Alma record. (Alma, Mich.) 1878-1928, 1912-01-25
THE
NATIONAL
~ CRANCE
Conducted by Charles NJ Gardner. Editor
of the National Grange. Westfield. Mass.
GOOD WORK OF THE GRANGE
Practical Illustrations OF Actual Ae'
complishments Continue to APP
pear From Time to Time.

Practical illustrations of the grange
at work, in actual accomplishment
continue to appear, SHOWING how
valuable can be community service
rendered if only the effort is made.
In one community there were vari-
Gus local organizations working for
betterment of various sorts but all
working separately; while it seemed
impossible to federate them in the
slightest there was so much jealous
rivalry among them. Against great
obstacles a grange was organized
there, which almost Immediately set
about getting the various organiza-
tons working together. When per-
suasion failed an open house" night
was held by the grange. with all the
other organizations invited. Then
the grange called on each of the sew
eral associations to provide a prize
in series of prizes to Of
fered in a general town improvement
contest, open to the whole village.
The idea caught at once, the grange
skillfully kept in the background
while pushing the others to the front,
and the result was a village fedora
ton of forces that has since accom-
plished wonders for the Improvement
of that town.
In a large apple-growing section
considerable difficulty had been ex-
perienced for years in making salts
factory sales, while varying prices
prevailed. causing more or less dissat-
isfaction. The grange took the mat
ter in hand, got the growers together
and so emphasized the possibilities of
cooperative selling that it finally in
duced every apple grower in the
town to stand together, insist on
certain agreed price and refuse to sell
except to n buyer who would take
the entire crop of that community.
The result was that so many apples
were represented in the arrangement
that the attention of the largest buy
ers was attracted. a uniform and sat
isfactory price was secured and the
small growers were able TO sell at as
good figures as the large ones.
MANY lllSlilCtS dic ItDOIlCu w utlt
local oranges have started move
ment for sidewalk building, some
times by appropriation from the grand
treasury. sometimes by an agitation
which resulted in the use of public
funds or even, i'm some cases, by the
getting together of the men of the
grange to do the work themselves,
i'll ho
same is true in the case OF road
work, many specific improvement
undertakings having been carried
through as the direct result of grange
influence and effort.
In one country town the principal
and the hired help to do it is almost
exclusively Polish. For the past few
years all kinds of difficulties have
been experienced with them, over
pay, hours. holidays, etc, until several
of the growers declared they were go
ing out of business, for the profits did
not compensate for all the nerve
strain and worry of getting a crop
through Matters grew so bad that
it was taken up one night in the
grange, whose members included
nearly all the principal onion grow
ers in the town. The result of 1t all
was that concise, positive schedule
of wages, hours, holidays, etc, for
the onion workers was drawn up,
every grower signed it and the grange
backed It, On such a formidable
basis, and reinforced by the fact that
the new schedule was in every sense
fair and reasonable. there was no re-
sisting it, and it works out very sat
sfactorily all around. A considerable
sum of money is saved to those
onion growers this season alone. while
great benefits result from the fact
that all the growers are now raising
their crop on practically the same
basis, at least in labor cost. 1t was
grange acknowledgements worth
while ends.