Gloucester County Democrat., 1908-07-16
THE GRANGE
--s---- IT
Conducted BY
J. W. DARRoW. Chatham. N. r..
Press Correspondent Neao Fork State
Grange
FINANCIAL BENEFITS.
Do We Give Them Too Much Promi-
nence In Selecting Members?
Especial correspondence.I

Especial Correspondence
Should we give the financial benefit
Ito be derived from grange membership
more prominence than we do at the
present time, or should we give it less?
Is a question which no doubt would be
answered in more than one way, de-
pending somewhat on ones observa-
ton and experience With a very
large number of people 1t is of the first
| Importance to them to understand that
| they are to be benefited in a financial
way in order to induce them to be
come interested enough to seek mem
bership in the grange.
However, very many people who join
| the grange from purely mercenary
motive become so interested in the so
ciaI and educational features of the
Order that they wonder how they lived
SO long without these advantages and
are not only willing but anxious to
put their shoulders to the whsel and
help to keep things moving. Such peo-
! pie would retain their membership
even though all financial benefits were
eliminated but if it had not been for
| the hope of financial gain TO start with
we should never have had tile oppor-
tunity to enlighten them as to the best
and most important object of grange
membership.
The grange being so much more pop
ular than twenty or even ten years
! ago, it is not as necessary to put the
| financial benefits foremost to every
one we desire to have become mem
Der as formerly, but at the same time
the grange makes more rapid strides
IN sections having good, strong Co
Operative insurance company which re
quires grange membership to be eligi-
1 bic to receive the benefits of insur-
ance. IN proof of this assertion we
have but to call attention to sections
| In this state where oranges once
! strong and prosperous have become
dormant because the grange insurance
companies in an unguarded moment
opened wide their doors to those out
side the Order This alone appears to
be positive proof that it is necessary
to still keep prominent the hope of
financial gain.
1t is true there are other financial
/ benefits to be derived from grange
membership Cooperative buying has
been a great success in many localities
and no doubt has added very ma
terially toward increasing the grange
membership. In the declaration of
purposes promulgated forty years ago
we find that one of the primary OBJ
jects was to buy and sell together
OF course the end in view was fnan-
/ efa1 gain. People Of today are not SO
very much different from those of forty
| years ago, and it is necessary to hold
out about the same inducements to at
| tract their attention as then.
I At the present time our honorable Or.
| der has advantages in its favor as
against the odds of forty or even twen-
! ty years ago. Now it is very popular
and no one. no matter what position
he holds, thinks it beneath his dignity
to become a member of this great and
influential organization. but in the
early history Of the Order this was not
/ so, and there were some people VINO
became members in order to receive
! the hoped for financial gain and who
seemed fearful that their friends
would find out that they had become
united with an organization Of farm
ers, but that is all in the past. Today
the entire membership is proud to own
allegiance to an Order that has made
the most rapid growth of any order
that has ever existed and one that has
been of untold benefit to mankind in
general and to the agriculturists in
particular. But notwithstanding all
this it is still necessary to keep in
prominence, and there are financial
benefits connected Herewith to keep
up the strong, healthy growth that we
desire w. FL. VARY.
Jefferson County, N Y.