Belding banner. (Belding, Mich.) 1889-1918, 1898-08-11

that the Kent county picnic will be
held at Silver lake, Aug. 70. The
Master of the state Grange will be
present and speak on subjects OF inter-
est to Changers. Other local speakers
will be ia attendance and it is expected
to be red letter day for the Grange
in Kent county. All members are re-
auested to attend whether living in
Kent county or not. a special invita-
tion is extended to the brothers and
sisters OF Montcalm Grange. The sub
ject for discussion was THE object of
the Grange and why organized"
A paper read at one OF the union
Oranges by Mrs. Geo. Ackert was upon
the subject and we publish it in full.
ORIGIN OF THE GRANGE.
Grange, AN old English word derived
from the Latin granum through the
Spanish portuguese and provencal
granja and the French grange. We
find the word used by most of the poets
from Spencer Shakespeare and Milton
down to our own time, and occasionally
by eminent prose writer's but in slight
ly different Specifications. Primarily
it seems TO have signilied granary or
storehouse for grains; from this it
passed to comprise the out-houses OF
the farm generally, as the stables,
poultry house, etc, and at an early
period it was also used to designate an
isolated farmhouse OF the better class,
sort of semi-castle with its moat
draw bridge portcullis, etc Both in
England and the United States the word
has been frequently used as proper
name to designate an estate.
Since 1867 the word has been used
with a still different meaning. The
order Patrons OF Husbandry in that
year selected il as the name of their
national state and subordinate organi-
cations, n secret order having for its
object the utilization and promotion of
the interests Of cultivators or the soil.
It's ritual and work though modelled
to some extent after those of the Ma
sonic order and the order OF Odd Fell
lows, is simpler than either, and is
wholly subordinate to its main purpose,
the advancement and benefit Of the
great agricultural class.
After the civil war agricultural in
terests all over the country were great
~ depressed. In the south the poverty
of the farmers after the war, the diff
Guilty of obtaining efficient labor, the
imperfect and ruinous way in which
the soil had been cultivated, and in
some sections the lack of knowledge Of
the best methods of cultivation were
sufficient cause for this depression: IN
the eastern and middle states, not
withstanding the efforts to spread agri-
cultural knowledge, the steady and
alarming decrease in the yield of
cereals and other crops indicating the
near approach of sterility which
would render successful farming inn
possible, and the serious agitation in
several of the these states OF the ques-
ton, "Does farming pay?" showed the
apprehensions which were depressing
agriculture there, while in the west
the fierce competition for a market,
the low price of grain and other agri-
cultural products, the high and in
creasing cost of trans portation, the
enormous prices charged for agricul
tural machinery, the high rates OF in
terest, and the habit of the farmers,
isolated as they were from all co-opera-
ton with each other of always buying
in the dearest market and selling in
the cheapest; all these things had rem
dered farming an Improbable, OF at
least a precarious pursuit. In some OF
the northwestern states four-tifths OF
the farms were mortgaged, and very
often the debt incurred in purchasing
agricultural machinery led to the fore
closure and sale at half-price its value
Of farm, and the farmer and his fam
| lily were compelled to go still farther
west and take up new lands which in
their turn would be forfeited.
This state of the agricultural inter
ests led thoughtful men throughout
the country to consider whether there
was not some way by which these de.
pressing influences could be averted
from the farming interests. Doleful
letters from all parts of the country
poured into the agricultural depart
ment at Washington, and one of the
officers OF that department, Mr.. VIM.
Saunders, then superintendent OF It's
gardens and conservatories, "a gentle
man OF Scottish birth, OF fine educa
ton and culture, whose whole life had
been devoted TO agricultural and hor-
ticultural pursuits gave his whole
mind to the question. Though himself
neither Mason or an odd Fellow, he
had been an attentive observer OF the
progress of these secret organizations
and hepama con Vinced that III the bond