The Grange advance., 1874-05-20
Portion of the Annual Address BY
Worthy Master Adams, Delivered be-
fore the National Grange, 1874.

past year has been almost exclusively one
Of organization. Iu this direction, it's sue
cess has been such as to excite the constant
wonder Of even its own members, while
those outside the gates have beheld our
growth with undisguisel amazement.
At our las; annual meeting, there were
represented nine State Oranges, having
under their jurisdiction about ] 300 Subor-
dinate Oranges. To-Day there are State
Oranges in thirty-two States and two terri
tories, all Of which are to-day present
through their chosen representatives, and
claim under their jurisdiction nearly r.
600 Subordinate Oranges.
This result has been in the main achieved
through the instrumentality of deputies
had been organized, and by the National
Grange existed. To this army Of faithful
men, who, from ocean to ocean and from
the gulf to the great lakes, have done mis-
sionary work so effective, we owe lasting
debt Of gratitude.
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 mainly Of a nature never
contemplated by the originators Of the
Order. In its inception it was intended to
be chiefly social and educational institu-
tion, something after the nature Of a farm
ers' club. only more comprehensive in its
plan, including both sexes, and rendered
more attractive by pleasing ritual and the
subtle charm Of secrecy.
1t was intended to bring together, at fire.
quent and stated periods, the agricultural
population, to interchange views, discuss
agricultural, literary and scientific ques
tions, and cultivate the social amenities Of
civilized life. In short, it was intended to
improve the standing Of the tillers of the
soil, mentally, morally and socially. As
such it has been and is being a most mag
nifcent success. Though some other fea
lures, which have been engrafted on the
parent stock at a later day, have occupied
more prominent place in the eye Of the
public than this, yet it cannot be de-
MED 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 founda-
ton 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 national or
ganization, that the Subordinate Oranges
be kept up to high standard Of efficiency.
During the first months Of the existence Of
Grange, the novelty, preparation Of re-
gala, and initiation Of new members Sc
cures full and interested attendance. At
ter this, there is often want Of amusing
and instructive exercises, the interest flags,
the attendance falls of, and the Grange
seems to lack vitality.
This matter demands the careful consid-
Grafton of the National Grange. It should
be made the duty Of some branch to pro-
vide plan Of work by which the meetings
Of the Subordinate Oranges will be rem
dered constantly and increasingly attrac-
tive Only thus can the present member
ship be retained and regular increase
secured. My correspondence reveals a
very general feeling among the Subordin-
ate Oranges, that the National Grange
should do something Of this kind, and in
this view I most heartily concur, deeming
it one of the most legitimate and important
of all the works which demand our atten-
tion. This work should be placed in thor
oughly competent hands, for the very ex-
istence 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 how to sell
crops was fully as knotty question as how
to grow them. It came to the conviction OF
members, that we received GO cents for a
bushel of wheat, while the man who ate it
paid S12O for it. We were selling corn at
20 cents per bushel, while the consume,
was paying 80 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, musical instruments, etc., etc., We
were paying from 80 to 200 per cent above
the original cost. We asked ourselves
whether this amazing difference was ne
cessity, or the result Of circumstances ovel
which we had control. The solution O.
this problem soon became leading idea IL
the Order.
Subordinate Oranges, County Councils
and State Oranges have given this ont
point more thoug ght and attention than per
hape any other, and I am happy to know
that satisfactory progress has been made
millions of dollars saved to the members O.
the Order, and still the outlook is, that w
are as yet only on the threshold of thi.
great work. Almost universally we fine
manufacturers and consumers equally anx
ious to be relieved Of so much as is possible
Of the loss in transit occasioned by sur
plus Of middle-men.
Most of those manufacturers Of small az
ricultural implements have been founo
ready to sell direct to Oranges at wholesale
rates. With the manufacturers Of reaperG
and mowers, the case has been different