The Portland daily press., 1880-09-01
BY TELEGRAPH.
THE FARMERS OUT.

Mass Meeting of the Patrons Of Hus-
bandry.
Especial Despatch to the Press.l
OLD ORCHARD, Aug 31.-There was mass
meeting this afternoon Of the Patrons Of Hus-
bandry here, and prominent Grangers from all
over the State, as well as delegations from
New Hampshire and Massachusetts,, were pres
Mt Among others were Hon. j. j. Woodman,
Wisconsin, Grand Master of the Nation
al Grange, Hon. Frank W. Miller, editor of
Miller's Weekly, the Grange organ for New
England, G. A. Wasson, Esq Grand Master.
Hon. John D. Lyman, Lecturer, and W. H
Stinson, Mrs. Seavey and Mrs. f. w. Miller
delegates of the New Hampshire State Grange,
William Draper Esq, Grand Master Of Mas
sachusetts State Grange, B. W. Ware, ESQ.,,
Past Grand Master of Massachusetts, State
Grange, H. J. Allen and Henry Putnam, of
Worcester, Mass. OF Maine Patrons there
were present, among others, Hon. Frederic
Robie of Gorham, D. II. Thing, Esq, of Mt.
Vernon, L. B. bennett, ESQ.,, of Deering, Nell
son Ham of Lewiston, Ezekiel Deering of
WATERFORD, j. F. MARITIME w. Hackett, John
A. Hicks and j. f. Ford of Auburn, Ivory
Lord, Esq, Frank r. Milliken, F. Fl. Foss, J.
II. ] ose, Cyrus Means, Mark Kimball, George
H. Boothby and I. G. Doe of Saco, F. H.
Towne of Kennebunkport, George Hubbard,
Joseph Wells, Fl. F. English, Benz. Hubbard
and A. Wells of Kennebunk, o. A. Bowman
of Fairfield, Gardner M Parker, Esq, of
Gorham, j. M. jackson, E. H. Hoksie, Ariel
Jones of Lewiston.
At the time appointed for opening the meet
H. A.
members of the order, gathered at the camp
ground, the speaking being from the grand
stand. Among those who attended were Rev.
Charles Allen, d. D., Rev. D. B. Randall,
Rev. David Boyd and Hon. Joshua Nye.
The meeting was called to order by Ivory
Lord, Esq, of Saco, who introduced as the
presiding officer the Hon. Frederick Robie, of
Gorham Col Robie, on taking the chair, was
received with applause, and spoke earnestly and
well. He congratulated the order on the pre-
gress made, and on meeting in SO lovely spot
Look on the ocean and we can see the ships 4
commerce, ard those ships are laden with the
results of the farmers labor. Commerce,
manufacturing and agriculture are the three
pillars on which all rests, and the central pill
lar is agriculture. Cooperation is the founda-
ton and corner stone of the Grange.
While Col. Robie was speaking the Scarboro
Band, W. Ell. Chenery, leader, arrived. and re-
maned to the close of the meeting.
After music by the band. Col Robie intro
duced d. ii. Thing, of Mt. Vernon, who said
that he came forward only to excuse himself.
The meeting he felt to be truly refreshing,
coming in the midst of a political campaign.
Hon. j. j. Woodman, Grand Master of the
National Grange, was introduced as the
speaker of the day. He is tall and hand
some man of about sixty, and is good speci-
men of the American farmer. Mr.. Woodman
T.. hn I,nl
come to Maine not to speak, but to look over
the State and see how farming interests stand.
and to see to the working Of the Grange sys-
tenn here He was free to say that the
farmers of New England seem to him to be
even better situated than the farmers of the
West, and to have some advantages that the
Western farmer cannot have. He treated of
the past work and the future prospects of the
order. Before nations or literature existed
agriculture was known and honored. The
farmers of the Old World occupy the lowest
position in the social scale, and it Inns remain
cd for the farmers of the United States to
elevate agriculture to the dignity OF pro-
fesSion that is hOnored, to make it a science
that is taught in our schools. There may be
no immediate danger of the farmer here
sinking into the condition of tenant farmers,
but it should be made no longer passible for
man like Commodore Vanderbilt to make
$20,000,000 in twenty years. The speaker had
travelled all over Europe. and had found the
English lord, owns the land on which the
whole city of Belfast, Ireland, is built, and is
paid ground rent of ,0G0 year, and
twenty-five men own almost the whole of the
land of England. Thomas Jefferson said that
his hope in the future of the country rested on
the fact that the great mass of the people
were and would remain farmers. 1t is still so.
There is not large city in the
United States that can be governed in truly
republican manner, and with the farmers rest
the future of the nation and it becomes the
farmers to educate themselves up to the high
est standard of public morality. The Grange
was organized soon after the war, when capi-
tai was being concentrated for speculative pur-
was passed and the farming business of the
West was almost crushed out of existence.
The railroads charged five times too much and
the Grange stopped that. Plaster was sold at
"a ton; the Grange built mill, and it is
now sold at ST. % per ton, and at that figure
the State Grange of his State manufactured
last year IL, 900 tons and made money by doing
it. The order has made itself felt in many
ways it is recognized by the Department of
Agriculture. The National Grange has saved
millions of dollars to the farmers by prevent
ing the extension of patents that were in effect
grinding monopolies. Some people think that
it is the mission of the order to make war on
somebody, and that it is destined to become a
great political party, but it is not SO. The Or
der believes that all branches of business are
legitimate. and it also tolerates neither parti-
san politics nor sectional religion. Its religion
is to do all the good it can, and it says to its
members, "for political action go outside the
gate" A protective tariff is necessary, but
the manufacturer to employ labor at paying
rates, and to give the farmer equal rights and
and an equal chance with the manufacturer
and mechanic. Thespeaker closed with an
earnest appeal to those present to support the
order.