The Owosso times. (Owosso, Mich.) 1897-1926, 1905-08-25
FUN AND FACTS.
Oranges and Farmers Clubs Mix
Them at their Annual Picnic.

could not have had more beautiful
| day than Tuesday for the annual picnic
of the Clubs and Oranges and they took
advantage of it, the largest crowd of
the year being at McCurdy park. 1t
was a happy crowd, of healthy, good
natured, progressive families and after
enjoying such dinners as only the farm
er's wife is able to prepare, they
gathered in the casino and with the
large number from Owosso, and Corun-
ma, filled it to its capacity, to listen to
the exercises.
w. j. Stone called the meeting to
order and Rev. Woodlands, of Corunna
offered prayer. Willie Patterson pleased
the crowd with a song about the colored
man who wanted to hold the lady's
pocketbook, taking Miss Ada Huffman's
place on the program. Mayor McMul-
len welcomed the people to the park.
saying that Owosso and Corunna were
very much indebted to the farmers
for the new court house and hoped the
park would be their gathering place
whenever they have meetings.
Senator A. B. Cook responded, N. X.
Potter not being able to be present.
Mr.. Cook said he thought the audience
would feel toward him as they would
toward a part of a big show that was
run in to take the place of the leading
advertised feature, and he was sorry
Mr.. Potter was not there as everybody
liked to hear him and he always had
some good things to say. Corunna had
three good things-the court house, the
park and Webster Davis and they were
all turned over to the farmers for the
day.
Some land was good for winter wheat,
some for spring wheat and both wheats
made good flour, but the best -four was
a mixture of the two. So in some
places the grange fourished, in some
places the farmers club, but the best
results were obtained by combination
"a getting together as they were to-
day. James Carson sang entertainingly
Leave me not dear heart"
Hon. Mortimer Whitehead, of New
Jersey, Past Lecturer of the National
Grange, was called on next for an ad-
dress on the work done by the Grange
and the plans for the future His talk
of over an hour covered wide range of
subjects but all along lines in which
farmers were interested He noticed
large number of trees in the park
naples, elms, willows, evergreens-
each doing its own work, having its
own special qualities; so with the
grange and the club. Forty years ago
he joined a club, then the grange
seemed to him to cover wider feld-the
state and the nation, and he joined No. 1
of New Jersey, 1t was an organization
with good principles and had always
been used for good purposes. The
church was the oldest and best and
most powerful organization and it was
necessary to be banded together in
order to accomplish anything. The
church had raised the most money, had
the widest field of labor and had over
come wickedness only by its being
organized to fight it. There were
many bad things to vercome-trusts,
and combinations, bad legislation, and
social evils, and the good societies were
necessary to make fight of any conse-
qence. Forty years ago bad organiza-
tion had control of part Of this country
and it's object was to destroy the
country. Those who desired to save it
did not go singly but formed companies
in their community, several of these
companies made a regiment, the regi-
ments made brigade, and the brigades
army corps, and thus working together
put down the rebellion. The farmer
should not work singly, but with good
crops, good times good prices in village,
state and nation, which his labor had
been responsible for, he should get the
benefit. He should not work sixteen
hours day and turn the results of his
labor over to others, but should improve
socially, financially and mentally.
Meetings like the one they were attend
ing showed that they were improving
socially; financially they should be,
but principally they should improve
mentally because knowledge is power
Just as much for farmers as for others.
1t was an age of brains, not muscle, and
as brains have always ruled muscle, the
farmer must learn and make use of his
learning if he would haye the power
that is his due. He must know how
much his crop is worth and not wait
for someone to tell him; in fact must
learn to mind his own business as all
others do, know how to buy, how to
sell and how to vote. He must know
what it cost to raise hog, how much
he can sell wheat for and make
reasonable profit and not have someone
tell him how much they will give him
for it. 1t would be queer condition to
hear a merchant ask How much are
the farmera going to nav rs for drv