Oxford Democrat. [volume] (Paris, Me.) 1833-1933, 1904-11-01

HAMMOND. Agricultural Editor Oxford Dem
ocrat. Paris, Me.
Written for the Oxford Democrat.
The Grange.
The Grange of to-day is one of our
greatest and best institutions. If not
the greatest it is at least next to the
greatest agency in the world for the
upbuilding and uplifting of society.
We acknowledge only the church as on
the wholea greater influence for good
than the Grange, and claim for the
Grange that it has far greater influence
in that direction than any single church,
Baptist, Methodist, Universalist, or any
other. Workers in the Grange who
have the best chance to know, whether
church members or not, will not dis
pute this statement, and it is only now
when ministers have generally ceased
preaching creed and in its stead preach
character and better living, that this is
true.
The Grange of to-day is as far ahead
of the church of thirty years ago as the
church of to-day is ahead of the Grange.
Thirty years ago there was SO much in
tolerance and bigotry among church
members that members of one church
woald not attend other churches differ
ing materially from them in creed. 1t
was this same bigotry and intolerance
much intensified by the ignorance and
superstition of the times, which caused
the persecution of the Protestants by the
Roman Catholics during the fifteenth
and sixteenth centuries, the tortures of
the Spanish Inquisition, and the horrors
of Saint Bartholomew's Eve.
We claim that the world is growing
better, aud one of the most satisfying
proofs of this is the fact that we see
Baptists and Methodists attending Uni
versalist meetings, and vice versa, a
thing which if not wholly unknown was
at least very uncommon no longer ago
than when the writer was a boy. 1t
gives us great pleasure to know that
this is so, it is in fact one of the best
signs of the times. The beginning of
this twentieth century marks the great
est and best era in the worlds history.
What its close will be no one can tell; !;
but as war is growing unpopular by
reason of its great cost in lives and
money, and the desire to arbitrate
among nations as well as individuals
more common, the beginning of our next
century may find war thing of the past
among civilized nations, and peace on
earth, good will toward men, and doing
as you would be done by, those grand
principles which Christ taught, may uni
versally prevail. God grant that it may
be so. There are, it is true, things in
our moral and social life which may
well cause uneasiness. The growing
disregard for honesty and moral prin-
ciples, the lack of respect shown by the
youth of our land to their elders, the
greed for wealth, the disregard for the
sarctity of the marriage relations, as
evidenced by the griSt of divorces gound
out at every session of the Supreme
Court, cause some pessi nists to prophesy
that our beloved country has reached
the height of its intellectual and moral
greatness and already begun its down.
wald course. We hope that this is not
so, ana in the hopefulness of youth We
believe that it is not, but time will tell
the story.
As the church has progressed and i'm
proved so has society in general, and
one of the greatest factors in this i'm
provement, this tolerance of adverse be-
liefs among church societies, this great
or regard for the universal brotherhood
of man, is our fraternal societies, OF
which the greatest and best is the Grange.
This statement may be disputed, but as
the Grange is the prototype Of the home,
and a happy home is the nearest ap-
proach to Heaven upon earth, We claim
for the Grange that it is the ideal civic
order; and as the gentleman, Mr.. Leav-
lit of Turner, who addressed US at the
field day at Shows Falls, said: Every
man, woman and child who is eligible
should be in the Grange. In the Grange
they are under good influences, they
have good associates and learn to re-
spect themselves and Others, and thus
society is benefited
Our belief is that all men and women
should do their best and cast around
them the best influence they are capable
of, and every child be taught to do the
same.
Again, the Grange as we'll as other
civic orders, broadens US out, makes us
less narrow and selfish and better fitted
to become good citizens of this great
Republic. 1t is society whose motto
is good fellowship, and whose great de-
sire is to benefit society. 1t seems there
are sins of omission as well as commits
sion. We do not speak the kind word
or perform the kind act nearly as often
as we ought, and this lesson the Grange
teaches us. 1t shows us that the sarcas-
tic speech, the unkind thought, are not
courteous or kind, and if we would be
popular with our associates We must re-
frain from giving offence. All these
things the Grange teaches us, and the
good Patrons are those who best learn
this lesson.
| do not wish to close these somewhat
rambling remarks without paying well
deserved compliment to one of the at
tributes of the Grange, our Grange sis
ters. There is no better class of women
in America to-day than our Grange sis
ters. Sincere, truthful and sympathetic,
their influence is always the best and
serves to keep the Grange up to the high
moral standing which makes it success
socially and fills out the ideal OF the
founders of the order, who builded far
better than they knew.
in holding up the Grange as the ideal
of the many so-called secret orders, we
do not wish to cry down the others, as
so far as we know them, they are all
good, but the Grange is the best. May
it grow and grow until where we now
have $4,000 members, may We have
lOO, 900 in this state alone, of earnest
men and women devoted to the Grange.
E. Z. FIELD.