The Baltimore County union. [volume] (Towsontown, Md.) 1865-1909, 1890-12-13
MARYLAND STATE GRANGE.

The annual meeting of the Maryland State
Grange, Patrons of Husbandry, was held in
Baltimore the past week, about two hundred
members being present. In his annual report
Grand Master Murray showed that the order
in the State is in fair condition. He an
nounced the death of Col. Daniel Jenifer, of
Baltimore county, Past Master of the order,
and paid a fitting tribute to his memory. He
referred to the twenty fourth annual session of
the National Grange, held at Atlanta, Ca, and
said the past year had been very prosperous
one for the order in some of the states. In
others, for various reasons, losses have been
sustained. The order is stronger than it was
a year ago. Master Murray said he was sorry
to state that the Maryland Grange has not, by
any means, been satisfactory. In some parts
of the State it is fiourishing and has gained in
membership, but in others it has been at
standstiIl, if not actually losing ground One
grange has been organized during the year, and
that at Middle River. The Agricultural College
and experimental stations were warmly COM
mended Mr., Murray said our system oftaXa-
ton undoubtedly hits the poor harder than it
does the rich, and grinds the man whose prop
erty is visible far worse than it does him whose
property is in bonds and stocks that he can
hide.
DR.. Thomas WEIGH, of Anne Arundel, lee
turer, made very interesting report and said
that without the help of the women the grange
could never have accomplished its aims. and
the farmers cause in America to-day would be
in a worse plight than it is now.
National Lecturer Mortimer Whitehead, OF
New Jersey, made an address. He said AT
first the grange was only an experiment. but
after successful history of twenty-four years
the National Grange is as permanent as any OF
our institutions. There are now 377 oranges,
stretching from Maine to Oregon, and thirty
five have been recently organized. There was
a time when we told what we were going to do,
but we can say this year what we have done for
the farmers and how they have prospered, and
when the farmers prosper all the. people do.
Besides teaching the farmer how to raise his
crops, the grange teaches him how to dispose
of them, and our members are now selling
their own crops without the middle men,
whose charges, in some instances, amounted to
more than the farmers received.
1.-The grange is not partisan organization,
but its principles underlie all good politics and
craftsmanship. We are learning to come to-
gether, and the last election proved it. 1t was
not a victory of either party, but victory OF
the people, and the farmers caused it. We are
inside of the party if we can be. but outside If
we must for we no longer wear the collar with
My Dog on it. 1t is better for the people to
run the party than the party to run the people.
Our legislation has done much against the de-
monetization of silver, and the dollar of our
daddies is as good as any gold dollar. The
English capitalists are coming more every year
with their 2 per cent. capital and loanlng 1t to
our farmers at 6, 5 and II per cent. on mort
cages. The farmer kept down by the low
prices of his produce, is not able to meet his in
debtedness, and they foreclose the mortgage,
and millions of acres of land are passing into
the hands of these syndcates. We have dis
cussed the tariff, not as Democrats or Republic
cans, but as farmers, and We found that the old
ground taken by our forefathers in the Consti-
tuition was the right one when they said All
citizens are equal before the law There is
more tariff in the last bill passed than any
other made for the farmers, and it protects
them, too"
Before the adjournment of the Grange on
Thursday the following resolutions were unan-
imously adopted, after considerable debate:
Resolved By the Maryland State Grange, be-
cause of the arbitrary rules practiced by our
railroad companies in freight rates, demurrage
and unfair charges towards the people of this
state it is the sense of this body that railroad
commission should be established in this State
to protect its citizens from the onerous and OPP
pressive impositions of these powerful corpora
tons.
Resolved further, That the masters of subor-
dinate oranges throughout the state be and are
hereby instructed to present to and urge upon
the people of their respective localities the i'm
portance of creating such commission by the
legislature next ensuing.