Vermont farmer. [volume] (Newport, Orleans County, Vt.) 1870-1877, 1875-06-25

1 ask every fair minded man 10 consider
whether "A Granger I" has given a Just in.
depreciation TO this carefully worded, COM
prehensive, cautious resolution that advises
safeguards, prudence, and wisdom and guar.
anty against loss, and more and above all a
protection Of agricultural interests. When
he says it recommended Congress to build
another Pacific railroad, | fear he intended
to grossly misrepresent.
Again he said they did "nothing TO benefit
the grange" l have before me the proceed
ings Of tho National Grange, a pamphlet Of
one hundred aud forty-four pages, and its
contents show much earnest work, in alter
ing and amending the rules that are so nee
essary TO make our work uniform, 10 settling
points Of variance, in considering appeals for
aid from distressed brothers, and many 9TH
er things. / presume every secretary of a
grange in the state has a copy. That grange
began its session Wednesday morning. On
Thursday il was voted TO confer the sixth
degree on Friday evening at eight o'clock.
What then can be more unjust than to con-
lecture that they "speut a goodly portion of
their time in comforting the seventh degree,
mourning a nice little expense Of 100000
for fourth degree members to pay" OF all
his drivelings this is the most malicious and
false; if any difference can be found in his
statements. The National Grange expenses
at st. Louis in 1874, were S11 ,066.41, (sec
page 1876, National Grange Proceedings)
The national grange voted to allow the ex-
ecutive committee to call the ninth session in
San Francisco if the expense shall not be
over Sl5 1000 TO the national grange. The
exact figures Of the cost Of the session in
Charleston l cannot give, but it was proba.
bly, between $4,000 aud $4,000, aud in
not being able to state it l am not trying to
hide anything from the public. | feel sure
that "a Granger " has set the sum more than
ten times too high to create a prejudice
against the national grange. He says it is
"for fourth degree members to pay" Broth
ers, the money in the national grange treas
ury comes from the oranges when organized
and the fifth, sixth, and seventh degree mem
bers paid as much as any, and, so far from
having il to pay, the national grange gave from
its treasury back TO the differhnt states ovel
Sl5 200 and all the money! in all the treasure,
ho VII III "a SOubiOl VI NuO mCl1OCI vi Nut
order, and there is no danger that grange,
will be assessed TO pay the expenses a
Charleston.
l have not closely considered the subjec,
of grange degrees, but have followed thu
statements Of IA Granger" | do not sc,
evil in the instructive aud suggestive lectures
of a degree. Let any enc who pleases read
our manual through and point out tendency
to evil if it exists. l do not know about tn,
ceremony Of the sixth and seventh degrees
but | know that men and their wives tax,
those degrees and are pleased with them.
will believe that the men who are masters o
the State Oranges are worthy men. Blu
"a Granger" conjectures as boldly as the
English school master, who, when his schol-
ars gathered in wonder around a lobster il
the road said, ''there are only two things |
have not seen-an elephant and a turtlc.dove
and this must be one or the other" and hi
conjectures are as far from the truth.
u. +. JAMESON.