Idaho County free press. [volume] (Grangeville, Idaho Territory) 1886-current, 1888-08-03
Rise and Decline of the Grange.
EDITOR FREE PRESS:

EDITOR FREE PRESS:
Very many of your readers were as
tonished at the thrilling disclosures and
Misrepresentation set forth in the arti
Gle of your issue of July 90 headed,
Rise and decline of the Grange.D The
writer may possess knowledge and abil-
ity in other kinds of work, but in at
tempting to write up the grange he has
made far greater failure than he claims
for the patron organization. His state
ments are so far from correct that we
are compelled to assign him place with
the desperately ignorant or with those
whose malice leads them to blisrepre-
sent the truth. In this writing we seek
no controversy and certainly would not
notice the article with its tissue of false
hoods, had you not given it the public
ity of your columns, and we assure Won
we will not occupy valuable space in
your paper by again referring to any
such articles that you feel disposed to
publish. First he tells us that the ma
tional grange lately held a session for
1887" A few months ago at Lansing.
Michigan, the national grange held it's
2lst session for 1888, at which there was
a full representation from all the states
but one, and all the territories but two,
and among the representatives. in this
body were number of governors, sem
ators and statesmen, and all the men
and women gathered there for council
were such as make our nation great.
The grange was originally and is still
designed not to discuss monied interests
amongst the farmers but to educate and
elevate the tillers of the soil to think,
act and cooperate together During the
first eight years of the orders existence,
instead of $4,000. 75l 900 members were
enrolled, the state of Iowa taking the
lead with l,o00 oranges and 100000
members. Had this large membership
been composed of farmers exclusively
no check would have come to the order,
but thousands of INSCRIPTIONS traders,
monopolists and wire working poiti.
clans found their way in, men who
would sacrifice a brothers interest to
advance his own and who bad no inter-
est in common with the farmer. A halt
was called in 1876 and thorough house
cleaning commenced. The result was
great reduction in numbers, but a per-
mapent. healthy growth of the order
from that time to the present and never
has the order been as powerful in it's in
tiuence as at the present. We are in
formed in the article referred to that
the order has dwindled to less than 49,
600; the organization in Pennsylvania
alone numbers far more than this, and
over lot, 900 of Americas best citizens
are proud to be called patrons of hus-
bandry. We are told "lbat the grange
is now rarely heard Of" The grange is
now thoroughly organized secret or
der permanent in our country and the
Canadas, and as any other order, they
do rot publish to the world all that is
being done within the gates; but instead
OF Boosting of numbers and Influence we
only point to the fruit of grange work.
The Interstate commerce bill which is
saving the farmers millions of nancy
each year was conceived and introduced
into congress by a granger, backed by
the petitions of nearly every subordinate
granger in the Uated States. The re-
storing of millions of acres of land from
the grasp of railroad companies was
grange measure. The law to prevent
foreigners from securing large bodies of
our public domain which should belong
TO our own citizens for homes, is
grange measure. The elevation of our
agricultural commissioner to the dignity
OF a cabinet officer is grange measure.
The placing of our telegraph system in
the hands of the government instead of
In the hands of money kings is a grange
measure. The reduction Of postage and
many other results that tend to the good
OF all have been cor caived and in many
cases carried to success by co operation
In this grange of which there is nothing
said any more.
Our cardinal principle in the matter
of politics is. that the office shall seek
the man." discussion of politics and reli-
gion are debarred. 1t is proposed chief
ly to raise the dignity of an occupation
upon which all other depend, and until
the farmer stands on the same level, So
cially and in intelligence with all other
professions the grange will exist. Farm
ers are the only class in our country
who can exist independent of all other
professions and the puny efforts of those
who would belittle their national organ
izstion will only add to their strength.
PATRON.
Grangeyille, I. t., July %. 1888.
The CamaS Prairie.