Staunton vindicator. [volume] (Staunton, Va.) 1860-1896, 1875-08-20
1t was not true that the Order wanted
nothing to do with

|
support twenty four when one could do the
business, and it wanted the' privilege OF
choosing its own middemen. Take Staun-
ton for instance: suppose there Was bust
ness enough for one merchant and twenty
five merchants were doing that business
the order proposes to strike off the twenty
four that amt needed (applause]. 1t is
lust twenty-four more men for the farmer
to support. These middle men lived we'll
and thrived, but it was not so with the
small farmer. The small farmer settles in
his little leg cabin and stays there. His
progress, if any, is from IL horse and cart,
down to packing his little produce on the
| horse alone. The merchant opens little
narrow store and soon spreads out in an
elegant mansion. They complain that the
Patrons of Husbandry will reduce them
to poverty. Well, who cares for that-it is
mont of the orders business if they do get
poor-a little poverty won't hurt them.
| laughter and applause] We are playing to
plump out the middleman and those who
don't like our game needn't play with our
THE LADY FEATURE.
The speaker dwelt very eloquently on
| the value of the lady feature of the order,
| opening with an anecdote about the out
| slider who didn't wish his wife to join; he
''didn't want to make IA man of his wife;"
and the reply of the old Granger: "My
| friend, don't know about your making
Il man of your wife, but | am pretty sure
| your wife will meyer make 4 man of you.'
laughter He spoke of the elevated tone
that the presence of ladies gave. to all as
semblages, and Of the marked effect of
their membership on the order of Patrons
OF. Hus bandry. Hepaid an eloquent tribute
to woman during the WARRIOR he owed her
! much, having been IL wounded soldier in
her care He said in Il humorous way that
in the social meetings of the oranges one
woman was worth more than three news
pipers. He dwelt on the
NEIGHBORLY FEELING
begotten by the institution of grangers in
his part of the State. 1t brought about
social intercourse and friendly feeling and
farmers who never knew each other be-
came visitors and interchanged their
views, and farmers who had heretofore
only watched each other with jealous
eve now were kindly, helpful neighbors.
PRACTICAL SAVINGS.
The saving feature Of the order was the
one that applied directly and plainly to the
farmer. In his county they had been en-
;lbled to purchase guano, of which they
used IL great quantity, at $50 less in the
ton. When he told that to the merchants,
now they said to him, well, we can do as
well us that for you; and then he would
reply to them, well, you look back over
your cash book and see how much you
have overcharged and cheated Inc out of
heretofore and We'll talk about trading.
(Applause). We have the arrangement SO
that if Il Door man in our grange wants
ten pounds of anything he can get it as
cheap as if he WAS buying by the hogs
hogshead. He can get Il sewing machine
Tor $35 that the agent charges him $40 for.
Until within the last four months the
grange had no good business system but
now it is perfect and a man can get a
pound of coffee at tine SAME rate as if he
was buying bag. The only trouble with
the order is that there are some men in
it who have ii cousin Or brother in the
dry goods business, and seeing him suffer
tlIry bcgi1 to tirSriK tfraG everybody is GO
ing to be ruined and talk doubtfully about
the success OF the order. These sort of
men are ill the wrong place and should
go out. If business men don't make
money let them 60 to work some other
way. This order is not Il travelling poor
house to support people that don't want to
work. (Applause).
TIE ORDER AND THE LEGISLATURE.
With reference to politics he would as
strt with tile sincerity of IL man of honor
that there were no politics. us the word is
generally accepted in the organization; its
members were no mans partiZans. They
did not ask whether i. man WAS republi-
can or democrat, they only wanted to
know il they were good honest men, good
citizens, good fathers. But while the OF
der has nothing to do with politics, he sby
no means meant to SAY that it had nothing
to do with legislation. And why shouldn't
it? Who was more interested? Look at
the Virginia legislature for the past three
years. Ask them to pass something in the
i'll tine interest of the farmers fence law,
dog law and they have no time But
| here comes along a
| RAILROAD PRESIDENT, p.
| nd hmm, I,a
months of their time to support some cor
poration that has already robbed the State,
and is still fleeing her. They feed the
members on champagne and oysters until
they don't want to- come home, and they
stay there at our expense and have gay
time. We have to pay for it all. They
are on a big frolic, and pass laws while
they are drunk, and then come home, and
Il man has to get drunk, too, to understand
the laws they pass. (Applause.) And yet
you are asked to continue this sort of thing
by your votes! Will you continue it? Will
you not, on the contrary, select your own
men to represent your interests in future?
(Applause.) This sort of talk is pretty
rough medicine. know, for somebody; but
it is my plan. want to cure these fellows
or kill them. I am like the engineer on
the train. 1 blow my whistle all the way
and tell them the train of the Patrons of
Husbaadry is coming and to get off the
track. II they do, all right; if they don't,
then | say like the sentencing Judge,
''May the Lord have mercy on their souls. -
(ApplauS)
The speaker closed with an earnest APP
peal to young Virginians to stay at home
and stand by the old State, which was re-
ceived with loud applause.