62 HISTORY OF THE WHEEL AND ALLIANCE. 



A secret work was also adopted about this time and 

 shortly afterward a ritual and charge, written by B. R. 

 McPherson, were added. In four weeks from the time 

 the first meeting was held there were twenty members be- 

 longing to the Club. 



About this time it was decided to change the name of 

 the organization and it was called the Agricultural Wheel. 

 Mr. Tedford gives the following reasons for adopting this 

 name : ' ' No machinery can be run without a great drive 

 wheel, and as that wheel moves and governs the entire 

 machinery, however complex, so agriculture is the great 

 wheel or power that controls the entire machinery of the 

 world's industries. Who could live without the farmer? 

 And yet, who cares anything for him except his family and 

 the candidate for office? Another reason why it was 

 named the Wheel because we are surrounded by 'rings' 

 of many kinds, especially political rings; the Prophet 

 Kzekiel, in the tenth chapter, says: 'The wheel that he 

 saw, worked, as it were, with the regularity of a wheel 

 in a wheel,' and it was confidently expected that this 

 would be so; again the prophet says in the same chapter: 

 'As for the wheel it was said in my hearing, O, wheel,' 

 and so we hear it. 



' 'Every editor who is opposed to our principles raises a 

 pitiful little wail, O Wheel, keep out of politics; you will 

 ruin the glorious organization. In answer, if we were to 

 burst both political parties into atoms, and scatter them like 

 star dust throughout the universe, the editors and others 

 who oppose us would lose nothing; we made them." 



The Order obtained a certificate of organization Au- 

 gust 22d, 1882. At this time there were about 100 sub- 

 scribers to the Articles of Association of Wheel No. i. 



This was divided, and Wheels Nos. 2, 3 and 4 were 

 chartered and soon became strong organizations. 



The State Wheel was organized on the 9th day of 



