Tte RURAL. NEW-YORKER 
\ol 
Statement of Purposes of National Grange 
As Outlined By National Master Sherman J. Lowell 
.{The Grange or Patrons of Husbandry is a strong, conservative organization of American farmers, with a 
record of many years of useful work. It has recently elected a New York man as National Master, and his 
views are of peculiar interest in these days when all classes of industry are waiting to see what the farmer will 
do. We are glad, therefore, to give the following statement, which gives an outline of the national policies 
advocated by Master S. J. Lowell.] 
Sherman J. Lowell , 'Newly-elected Master of the National Grange. Fig. J t 2 
A GENERAL SURVEY.—In as¬ 
suming his duties ns Master 
of the National Grange, Mr. 
Lowell has made a careful sur¬ 
vey of the Grange field, and has 
reached some definite conclusions 
that are highly interesting, be¬ 
cause they suggest the lines 
along which Grange energies are 
likely to be exerted, under Mr. 
Lowell’s leadership: while the 
fact that he has long been recog¬ 
nized as a man of action and apt 
to push energetically along any 
line which he tackles, adds force 
to the Grange policies herewith 
outlined by the new National 
Master. A survey of the’Grange 
field of the United States, at the 
beginning of the year 1920, re¬ 
veals at once three outstanding 
facts concerning the organiza¬ 
tion : 
(1) That it has become a force 
in the affairs of the country, of 
tremendous and far-reaching im¬ 
portance; an organization of 
farmers, a representative organi¬ 
zation. an aggressive organiza¬ 
tion and one which covers, 
in a chain of organized States, 
the entire width of the coun¬ 
try. 
(2) That people are expecting 
much from the Grange at the 
present time, and are relying up¬ 
on it to put sanity and common 
sense into the great reconstruc¬ 
tion needs of 1920 and the years 
that are to follow; because its 
membership is composed of real 
farmers, who own property, who 
have influence, who are hard 
workers and who pay good money 
for the support of the Grange, 
because they believe it is a profit¬ 
able investment to do so. 
(.“)) That the public in general 
has unbounded confidence in the 
Grange to do the things wliilh it expects of the 
Grange. No greater evidence of this confidence could 
exist than is found in the comments of the press 
universally and in the expression of leaders on every 
side, since the strong pronouncements of the National 
Grange at the annual session in Grand Rapids. 
A YEAR OF OPPORTUNITY.—Given these three 
elements of environment—actual power, public ex¬ 
pectancy and universal confidence— the Grange, in 
National Master Lowell’s opinion, faces its greatest 
year of opportunity, and the policy which he out¬ 
lines is intended to lead the organization in all its 
branches to the fullest use of that opportunity. Mr. 
Lowell gives force to his “statement of policy” by 
dividing it into clear-cut. distinct sections, each one 
representing a significant Grange viewpoint, and 
altogether combining in a logical and forward-look¬ 
ing plan of action. First of all. the Order of Patrons 
of Husbandry must prove its right to speak for the 
farmers of the United States by actual speaking 
for them effectively—in the halls of Congress and 
before legislative assemblies, in the plans of public 
officials and in a very far-reaching sense, making 
the Grange the real voice of the farmers, presenting 
clearly and distinctly to the public in general the 
viewpoint of the American farmer, his hopes as well 
as his problems, his convictions as well as his desires. 
THE FARMERS’ DEMANDS.—The Grange must 
eternally express and emphasize the fundamental 
demand of the farmers for an equal chance with 
other workers everywhere—as regards hours, wages, 
opportunity for expansion, educational facilities, 
home and community environment. The farmer sees 
no good reason why he should be a slave to his task 
for unreasonable hours and seven days in the week, 
while other workers are provided, even by legal 
statute, with ample opportunity for rest and for 
recreation, any more than he can understand why 
a cost-plus system was deemed necessary towards 
winning the war in about every other industry ex¬ 
cept his own. 
