The Nelson Evening Mail. FRIDAY, MARCH 20, 1874.

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume IX, Issue 68, 20 March 1874, Page 2

The Nelson Evening Mail. FRIDAY, MARCH 20, 1874.

, We ; -will npw proceed to -sho^;* "fifom tne„paper' before us, tho *?ou;ree pursued by the Western farmers of America wheh they found themselves growing gradually poorer * and poorer, while the country generally was advancing in wealth. For a long time they were at a loss how to set about helping themselves. The story is that the suggestion at last came from a woman, who asked why they did not protect themselves by combinations as other trades and professions were doing. AMr Kelley instantly caught up the .idea and resolved to devote himself to its realisation. He travelled from State to State; preaching to tbe farmers the necessity of union, but was * for a long time unsuccessful, until at a far distant prairie town, in Minnesota he got a number of them to form a kind of club, to which he gave the name of *" Grange. ll ' Still his progress was very slow, but about . throe years ago the movement, received . a sudden impetus, and spread :with great rapidity. Granges were formed in several States; these were linked together in State As,;Bociatiouß of Patrons- of Husbandry, and the State Associations ultimately combined to form a Grand National Association. Last June, the single State of lowa had over 1700 Granges; seven States bad between 200 and 500 each, and ten States had oyer 100,; and ; since then they have been rapidly in- | creaßing. Professedly they are nonpolitical, neither is religious discussion allowed. Ih some respects they bear a resemblance to Masonic lodges ; their proceedings are conducted in secret, admission is accompanied by initiatory rites, and the members nre classed in orders. The aim of tho Granges

x bei*n-» tojmpro^e -(hex condition of the •^^.^t^ri-^crt^e^i^B*^ bri^^em td|etl|p, to ijj|iil i^ thjfjn a spifeli of \ ff||owi|jip, iM to Sjp|j| them g|ith : . ligar^|, rfladflor ro';fe,|§i*nd i^sseMbly i ipto^her^fhey^rrV#Bcus^#&s--tions of interest to them or listen to lectures. Its secoud object is to get **• rid of middlemen, and with this view the State Granges act as great coif "gP e ?^ve^ jociettes, majebiAsfk a«fa nnjfleplbnts direct-: frdni, the manufacturer, and endeavoring to get rid of (he corn dealers by exporting K cnrti'i'hT3*nTß"e"lv^"^dire'cfr"' But 'there IF" another function performed by these _ Granges, which at first appears strange l ,&lJi&J&k3ksM : 2££§i *„- r (ln,.th^,rWfts.tern*- " .-Spates *- popplatinn in s."Jitfere r d 9 ft'o tlnnl^bve'rMhe great areas' 'thn t neighborship hardly exists, and society ii u'- known The men and women who settled these States felt the want but little. Thoy had escaped from a life of privation and toi', . - unsweetened, by v pleasure, and they -regarded • ' the rudei"- plenty of- the pralri^as a kind ot , parage But it ib different with their Mild-, nn Physical want they have never known; they have received a certain amount of educ|>tionV<th^^fld'ihb'rie"'Wß'pn't>«i f ß;"*nrfd through thess the echoes of the great world, its doing's its aspirations, and its controversies, reat|h .fevein \g t&nv.-: Tl*fe;yoj"ing.ftien #**■» faseirt&tei bv tales of great fortunes suddenly won. bf dazzling chancrs open to aU. The girls envy their more fortunate sisters who can pass- their evenings at balls* operas,' or plnys. or can listen to the wordy duel between Mr Fronde and Father Burke over the wrongs of Ireland, or can assist at Dr. Tyndall's experiments in light • And to rau'titude** of both sexes the dull monotony of the farm become** so intolerable that they crowd to the great cities ; iq -. seirch.-.of , the tortures , ond the pleasures of which tliey haVe dreamt. Nay, oven tho pack of thc travelling pedlar, or the fool's cap nnd bells .of . the itinerant khow, eetm to many among tliem a welcome esrape. The third object of the Granges is, then, to satisfy this craving for social intercourse Ceremonies of initiation have accordingly been dt vised to amuse the fancy, and are accompanied by music, singing, and ' the expression . , of exalted sentiments. 1 ' Processions, take, place whiriever an opi brtunity oiffe's, picnics are got up when tbe weather is favorable, and when it is not, fancy fairs, amateur concerts, or dancing parties arc substituted. In planning and preprri'ng for these amusements, ss well as decorating the Grange halls, they furnish tho young peoplo with numberless pr t»xt9 for meeting together, and thus help to kill the ennui so constantly prcssig upon them." - But, useful os the Granges proved themselves in a variety of ways, tbe , farmers soon found that they were getting no nearer to the solution of the ' problem that was vexing them, and * they became convinced that political action was* neccessary • for/ the; attainment of their purpose. At first they met informally outside tho Granges to talk over the political topics of' the day and their bearing upon the questions they themselves had in hand. Theae meetings soon grew regular, and then Farmers' Clubs were constituted by the side .of, yet. distinct fren, the Granges. After a time these Clubs sent delegates to a convention, and so was formed a National Association, both constituted after the same pattern, but one avowedly political, the other not. Before this stage of development was reach 3d, how-, ever, the Illinois farmers had already taken action against, the .railways, and had been sufficiently strong to get. a clause inserted in tho reformed constitution,"of their State' asserting the right of the State lo interefere in the managiement of railways. In 1871, the legislature, in virtue dJMhis'clause, passed an Act imposing a maximum of fares. The railways refused -to. obey, . and :n ■ case was brought bofore the Illinois Supreme Cosirt. The Chiof Justifce decided that the Act ,waß>i unconstitutional and he lost his seat in consequence, as has already been stated. Since then all kind&ofcp'ia^-MW been tried but all have failed, and the leaders of tho movement are at a loss as to their next step. Proposals are, thereforfe, put forward of the wildest kind, some being for confiscation hardly concealed, and others utterly impracticable, as for instance, that railways should bedeclarqd ..publjc highways and that fcvefry p^fson ; wht)WoSe should Wallowed to run his own carriages along;*: them on reasonable terms. f And this is how the "taatter Btan^S at hr^eht, al- • though it is not likely that affairs will „ be , aUo,wed to continue. , in the.samestate for long. When it i9 borno in mind from what classed the ranks of these farmers are., recruited— lrish peasants bred in hatred of government and even of law itself, Germans V^ho fiad' taken" port in the revolutionary struggles of 1848, or, who since left their country to escape military' service,'' 'and emigrants from the eastern cities deeply tinged with socialism — when this is borne in mind, there need be no surprise at finding theso farmers of a vory different temper from those who in. JEuropq are the mainstay of Conservatism. '^. threat was once uttered by one of the roost influential,; leaders of- tho movement to "tlie effect that "the trees would be made to bear human fiuit." Nor is this the only indication that influences" are Working among these farmers which prudent men would willingly lot sleep. A significant example occurred only very lately at one of their Stale conventions. A landowner 0f.,, considerable wealth was proposed as chairman, but he was instantly rejected by the farmers, and th-? significance of the inoident lies in the fact that ho was rejected on the 1 express ground of bis wealth. , '/ "fit 'is "m>nifes|, tfcerfefofb, thgt tlje i«vcn of revolution and socialism is working among the mass. How deep it ha9 penetrated we do not undertake to say.]" But, upon tho other hand, it is characteristic of the class, and constitutes its weakmss, tbat one of the reasons why rich fairmer?.are .disliked is that; they helfr toTcbep lip wage's. Though strug '* ' gling, these farmers are all employers of labor, and consequently, as yet at It ast. are •generally -opposed* tb'trade ! tinionist'demands. * ..This is apparent in many ways, but more I articular ly in their unconcealed repugnanco

