Smyrna times., 1922-12-20
STATE GRANGE CLOSES FINE
THREE DAY SESSION At DOVER
ROBERT P. ROBINSON, WHINING
TON, HEADS ORGANIZATION
Twenty Eight Oranges Reported in
the State With a Total Member
ship of 1900 Members

OOOONSN~ |
the Delaware State Grange convened
in Dover Tuesday for three-day ses-
sion, with Worthy Master Jacob H.
Rosa of Milford, presiding. The ses-
sions are being held in Dover Century
Club. The master announced the
standing committees and delivered his
annual address, the features of which
follow: AS to National Grange he gave
Endorsement of many progressive
movements, including demand for
rigid prohibition enforcement, with no
light wines or beer; against ship sub
sidy; against Japanese immigration;
favoring direct vote for President and
Vice-President; demand that Muscle
Shoals be put in immediate operation;
demand that all war debts by allied |
nations be paid in full; urging that all |
tax-exempt bonds be forbidden; that |
National Grange insurance or death |
benefit feature be carefully consider |
ed; the pure food committee carried |
request that oranges write their SEN |
ators asking them to support the filled |
milk bill; Near East relief was en-
dirsed; juvenilee oranges advocated.
Master Rosa, touching taxation and
legislation, stated that he felt the
State Grange would be willing to ap-
prove any law which hits the other
fellow. "We must be willing to pay
our share and demand that all prop
erty both real and personal pay its
just share, with special attention to
all stocks in trade as they parallel
farm lands and equipment" He ap-
proved a tax on gasoline for the up
keep of roads; uniform auto lens laws
for all states; reaffirmed the stand
| taken on a utilities commission for
Delaware. In the matter of education
he suggested that the grange commit
tee on education go to State Board of
Education and ascertain if changes are
contemplated in the law and if so Sc
cure changes that they may be dis
cussed by the grange. 1t was sug-
geSted that a competent man be put
in the field for. grange extension and
the revival of dormant oranges. He
urged stimulation in the circulation of
the national grange monthly.
Jefferson Cooper, CheswOld, Report
Worthy Steward jefferson Cooper
of Cheswold,in his report, noted many
handicaps detrimental to the past sea-
sons crops. The farm problem today,
he said, is one of organization. "We
find farmers selling wheat at 90 cents"
he said, "and paying $40 barrel for
flour, when $4.67 worth of his wheat
would be exchanged at the home mill
for a barrel of flour. In yesterdays
paper" he continued, "a knowing one
tells us to do cooperative selling and
he lives in our metropolis, where ap-
Piles last summer sold for 20 cents a
half peck, when they would not clear
marketing expenses shipped by rail-
road to commission merchants in that
city. Now some of US farmers attend
market in this city and are accused Of
grating on the city dweller, but they
cannot be beat at the game. We are
just now suffering the result of or
ganized capital and labor in the coal
field. Last spring the mine owners
and the head of the miners union
found too much coal was being mined
and the strike was the solution, so
that miners wagers could be main
i tained by less than normal supply
\ and at the same time add to the prof
H its to the owners. Now if it was pos
H sible to organize the farmers in the
Il oranges up to 80 per cent and have
| our national master allot production
Il and withhold the supply until the
Il populace got real hungry, and then
II deal it out miserly until we could get
II more than we needed to, we could
II have time to play and would not need
II to have capitalists providing farm
II loan banks to put us farther and more
II firmly in their clutches. The Farm
II Bloc as it is known in Congress, is
Y the only hope to the situation if it car
be encouraged by greater support. We
find that its head was ordered off that
capital interests might not get toe
hard blow. Now this new power
was not there by either of the domin-
ant political parties, but by combi.
nation of farmers. Just as long as we
divide our support with these two par
ties we may expect to beggarize oul
interests. Who is the Republican
party and Democrat party? We as a
grange have great opportunity to dc
great amount of good if we were
e patrons of husbandry first and politi-
Il cal partisans second, or still better
never unless we can follow the lead OF
the middle-west brothers and make
our interests paramount to any other
2S Oranges in State, 1900 Members
The report of Secretary Wesley
Webb showed 28 oranges in the State
with a membership of over 1900
amount of dues received from subor.