OPPOSING SPECIAL PRIVILEGE.—The Grange 
will oppose, with all its energies, special privilege of 
every kind, through legislation, by rebates, or of any 
other sort. The United States is a big nation, every 
class depends upon every other class, and even 
though all must recognize that agriculture is funda¬ 
mental and the farmers, therefore, the most necessary 
of all workers, still there is a host of other essential 
industries, and a growing nation requires that so 
far as possible all classes must be reasonably pros¬ 
perous. Therefore,* while Grange energies will always 
be strongly directed to the building up of agricul¬ 
ture and enhancing the prosperity of the farm peo¬ 
ple, these ends will never be sought by the Grange 
to the injury of any other class of workers. Con¬ 
structive principles have always been fundamental 
in Grange policies, and in no direction does it make 
a stronger declaration than against class advantage 
or special privilege for anyone, anywhere. 
EDUCATING THE CONSUMER.—From now on 
the Grange proposes to use all its educational 
machinery to inform the consuming public that the 
apparent high cost of living attaches no blame at 
the door of the farmer. It will endeavor to make 
consumers familiar, as far as they are willing to 
hear, with present costs of food production and the 
small margin of profit for the farmer, in spite of the 
long hours, many sacrifices and the assistance of 
unpaid family labor. It will also endeavor to inform 
consumers about the long line of costly distribution 
expense that gathers around food products after they 
leave the farmers’ hands, and to 
demonstrate clearly that in re¬ 
ducing this needlessly heavy dis¬ 
tribution burden consumers must 
join hands with the farmers in 
genuine team work if anything 
effective is to be accomplished. 
PUBLIC UTILITIES.—Upon 
all questions relating to transpor¬ 
tation and other public utilities 
the Grange will declare that the 
first consideration hereafter must 
be public service, and will empha¬ 
size the impending calamity 
which threatens in some lines of 
public utilities, unless immediate 
and effective remedial action is 
taken. The influence of the 
National Grange is to be exerted 
to the full for the immediate 
restoration of all transportation 
systems to private ownership and 
against any policy of Government 
ownership and operation whatso¬ 
ever; but private operation to be 
always so controlled that it shall 
be equally impossible for the 
owners of such utilities to extort 
unwarranted dividends from the 
public, as for organizations of 
employees to paralyze business by 
selfish strikes. 
NATIONAL HIGHWAYS. — 
Likewise in progressive direc¬ 
tions Grange influence will be ex¬ 
erted in behalf of constructive 
national highway building, will 
demand extension of telephone 
and rural mail service to all the 
farm homes of the country, as 
fast as practicable, and will re¬ 
sist to the utmost every tendency 
to curtail rural mail delivery, in¬ 
asmuch as the latter is a tremen¬ 
dously important factor in the 
great educational program for 
which the Order of Patrons of 
Husbandry stands sponsor for the 
rural people of the United States. 
GOOD CITIZENSHIP.—Especially during the 
coming year will the Grange prove itself 1(X) per 
cent American, not simply by its utterances upon 
any public occasion, but by its acts in all practical 
directions, putting emphasis upon true citizenship 
and using its influence for effective training of the 
young people to meet the grave responsibilities of 
living in America and being a part of it. The com¬ 
munity service work of the Grange is particularly 
effective in this direction, inasmuch as improving the 
local community, in any respect, increases the pride 
and the love of its citizenship; and true citizenship 
in a nation must have its beginning in loyalty to 
the home community. 
TRAINING FOR SERVICE.—Finally, it is planned 
to make the Grange reach its highest purpose in 
training men and women for efficient service and for 
a broader and more definite community usefulness— 
to give them vision, not only concerning their own 
occupation, thereby increasing their attraction 
thereto and their success therein, but in the largest 
sense to develop them as broad-minded men and 
women. Not only the National and State Granges, 
but every local branch, will be urged to seek for its 
members the best things individually, and then to 
band them effectively together to aid in accomplish¬ 
ing the real progress of the times. It will seek also 
to increase their co-operation with all other forward- 
looking forces—the church, the school, etc.—thereby 
aiding in genuine community team work. This is 
the conception of a true fraternity of farmers, which 
in the final analysis was tin' supreme ideal existing 
in the minds of its founders when the Order of 
Patrons of Husbandry was created. Above all 
achievements for the financial benefit of its members, 
and for the legislative enactments of its time, the 
