The patron of husbandry. (Columbus, Miss.) 1875-1883, 1882-06-24
The Peoples College.


which your Worthy Lecturer has re-
quested me to occupy a portion of your
time to-day is, "Thc Grange as an Edu-
Gator or College for the People"
The word college means gathering
or collection. In the sense in which
it is ordinarily used, it conveys the
idea of an assembly of young people
at an institution devoted to education,
either classical, L literary or professional.
The sense in which we shall treat of our
college-the Grange-will be as an edu-
Gator or assemblies of the people, for in
tellectual and social improvement or self
education. In our husbandry or farming
we find the vegetable world divided into
classes.
First, those which are useful and orna
mental. Second, those that are merely
ornamental. Third, those that are partly
useful and partly cumberers of the ground.
Fourth, those that are neither useful nor
ornamental and are called weeds and nox-
ious shrubs. The human family might
be divided into nearly similar classes.
The first class would embrace all those
whose aim is not the world should be but
little worse for their having lived, but the
society in which they live and move shall
be better for their lives and thoughts, even
though if but in small degree. Farmers
who are causing two bushels of wheat or
corn or two blades of grass .'to be pro-
duced, where but one was the result before:
mechanics who are constantly doing bet
ter and more useful work manufacturers
who are producing better and sounder
goods instead of shoddy; legislators who
enact just and equitable laws that shall
impartially protect all classes and all
rights; judges who try to enforce just laws,
without bias or favor to monopolies; law
yers who labor that laws shall be sure and
impartial in their execution, crime pun
ished, rights and property protected; cler-
gymen who are trying to lead their flocks
lin the green pastures and beside still wa
tiers" bteaching that it is more ESSENTIAL
that we regard our neignbor and his inter-
ests, as we should think it just to have him
regard our interests, if our positions were
exchanged, then that we should worship
the Great Master in Jerusalem or in
the mountain.
Physicians who labor to heal and to in
crease the general health of the country;
more for the sake of doing good than for
their fees. The second class we will consider
as composed of our painters, sculptors, ar
chitects, poets and writer's of eur better clas-
ses of light literature and fiction. The
third Grass we will treat as composed of
farmers, merchants aud laborers who are
void of the true spirit of enterprise, of inn
provement, who do not seek to make society
better or wiser than thew find it. Their labor,
good, perhaps, so far as it goes, bat so de-
void of system, enterprise or true love of
improvements, as to divest 1t Of all ennobiing
features. This class would also embrace
large share of our tradssmsn, and of the pro-
fessional classes. Clcrgymen who care more
for the doctrine of orthodoxy than for saliva
ton or moral improvement; more for the
Qaa CAL: n
ing them in pure intellectual pastures, and Sc
curing them in safe fold. Doctors who visit
their patients more to extract fees from
their pockets than disease from the bodies.
Lawyers who would as soon defend a scoun-
drel as protect the rights of an honest man.
Legislators who are slack in attending to
their duties, or seeing to the true interests
of their constituents.
The fourth class of weeds and noxious
shrubs, would find their counterpart in our
criminal class, tram2s, loafers, saloon keepers,
shyster lawyers, duack doctors, corrupt
preachers an0 dishonest, corrupt legislators
Our college we will treat as gathering sub
stantialiy from the first class whose chief
occupation is agriculture. whose chief aim
and object in our meetings is always to learn
something, and when we can, impart instruc-
ton or information to our associates or fell
low students in our college: iso laboring
| for general elevation, progress and improve
ment in our occupation, striving partic llarly
| to draw frem the third class those engaged
| in our pursuits, and get them to take rank
| in our class, and to a scholarship in our col
| lege. We find that our agricultural popula-
| ton comprises more than half the population
| of our State. Not one tenth of our law ma
| kers are drawn from our ranks, while law
| yers who do not constitute msch over a
| thousanth part of our population, furnish the
majority Of our legislators. A result of this
is that large share of the current legisla-
ton is unfavorable to our interests and
| to the real good of the country. We are
| forced to pay an unfair share of the taxes.
/ Much money is uselessly andeatyaUagunfl,
expended. The common sense and econ
omy which we learn to put in practice in
our farming operations, if applied to leg
| islation would be of great survice to the
! country at large. 1t has not been used
because the best and representative men
| among us have not been elected: proba-
| bly, have not sought an election on &C
/ count of lack of culture, necessary
| training and education which our Grange
college seeks to furnish in giving us con-
| fidence in our own judgment, and ease
and ability in expressing our thoughts.
/ Our present representatives in Congress
and in the State Legislature are honestly
and faithfully doing their duty and rep.
resent our interests. They are entitled
to our respect. In the Senator from
this district in our State Legislature W,
are most unfortunate. The man voted
for by the most of US, and elected, wa.
represented by his friends before election
| to be a man of ability and integ
rity, who would justify and fairly care fol
our interests. AS he bore an honeree
| New England name we trusted hin
though stranger in this part of the dis
trict. AS he has betrayed us. shame t.
himi and if we trust him again, sham,
to US. But his speeches and votes he has
shown himself hostile to the interests o
the great majority of his constituents, ane
to morality and economy. By hi
speeches and votes we would suppose hs
thought himself solely the representative
of railroad rings, saloon rings and sab
bath decorators; that the interests of tn
thousands of farmers and other goot
citizens in his district, or their opiRion
or petitions were not worthy of notice o
regard In England and the most en-
Iightened countries of Europe, the educa
ted land owners compose majority Q
| their law makers. Under the stimuli
and education of the Grange we are do
ing much better thar formerly, ard il tn
near future we hope and i2tend to d.
much better STILL The Grange is not
political organization, but in this, as i
all healthy organizations, self -p eservatio
and the maintainenee of JUST rights is.a
important part of education, and to knol
| how to vote only for honest min who re
. gard our rights and interests, AID to waite
the acts and votes Of our purac servants