T B C I E

Grange ViSJio ISSUED MONTHLY

itYTHE E X E C U T I V E

Michigan State

C O M M I T T E E

Grange, P. of H.

VOL. 2. SCHOOLCRAFT, J U L Y , 1876. • No, 4 ,

T H E GRANGE VISITOR, Is Published Monthly,

AT THIRTY CENTS PER A N N U M , •¡ably in A d v a n c e .

J . 1 . WOODMAN, -J . T. COBB, - I Publishing Committee.

All communications should be addressed to J . T . Cobb, Schoolcraft, Mich.

Remittances should be by Registered Letter , Money Order or Dra f t .

R A T E S OF ADVERTISING :

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1 m . 2 m . 3 m. 6 m. 1 82.00 S3.50 85.00 S8.00

3.00 5.50 8.00 14.00 4.00 7.00 9.00 7.00 12.00 15.00 25.00 ;

25.01) 30.00 45.00

A Square is one inch in space, co lumn wid th .

IT IS not the purpose of the Executive Com-mittee in continuing the publication of t he VisrroB, by direction of the State Grange, to deviate f rom the course first marked out in Feb-ruary last, which was to furnish the most direct, complete and cheapest medium of communica-tion between the officers and members of the Order throughout the State.

Wo hope Masters and Secretaries will no t fail to call the a t tent ion of members to every matter of general interest , which appears in t h e V I S I T O R .

Communications on any subject, calculated to promote the good of the Order, are solicited.

VW For Grange Supplies kept by the Secretary, see " L I S T OF S U P P L I E S " on seventh page.

O f f i c e r s M i c h i g a n S t a t e C r a n g e .

M . - J . J. "WOODMAN, - - P a w P a w . O . - P . W . ADAMS, - - - Tecumseh. L . - C . L. W H I T N E Y , - - Muskegon. S.—H. F L E M I N G , - - - Pont iac . A. S.—W. H . MATTISON, - - Ionia. C . - A . M. F I T C H , - - - Albion. SEC.—J. T . COBB, - - - Schoolcraft. T.—S. F . B R O W N , " G. K.—A. E . STRONG, - - Vicksburg. CERES.—Mas. N. CHILSON, Bat t le Creek. POMONA—MBS. W . T . ADAMS, Grand Rapids. F L O B A — M B S . J . J . W O O D M A N , P a w P a w . L. A. S.—MES. W . H. MATTISON, Ionia.

E x e c u t i v e C o m m i t t e e . J . W E B S T E R CHILDS, Chairm'n, Ypsi lant i . F. M. H O L L O W A Y , - - Jonesville. GEO. W . W O O D W A R D , Shelby, Oceana Co. SAMUEL LANGDON, Bowen Stat 'n. Ken t Co. C. G. L U C E , - - Gilead, Branch Co, S. E. J E F F R E S , - Okemos, Ingham Co. W . A . W A L E S , - - Disco, Macomb Co. J . J . WOODMAN, J . T . COBB, - Ex . Officio.

S t a t e B u s i n e s s A g e n t . J . H. G A R D N E R , Centreville, St . Joseph Co.

D e p u t i e s . C. L . W H I T N E Y , General Deputy, Muskegon. P. W. ADAMS, Lenawee < )o. " Tecamseli . W. O. SMITH, . Osceola " Crapo. (•OITKTL'D H I I . I . , C l i n t o n " " B e n g a l . JAS. ANDERSON, Sanilnc. " •• Farmers . W . S H A T T U O K , S a g i n a w " " A. ROBERTSON, Shiawas 'e " " Owosso. W M . F . L E W I S , O c e a n a " " O . S . S T R A I G H T , W a y n e " " l ' a i n e s v i l l e .

W h a t l i a s t h e G r a n g e A c c o m -p l i s h e d ?

T h e day has come when we may proudly answer this question and point to a record of actual, accomplished facts, which entit le us to the grat i tude of all who "earn thei r bread by the sweat of their b row." T h e Grange was organized among the hardy yeo-manry of t h e land—men who were un-accus tomed to combining—who doubt-ed their own power and capacity, and who had a lways taken their opinions f rom some village oracle, who did no t know hal f as much as they did, b u t talked glibly, while wr inging t h e hard-earned dollars f rom the iariner for le-gal advice which he would have been much bet ter without , or f rom counter-jumpers while cut t ing t h e m off a few yards of calico. T h e era was deplo-rable. Eve ry depar tment of t h e Gov-ernment was full of cormorants , who were combining in rings to swindle and cheat and speculate ; capi tal was combined against labor ; g rea t corpo-rations and bondholders were ruling every th ing ; pub l ic and pr ivate morals were becoming utterly c o r r u p t ; sec-tional ha t red and animosity had made almost every neighborhood unsocial ; politics had become a t r a d e ; f raud , b r ibery and corruption ruled our elec-tions ; laws were bough t and sold, and lobby-members with full pockets ruled legis la tures ; Sta tes and counties, ci-ties and townships were loaded down wi th debts, and t h e money buil t no t railroads, bu t was divided out amongs t r ings ; prices of everything the farmer used were enormous ; pa tent r ight combinat ions g o t unl imi ted extensions f rom Congress; manufacturers leagued with middle-meo, and sold all their productions at f rom 50 to 100 pe r cent, more than fa i r ra tes—the rich men be-coming richer, and the poor, poorer ; the bondholder was becoming a lord, the plowholder a pauper.

Now, wha t influence has the Grange bad in this unfor tunate s ta te of affairs? W e ask a candid consideration to the fol lowing answers :

1. The Grange has encouraged so-cial intercourse among persons of dif-ferent polit ical opinions, and b r o u g h t together in f r iendly relations those w h o were estranged. T h e pleasant feasts together , the cheerful songs of t h e Grange, the greet ings and k ind ly inquiries about the family, were among the most pleasant "and profi table fea-tures of the Order .

2. T h e sett lement of difficulties is one of t h e wonders ; a few kind words has nearly always answered and m a d e

fr iends, whe re before a lawsuit was ted thei r p roper ty and time. H a r d on the lawyers but good for the people. In many counties of o u r S ta te the lawyers are almost starving.

3. T h e moral lessons taught at eve-ry mee t ing have had tel l ing effects.— T h e young have been prevented f r o m acquiring bad habits, and the older s t reng thened and encouraged. Many a dramshop has been closed for wan t of suppor t , and many a church has been filled by our judic ious lessons.

4. T h e s tandard of political moral i ty has been grea t ly raised. T r u e pa t r i -ot ism is t augh t in all the Grange les -sons. T h e citizen is urged to vote for no mail who is not t rue and honest, and " tha t t h e office should seek the man, and no t t h e man the office;" and while the Grange does no t meddle a t all iu party politics, yet all its mem-bers are cer tainly urged"to go to all meet ings of thei r various parties and see t h a t none bu t pure and good men are nominated for any office. I l ence ,

5. T h e Grange is at the bo t tom of the g rea t public outcry which has gone up all over the land to br ing the publio thieves to justice; i t has caused the searching investigations into t h e g rea t public corruptions which have resulted in the unear th ing of the Credit Mobi -lier f rauds , the whisky rings, and t h e jobs in t h e post t raderships, and many other k i n d r e d rascali t ies; and these reforms will go on just so long as the Grange retains power and efficiency.

6. The remonstrances of t h e Grange through thei r pet i t ions t o Congress, and th rough the pressure brought to bear upon Congressmen, has total ly s topped the cont inual extension of pa-t en t r igh t s on reapers, mowers, sewing machines, and many other articles of universal use, ou t of which the owners had already made gigant ic fo r tunes ; and we must see tha t no such un jus t special privileges are cont inued 6n the people in the future.

7. T h r o u g h the s topping of these pa tent r ight extensions, and by d i rec t contracts w i th manufacturers , the Grange has reduced enormously t h e prices of sewing machines, and all lead-ing agricultural implement) and sta-ple articles of merchandise genera l ly ; ' and let i t here be unders tood t h a t i t is our wish that the manufac turer should have a l iberal profit . There ough t t o •be no antagonism be tween the maker and user, bu t i t is our desire to br ing them closer together and make their interests identical. I t was t h e old sys-tem of distribution which was vicious and ruinously expensive.

THE GRANGE VISITOR. 7

8. A n e w direct ion has been given to t he publ ic though t . Once t h e p r o -fessional man , the bondholder and the capi tal is t were t he only citizens t h o u g h t wor thy of Government pro-tection ; now the plowholiler asserts his equal r igh t , and tbe law-makers recog-nize it.

0. T h e Grange has given to Missou-ri the bes t const i tnt ion in A m e r i c a ; where t he r igh t s of the t axpaye r s and minori t ies are careful ly gua rded , cor-pora t ions res t r ic ted within the i r legit-ima te bounds , education fos te red , and t he u t m o s t l iber ty accorded to t he cit-izens, compat ib le w i th good govern-men t . •

10. I t is b u t l i t t le k n o w n t h a t the leaders of t he Grange general ly s igned a memorial t o Congress , and person-ally urged t he passage of t he n o w fa-mous jet'y system fo r open ing the mouth of the Mississippi, and g iv ing to the great West d i rec t commerce with all t he wor ld . A l l hono r t o Capt . E a d s for t he g rea t boon; b u t t h e Grange claims also its humble share in helping all i t could.

