Connecticut western news., 1906-11-22

principles on which cur Order Is founded. is violated
 Twas strfSinsiy impressed with the WronsIulnsss of the present method of voting in the national grange when the direct legislation resolutions were defeat ed. although the votes cast for it repre- ssnted large majority of the member snip or the OT1er. The voting dsfegateS of the national grange are composed of the state masters and their wives. or hus- bands. thus swing two votes to each state Any state having fifteen subordi- nate sranses of an average membership of twenty members Is entitled to repre- seatattoo in the n2tionZ1 grange and to have the expenses of it's delegates paid out of the national treasury.
 The expenses Of the national grange are borne of course. by the different states in direct proportioa to their membership. Thus IL is that the states of large mem bership not only pay the expenses of their own delegates. but the major portion of the expenses Of the delegates of the weak CT states.
 Yet the representatives of the states of numerous membership. whose influence is all powerful in securing legislation. have no more influence in determining what the legislation shall be than those of the weakest states That Is 10 say. under the present system the will cf the great ma 1ority of our Order can be. and often Is. defeated by the votes Of delegates who often are tndIrerent to the real interests of the Order and who seem to take no in tsreSt ta building up the Order ia their stapes and who represent states tn which the grange ts in a Stag11nt condition I believe this evil could be remedted by giving So each state master. in addition to his state vote. . popular vote based on enc vote for each 1.ooo of membership This. for example. would give New York state. with it's Soe0o membership. eiShty-tv-o votes Gs against two votes for any state h1vf1S a membership of only . few hun dred The power of state in the na- ttonal grange would thus be made directly proportional to the strength of the OrGer in each. and this is simply justice and as it should be. am convinced also that this method of voting would act as 8 stimulus on every state master 10 extra e-o-t in building up the Order in his own state. as that would be an absolutely necessary preliminary to increasing his influence fin the national grange
 I intend at the next annual session Of the national grange to try to secure this important amendment and hope that my proposed action will receive your Ha1n- inous indOrssmsnt and support
 The proposition has its advantages and disadvantages MT. hesley does not say whether voting in accordance with membership should be the vote on all questions and propositions that come before the grange or whether certain questions should be adjudicat- ed by the state vote and others by the popular vote. as we may term it IL is difficult 10 understand how there can 6e two systems of representation in force in the same body. for MT. Kegley says that the popular vote Is to be in addition to the state vote There does seem to be justice in the propoSition that the vote Of the dele gate should be representative of the members of the Order rather than of the state Surely New York with al most 5000 members, should have greater voting power in the national grange than Minnesota w-h only a.oco or 5000. Grange legislation affect ing subordinate granges might be enacted or defeated by the two votes of the smaller grange state. which legislation would affect one way or the other thousands Of members in the larger grange states The question which the national grange will have to determine is simply this. Does the b hest interest of the Order require stLte representation or popular repre- svntation in the national granSet