PUBLIC POLICY AND FARMERS' ORGANIZATIONS. 35 



tnown to man, and that the more intelligence they manifest in their 

 business the more honorable they make themselves, and their occupation 

 teaches them that it is more honorable to be a whole farmer than it is to be a 

 half mechanic; that it is more honorable to be the owner of a farm, sitting 

 by your own fireside, and owner of yourself, than it is to be the paid servant 

 of any corporation ; that the individual that strives to live on the unpaid 

 labor of others is a thief, no matter whether his position in society be high 

 or low. 



To yon farmers that are not members of the Grange, do not excuse your- 

 selves from, or condemn its principles, because some individuals have Joined 

 who afterward proved false to the principles they advocated. 



The members that are honest in their efforts to better the condition of the 

 farmers, and the great majority of them are, regret tiiis very much more 

 than yon possibly can. 



To you that are members, do not become discouraged because occasionally 

 a brother is willing to prostitute himself to some soulless corporation that 

 may wish to use him to fui'ther their own interests, notwithstanding he 

 pledged to you on his sacred honor to guard and protect the principles of 

 your order, he is a better judge of the worth of the honor he pledged than 

 we are — let him go. Let us say to ourselves, " Brother farmers, this is our 

 country, and is to be the home of our children after us. Let us work 

 together in unity of ])rinciple by organized efforts to protect its free institu- 

 tions, so that if our children do not live under a republican form of govern- 

 ment and enjoy the blessings of freedom, they cannot say the fault was with 

 us; that we had bartered onr birthright for a mess of pottage. Tell your 

 children the story of our first revolution, the causes for which the founders 

 of this government labored, fouglit, and conquered; place in their hands 

 the Declaration of Lulependence and the constitution of this country, that 

 their teachings may be preserved. 



Dr. Godfrey: ILiving had frequent opportunity of meeting with farmers, 

 I used to find it in farmers" school meetings a rare thing for young men to 

 be able to express themselves in public; whereas, now the influence of the 

 Grange has greatly chatiged this, and familiarized farmers with public 

 address, and, by practice, taught them fluency and parliamentary form. 



Mr. A. Clark: If Mr. Alward had signed my name to this paper, 1 should 

 have been satisfied. There is no ignoring the fact that organization is in 

 the very nature of man, and it is useless to oppose the tendency. From the 

 time when Adam and Eve organized for their little unlawful schemes, men 

 have organized for all sorts of purposes — lawful or unlawful. Military 

 organization secured the leadership of feudal chieftains which lorded it over 

 men's bodies, and ecclesiastical organizations have lorded it over their souls. 

 Now men organize against tyranny for their own freedom, and our govern- 

 ment is planned for the good of the governed. And yet under this system, 

 still, are organizations for the gathering in by the few, of the fruits of the 

 toil of the many. The boot blacks organize for !0 cents a shine. The hack 

 men organize and ask as much to carry you a mile as would pay your fare 

 half way to Jackson. The doctors organize and hoodwink their patients 

 witii Latin formulas, and the lawyers, to get 110 for a half day's work of 

 three hours. The farmer, without organization, works twelve hours for 80 

 cents, lie carries his wheat to market when it is raised, and finds that the 

 dealers have discovered an immense glut, and wheat is down. He sells, and 

 wheat suddenly rises. 