„tp the Eight Hours' Bill. The p-ogrnes of ;Ntfhe movement mny give the communis' ic J^arty amo gst tl cm the ascrn lancy, and mrry ijlhuroverconio this feeling! But up to ljhe g6re ent, mi'.hpr Eolialistib tendencies, iior per.ub;ioan^.insiitutipn^i>~h r the lcvelluigfin"g^Tc^s of a*-*i>r*nd;npw countrv have'b^'n*. able to era iicnte from the mind* of the ma jority class aitipitliea or class 8 lfi lines*." The foregoing narrative is not without its moral to the colonists of New Zealand. In the first, place, it is ;jcl|arly;Bhoyn that even, railwa« com^ r -fntinicaiion may be obtained at" to'6 great a cost; in the second, that a ,nation cannot guard itself too-jealously,-. against that system of bribery and corruption, 'which is the bane' df the United States, and which is thus ex--by a New Yorkpaprer : — *' It-is--a painful and mortifying foet that nearly everything in our country has in someway, directly or indirectly, been con trolled *by bribes'. Mechan?cs,*'oversee irs,builders, coutrajejors, * arqbitectjr, /ha^p been bribed. Clerks, merclinnls. | Bankers*, jhaW been bribed. ; Cr|r^tabl^B}J poficemen, * '"coirectbrs, inspectors, - * weighers, measurers, gaugerp, p^»Bt| masters, have been bribed. Lawyers, doctors, chemists, analysts, .surgeons, witnesses, have been bribed. ;/ -J-ii^jgeSgj juries, legislators, gOvernprs^havej.b^^ bribed. We have, sometiiiesjioa^-id) that it would be difficult to vpf|%^a 1 s stone, or a timber, or a lock;: o^-a^ screw, or a nail in your house that 'nas ! ' not somewhere in its passage feltr<the stain of a bribe.. It is doubtful whether the food which supports o|ir lives, or the coffin which will convey us to our graves, can wholly escapo contamination. The consequence ie, disturbed faith in each other, and sometimes a distrust of our country and our humanity, wiih a fear like a shadow that on all European and American societies is but the old doom of ancient Babylon aud Rome."