H a s no t t he Grange done some-th ing to ent i t le i t t o recogni t ion as a g r ea t in s t rumen t for the publ ic good t I t is hoped t h a t ever} w e a k b ro the r , who cannot see ample compensat ion to h im in wha t has already heen done, will s top g rowl ing t h a t t he Grange has not filled his pocke t s w i t h money w i t h o u t even an effort of his own, and g e t ou t of the Grange as soon as possi-ble . W e w a n t n o such drones , b u t men who can see w h a t g r ea t t h ings we have a l ready done, a n d wha t wonders w e may y e t do, if w e are earnes t workers in o u r g r a n d co-operat ive movemen t . These are bu t a f ew of t he benefi ts a l ready conferred on our c o u n t r y b y the Grange , a n d when t i m e and space will a l low, i t may be profi table t o g o into th i s subjec t more in detai l , showing the success of local Grange enterpr ises a n d new sys tems of co-operat ive associat ions recen t ly o rgan ized .—Month ly Talk.

T o o MANY VARIETIES .—Tbe f o l l o w -u ig f r o m the N~. Y. Weekly Sun ex-presses ideas which those in tend ing to p lan t f ru i t of any k ind should h e e d : " N i n e t y pe r sons ou t of every h u n d r e d who set ou t t r ees fo r home use or for marke t , indulge in too m a n y variet ies . Th i s one fatal e r ror has ru ined more f ru i t g rowers t han all o ther causes combined . N u r s e r y m e n p ropoga te their hundreds and thousands of sorts s imply because a ma jor i ty of the i r cus-tomer s do no t k n o w w h a t t hey wan t a n d will no t t ake the advice of those who do. T h e prevai l ing passion wi th the novice in f ru i t cu l tu re is t o t ry as m a n y variet ies as poss ib le ; and we have known men w h o had ' j u s t begun, ' and wi th very l i t t le capi ta l , t o g o into a nursery and u n d e r t a k e to m a k e a shor t purse g o a l o n g way b y purchas-ing a t ree or two of each var ie ty , in-stead of ac t ing t he wiser par t , se lect ing f rom a n u m b e r of t r ees a f e w of t he very bes t . "

— T h e p u r c h a s e s of E x c e l s i o r Grange, N o . 379, of B u c k s c o u n t y , P a , in 1875, r e a c h e d $8,000, on w h i c h t he seventy m e m b e r s m a d e a c lear s a v i n g of $1,600, or 823 each .

H o w TO D o IT.—In order t o m a k e a G r a n g e useful t o its m e m b e r s and ben-eficial t o t h e c o m m u n i t y in which it is located, every m e m b e r should s tudy t he cardinal principles of the O r d e r ; wha t i t is capable of do ing a n d t h e best m a n n e r of accompl ishing i t s purposes . T h e n w o r k as if t he en terpr i se depend-ed alone upon your individual exert ions. W h e r e each m e m b e r works fa i thful ly , i t is very easy to co-operate and con-centrate. D o n ' t wai t fo r o the r s t o give in te res t t o t he G r a n g e ; don ' t keep away because your ne ighbors fai l t o at-t end . Y o u can no more e x p e c t pros-per i ty as a Grange, unless you do your du ty , than you can hope to realize a crop of co rn or tobacco wi thout fer t i l -izing and work ing your lands .— Vir-ginia Patron.

A F I R M U N I T E D F R O N T . — H e r e i s a

b i t of s ter l ing sense f rom the pen of a cor-r e s p o n d e n t of t he Cincinnati Grange Bulletin, which wil l d o no P a t r o n a n y h a r m to r e a d :

" Keep it before the Granges t h a t our ob l iga t ions d e m a n d u s t o work toge the r in h a r m o n y , t h a t wc m u s t sacrifice o u r i n d i v i d u a l preferences or p re jud ices for a cer ta in reaper or p low, wagon or sewing machine , a n d s t and by those who a r e wi l l ing to make t e rms wi th us . H e r e is our sec re t of success. A firm un i t ed f r o n t for one y e a r would b r i n g our m o s t b i t t e r en-emies t o t e rms . I t can b e d o n e , I be l ieve i t will be d o n e ; b u t i t will on ly be accomplished b y keep ing these th ings prori t inent ly before o u r people . I k n o w we g e t t i r ed a n d d i s c o u r a g e d b y ha rp ing on these th ings e t e rna l ly , b u t t h a t is the way people are e d u -ca ted "

TUE ROCHDALE P L A N . — T h i s i s w h a t has resul ted f r o m the R o c h d a l e plan : " H u s b a n d s w h o never k n e w w h a t i t w a s to be o u t of deb t , and poor wives who, dur ing fo r ty years , never had a s ixpence uncondemned in the i r pock-ets , now possess l i t t le s tores of money sufficient to build t h e m .cottages,and g o every w e e k i n t o the i r own m a r k e t w i th money j i ng l ing in the i r p o c k e t s ; and in t h a t m a r k e t the re is n o d i s t rus t and n o deception ; the re is no a d u l t e r -at ion, and n o second prices." St ick to t h e O r d e r ; m a k e co-operation a work -ing reali ty, n o t mere ly a t h i n g to be ta lked about and p layed at, and you wil l soon r e a p t he substant ia l benef i t t ha t the Eng l i sh opera t ives are n o w enjoying.

— S . T. H o p s o n says t h a t t h e G i r a r d M e r c a n t i l e Assoc ia t ion h a s a capi ta l of $10,000. S h a r e s $10 each . S t a r t -ed wi th a p a i d u p cap i t a l of $1,630. R u n e igh t mon ths , invo iced a n d divid-ed $1000 among s tockholders , t r oods t h a t were sold a v e r a g e d 14 p e r cent , above cost.

lastcr's impriment. -g- . J . J . WOODMAN, I ' A W P A W .

P A T R O N S AND F R I E N D S :

T h i n k i n g t h a t t he l abo r s of t he har-ves t would so engross t he t i m e and a t t en t ion of f a rmers , t h a t t he i r cor-r e spondence w i th t h i s office would ve ry genera l ly be defe r red un t i l the " h a r v e s t was g a t h e r e d , " I resolved to d r o p t he pen , vaca t e m y office, a n d t a k e m y place wi th t he " L a b o r e r s " in t he field. F o r t w o weeks I h a v e la-bo red in t he h a r v e s t field; a n d have answered only such l e t t e r s , a s seemed to demand i m m e d i a t e a t t e n t i o n ; con-sequen t ly q u i t e a large n u m b e r of u n -answered l e t t e r s h a v e a c c u m u l a t e d on m y table . I ask p a r d o n of t he writers, for t h i s de l ay . I a s s u r e t h e m t h a t my help was n e e d e d in t he h a r v e s t , a n d t h a t I have done g o o d work in t he field, bes ides do ing j u s t i c e t o th ree ful l " h a r v e s t f e a s t s " each d a y . My har -ves t is now finished, t he l abore r s have r e t u r n e d from the field; and I am aga in a t m y tab le . I will e n d e a v o r t o lie m o r e p u n c t u a l in a n s w e r i n g cor res p o n d e n t s in t he f u t u r e .

A C o r r e s p o n d e n t asks , if subord i -n a t e G r a n g e s a r e r e q u i r e d t o p a y clues t o t he S ta te G r a n g e , o n i t s Char t e r m e m b e r s ; a n d q u o t e s R u l e 84 of t he P a r l i a m e n t a r y G u i d e , which r e a d s as fo l lows :

" S u b o r d i n a t e G r a n g e s a r e n o t re-q u i r e d to pay m e m b e r s h i p d u e s t o t he S ta te G r a n g e on a c c o u n t of C h a r t e r m e m b e r s . "

T h e a b o v e r u l e e v i d e n t l y c o n t a i n s an e r ror . " M e m b e r s h i p f ee s" are n o t r e q u i r e d , e i ther of Char t e r or i n i t i a t ed m e m b e r s . T h e r u l e shou ld r ead a s fo l lows:

" 84. N o m e m b e r s h i p fees on ac-c o u n t of Char te r m e m b e r s . "

" S u b o r d i n a t e G r a n g e s are e x e m p t f rom the p a y m e n t of m e m b e r s h i p f c* to t h e S t a t e G r a n g e o n a c c o u n t ol C h a r t e r m e m b e r s . "

T h e fo l lowing l e t t e r f r o m Brother D . W y a t t A i k e n , C h a i r m a n of t he Na-t ional E x e c u t i v e C o m m i t t e exp la ins itselfi a n d I t r u s t will be in t e re s t ing to t he O r d e r in t h i s S t a t e .

LOUISVII .T.E, K y . , J u l } ' 7 , 1 S 7 G .

