Evening journal., 1906-10-11


Grange" said Founder Kelly In
1scs when About to Organise the
First Oranges.
Especial correspondonce.l
From the Incorporation Of the Order
of Patrons Of Husbandry to the pres
ent day the newspaper has been the
powerful ally OF the grange. Its as
sIstanee has been sought after by lead
ers of the movement and its influence
has always been appreciated. In 1865.
when there was but one subordinate
grange in the United States. o. II.
Kelly. the originator of the Order. saw
the necessity Of getting on the right
sidev of the editors, and wrote these
words to f. NJ Mcdowell, also one Of
the founders of the Order:
I send a Philadelphia paper today in
which you win see a letter by DR.. Trim
bic. Have a pontion Of Il published in
one Of your papers. Interest an editor In
the grange that Is to be established In
your neiEhbcrhood, 50 as 10 have his aid.
Take editors in "deadhead" and let's see
If it Will fail. Let us get an editor in
every grange
The above shows Brother Kelly's
faith in the success of the Order and
likewise the estimate which he frankly
placed on the editors value to the
grange, because of the publicity which
he was in position to give It. When
Brother Kelly started out on his FIRST
tour Of organization, be says in his
history that the influence of the vii
lage press was what be most desired
to secure.
In making his monthly report to the
national grange. among other things
he wrote;
I can now report 10 you the friendly aid
of five agricultural papers whose columns
are open to our cause-viz, the Prairie
Farmer, Chicago; Farmers Chronicle,
Columbus. o.; Ohio Farmer, Cleveland,
o.: Rural World, st. Louis; Farmers Tn
ion. Minneapolis. Besides these. the va
rious daily and weekly papers in this
state (afinncsota) viii publish any mat
ter TO advance our interests.
We have given sufficient testimony to
the fact that the press was deemed al
most a sine qua non to the success Of
the grange in its early days. And we
wish to emphasize the statement that
the Order would not have been the sue
cess that It is without the substantial
aid given it by the press Of the country.
In this opinion all who are familiar
with the progress Of the Order viii
agree.
And what is the explanation? 1t lies
in the fact that country editors, as we'll
as the editors Of smaller dailies, who
are in close touch with their constitu-
ents, believe It to be their high priyi-
lege and their duty to help along every
worthy cause, and they do it unselfsh-
ly and for the public good. 1t is unfair
and unkind to attribute to them any
ulterior motives. Figured in dollars
and cents. the returns they receive for
the publicity they give the grange are
as nothing to the cost OF II. The aver
age editor does more for the community
in which he lives than any ten mil
lionaires who may be his neighbors.
1t becomes, then, the plain duty of the
grange to manifest, as occasion may
permit q due appreciation Of the as
sistance rendered the organization by
the public press. We are glad to note
In the annual addresses of our various
state masters their appreciative words
of the press. We make a single ex-
tract from one of them. which says:
Again have we cause to express our
hearty appreciation Of the valuable serv-
I ice rendered our order the past year by
the press. both tho strictly agricultural
L r..IIa ILL
papers as we'll To such publicity. wisely
I directed, much OF our success may be at
/ tributed. and II we are wise we shall con-
/ tinue to avail ourselves OF the opportuni-
ties for extension OF grange principles af-
/ forded through the kindness Of the news
papers.
1t wasn't so bad an idea of Founder
Kelly, after all, that impelled him to
say. Lets get an editor in every
grange" The only exception we take
/ 20 the suggestion is that there are not
editors enough to 60 round. But the
the editor may be invited to your pub
lie meetings and your picnics. and his
report Of them viii be more to the
point and more helpful to the Order
than anything a less tactful or less IA
cile writer might contribute. As you
meet him thank him for any good
word spoken for the Order or any
writeup he may have given your meet
/ ings or for the grange column which
he may publish every week. He will
appreciate your appreciation Of his ef-
forts-believe thatl
Just so long as the Order Of Patrons
Of Husbandry behaves ITSELF Ito use
an expressive term so long viii it find
in the press an earnest advocate and
friend. Just so soon as 1t does things
unworthy of itself, its avowed princi-
Piles and declared purposes, so soon
will it be likely to find In the press a
severe but just critic and opponent.
And why should 1t not? ]. w. d.
Farmers VIII Test Act.
Brighton grange. Monroe county, N.
Y. is preparing to test the constitutions