The Hood River glacier. (Hood River, Or.) 1889-1933, 1907-05-30
STATE GRANGE
IN ANNUAL SESSION
Continued from First page

with literary program to which the
public had been invited. A. l. Mason
acted as chairman Of the evening.
The program of the evening was az
follows: Piano soIo-Miss Wilson OF
the Mt. Hood grange. Song Of wei.
come-Pine Grove grange. Adresb Of
welcome-Mayor l.. N. Blowers. q Mr..
Blowers spoke as follows:
Nh. Chairman, Ladies and Gentle
men 1T affords me genuine pleasure
to have the privilege of welcoming to
our city this assemblage OF earnest
thinking American men and women,
representatives Of those who live near
to the great heart OF nature. My on
Iy regret at this time is ocoasioned by
the fact that am not an orator and
capable Of making an address worthy
of this occasion; but | assure you sin
cerely that to no other class could ]
extend a more cordial or more heart
felt welcome.
In an address on agriculture Dan
lei Wetter once said "when tillags be-
gins Other arts follow, the farmer
therefore Is the founder OF human
civilization. What higher tribute
could possibly be paid to any classl l
believe that the tribute was deserved
and that the farmer OF this nation, at
lest, have contributed their full share
in advancing our country to its pres
ent proud position among the the ma
tions of the world, much more, i am
constrained to believe than that
other class who tour Europe each
year and think 1t necessary to apollo
gize for their country and its institu-
tions, and whose highest ambitions
are grstified when they succeed In ex-
changing their daughters and good
American coin for the title of some
dissolute rake miscslled a nobleman,
to this class and their imitators far
mer and tradesmen are known as the
''plain people," But my friends we
can take comfort In the knowledge
that the plain people made this
country In the beginning end have
preserved 1t In every crisis of its his.
tory. Any one desirous Of finding the
true American spirit, the belief In
the equality of men and the dignity
of honorable labor, should go TO the
rural districts for there, as no where
else, are the principles on which gov.
ernment was founded more earnestly
believed In and praoticed, IL the evil
day should ever come when our
American farmers and artisans grovel
at the feet OF plutocraoy and dof
their caps to man for no better res-
son than the fact that he is wealthy,
that day marks the beginning of the
end of this republic.
This fair land that for more than
100 years has been the hope and ret.
uge Of down tTodden and oppressed
humanity in all parts of the world,
will be such no longer and the blood
of our revolutionary heroes will have
been shed in vain; but have faith
in our "plain people" and believe
that they can be depended upon In
the future as In the past to protect
our institutions and perpetuate this
veinment as conceived and founded
by Washintg IN, Jefferson and Frank
lin backed by the "plain people" who
believed and still believe that "all
men are created free and equal.
In the Cosmopolitan magazine for |
March In an article on "The growth
of caste in America" by Charles Ed.
ward Russell, the following remark
able statement is made: "We have
seen an invitation to eat food with
the president, hired man of the ma
ton called command" as II it en-
anated from king; we have seen the
"royal" box introduced In the thea
ters of Washington; we have seen cer-
tain newspapers refer to call upon
the president as being admitted to
the presence; we have seen In the
white house the introduction of such
absurd ceremonials and formalities as
hardly now obain In any royal court
In Europe, until foreign visitors gasp
and not unnaturally inquire II this is
a republic.
Well some one may say, what has |
all this to do with GrangersY My
friends | reply, everything. OF
course l cannot vouoh for the truth |
of the statements made In this mag
azine article, but wish to say
that it such conditions do prevail
they are an insult to every true
American, and should be resented as
such by the "plain people," who will
be the first to suffer IL such un- Amer.
lean conditions are permitted to OBJ
tain foothold, and while l do not
believe Theodore Roosevelt indorses
such silly practices, l believe that we
have many men In official life today
who In private, indorse Vanderbilt's
famous, or infamous remark" "The
people be damned"
Having Eeen reared on Minnesota
homestead, feel justified In saying
that know something of the ups and
downs OF farmers life. | still have
a painful recollection of putting away
hay in the barn loft with the ther-
mometer registering from 80 20 100
above zero in the shade; but the far.
mel Of today has many advantages
that we're unknown 25 years ago, the
telephone, rural mail service and i'm.
proved machinery oonduoe to make
the farmers life almost ideal and we
men torsaking their callings and 60
ing back to the kind old mother earth
for their daily bread. Agriculture is
In my opinion the most honorable of
oallings because the most useful,
says: L.
Give fools their gold and knaves
their power,
Let fortunes bubbles rise and fall, |
who sows "a field
Or plants tree. or trains a flower
Is more than all.
For be who blesses most Ia blost,
And God and man snail own his
worth,
Who tolls to leave as his bequest
An added beauty to the earth. /
Ninety millions of human beings
awoke this very morning in the
United States all requiring their
daily bread, and all looking conf
IDENTITY to the farmer for that daily
bread. Truly Edward Everett was
right when he said that agriculture
IL the steward which spreads the
daily table of mankind" No other
plass enjoys such an independent pos
ition as our American farmers and to
the sentitive soul independence Is
,ynonomous with happiness, there.
lore our farmers should be happy.
l regret to say that we have growing
up in this country another class more
ornamental than useful, who extract