THE N a t i o n a l G r a n g e h a v i n g ad-j o u r n e d in N o v e m b e r l a s t wi thout se lec t ing a p lace for h o l d i n g i t s n e x t mee t i ng , t h e E x e c u t i v e Commi t tee h a v e in acco rdance w i th A c t 2, Sec. .'i of o u r C o n s t i t u t i o n se lec ted such place, a n d d o h e r e b y inform y o u , that t he N a t i o n a l Grange wil l open i t s n e x t sess ion a t 12 o ' c lock n o o n , in t he c i ty of Chicago, on t h e t h i r d W e d n e s d a y of N o v e m b e r n e x t .

F r a t e r n a l l y , D . W Y A T T A I K E N .

T H E RIGHT G R I P . — " I t w i l l b e a s a d d a y fo r th i s c o u n t r y w h e n t h e G r a n g -e r s loosen t h e sp lend id g r i p t hey h a v e on t h e t h r o a t of co r rup t i on a n d mo-nopo ly . B e t t e r c h o k e t h e life ou t of t h e m n o w , t h a n t o w a i t t e n y e a r s a n d h a v e t e n t i m e s a b i g g e r j o b to do . "— Iloosier Patron.

— W e f o r g e t t h a t if wo s tay away f r o m the G r a n g e m e e t i n g s , t h e Grange h a s n o social f e a t u r e ; t ha t , un less s o m e of u s c o n t r i b u t e t o t h e Grange m e e t i n g s s o m e t h i n g i m p r o v i n g to our -se lves a n d o u r b r o t h e r s , t h e social f e a t u r e is n o t h i n g to b e p r o u d of.

THE GRANGE VISITOR. 7

|cccctarg's ^ p r i m e n t .

J . T. COBB, - SCHOOLCRAFT.

Officers and members of Subordinate Granges in corresponding with tliis office, will please always give the Number of thei r Grange.

Q u a r t e r l y K e p o r t s .

I n t h e J u n e n u m b e r o f t h e VISITOR, I gave a l is t of Granges de l inquen t in Quar te r ly Rapor t s , ior the q u a r t e r end ing Dee. 31 ,1875. Since tha t i ssue I have rece ived some t w e n t y of those del inquent Repor t s , and 1 hope b y keeping the list s t and ing to g e t the a t -tent ion of Secre tar ies , and sooner or later ge t the necessary Repo r t . In many ins tances it- is no fau l t of t he present Secre ta ry tha t all Repor t s have n o t been made . B u t I need the Report , no less because the Sec re ta ry of last y e a r d id no t d o h is d u t y , and have n o one to look to b u t the present Secretary to make good the del in-quency of h is predecessor .

Granges de l inquen t in R e p o r t s fo r quar te r end ing Dec. 31, 1875. A s tar before t he n u m b e r , indica tes t h a t the Grange is also de l inquen t in Repor t s for q u a r t e r end ing Sept . 30, 1875. N o 15, *36, 52, 71, *119, *132, 151, 1G2, 172, 180, 187, *210, 211, *214, *280, 182, 30G, 311, *357, *377, 399, *413, 430, 444, *454, 478, 4,80, *50G', 507, *510, 543, 551, 576, 478, *58S, *575, 009. A few G r a n g e s o m i t t e d from this l ist , n o t h a v i n g r epor t ed for a y e a r , a re cons idered do rman t .

I n t h e A u g u s t n u m b e r o f t h e VISI -TOR, we shall, g ive a l is t of G r a n g e s de l inquent in Repor ts for t he q u a r t e r ending March 31, 1876.

Severa l o rders issued to M a s t e r s in p a y m e n t for a t t endance a t the J a n u a r y session of the S ta te Grange in 1875, 1

h a v e been re tu rned in answer t o our r e q u e s t i n t h e J u n e VISITOR

There are sti l l Orders ou t s t and ing , issued to Nos . as follows, which I hope Secretaries will r e t u r n soon as possible . I am anx ious t o givo t he severa l Granges c red i t for t he a m o u n t of t h e Order and close tha t old m a t t e r up.

OUTSTANDING O R D E R S . — N o s . 4 , 1 3 , 29, 39, 48, 68, 97, 98, 116, 119, 122, I2S, 130, 139, 149, 150, 162, 165, 166, 188, 193, 201, 206, 209, 218, 223, 2-?6, 239, 218, 283, 290, 299. 300, 301, 302, 320, 329, 349, 356, 377, 388, 397, 404, 404, 416, 417, 434, 439, 453, 459 .463 , 516, 523, 533, 539, 549, 564.

WE had a call las t week f rom M r . T a y l o r of the firm of D a y & T a y l o r , of Grandv i l l e ; he g ives a v e r y sat is-factory accoun t of t he cond i t ion of the P las te r business .

T h e work of m i n i n g has been con-t inued, and rock is be ing pi led u p un-der the sheds of the company . T h e mine proves far b e t t e r than p romised by all examina t ions m a d e by M r . Weston . H e c la imed 12 feet of plas-te r rock in t he lower s t ra ta . D a y & T a y l o r , find i t 21 feet , and t en inches in thickness , which makes i t the bes t Plas ter-bed tha t has eve r been .opened in the Grand R i v e r Val ley . Al l a re aware tha t b u t a small pa r t of the or-ders sent m e las t fall for p las ter were filled th i s spr ing . Some plas ter is used in the fall, and more ough t t o be used

abou t barn y a r d s , m a n u r e heaps and s tables d u r i n g the s u m m e r than ia used . T h a t there may be n o d i s appo in tmen t hereaf te r , we ask all o u r people who want p las te r th i s fall t o send me the i r o rders a t as ear ly a d a y as poss ible .— P lease g ive n a m e of consignee, h is post-office, name and n u m b e r of the Grange, on what ra i l road, and to wha t s ta t ion , and when y o u want t he p las ter sh ipped . I f o rde r s are received in season, they will be filled p r o m p t l y — pr ice as before, $3,00 per ton on t he cars a t Grandvi l le . I th ink if we d o our p a r t in sr.ason, t h a t we can safely depend on D a y <fc T a y l o r t o make good the i r con t r ac t wi th t he com-mit tee . I t is i m p o r t a n t t h a t o rde r s be received a t an ear ly d a y , so t h a t ears m a y be secured , and every th ing d o n e on our p a r t t o mee t the wants of our Bro. P a t r o n s in t h i s ma t t e r .

THE fol lowing f rom T . J . Crowe, will answer some compla in t s t h a t we have received in regard to seals o rde red of T . J . Crowe & Co. W e have a lways cons idered Mr . Crowe reliable, a n d sti l l bel ieve he will do all in h is power to mer i t the confidence of h is cus to-m e r s ;

DETROIT , J u n e 2 8 , 1 8 7 5 ,

MR. J . T . COBB, Dear Sir;—I have been sick for fou r mon ths and unable t o a t t end t a bus iness a n d r e q u e s t y o u t o say in the Grange VISITOR, t h a t t he firm have d i scon t inued business . On all o rders n o t soon filled, the money will be r e f u n d e d .

V e r y T r u l y Yours , T . J . C R O W E .

I SHOULD like to be ab le t o R e p o r t t o t he n e x t S ta te Grange , what Granges , a n d h o w m a n y in t he Sta te h a v e b u i l t or own Hal ls . F r o m le t te r s rece ived , I am of the op in ion such a R e p o i t would m a k e a ve ry c red i tab le showing of the fa i th a n d enterpr i se of Mich igan Pa t rons . I n m a k i n g qua r t e r ly Re-por t s , Secretar ies can ve ry easi ly g i v e u s a s t a t e m e n t in re la t ion to Ha l l s bui l f , and owned b y P a t r o n s . Shall we have i t ?

lEgF" W e a r e wel l p leased w i th t h e l a r g e n u m b e r of communica t ions w e p r i n t in th i s i ssue f r o m o u r f r i ends in d i f fe ren t p a r t s of t h e S ta te . T h e i m -p r o v e m e n t in t h i s d i rec t ion wil l a d d m a t e r i a l l y t o t h e v a l u e o f t h e V I S I T O E , a n d p r o m o t e " t h e good of t h e O r d e r . " F a r m e r s a r e too l i t t le accus tomed to g ive t h e pub l i c t he bene f i t of t h e i r op in ions and exper i ence . T h e G r a n g e is do ing vas t ly m o r e good in devel-oping. l a t e n t t a l e n t in s p e a k i n g and w r i t i n g t han i t h a s c r ed i t for. T ime will p r o v e t h a t i t is a ¡$<6at e d u c a t o r . Con t inuo to send u s ar t ic les " fo r t h e VISITOR," a n d if y o u t h i n k i t w o r t h t he t r i f l i ng s u m of 30 cts . a y e a r t o a P a t r o n , i n d u c e y o u r f r i e n d s to sub-scr ibe for i t .

E S ? " T h e S t a t e G r a n g e der ives no r evenue f rom the P o m o n a Grange , y e t as i t has become a cons t i tu t iona l p a r t of o u r organiza t ion , i t is impor -t a n t t h a t we no t only have a r epo r t of o rganiza t ion f r o m the o rgan iz ing De-pu ty , b u t t h a t we have q u a r t e r l y r e -p o r t s f rom Secre ta r ies , showing t h e m e m b e r s h i p a n d pecun ia ry condi t ion of t h e G r a n g e . Seve ra l S e c r e t a r i e s of P o m o n a G r a n g e s a r e de l i nquen t in th i s m a t t e r .

