The Weekly Kansas chief. [volume] (Troy, Kan.) 1872-1918, 1875-08-26
AGranger On the Grange.

| We have several times mentioned the difficult
| ty we have found in obtaining any information
| respecting the business operations of the order
known as Patrons of Husbandry. We have sell
| dom seen a body of men who surrounded them
| selves with such an oppressive atmosphere of
| mystery as the Executive Committee of the
| State Grange, which met few weeks since in
| thes city.
The clouds and darkness in which this awful
body enveloped itself have not yet been dissipa-
| ted, and the ouly information we have been able
| to gather respecting the results of weeks dark
deliberations is embodied in this single sentence
| from the Kansas Farmer: '"The Executive Com
mittee of the Kansas State Grange, after "a ses-
sion of seven days, adjourned without fOrcshad-
owing single business idea"
When official representatives of any society or
order decline to give the newspapers information
respecting matters which the public is interest
ed in knowing, then the newspapers must, per-
force, get along with such information as they
may acquire from unofficial sources. For this rea-
son We have read with no little interest three
column communication in the Kansas City Times
of the 11th inst, signed, "Tillman Everett, Mas
ter of Eureka Grange, johnson County, Kansas"
Mr.. Everett's utterances seem entitled to no.
tice, from the circumstance that his style indi-
Gates that he is person of general information,
while his official position implies that he posses
scs the confidence of his brethren, and that he is
in a situation to know the inner workings of his
order.
Mr.. Everett, after some general reflections,
proceeds to discuss the character of the National
Grange. This body he declares to be "self-cOn-
stituted, dOgmatic, and exclusive in it's nature"
composed of "salary -grabbers" who, "instead of
putting down monopoly are fostering it," who,
with supreme arrogance, claim to advocate the
cause of farmers interests, whilst, at the same
time, they are plundering the grange treasury"
Mr.. Everett, not satisfied with these charges,
indulges in the following specifications
Members of the National Grange, for their ser
vices during the session held in St. Louis in the
Ta A.
10 cents per mile of travel, and S. for every 500
miles travelled both ways, besides money to pay
their hotel bills Masters of State Oranges, and
their deputies, each receive So for organizing
sub-granges in their own Counties. This work
is usually performed by mon of little ability, and
yet they receive for such ser~tces of two three
hours work as much as a common farmer could
make in one or two weeks. "This is equal and
exact justice with a vengence"
Mr.. Everett further says that "abOut half
million dollars has been paid into the National
Grange treasury" and that there is "grave cause
for anxiety" in regard to this money. He AYERS
that too much of this money has gone in the
shape of exorbitant salaries, and that the
payment of these salaries is "a shameful outrage
on farmers, who are bound to support these
drOnes who are fostering vampire the bos-
oms of sub-grange members, sucking their life
blood, they receiving but little or nothing in
turn" This sucking process, Mr.. Everett insists,
Is now in more vigorous operation than ever the
pay of officers having been increased at the last
meeting of the National Grange, at Charleston,
South Carolina.
Mr.. Everett AYERS that the State Grange insti-
tuition is also fraud, in that the law under
which it is established is .'anti-republcan in
principle and aristocratic npower and tendency"
and he declares that the same objection holds
against fifth degree or County oranges.
To sum up, Mr.. Everett considers the County
and State oranges and the National grange as
humbugs and the last in particular as a salary
grabbing and oppressive swindle. His language
is plain and uDmistakable. Our extracts in fact
hardly do justice to Mr.. Everett's pIainness of
speech. On our own authority We would not in
dulge in such language, and, of course, the re-
sponsibility of these statements rests upon Mr..
Everett, who certainly shows disposition to
shrink it.-TopekG Commonwealth.