chant has his and the farmer pays all three.
Now if we can reach the wholesale dealer
OF make fair terms with the local merchant
we do away with all this. You say to me.
II see you are arraying yourself against
merchants and middle men," We are not
We feel that we have been plucked and
WE WANT SOME SHARE OF THE PROFIT,
Say you have 100000 of dry goods sold
here, and five men could sell them, but
twenty do it, It is the right of the farmer
to dispense with the fifteen who are not
needed. We must have middle men, but
if two will do we don't want three more
That way of doing business is the result
of the tendency of the times. Men like
their ease and they like pleasure and balls
and excursions, and they want to live off
the industry of the country.
Look at capital 1t is not paying its
lust share in the national eXDenditures Ii