C o OPERATIVE F A I L U R E S . — T h e r e Will necessarily be some failures of co-opera t ive societies, as many are being organized a m o n g persons w h o have n o exper ience. L e t t h e m all, however , wuard careful ly aga ins t t he k n o w n cau-ses of fai lure which have been ascer-tained b y experience, which are flie fo l lowing :

1. S ta r t ing business with too li t t le pa id u p capital .

2. W a n t of fidelity in t he members in t r a d i n g gt the i r own s tore .

3. A c t i v e opposition of rivals, sell-i ng a t or b e l o w cost fo r a t ime.

4. E x t r a v a g a n t expenses in the management , and dishonest m a n a g e r s and employees.

5. R e c k l e s s or unski l l fu l purchases and accumula t ion of dead stock.

6. Imper fec t keep ing of accounts , bad aud i t ing and neglect t o watch t he progress of business closely. T h e t ransac t ions of every week should be careful ly scanned.

W h e n t he stock of any ar t ic le has been exhausted, the books should show exact ly what was sold of i t , and h o w the a m o u n t sold of i t compares w i th t he a m o u n t bought .—Co-Operat ive Journal of Progress.

A t t h e mee t ing of t he Secre-t a r i e s ^ ! the S ta te Granges to be held in Phi lade lphia , in September , the re will be p resen t m a n y m e m b e r s of t he Sta te Execut ive Commit tees , t he gen-eral purpose of all be ing to a r r a n g e methods fo r t he work ings o f the O r -der. P r e s e n t indicat ions show t h a t there will be a good n u m b e r of t he Secretar ies on hand ready to discuss t h e various p lans on w h i c h the busi-ness of the i r respect ive offices is con-ducted .

— E v e r y G r a n g e should h a v e a li-b r a r y . If e ach m e m b e r of t he G r a n g e , hav ing , s ay 50 m e m b e r s , b u y s o n e b o o k to read , a n d then pass i t r o u n d , t h a t G r a n g e wil l have a t once a l i b r a r y of 50 books . B y c o n s u l t i n g with each o the r before b u y i n g , a g r e a t va-r i e t y of w o r k s could be ob t a ined , a n d w e a r e conf iden t t h a t t he s t u d y of 50 well se lec ted b o o k s will n o t only m a k e t h e m e m b e r s of t h a t G r a n g e w i se r a n d b e t t e r m e n a n d women , b u t will confe r p r ac t i ca l bene f i t s on t h e m , of w h i c h t h e y h a v e n o iáea,.—, Helper.

SW A formal notice t o a d e l i n q u e n t m e m b e r will f r e q u e n t l y j o g h i s mem-ory and b r i n g h im to t he Sec re t a ry ' s desk wi th t he back dues . Sec re ta -r ies wil l please r e m e m b e r t h a t w e k e e p a supp ly of these blank remin-ders, w h i c h we f u r n i s h pos t -pa id fo r 40 c ts p e r h u n d r e d .

W e k n o w of no place, in or a r o u n d Phi lade lphia , where m o r e good solid h o m e comfor t , for the same mo-ney, can b e en joyed , t han a t the P a t -ron 's E n c a m p m e n t near the centenni -al g rounds . E v e r y o n e w h o h a s been a gues t the re speaks of its accoramo da t ions in the h ighes t t e rms . W e no-t ice t h a t t he edi tors a t the centennia l enjoyed a good d inner the re t he othev day , by invi tat ion of the managers .

THE GRANGE VISITOR. 7

l e d u m ' s |epadmeut.

C. L . W H I T N E Y , - - MUSKEGON.

D u t i e s o f O f f i c e r s — C o u t i a u e d .

CHAPLAIN.

This officer opens and closes the Grange with prayer , and when Grange funerals are held, acts in a similar ca-pacity as prescribed in the manual.— To do his d u t y well, the Chaplain should be interested in his duties. He should feel what he u t ters in devoation, and what he says to those he instructs in the degrees. He should also have the abili ty to make all who hear his words feel that lie is sincere in them, tha t they are of the heart . T o be thus impressive, the Chaplain should, be a devout man, one whose daily life does not belie his office, one who can perform the dut ies without feeling or leading others to feel tha t i t is a mock-ery, or a t least tha t he is doing life service only.

The Chaplain should be a good and impressive reader, who wil l carefully s tudy his dut ies and enter heartily in-t o their faithful discharge. He should be a patron in his life, and an example for all the members of the Grange t o follow, especially the younger ones.— The Chaplain should gently reprove all improper and immoral conduct on the part of members, all seeming vio-lations of obligation and ever be the Champion of Right , T ru th and Order. As has been said of the other officers, so the Chaplin should be familiar with all work of the Order, for we have known a case where this official being a ranking officer in the absence of others, had to take Master 's station and give instruct ion to candidates, while men usually fill this position, we have often met with Granges where a sister has filled the posit ion with credit to herself, and profit t o the Grange.

I n closing, we would condemn the spiri t that often casts od ium upon the office, and does in ju ry to the feelings of members b y electing to this place persons total ly unfit in character and abili ty. Don ' t forget tha t " whatever is worth doing at all, is worth doing well."

TREASURER.

The b a n k e r of t he Grange, as this officer is, should have the general confidence of all, yet this should not relieve h im f rom filing bonds, fo r even the best "know not what a day may br ing for th ," and if this is al-ways pract iced the re will be no funds lost, no " locking the door after the horse is stolen." A good man will not hesi ta te to give bonds, and a doub t fu l man should be requ i red t o give secur i ty before enter ing upon his dut ies .

The Treasure r should have a book of receipts wi th stubs, to give a re-ceipt for moneys received f rom Sec-re tary , and have the s tubs to show the same. H e should carefully file all orders drawn upon him as paid, and should keep a debi t and credi t account of all moneys received and paid, in such a manner as to show the amount on hand a t any time. Sepa-ra te accounts should be kept with the different funds, a n d none be over-drawn without no t i fy ing the Grange.

All books and papers of this office should be ready for inspection a t any t ime, and give any information de-sired on a moment's notice. The Treasurer should be a t every meeting to receive the amount paid, and to pay orders if any are drawn upon him, thus saving o thers much trouble. The Treasurer ' s example in punctual and regular a t tendance will do as much t o ins t ruc t the younger mem-bers of the Grange in th is direct ion, as the systematic manner in which he keeps his business, books and papers , will to teach order and system.

The Treasurer m a y have b u t little t o do in a Grange meet ing, ye t t he moral influence of this officer may be grea t if well exerted.

A u g u s t M e e t i n g s .

The following notices are here given tha t other localities may not take the same t ime, and may arrange for the services of the State Lecturer when in their vicini ty. A meeting will be held a t Ionia, A u g u s t 23, of all the Granges in the county.

Augus t 11th, there will be a Grange pic-nic and meeting a t Morenci, Len-awee county. A similar meeting will be held Augus t 17th, a t Hartford, Van Buren county. Other parties desiring the services of the Lecturer , should correspond with him a t once, and the meetings after Augus t 25th', and for September, may be announced in the next A u g u s t number. Let the Pa -trons of Monroe and Lenawee counties arrange for vis i ts about the 11th, and those of Van Buren, Berrien and Al-legan about the 17th. Those of the vicini ty of Ionia a t the t ime of the meeting there. A word about other public meetings of our Order. They will be useful to all, and in proport ion as the arrangements are complete and well carried out for holding them.— System is a great escential. A few may have the general arrangement and over-sight, b u t ALL should take hold in earnest, and each do his whole duty. Large expenses in non-essentials should be avoided, b u t each member and each Grange should be on hand to carry out what ever arrangements are made. United action is the point of success. By carrying o u t these hints , many large and more successful and interest-ing meetings may be held in the Sta te , which shall awaken interest, correct errors and redound in good t o the farming community.

Old members will become more en-ergetic, and new ones will learn more of the Order, and their dut ies therein, while those without the Gate will be led to enquire how it may open to them. L e t such meetings be Grange meetings. Let the whole member-ship arrange for a holiday a r d go.— See that wife and children all go. Ar-range that hired help can all go. A day ' s recreation will no t be lost to any . Arrange in t ime for speaking not too much, but tha t which is good. Have none b u t members of the Order to teach i ts principles, and even let the tenor of our meetings be such as tha t all will be pleased and interested, and the instruction given of an elevating tendency, leading the thoughts and resolves of those who at tend toward a higher and t ruer life.

Be prompt and explici t in making

and carrying out arrangements. Give ample notice to all Granges and the people. Send special invi tat ions to all desired to a t tend. Have no mis-unders tanding with speakers, as t o t ime and place and conveyance t o the place.

Tha t these thoughts , with the many more they will suggest , m a y be of some use to those who read them, is why they were wri t ten.

Victor Grange Clinton Coun ty and fou r others un i t e in a Pic-Nic, a t Bound Lake, on the 10th of Augus t .

