The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1897-11-12
HE THINKS IT IS "FINALLY SET
TIED"

once more we hear the voice of the
assistant secretary Of agriculture in
the land. The last time its mellif1uous
notes f1oated across the country was
before he was assistant secretary de
fscto and only assistant de jure by viz
tue of a promise from the president
that he would appoint him to that hon
urable and lucrative office AT that
time the to-be assistant had arrived in
Washineton to take the oath of office
and a place on the grand pay roll of
the nation. He had hardly had brush
ed from his Sunday best the dust. in
cident to travel over the road to our
. Mecca. made thick and deep from
the many thousand weary feet
that plod there and back, before he an
Eounced to the country, through the
convenient medium of handy press
reporter, what was to be the foreign
policy Of the department of agricuI-
ture. AS we then apprehended the
fresh Mr.. Brigham would get from his
chief. the secretary, an intimation that
any announcement of policies would be
made by himself, even so it was, and 1t
is for that cause that Joseph's voice
has been stilled so long.
But Mr. Brigham happens to be Wor-
+hv Master of the National Grange-a
distant connection of Stockton's felici-
tons "Rudder Grange''-of the Patrons
of Husbandry Were the matter of
what Brigham did less pressing and
important we might pause to note the
singularity of that name, which implies
that the members are those who pa
tronize the products of those engaged
in husbandry instead of the producers.
But that is a matter that can wait
upon the more imperious presence of
what Brigham, assistant secretary and
Worthy National Master, did in the
latter capacity at the opening session
Of the order, society, organization or
whatever else the Patrons of Husband
~ may be, which convened at Harris
burg, in the state of Quay, on Thurs
day. Passing over the matters of de-
tail in reading the Worthy Masters
annual report we come to his assur
ance that the grange does not espOuse
the cause of any political party or in
dorse the policies advocated by either,
a statement which, we believe, is
avouched by facts. "But'-and there
are butts" even among Patrons Of
usbandry-proceeds the Worthy Mas
ter, when the people have settled the
questions at issue we accept their de
cision and try to secure for agriculture
fair treatment in the legislation car
rying into effect the policy Endorsed by
the people"
From which we infer that the Wor-
thy Master and assistant secretary. of
agriculture really believes that there
was some question settled" by the
election that settled him in a snug berth
and that there was some policy Gin
dorsed' by the people. AS he goes on to
say that agriculture tries to get its
share, we are forced to conclude that
the question that was Settled" was
whether the game Of grab should be re-
moved and not that of currency re-
form, and that such policy was in
dorsed" by the people" When a
question is settled it becomes what the
lawyers call res adjudicata and can
never be unsettled. The wish in the
Worthy Masters mind was doubtless
father to the thought expressed. Nor
is he blamable if it were. A snug
billet, with a safe salary of $4,000
annually, payable monthly by a boss
who never makes an assignment or
stands his worzmen off, is apt to en-
courage the occupant to believe that
the decision that settled him there is
q permanent and irreversible one.
But the Worthy Master should take
counsel of experience; experience so
recent that it cannot all have vanished
from his memory. This self-same ques-
ton has been submitted to the people
before this. The queer fact is that it
refused to stay settled. Even the as
tuteness Of Jim Blaine was at fault
when he asseverated that the election
Of 1858 would settle it for the next gen.