Clarksville weekly chronicle. (Clarksville, Tenn.) 1873-1890, 1874-02-14
THE GRAND MASTER TO THE
ORANGES. 1
Address Of Dudley w. Adams at st.
Louis, February 4th.

Louis, February 4th.
Brothers and Sisters ofthe NationalGrange:
In conformity to our constitution,
We have convened in annual meeting
to counsel and act for the good of our
order.
The work of the National Grange
for the past year has been almost ex-
clusiveH one of organization. In this
direction its success has been such as
to excite the constant wonder of even
its own members, while those outside
the gates have beheld our growth with
undisguised amazement.
At our last annual meeting there
were represented nine State Oranges,
having under their jurisdiction about
1900 subordinate Oranges. To-day
there are State Oranges in thirty-two
States. two territories, and the Prov
ince of Quebec in the Dominion of
Canada, all of which are to-day pres
ent through their chosen Representa-
tives, and claim under their iurisdic-
ton nearly 1900 subordinate Oranges
in America. n
This result has been in the main
achieved through the fundamentally
of deputies appointed by the State
Oranges where such had been organ
lied and by the National Grange in
these States where no State Grange ex-
listed. To this army of faithful men,
who, from ocean to ocean and from
the gulf to. and even beyond the great
lakes, have done missionary work so
effective, we owe lasting debt of graf
itude.
The causes which have led to this
great uprising which have rendered
the work of organization possible and
even easy are few but grave, and main
| ly of a nature never contemplated by
the originators of the order. In It's
inception it was intended to be chiefly
a social and educational institution,
something after the nature of a farm
ers' club, only more comprehensive IN
its plan, including both sexes and rem
dered more attractive by a pleasing
ritual and the subtle charm Of
secrecy.
1t was intended to bring together al
frequent and stated periods the agri-
cultural population, to Interchange
views, discuss agricultural, literary and
scientific questions, and cultivate the
social amenities of civilized life. In
short, 1t was intended to improve the
standing of the tillers of the soil, men
tally, morally and socially. As such il
has been and is being a most magnif-
| cent success. Though some other
features, which have been engrafted
on the parent stock at later day
have occupied more prominent place
in the eye of the public than this, YET
it cannot be denied that none are Of
equal importance to the permanent
welfare of the order and its members
for. really, moral WORTH. mental power
and social culture lie at the foundation
of all real progress.
There is danger that, in graphing
with the gigantic questions of the hour
we may lose sight of the rock on which
we builded.
1t is of prime Importance in order
to maintain the strength of the ma
tional organization that the subordi-
nate Oranges be kept up to high stan.
dard of efficiency. During the first
months of the existence of Grange
the novelty, preparation of regalia and
initiation of new members secures q
full and interested attendance. After
this there is often a want of amusing
and instructive exercises, the interest
flags, the attendance falls off and
the Grange seems to lack vital
ity.
This matter demands the careful con.
sideration of the National Grange L
should be made the duty of some
branch to provide plan of work by
which the meetings of the subordinate
Oranges will be rendered constantly
and increasingly attractive. Only thu:
can the present membership be re.
tanned and a regular increase secured
My correspondence reveals very gen.
eral feeling among the subordinate
Oranges that the National Grange
should do something of this kind, and
in this view 1 most heartily concur
deeming it one of the most legitimate
and important of all the works which
demand our attention. This work
should be placed in thoroughly com
petent hands, for the very existence Of
the order depends upon vigorous and
healthy subordinate Oranges.
When the first subordinate Oranges
had been organized, one of the first
and most proper subjects for discussion
was how to make two blades of grass
grow where one grew before. During
these discussions the fact soon became
prominent that how to sell crops was
fully as knotty question as how to
grow them. 1t came to the conviction
of members that we received 60 cents
for bushel of wheat, while the man
who ate it paid 81 20 for it. We were
selling corn at 20 cents per bushel,
while the consumer was paying 50 cents
for it. In what we bought there was
the same discrepancy between first cost
and what we were obliged to pay. For
mowers, sewing machines, plows, musi-
cal instruments, &c, &c, we were pay
ing from 30 to 200 per cent above the
original cost. We asked ourselves
whether this amazing difference was a
necessity or the result Of circumstances
ever which we had control The solu-
ton of this problem soon became a
leading idea in the order.
Subordinate Oranges. county coun-
ellis and State Oranges have given this
one point more thought and attention
than perhaps any other, and | am hap
py to know that satisfactory progress
has been made-milions of dollars
saved to the members ofthe order, and
still the cutlery is, that we are as yet
only on the threshold of this great
work. Almost universally we find
manufactures and commerce equally
anxious to be relieved of so much as
i possible of the loss in transit coca
stoned by a surplus of middle
men.
Most of those manufacturers of
small agricultural implements have
been found ready to sell direct to
Oranges at wholesale rates. With the
manufacturers of reapers and mowers,
the case has been different, not that
they were unwilling to do so from any
principle or prejudice, but no one State
was strong enough to show them they
could offer more certain market for
their wares than could be obtained
through their present system of agen
cies. tH-t
In such cases as these it is the duty
of the National to lend its aid to the
State Oranges, or by itself grapple with
the difficulty. The subject of coop