A i d M a t t e r s .

Since the article in the J u n e n u m -b e r was wri t ten, money has been re-ceived from Granges as follows, to-wit :

F lush ing No. 387, $6.00 ; E a s t Ar -l ington No. 157, §10.00 ; Bee-Hive No. 158, $1.50; Lyons No. 216, $21.00; Madison No . 384, $5.00 ; and I th ink Seed Grain f rom one Grange to whom credi t has not been given. If any have been omit ted in giving credit, please inform me a t once, s ta t ing what and how sent .

All Granges receiving aid, sent me u p o n reques t t he n u m b e r of persons needing aid, and what they needed, and to what address the ar t ic les were to be directed, when goods came here the freight was pa id and d is t r ibuted among the Granges pro-rata as they represented the i r wants. Al l goods sent have reached the i r dest inat ion as rece ip ts will show.

Twen ty dollars of the money re-ceived was used in purchas ing seeds, and the same forwarded by express or mail pre-paid . F r e i g h t paid to t h e C. & L. M. li . R . was $19,68 ; to the M. L. S. R. R., $14.89 ; p re -pa id the former in forwarding $2,88; $10,00 was sent to Mainistee County Granges to pay f r e igh t upon the L a k e Steamer . A small s u m remains on hand , which I t r u s t will be increased b y r e t u r n e d R. R. f re ights , which have e i ther been promised or are be ing negot ia ted .— T h e F . & M. P. M. It. R. will r e f u n d the amount paid t hem as soon as the re-ceipts are sent to the genera l office.— T h e M. L. S. & D. & M. R . R . are consider ing the ma t t e r .

If the re are Granges still needing aid the amount on hand can be used or placed in the T reasu re r ' s hands awai t ing orders.

From Brown Grange No. 581, the following was received too late for J u n e V I S I T O R .

N O R W A L K , J u n e 6 t h , 1 8 7 6 . A t the monthly meet ing held to-

day, these resolut ions were passed: Resolved, t ha t we r e t u r n thanks to Bro . Whi tney, ( W o r t h y Lec tu re r of the Sta te Grange,) fo r the efficient manner in which he has responded to o u r call for aid. Resolved, t ha t we also thank those Brothers a n d Sisters who have cont r ibuted the Seeds, &c., sen t to us. S igned and Sealed.

J O H N W I E B E , S e c . N o . 5 8 1 . P . S.—•"Seeds and $10.00 ree'd ; also, Fre igh t

and box of Sundries.

W . H . Benne t t , of Chippewa 518, s a y s : — B r o . W . * * rece ived to-day, two bbls. a n d five bags grain, and was g lad to g e t the same.

J u n e 6th, 1876. W m , Kilpatr ick, of Baldwin City to

whom goods for Cent ra l and W . Lake were consigned on J u n e 4th,

THE GRANGE VISITOR. 7

says: " P l e a s e find inclosed receipt of shipment of Grain. J u n e 4, '76.

Henry Saunders, of Chase, J u n e 17, writes of t he goods sent to Eastern Lake. " Enclosed, please find rece ip t for f re ight on the balance of Grain.

These receipt were sent mo tha t I might forward them to the F. & P. M. K. R. to get t he charges re turned up -on them. H o p e to r e p o r t ful ly aud close u p the ma t t e r next number , properly receipted in full.

H a l l D e d i c a t i o n . On June 22d, we had the pleasure

of meeting with Gratton Grange, No . 170 of Kent county , and a ided in the Dedication of their Hall. Th i s hall has been conceived and builf since the 1st of the year, and except the plaster-ing, is the gratui tous work of the en-terprising and industr ious member-ship. I t is of ample dimensions, with a gallery and the entrance and ante-rooms which adds largely to i t s seat-ing capacity. All the appointments were as well as could be asked; few if any Granges have bet ter , The dec-orations were excellent; we make men-tion of the arch of-green, 20 feet in hight and suitable width, back of the lady officers. On this arch, in let ters of red roses were words: Fai th , Hope, Char i ty and Fide l i ty . The hall was filled to its utmost , by the members of this and other Granges and their friends. We were greeted by many worthy Brothers and Sisters of the neighboring Granges of Kent and Montcalm. Alter a sumptuous din-ner had been discussed and the re-mnants cleared away, the afternoon exercises began; music by a choir oi young ladies and gentlemen of the Grange, supported by an organ, was a great addit ion to the at t ract ions of the occasion. We thought " t h a t every Grange had such a one," and why not ?

Among the pieces sang was an origi-nal one by the leader of the choir, en-ti t led : " Faith, Hope, Char i ty and Fi-del i ty ," creditable to both author and the Grange .

The keys were du ly received from the architect and builder, Bro. C. M. Slay ton, and the dedication was duly conducted in accordance with the new service which impressed all present with it.« beauty and adaptat ion to the end.

W e commend the Master Chaplain and Lady Officers for the prompt and creditable manner in which they per-formed their duties.

Grat tan No. 170 has a home and is assured of permanence.

medium straw and stands u p well.— On rich strong soils the Deiel has y e t given better re turns than any other in my knowledge. I t r ipens early, short stiff s t raw; it shells easily and should be cut before ful ly ripe. The Claw-son is loose on the head, the chambers wide apart and large straw, requir ing a s t rong clay soil to give the best yield. I t has been introduced in some par ts by the name of Early May. Whi te Amber , so named from the straw resembling the large amber, is a white wheat, originated in St. Joseph county by a Mr. Himebaugh, a fair yielding, late r ipening va r i e ty ; long straw, does not shell easily, s tands u p well and gives good returns f rom l ight soils. I wish all wanting Drills t o be used this fall would let me know soon, the k ind and number wanted, so tha t I may be able to contract for them as soon as possible. I have already en-gaged a number of the Superior Drills from the manufacturer , and have j u s t received a car load of them, which wil l be furnished a t wholesale prices t o all orders accompained with the cash. There are b u t few Drills its equal for pu t t ing in all kinds of grains, and none ahead. I t comes a t a con-siderable reduction f rom last years prices. I have an offer for wagons and carriages a t a material reduct ion if I can take a car load ; and if all want-ing wagons for this fall would let me know a t once, I would see to selecting them personally, and endeavor to give satisfaction in quali ty of work and price. Boots and shoes are offered a t wholesale by a large manufacturer in New York who has been dealing with us for some t ime, and is anxious to continue to do so. His work is first class in every respect, and warranted equal t o any in the market, and he is not afraid t o send his boxes marked with his name. His prices are low and will be furnished on application to all wanting to lm/ , b u t not t o pry down local retai l dealers.

I quote Cooking Stoves at Detroi t , as fol lows: No. 8 Onward Sq., SIS 75, with Reservoir, ?J5 00

" 8 New Issue " 1» 50 •• fl •• » •• 15 50 '• 8 Legal Tender, 12 60

2? 00 a i 00 21 25 24 25

bate Sgcnt's Apartment.

J . II . GARDNER, - CENTREVILLE.

Let all Farmers now examine their wheat fields carefully and ascertain which var ie ty gives the best yield of grain, all things considered and then sow tha t part icular kind principally. Two kinds are generally desirable to be raised on each F a r m ; an early and. a later r ipening variety, so that one can be cu t before the other is ready. The Ful tz is as early as any, if no t the earliest, and yields very well; a bald chaff, l ight amber color berry,

Steel d rag teeth a t Detroi t , 10 cents a lb. Farmers make your own drags a t odd times.

My contracts for Dry Goods and Groceries a t wholesale are still in ac-tive use, and I am forwarding orders daily for goods to be shipped direct to the place where wanted. Sugars have recently advanced one-half to a cent a lb. on all grades in the principal markets. I think tha t this rise will no t hold long. Teas have declined in price in the mean time. I have a con-tract with Thomas Beck, of Detroi t , to furnish tubs and Ashton salt for packing but ter , to be received and sold by him on commission, and I would advise all good but te r makers to pack and hold for be t te r prices in the fall or winter. P r in ted directions for put -t ing u p bu t t e r in the best manner will be sent either by Mr. Beck or myself to all applicants.

I have an offer from a Commission House a t Det r io t to receive and sell wheat for two dollars a car load in

| bu lk ; th is house is quoted as a No. 1.

Some appear to think that dealers and manufacturers are responsible for dam-ages to goods in t ransi t on railroads or depots ; this is expect ing more than can be borne out , when a shipper takes a receipt for articles in good order he is then clear from any claim for in-jur ies done while in transit to the place of delivery, and if any loss oc-curs it must be collected of the car-rier, as he alone is responsible.

I would again ask correspondents to give their Post-Oflice and County , as let ters are constantly re turned t o me, marked uncalled for, which causes of-ten inconvenience to the Brother seek-ing information. T h e name of y o u r Grange is often not the name of a Pos t -Olfice, and it takes t ime to look over the l is t of Granges t o find your office, some complain tha t they have received nothing from me. I have only the ad-dress of those given by Secretary Cobb in last winters list from his of-fice.

