The patron of husbandry. (Columbus, Miss.) 1875-1883, 1881-12-24

Grange would be held in the good
county of Holmes imagine that a
glow OF qualification and pleasing
anticipations pervaded the emo
tons Of every mem Der present. We
were gratified that-we should have
the pleasure Of mingling with many
of the earnest and Jealous Patrons
of this leading Grange county, to
whom, in the gloomy days OF the
past, some of us had learned to look
as beacon lightsupon our troubled
waters to guide us to the port of
success And catching new inspi
rations and new zeal from the un-
firing Patrons Of Holmes, IN dnced
US to throw off our lethargy and
hopelessness and by persistent effort
have attained that solidity and
prosperity of which any true Pa
iron might be proud.
Worthy sir, not only will these
kindly greetings be bright spot
in memory's waste in years to come,
but here we hope to catch the con-
tagion of enthusiasm that pervades
your people; and Inspired by your
enthusiasm and authorizations and
inspirited by your determination to
succeed, we hope to~bear back to
our waiting>co- laborers an unction
of vitalizing Grange spirit and
earnestness that will kiIdle and
burn and glow and spread until
the laboring element of our whole
country shall have imbibed the en-
chanting elixir and enlisted under
the Patrons banner
When we retrospect the past his
tory Of the Order in our State and
remember the threatening decline
that seemingly was destined to en-
gulph our noble cause, we can
scarcely awake to a realization of
the untold evils that imperiled US.
Dependency and indifference were
manifested by thousands whose OBJ
legations should have prompted
them to nobler actions Luke
warmness and inactivity had seized
upon others whose hopes and antic,
ipations had been benumbed by the
'party LASH" or who had been dis
pirited by legal determinations, un-
just burdens or nneorrected griev
ances. But thanks to the almost
inspired genius of the grand found
ers of our noble Order a more en-
couraging and a more hopeful con-
d:tion of affairs are extant in our
land to-day.
A greater degree of intelligence
and practical information is being
diffused among our people than at
any tim in the history Of our coun-
try. Our organization is rapidly
accomplishing this part of the grand
mission. Farmers who few years
ago were scarcely able to express
themselves intelligently upon even
the most familiar subjects can to-
day, through the influence of a
Grange education, not only lecture
and write proftably on agricultural
and kindred subjects but upon
finances and political economy and
thus we are preparing our member
ship and our class for intelligent
action upon all the important ques-
tions that affect cur interest as a
people,
And intimately connected with
the educational is the amiable and
social features of our Order, which
is displacing shoddy aristocracy
and elevatipg all TO a higher plane
Of education and social excellence
And these two important objects
having been measurably establish
ed, has to great extent prepared
our people for entering upon sys>
tenn Of business relations known as
co-operatian, and which is inevi-
tably destined to produce a Won
derful revolution in the commer-
ciaI and business affairs of this
country Having taken these
prominent steps ia the businessaof
our country and 10 the advance
ment of our own interests, and in
the behalf OF our whole people, it
has necessarially brought dow n
upon our devoted heads the execra
tons and opposition of almost all
other trades and professions and it
seems to me that as this opposition
is so we'll organized and so strongly
backed by the money power that
no one else save the unterrified
Changers could resist its crushing
influence.
Our opposers appear to have just
lately walked up to the stubborn fact
that the Grange is a real live thing,
that it is not actually dead; and
having failed to thwart it's progress
and destroy its business interests,
they are now endcavoring by every
unholy means to prejudice the pub
lie against it From the granite
hills of the North to the orange
groves of the South, the almost uni
versal cry has come up that "the
Grange has gone into politics" at
is just ruined" at has forsaken it's
former good old ways and is now
seeking for place and power" All,
sir, these misrepresentation sound
like the 6larney of partisan poIiti
clans or unscrupulous shylocks who
have abused the high trust commit
ted to them and now imagine they
can sec .smene, meme, tekel uphar-
sin" written upon the outer wall,
and that Dalilah with non dapons