The patron of husbandry. (Columbus, Miss.) 1875-1883, 1881-11-05
The Grange.


Bankers, ministers, lawyers, doc
tors. manufacturers, and craftsmen
of every kind, hold conventions and
congresses to promote the interests
of their individual occupations.
Farmers as a class outnumber all OF
these combined. Why should they
not also form associations for mu-
tual Improvement? AS rule the
farmer is ''the newer of wood and
drawer of water" produces the raw
material for clothing and feeding
the world, and for lack of intelli
gent concert of action, he becomes
the servant of ali the other classes.
Is it because farmers, as class, are
less intelligent, or because they are
more negligent of their interests,
that these things are sol The reas-
ons are partly both. They are, as
a rule, less intelligent because they
are more negligent. They are the
only class who adhere to the terms
of the curse, 'by the sweat of thy
brow, " etc, that "they have no
time" to discuss and consider the
means BY which knavish intelli
gence robs them of their earnings.
They toll and sweat to gather
crops, while the Railroad king sits
in his royal office and figures oct
just how much the traffic will bear,
or in other words, how he can
squeeze off the producer at one end
of the route and the consumer at the
other, and leave them sufficient to
barely sustain themselves, while he
revels in millions. The bank er.
broker, lawyer, doctor, manufic-
turer, and producer of every
class, sympathizes with measures to
convert the products Of the farmers
to their support without the sweat
of their own, and to this end they
scheme, study and consult, while
the farmer patiently pulls the load,
or turns burrows as their masters
direct Ask a farmer to attend a
convention or meeting to consult as
to his interests and as a rule he has
"no time" Ask him to read doc
ument, and too often the same an
Swer, until It has become to be I'M
derstood by the ruling classes
bankers. lawyers, railroad kings and
non producers generally-that mud
sllls and farmers are Synonymous
terms
There is but one way of correct
ing this state of affairs. Farmers,
too, must think, read, consult and
deliberate; must take more time for
rest, recreation and improvement.
Farmers lives must be made less
one Of drudgery and more of intelli-
gent recreation before their children
will be content to follow their foot
steps. The Grange is intended to
promote investigation and intelli-
gence among farmers. Individual
effort is important, SO also is collect
i've effort. Farmers can no more
gain their position in the world
without association than other
classes.
The Grange should be encour-
aged as a farmers association. 1t
has neither politics nor religion in a
party or sectarian view for its OBJ
ject, but only the spread of general
intelligence among farmers, ard
matters relating to their business.
So long as farmers delegate all their
talking, writing and thinking TO
other classes, SO long will they as 4
alacc ha a. a &c, / 1
ers of water" There is always
some narrow minded sectarian in
every neighborhood who will OPP
pose all organizations that does not
lead directly to the fold of the Pres
byter:an, Baptist, Methodist, or
some other church. SO also there
will usually be found some misera-
bic partisans who oppose every
thing not directed by, in or some
way pointing toward the interest of
their political party. The croak-
ings of such zealots and partisans
would be squelched if farmers
would cease to raise crops at half
price, or even less, for the lords Of
the monopolies. Every town should
have its Grange, and thorough in
vestigation of all questions affecting
the farmers interests, books, papers
and documents should be distributed
and every question carefully con-
sidered until to be called farmer
should mean above being the tool
OF any partisan machine.-Free
Holder.