The Grange advance., 1874-02-04
WISCONSIN STATE GRANGE.
Annual Address Of the Worthy Maste

Brethren and Members of the State
Grange:
On the 10Th day OF October, 1872.
the State Grange Of Wisconsin was Or
ganized in Portage City. At that time
there were twenty six Oranges in the
State.
A subsequent meeting was held on
the 10th day Of December following, at
Ripon, when the bylaws were adopted,
which provide for the annual meetings
being held on the third Tuesday in
January. At this, the second session
of the State Grange, there are, perhaps,
325 subordinate Oranges in the State,
with membership Of not less than from,
$4,000 to 10000, being an increase of
nearly 300 Oranges since our organiza-
ton, period of scarcely fifteen nonths.
With view Of the probable increase
next year, would call your attention
to the necessity of making 4 change in
the basis of representation to the State
Grange, by reducing it to reasonable
limit, experience, in other States, hav-
ing proved the present liberal represent
tation to be not only very expensive,
but unwieldy In this connection
would direct your attention to sugges-
tions which have been made by Brother
William Orledge, Master Of Kenosha
Grange, No. 208, that the National
Grange should make such alteration in
the organization as would provide for
the County Grange,-the Masters of
the Subordinate Oranges to constitute
the County Grange. There are reasons
to recommend this plan, one of them
being that the representation to the
State Grange might be reduced to a
reasonable limit !; and furthermore, the
Councils, as they are called, are outside
OF the Order now. aud seem to have
grown up out of an absolute necessity.
Some of the Councils in other States
have conformed so far to the general
plan Of the order as to elect officers
with the same names, duties, etc., as
provided for in the Order, thus prepar.
ing themselves to be embraced within
it. The State bylaws need to be re.
! vised, and the State Grange should be
incorporated ; and provisions should be
made fixing the remuneration of such
officers Of the Grange as will require tc
be paid for their services
On the 22d Of July last, an unauthor
lied call having been issued to the
Grange OF the State to take part in a
Convention designed for political action
| deemed it my duty to warn the Or.
der against being committed to partisan
political action, and subsequently called
the Masters Of the Subordinate Oranges
to meet with the Executive Committee
at Watertown to prevent serious conse.
quences and declare the position of the
Order in respect to such action. We
have reason to think that the meeting
resulted to the benefit of the Order
1t is quite clear, however, that the lib.
erty taken by individual members o1
subordinate Oranges to constitute them.
selves council to call conventions of a
political tendency is contrary to the
spirit Of Article IL of the constitution
and if permitted would demoralize the
Order. And there would seem to be d
necessity for some action of the Nation
al Grange, ut its next session, which
would not only define the restrictions
within which the Order should be con.
fined, by amending Article IL, but also
provided for enforcing discipline in this
respect.
The Executive; Committee of the
State Grange of Iowa. invited meeting
at keokuk in October last, to consist
Of the Executive Committees of the
Patrons Of Husbandry for the States in