Thomas County cat., 1890-10-23
THE ORANGE AND POLITICS.

In a number OF the states OF oul
Union the fail elections are drawing
near, and the campaign grows warmer
as the day forecasting the ballot draws
near. The party lines are drawn as
closely as possible by the party man
ayers. The machine" is kept in good
running order, and citizens who 'be-
long" will go through the formality OF
depositing the ballot with little thought
as to the qualifications of the candi-
dates for the positions. Parties are all
right in their places, and the more
equally balanced they are the better.
for it keeps them on their good behav-
or; but we should Gee to it that the
people run the party and not the party
the people. The voters are greater
than any party. Mr.. Emerson once
said, "The great end of all political
action is to secure morality as the basis
of ell political action" and Thomas
Jefferson said, 1.-The whole art of gov
ernment consists in the art OF being
honest" We need honesty in politics
in these days, and honest men in all
political parties. The grange teaches
the farmer to purify his own party,
and not to believe the wrong is all on
the other side. at is his duty to do all
he can in his own party to put down
bribery, corruption, and trickery, to see
that none but competent, faithful and
honest men, who will undinchingly
stand bv our industrial interests, are
nominated for all positions of trust"
Here is plain duty for all members of
the grange, for all farmers, for all good
citizens.
So long as men serve their party in
preference to their own sense of right
and justice, so long We must suffer
from unjust legislation. 1t lies with
the people to demand that the best men
be nominated for Office, and then go to
the polls with the determination to sup
Port the best men, without regard to
their political beliefs. Farmers in the
past have spent all their time in labor
in producing crops, and have devoted
too little time to studying what the laws
and politicians are doing for them; but
a change is coming, and thank the
grange for it.
And yet the grange is not a partisan
political organization, and cannot and
must not be used as such. Our laws
plainly say, 'No grange, if true to it's
obligations, can call political conven-
lions, nominate candidates, nor even
discuss their merits in it's meetings."
Don't forget this and mix the grange
up with other farmers organizations
that do send delegates to nominating
conventions and take partisan political
action. "Apd yet" says our ''Declara-
ton OF Purposes" 'the principles We
teach underlie all true politics, all true
craftsmanship, and if carried out will
purify the entire political atmosphere
of our country" How and WHY? By
learning we'll in the grange school the
true lessons of political economy, and !
Then going right out from that school,
just as school children go out in the
world of practical business life, and ap-
ply the lessons we have learned by afil |
iating with any political party that
will best carry out our interests. This
is being done more and more, and so
the grange, without being partisan, is
having a grand good influence on all |
political parties and politicians quick
TO feel the pulse Of educated public sem
timent, are more than ever willing to |
give agriculture its share of representa-
lion in the halls of legislation, and laws
that will promote this greatest of all |
industries.
Our forefathers wisely established the |
free school at the same time that they /
the free ballot. A ballot in |
the hands OF an ignorant voter is as
as gun in the hands of
child-dangerous to himself and to
those around him. AS our population
we must have an increase of.
and not decrease in intelligence, or our
free institutions cannot be sustained.
There are generals who can command
brigade who are failures in handling
corps. There are men who can con-
duct small business in country vii
lage who would fail in carrying on
large wholesale business in a CITY.
Men who would make excellent mayors
of city OF few thousand inhabitants,
who could not act as governor OF a
state. And so with our increasing
millions OF people and voters. We need