The patron of husbandry. (Columbus, Miss.) 1875-1883, 1883-01-06

adopted at previous meetings was
readopted as follows:
I. Opening the Grange.
2. Reading minutes of previous session !
3. Reports of officers.
A. Report of Executive Committee.
s. Reports of standing committees.
6. Reports of special committees.
7. Call of roll by counties for the intro
duction of business for reference witho t
debate
s. Motions and resolutions.
9. Special order of the day.
10. Unfinished business.
II. Opening of the Grange at o'clock,
A. NJ, and az and IL O'Clock, P. NJ.
The Worthy Master then read his
annual report:
Masters Report.
Brothers and Sisters: When we last
met in annual session in this city six
years ago. the Grange was in relax
ed and depleted condition. which fol-
lowed after a too rapid and injudicious
organization. Long rolls of names gave
us feeling and an air of potency which
we did not possess, and when the members
grew less many hands grew faint, and
there were evil forebodings for the future.
our treasury was cAHduSlcd3 Tic press
was silent as 10 our Order, and many of
our able, influential and wealthy members
turned their backs upon us. How dark
seemed some of those days' And very
few are aware of the great work which
was performed by few faithful and brave
men and women to save the Order III
Mississippi and place it upon permanent
and rising ground. Through the opera
ton of various unfriendly forces the Order
was made unpopular, and at one time was
reduced to about fifty Subordinate Gran
| ges in the State. Large numbers of our
members were taught to believe the Order
was a failure, that it antagonized other
| professions and industries, and that its
ulterior object was to secretly o. ganize a
| political party which would be detrimen-
tai to the best interests of the country
| Our general membership had not then
learned that the Grange was organized
and intended to reform the 81 stems of in
justice that are fastened upon the laboring
and producing classes-that it does not in
tend to make war upon other professions,
nor to interfere in any manner with polit-
ical parties.
They were led to believe that our only
legitimate object was to improve our
methods of farming "by making two
/
| BEFORE" and that when we left the field to
discuss public questions the Order would
be destroyed by the indignation of public
sentiment.
This want of information on the part oi
! our members as to the real methods and
purposes of the Order produced a feeling
of insecurity, want of faith in the fnal
result, which was not confined to this
State alone At the Cincinnati meeting
of the National Grange it was manifes
that the same condition existed through
out the entire Order. All loved its socia
and fraternal features, but its jurisdiction
being limited to objects too sentimental
too etherial, so to speak, could not taks
deep root in the mirds Of the member
and establish their confidence in its useful
ness and final triumph.
Political and religious subjects were ex
cluded and SO strict was the construction
put upon the letter of this law that thu
wonder now is how members found mat
ter to interest them at all. And we cal
look back and see but one vital spark tina
srnouldered amidst all that was ritualistic
unimportant, common place (and yet ed
ucationaD of Grange proceeding of thos
days.
Having revised its ritual, completed it
by laws, and fixed forever woman's posi-
ton in the Order there seemed to be hal
in our National body, and vague inquir.
of what next shall be done?
The Richmond session brought tn
skeleton from the closet, and showed t
wondering eyes what an abused skeleto
. he had been after all. Discountcnance
and closeted as a partisan politician, an
abused as as party disintegrater he wa
brought out in his Innocence and proved t
be only Political Economy.
1t was no longer a question OF doub
that the time had come when farmer
a must grapple with public questions, {
sink out of sight so far that thev migf
q not hope for their voices ever to be hear
in the future. Thus the tocsin sounde
e and manfully has there been marsha
, ling of forces. So that Granger has grow
4 to be synonymous with educator and r
= former Evils that wese discerned frol
e afar. Injustice only suspected from tt
] inequality of things. have been brought
: the surface and presented to the peoP
4 strinned of the mysteries of their iniqui
!, and in all the bo!dness and f1agrancy
= Injustice, usurpation and corruption. Al
/ turning point was reached. Since tn
d time our course has been onward and u
ward. While we have lost some polite
, partisans. who love their party more thu
= their class or country, our ranks have De-
. stea ily augmented by those who need
: lief from the burdens of injustice plac
: upon them by class legislation and
: scustoms grown hoary with old age.
: the recent meeting of the National Gran
J. thirty-two States were represented, a.
the most encouraging and satisfactory
norts received that have ever Teen made
h that body. And instead OF SO SuDor'
nate Oranges, as referred to above,
have represented in this meeting neal
% 300 and our numbers constantly incre'
"a ing. with more determination, better
f,,Tmation, and more clearly defined
;ects and methods than ever before.
one informed now doubts the Permanen
of the Order, and no public man has
tsr,er;ty to assal It. With an able
= efficient press to sustain it and ma
- friends in high places, the public has
length recognized the fact that me iafin
;n no ineonsiderable numbers have org
- ;zed as class, not to war upon ofh'
r;ghts but 10 protect their own whene
necessary at the ballot box, Or against
combinations Of those who rob them
the rewards of their labors Ihsn ! 8
yen fa.asy IN the Strongest Tafas ses