I g ive a short ex t rac t from the Far-mers' Friend, which I think we all should heed and act upon the sugges-tions. "Al l the professed concentra-t ion unde r heaven will amount to nought if it is not practiced. I t is t ime we learned th is practically and experimental ly, as a Grange, and not for Pa t rons to d ivide up for sixteen to twenty different kinds of plows and reapers in a single Grange, and then blame the purchasing officers for not get t ing better terms and bet ter ma-chines0 The way to do, it seems to us, is to have a competent board ap-pointed, and then let tha t board de-cide on the bes t reaper, the best plow, or the best sewing machine; and then let it be understood that we all join in, and buy tha t reaper, or tha t plow, or tha t sewing machine, so long as the conditions remain. But you say one k ind of plow will not answer for all kinds of soil. Of course n o t ; b u t one kind of plow will answer for one kind of soil, and another for another. If we have to make a different kind of plow for every individual Pa t ron , we will never realize the advantage of co-operation, because we will never have it. Pat rons , can we not forsake individual preferences on some one th ing, consentrate on tha t one thing, and astonish even ourselves with the advantages tha t will be wrought ."

I am almost daily receiving money and orders for goods on which 1 have to pay express charges, registering fees and purchase d ra f t s . to be for-warded to manufacturers and dealers tha t amount to a considerable sum in a short time, al though each separate item may be small. Th i s is not ex-actly r igh t ; each Brother should pay his expressage, or when sent by reg-istered letter enough should be en-closed to pay for a draf t or register ing the same when I forward it to pay for the articles wanted. In these cases I have to either lose it, or ask the State Grange to re imburse me, which is wrong. I can not keep an i tem ac-count of these small sums of daily oc-currence, and I t rus t in fu ture every order will either be accompanied witli a New York draf t , or if by letter the fee for register ing will be sent along.

The best way to remit is always by a N e w York s ight draf t , as this is al-

6

most absolute ly safe. Regis te r ing a le t ter is only evidence tha t it was sent , and if los t b y carelessness or s tolen there is no redress , and the sender has t o bear t he loss. I have sen t some remi t tances lately which is claimed were never received by the par t i es t o whom they were fo rwarded .

Many Granges in Texas are offering p remiums to their members for the best cult ivation of var ious pro-ducts. T h e competi t ion thus induced cannot fail to be beneficial.

(£,ommimicutions.

C l a s s L c g i » l a t i o n -A late number of the VISITOR con-

tained an article tha t should be care-fully investigated by every Patron in the land. I t was headed, " W h i c h shall Rule: N i n e Tenths or One T e n t h . " Th i s is an important question, and the welfare, prosperity, and happiness of the fanner«, as well as other laboring classes, in the future, depends upon, its proper solution. l i e who has examined carefully the legislation of our country, for the past fourteen years , mus t be forced to the conclusion, I t h i n k , tha t such legislation has been in favor of capital instead of in the interest of the people.

i t has created, fostered and protected :i money monopoly, the most gigantic, the most overbearing and domineer ing tha t ever existed in our so-called free re-publican government .

It has enacted laws which dealt out just ice between its different citizens, and then, a t the command of capital and the money tyrants , it has repudiat-ed its promises and repealed said enact-ments, so that said monied r ings could grow rich from the labor of the toiling millions.

I t has passed laws g ran t ing to bank-ers the use of over 3">0,000,000 of dollars for almost nothing, while those w h o perform the labor, and create all the wealth must pay said favored class a rate of interest for the use of said money over three times as much as the average increase of our nat ional wealth.

T h e great object of m a n y of the lead-ing politicians, and men of the nat ion, seem to have been to devise plans and schemes, and get them in the form of legislative enactments, by which it com-pels the laboring and producing classes to surrended a par t of the results of their labor and honest toil to a set of schem-ing money sharks, who have grown im-mensely wealthy.

Laws are now in force which tax t he people nearly twen ty mil l ions of dollars annua l ly in the shape of interest, which is paid to a set of useless middlemen.— And aconspiracy isnowproposed which, if carried out as contemplated, will in-crease said burden of interest, annual ly , millions of dollars more, which will be paid to the same set of favored middle-men.

If favors are to be granted to auy , i t should be to those whose services are the most valuable.

T h e cause of this wrong and iii justice is: we have sent a class of men to Con-gress who have been legislating for t hem-selves, and for the interest of those who have plenty of money, instead of legis-lating for the interest of those who sent them there. The pcoplo have employed them at a h igh salary, and they have worked for the interests of others. Shall we cont inue to be thus unwise ? Shall we continue to send to our national legis-lature. to m a k e laws for us, a set of men who care not one fig for the rights, the prosperity, and the happiness of the farmer and the laboring people? Are we so foolish, so unwise, as to volun-tarily give the position and power to men who hesitate not to m a k e use of means to increase our burdens, our taxa-tion'. ' w h o are cont inual ly devising

schemes to rob and p lunder the laboring and producing classes of a part of the i r hard earnings without compensat ing them for the s ame? If not we must have the stamina,{the backbone, and the moral courage to be independent , and' support for office, only those whose con-duct and action in the past clearly de-monst ra te to us, that they have the wel-fare, the happiness and prosperity of the millions a t hear t more t han they do the enr iching of a few millionaires, a t the expense of t he people. W e m u s t send men to m a k e our laws, who are more identified wi th the interests of Agricul-ture. W e should send them not only for this reason, but because it is r i gh t and jus t that the farming interest should have its jus t proportion of representa-tives in Congress. B u t we should be careful in t he selection of men , even among t he farmers. There are m a n y wi thout doubt w h o are well qualified in m a n y respects to represent our interest, w h o will work for t he interests of t he rich aristocracy; such should be avoided.

A . F A N C K B O N E R . Schoolcraft, J u n e 13, 1876. WE th ink our f r iend F a n k b o n c r has

g i v e n h is v iews in r a the r s t r o n g t e rms , b u t we agree wi th him fu l ly in regard to t he p rop r i e ty and necess i ty of com-ing to t he f r o n t — a n d in s i s t i ng t h a t while the Agr i cu l tu ra l class compr ise more t han one-half of t he whole popu-lat ion, i t shall n o longer be satisfied to be represented in Congress b y Bankers and Lawyers , be they ever so capable and hones t .

T h a t the re are prac t ica l F a r m e r s com-pe t en t t o represen t t he in te res t s of the people in our Na t iona l Leg i s l a tu re is n o longer an undcc ided ques t ion .— There is n o t a D i s t r i c t in Mich igan tha t has no t within i t s l imi t s f a rmers of r ipe , bus iness exper ience , men s u -per ior in every respec t t o t he ave rage Congressman of t he p e r i o d ; Sou the rn Michigan is cer ta in ly an A g r i c u l t u r a l C o u n t r y . Shall i t a lways be repre-sented in Congress b y L a w y e r s and B a n k e r s ? I t will be in t he f u t u r e as in the pas t if we p e r m i t i t . A s P a -t rons , we have d u t i e s in t he pol i t ica l field a s well as t he corn field, and we should no t be satisfied in a t t e n d i n g t o t he one a n d d i s r ega rd ing t he other .

J . T . c .

COREY, J u n e 19th, 1870. Bro. Cobb, I wish to m a k e a shor t

communicat ion through t he GRANGE VISITOR, of a visit I had t he other day to the Promised L a n d . You k n o w Moses sent spies to spy out the land of Canaan, and said to tliem : " G e t up this way, southward, and go up in to the m o u n t a i n . " Well , I wasn ' t sent, bu t I got down out of the shor t knobs. Eas t -ward I saw the land—what it was, and t he people tha t dwell therein. Some were s t rong and some weak. There was not many , but few. Bu t t he command-men t went still f a r t he r : They were to see wha t the land was ; w h e t h e r i t was fat or lean, and to be of good courage and to br ing off t he f ru i t of the land! I was of good courage, for I wen t alone and have yet to learn tha t one man is to fear o the r s ; bu t as concerning the land ¡ K , : , a PPearance of fatness, for t he table, if there had been a n y mor ta l i ty about it, would have ached unde r its load, for t he sisters of t he f ra terni ty h a d done ample justice in prepar ing the good th ings of t he land. There was enough, and p lenty to spare, and, iude-ing by myself, I t h ink i t would have been better for dyspept ic s tomachs if the provision had not been so fat. I did not bring off any of t he fruits/)f t he land because it was not in the t ime of the hrs t ripe grapes. Bu t when I got to La i sh and saw the people t h a t were therein,—how they dwelt , careless af ter

the m a n n e r of Zidonians, qu ie t and se-cure, and there was no magis t ra te in the land to p u t t h e m to s h a m e in any th ing , and they were far f rom the Zidonians, and had n o business wi th a n y man out-side t he Pomona . W e considered t h e m selfish, for they did no t even give us an honora ry seat wi th t hem. This , we t h i n k , is rulable in all deliberate bodies ; and the i r only s t reng th i s : t h e ' g r e a t head recognizes them. Bu t we failed to see tha t t he land was any r icher, or Un-people a ry fairer t han in the F o u r t h De-gree. The i r t reasury is not very flush, according to wha t w e t h i n k has flown into it. W e have me t t he same people w h e n in t he F o u r t h Degree, in the county council. T h e y were j u s t as good looking, jus t as pleasant , and seemed to be jus t as happy , and , w e t h i n k , en-joyed themselves better t h a n they do now ; but , oh, t he h igher degree. They are h u n g to it w i th tha t tenaci ty tha t will destroy the order unless there is a yielding. W e notice t h a t a major i ty of the peti t ions tha t were presented to ' the Nat ional Grange were for t he abolition of the h igher degrees, bu t t he minor i ty prevailed a n d has become law, — we t h i n k to the d isadvantage of the order. Had the h igher degrees been abolished, the fees lowered, t he order would have been a grea t deal more numerous to day than i t is : and our opinion is, the sixth degree wil l be b r o u g h t w i t h i n the reach of every m e m b e r of t he State Grange. Then , perhaps, the head will say to the body, I have n o need of t he brethren and sisters. L e t us awake to a sense of t he duty w e owe to ourselves and others a round us. L e t us petition t he proper author i t ies to abolish t he h igher de-grees and reduce t he fees; we care not h o w m u c h , for it is the m e m b e r s we w a n t , no t t he fees. If th i s is done there-are thousands tha t will yet- llock to our s tandard and labor wi th us to establish equal i ty and jus t ice t h roughou t the land.

