Middlebury register. (Middlebury, Vt.) 1886-1937, 1906-01-12
THE GRANGE
Conducted by
J. W. BARROW. Chatham. N. Y,
Press Correspondent Ne,U York State
Grange
AN APPRECIATION.
THE GRANGE AND THE DAILY NEWS
PAPERS.

I What Representative Newspaper
Thinks About the Order-"The Hope
of the Nation Is the Farmer'-He Is
Sane, Practical and Direct.
The great daily newspapers have not
been accustomed, as Il rule, to recognize
farmers organizations as worthy of
much else than contempt but we believe
there is a change coming "o'er the
spirit of their dreams" The farmer
has taken very large place in the pub
lie eye of late, even as late as Secre
tary Wilson's announcement that the
total value of farm products for the
year amounts to $6,415,0 100000 and that
farms have increased In value during
the past five years something like &c.
133. 100000. An organization like the
Patrons of Husbandry. with well nigh
100000 members and the only farm
ers' order of great influence In the
country, has n right to command the
attention of the public and the news
papers.
In an editorial article entitled "a
Voice From the Fields" the Philadel-
phia North American has this to say:
The uniformed city man sometimes
inclines to think rather lightly of the
agriculturist as an intellectual and moral
force and perhaps to underrate his infiu-
ence. His voice is not always distinctly
heard. The middlemen who distribute
products and the money men who finance
the operation have the advantage in
reaching the public ear and usually in the
division of profits, but the man who
knows is fully aware that, as the indus
! try of the farmers is the most important,
! so the mere number of them gives to
their opinions exceptional force. He also
is aware that for unalloyed patriotism,
solid worth and strong common sense the
Americans who till the earth are unsur-
I passed by any other class of men in
the land. Truly the hope of this nation
lies with them The cities are the centers
of vicious living, vicious politics and
wicked financiering. 1t is to the man in
the fields we must chiefly look for main
| tenance of the high standards all along
the line of human endeavor.
Any one who has read with care the
daily reports of the proceedings of the
national grange must have been Impress
ed first. by the clear sanity of every
thing that was done and said and, sec
ond, by the unanimity of opinion respect
ing the important subjects which were
considered. The discussions were SOBER
wise and able No extravaganza and no
foolishness was apparent. Debate was
free and open, and it dealt directly and
judciously with the matters in hand
The farmers know exactly what they
want and their wishes formulated in the
local oranges and then filtered into the
state oranges. found clear and unmstak-
able expression in the convention of the
national grange.
The mighty railroad interests which are
antagonizing the president in his demand
for reform "f railroad abuses may read
with dismay that all the farmers are with
the president. The railroads have almost
unreasonable power. They are strong in
money, they exert great influence over
their wage earners and stockholders they
are skilled at corruption of legislators
they have their men in swarms in con-
gress, and they may, in a measure. con-
troll the press But here is a mightier
force, here is nearly half the voting
power of the nation, here is the largest
of all bodies OF shippers by railroad and
here is an influence absolutely beyond the
reach of corruption and. from the nature
of things, irreslstibly impelled to express
devotion to the requirements of fair play
/ The national grange has formally sec
/ onded the presidents demand for "a
square deal for every man on the part
of the railroads, and it has sent its mes
sage to the W hite House to make stronger
the resolution in the soul of the people $
great leader that this thing shall be in
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