Now, Bro. Cobb, you are aware t h a t t he spies returned wi th false report , but it has no t been m y in tent ion to report a n y t h i n g falsly ; if I have, i t has been for w a n t of a proper knowledge, and would ask some f rom the goodly land to c o r r e c t i t . A . P . S H E P H E R D S O N .

B E R R I E N S P R I N G S , J u n e 4 , 1 8 7 6 . BRO. J . J . WOODMAN, Master Michigan

State Grange P . of H . Dear Sir and Bro.:—I would be glad

to have t he fol lowingquest ions answered i n t h e V I S I T O R :

1st. H a s a member a righ t as a Patron to buy imp lemen t s for Non-Pa t rons th rough the order or i t s agencies.

Am. 1, No . T h e business featu re of ou r Order has been organized for the special benefit of i t s members , and no t for those who refuse to affiliate w i th us.

, . 2 d : , , H a s a Grange a r igh t to Issue a (limit to a member and erase t he recom-m e n d wi thou t p re fe r ingcha rges against the person a sk ing for the dirni t .

Am. 2d. D imi t s should be in t he form prescribed by the Nat ional Grange. A n y o ther form of dimits would no t be relied upon .

3d, I t is claimed by some, tha t a Orange has no legal jurisdict ion unless incorporated under the laws of the State.

Ans 3d. Incorpora t ion does not af-fect t he jurisdict ion of a Grange .

F o r General Rules on d imi t s and ju-

the V i s i t o r 8 6 0 a n d M a r c h N o ' s o f

MARILLA, Manis tee Co., Mich 1 J u l y 12th, 1876. ' I

J - r . COBB, W o r t h y Bro . :

G r i n f f p " ' w m ' " ° U e , m i s »»r order of t he Vil'i 'rv? y o u P I ease insert it in the

•ist t . r«n!|0r " t f , ' 'A m Granges of Man-f o r t I it-oil ir h t i ° C o , u n t i « . "I;<y be looked h v t ' U " h ^ o l u m n s o f t h e V I S I T O R , and UhoTON , , " £ e s . who so k indly seen in d , s P e n s e d c h a r i t y , " as is seen in t he J u n e n u m b e r .

M a n i l a Grange, No. 580, the

THE GRANGE VISITOR. 7

youngest Grange and township in Man-istee county, suffered perhaps more than any other one, by the frost and rain of last year, as not a crop of any kind (ex-cept oats) matured, and seed of all kinds, even vegetables, had to be procured from "outs ide ." But not one asked for or received, aid; though we all fully ap-preciate the kindness and efforts of our Fraternity, in behalf of our worthy brethren.

We venture the hope of a bountiful harvest this year—crops of all kinds look promising,

(¡range is active and harmonious. M i s s . J E N N I E A . P O P E , S e c ' y .

BIRCH RUN, Mich., July I , 1876. MR. J . T. COBB, Schoolcraft:—If you

have space in the VISITOR, please allow the following:

Patrons Greeting:—Lastevening, July Tth, we met for the first time, in our new hall, which is, rapidly being completed at a cost of about one thousand dollars. Is ¿0x55, eighteen foot posts. On upper floor we have a private hall room 20x45. On first floor, we have a hall for public purposes 20x45, and a stair room 10x20, including stairs. We found it much more commodious, pleasant and enter-taining than the Garret, which we for-merly rented at a cost of §25 per year.— We are now supplying ourselves with a permanent trading fund. We can derive much benefit from that source, and are looking forward soon to see a more perfect system of co-operation es-tablished. We regret we have no es-tablished place in Detroit for dry goods as Mr. Geo. Feck & Co., will not fill or-ders until cashed. We cash our orders on receipt of goods and believe our lead-ing firms ask nothing more.

We hold our meetings weekly on Tuesday evenings, all meetings are reg-ular. Extend a cordial invitation to neighboring Grangers to come and see us.

GEO. N. FISHER, Sec'y. B K L L V I I . L E G R A N G E , \

No. 331, June , 1876. j .). T. COBB, Worthy Sec'y:

Bellville Grange is in a flourishing condition since the dedication of its new hall. The hall was built ill connection with a town hall. The building is of brick, two stories high, 30x60 feet. The Grange organized a stock company and built the upper story at a cost of $1,400. We have in connection with the hall, a room • for groceries, and keep nearly every thing in that line—also a supply of plow points, cultivator teeth, nails, &c., for convenience as well as profitare kept on hand. In spite of the influence of traveling humbugs, and the tree agents, that prophesied tha t trees would not be worth setting, or even to bush peas with unless purchased of them, we sent east through our fruit agent, orders to the amount of $380 for frui t trees— consisting ofapples, pears, plumbs, cher-ries, peaches, apricots, anu some of the leading varieties of grapes, including Salem and Concord. We found to our satisfaction, that the traveling humbugs don't know it all as we th ink the State of New York could not send any better trees than those sent to our agent. We have not done much in the line of sliip-ing produce, but as an experiment, shippedScarp potatoes in March to Louis-ville, Ky, , and a quantity of beans to Chicago, with satisfactry results. Po-tato bugs are as familiar as ever. At the last meeting 100 pounds paris green were ordered. I n short, we can dis-pense with the middle men, for nearly every thing we need is bought at whole-sale from a bar of soap to a chest of tea, from a plow point to a combined ma-chine. The Champion is the leading machine that we handle. We hold meetings once a week.

Kurotus Troop, Fru i t Agent. J . R. Brayton, Business Ageul. L. Briggs, Purchasing Agent.

J . R. CLARK, Sec'y, Wayne Co., Bellville, Mich.

THOMASTOWN, Mich., Ju ly 1, 1876. J . T. COBB, Sec. of Mich. State Grange:

Worthy Jirother .-—Perhaps it would be in teresti ng to you to read a brief state-ment of the past and present condition of Lelia Grange, No. 597. I t is well known throughout this part of the State that for the six months immediately , succeeding the organization of our Grange, (June 29th, 1875), we were in a flourishing and prosperous condition ; since tha t t ime we have encountered and surmounted difficulties that I hope few Granges are ever called upon to meet. We have had trouble, and I am sorry to say tha t trouble was mostly chargeable to a member of the Order who locked us out of a Hal l that the Grange had fitted up at an expense of over $200, captured and retained the property of the Grange as well as the private property of individual members. F ind ing ourselves without a place of meeting of course something must be done.

Wre made an effort to build and own a Hall in connection with the township; this proposition was voted down, and we were compelled to fall back on our own resources. The result proved that "where there is a will there is a way."

At this date we have a building 2Sx52 with 20 feet posts, standing on a good brick foundation. The roof is on and we have money, labor and material suf-ficient to fit the Hall for occupation.

You may see by this worthy Brother, that Lelia Grange is up and doing, and is determined to occupy a prominent position among her sister Granges. She is determined to not sink beneath a sea of trouble, but to ride t r iumphant ly up-on its surface.

Yours Fraternally, C H A S . H. Burrs,

Sec'y of Lelia Grange, No. 597. S O U T H W R I G H T , J u l y 1 4 , 1 8 7 6 .

BKO. J . T. COBB:—I send you here-with an abstract of the Report of the Executive Committee of Wright Grange No. 285. There was placed in the hands of the Grange Agent on the 1st of J an . last, $63,00 which was kept revolving during the first quarter, doing business to the amount of $403,00, and saving to our members not less than $240,00. Had at the close of the quarter $73,00 worth of goods on hand.

On the 15th of May, the Executive Committee placed $100 more in the hands of the agent. The amount of business done in the second quarter was £800, and the amount saved to Patrons, $207,00, with $185.00 worth of goods on hand. The amount of produce handled during the second quarter was $005,00.

I t is surprising what an amount of business can be done with so little capi-tal, by adhering strictly to* a cash busi-ness, and it is a great satisfaction to know that it pays so well to do business on Grange principles. We have bought in New York, Toledo, and Chicago. I wish we had a reliable wholesale Grange House in Detroit.

W h a t can I get an Organ for, one that retails for $200 or an Esty, one that is just as good.

Enelosed, find 30 cents for VISITOR; send to Mary F. Hubbard, South Wright , Hillsdale County, Mich.

Fraternally Yours, C . W . A B B A D U S K A , A g e n t .

BOWNE, Ken t Co., Mich., \ May 15th, 1876. j

W O R T H Y M A S T E R & B R O T H E R : — O u r Grange is doingagood business, buying goods at wholesaleratesanddistributing among our members; we are saving at least 20 per cent.; we have a new hall 24x48 feet, 18 feet high, with plenty of room for business, and meeting room above; we feel very much encouraged. We raised a fund of one hundred dollars the first of February, and have up to this time between $300 and $400 worth of goods; it has been the nimble six-pence with us as we have paid out and received the whole amount once a month.

Our Grange is incorporated. W e formed a joint stock association to raise means to purchase material for our hall, done our own work, and thereby saved the expense of carpenters.

M. A. HOLCOMB, Master, Brown Center Grange, No. 210.

M I S C E L L A N E O U S .

SUCCESS depends n o t so mueli on a Grange hav ing a large membership, as in the effectiveness ot t he members . Effect ive working is the t rue test .— "We all r emember some lit t le people who can walk clear a round an Over-grown, lubber ly neighbor every h o u r in the day. Granges of twenty wide-awake, devoted members can be, and often are, more a t hea r t Pa t rons of Husbandry than some similar organ-ization wi th over fifty on the rolls.— Thi s is so in every S t a t e ; a n d before we begin pra is ing a Grange with a large membership, simply because the membership is large, we o u g h t t o compare t l iem with some of apparen t -ly smaller growth . The cedar doesn' t g row l ike the hemlock, but which of the two do we prefer for our fence posts ? By the comparison it is not in tended to discourage the l a rge r Granges, b u t to cause Pa t rons to look around and see, for once, if they have not seen, t ha t some of our br ightes t gems, as Granges, are the meek and humble ones ; who speak not of them-selves, but pursue an even tenor of way a l together charming.—National Granger.

The sisters of the Grange should never fail to attend and show the lukewarm brethren their dut ies as members of our Order. Their finer sensibilities add much to the improve-ment of men, and make them feel that action is needed t o keep them advanc-ing.

I 3 P ' There are two kinds of P a t -rons, j u s t as there are two men or two kinds of bees—one workers and the other drones—of course each know their position and occupy it. But we hope, as the world progresses and ad-vances, any drone who reads this will do the same.

OUR Grange fr iends report crops much bet ter everywhere than they were this t ime last year, and many more persons exper iment ing with fer-ti l izers than a t any former time. W e hope to hear, in due season, of main-improvements from this cause.

EVERY Grange should have a book in which the members can record any article they may have for sale, or of any stock s trayed, stolen or taken up. By this means buyers will a lways know where t o go for such things, and the members will be great ly aided in finding lost s tock, etc.

Brandywine Grange, No . 00, Ches-ter county, Pennsylvania , has pre-sented the E n c a m p m e n t Association with a handsome flag, 22 feet long, which is floating gaily f rom the main bu i ld ing of the E n c a m p m e n t .

2 5 9 " Every State in tlie Union re-ports large numbers of G range co-ope-ra t ive stores, wherein the Pa t rons are learning the great benefits of union, and the s trength of concentration.

THE GRANGE VISITOR.

m

JONES, O F

B I N G H A M T O N ,

N . Y .

E X E C U T I V E C O M M I T T E E ,

N E W Y O E K STATE G B A N O E .

To Patrons: We are personally acquainted with EDWAED

I". JONES, generally known as JOMES of Bing-hamton, President of the Jones Scale Works of Binghamton, N . Y., and are somewhat familiar with the Scales manufactured by him, and know they are reputed to be first class.

From our knowledge of him and them, we say freely to the Order of Patrons of Husbandry that it is our opinion tha t he is worthy of their confidence and will make good all representa-tions made by him.

He was one of the first to make concessions in prices to the Order, and never to our knowl-edge, has failed to deal fairly with them.

WM. G. W A Y N E . Chairman, ) J O H N O. DONNELL, Sec'y, } Ex . Com. L. H. BISHOP, )

WM. A. ARMSTRONG, Sec. N.Y. State Grange Ex-Oflicio Member Executive Com.

We also refer to Bro. J . H . Gardner, Michi-gan State Agent, who has had one of our Stock Scales in use several years and through whom Scales may be ordered, or direct to us. Send for f ree Price List and Discounts to Patrons.

J O N E S of B i n g h a m t o n , N . Y .

P R I C E L I S T o f S U P P L I E S Kep t in t he office of the Secretory of

M I C H I G A N S T A T E G R A N G E ,

And sent out Post Paid, on Receipt of Cash Or-der, over the seal of a Subordinate Grange, and the signature of its Master or Secretary.

Ballot Boxes, (hardwood,) $1 2» Porcelain Ballot Marbles, per hundred , . . . 60 Blank Book, ledger ruled, for Secretary to

keep accounts with members, 1 00 Blank Record Books, (Express paid), 1 00 Order Book, containing 100 Orders on the

Treasurer, wi th stub, well bound, 50 Receipt Book, containing 100 Receipts

f rom Treasurer to Secretary, with stub, well hound 50

Blank Receipts for dues, per 100, bound , . . 50 Cushing's Manual, 00 Applications for Membership, per 100, . . . . 50 Membership Cards, per 100, 50 Withdrawal Cards, per doz., 25 Illustrated Visiting or Traveling Cards,

each, 05 Dimits, in envelopes, per doz., 25 By-Laws of the State and Subordinate

Granges, single copies 5c, per doz 50 Singing Books, with music, flexible cover,

per doz., 1 80 Rituals, single copy, 15

" per doz., 1 50 Blanks for Consolidation of Granges, sent

f ree on application Blank Applications fol Membership in Po-

mona Granges, furnished free on appli-cation.

Blank Orders for use of Granges or Pu r -chasing Agents, per doz., 10 cts, per 100, 50

Blank "Articles of Association" for the Incorporation of Subordinate Granges with Copy of Charter , all complete 10

Manual of Jurisprudence and Co-operation, by A. B. Smedly i.25

P j t r o n ' s Pocket Companion, by J . A. Cra-mer, Cloth, 60 cts., Moracco with tuck, . 1 00

Notice to Delinquent Members, per 100, . . 40 Address, J . T . C O B B ,

S E C ' Y M I C H . STATE GBANGK, SCHOOLCRAFT, MICH.

Iff PARTICULAR.

M O N T G O M E R Y W A R D & C O . ,

The Original Wholesale

GRANGE SUPPLY HOUSE H A V E R E M O V E D T O

2 2 7 2 S t a W A B A S H A V E N U E ,

J O B B E R S I N

DRY GOODS, CLOTHING, H a t s , C a p s , T r u n k s , See., &c.

They now have their incomparable S U M M E R C A T A -L O G U E , No. 16, Ready.

Their Fall List will be issued about August 16th. These catalogues are in nea t book form, contain 154 pages of jus t such information as

every one needs, regarding name and wholesale price of nearly all articles i n every day use.

T H E Y A R E F R E E T O A H , . U S Y O U R ADDRESS.

P R I C E S A R E V E R Y L O W N O W . S E N D

M O N T G O M E R Y W A R D <fc C O . , O p p o s i t e t l ie M a t t e s o n H o u s e , C h i c a g o .

Whitney Sewing Machien. THE PIONEER MACHINE,

To recognize and adopt the Grange P lan of bringing the CONSUMER and P R O D U C E R in close business relations — dispensing with ex-pensive agencies—and giving the purchaser the benefit of wholesale prices.

W e have pleasure in saying tha t t he most prominent members of the Order have heart i ly approved and recommended our plan, while State, County and Grange Committee» have ex-amined, tested and approved, and warmly com-mended the high character and excellence of the Whi tney Machine. W e have already sup-plied thousands of Patrons wi th the Machines, which are giving unqualified satisfaction.

M A C H I N E S S E N T T O P A T R O N S O N 20 D A Y S T R I A L .

For Price List and Informat ion address your State or County Purchasing Agents, or

T H E W H I T N E Y M F ' G CO., CHICAGO. I L L .

G A S H S A L E S

FARMERS ! SAVE YOUR FSUIT AND VEGETABLES

— W I T H T H E —

J. O. BUTTON

A n d S m a l l P r o f i t s , M <;<;iKS O F A L L K I N D S .

ALL VVOKK WARBASTKII. GGF Send for prices A R T H U R WOOD,

37 Waterloo St. , Grand Rapids, Mich,

Fruit & Vegetable Dryer MANOTACTUBED BY

C H U R C H B R O S . , A l l e g a n , M i c h . Call and see sample Dryer , and get prices at

t he Store of the Co-operative Association, P . of H., on Rose Street , Kalamazoo.