Vermont Farmer

For the Vermont Farmer.

The National Grange.

Bro. A. J. Stow, of Weybridge, writes you that they understood me to say that only $15 of their money would go to the national grange, and now they are informed that half their monthly dues go to swell the enormous Washington pile, and they do not know which informant was correct.

In organizing thirty granges, I have, in every case, sent $15 to the national grange for the necessary documents to start a grange, and I have not known any grange that has sent any money to the national grange as dues, taxes, or assessments, and every member ought to know that it is not required. I informed him correctly. The brother should be in doubt no longer. Read Art. 7, Sec. 2, of the revised constitution. Only twenty-four cents a year is sent to the state grange for each member, and the dues are $1.20. Section four says that only five cents a year is sent to the national grange for each member in the state. Only five cents a year to help swell the "enormous Washington pile." I regret that such a term is applied to the small amount in the treasury of the national grange. The amount there is less than it should be, with such a work as it has to perform, and with the combined capital of merchants, railroads and national banks, all interested to break down this, the first society that was ever known that organized the farmers of a country for the protection of their own interests.

I am informed that two million dollars have been pledged by our opponents to be spent in breaking down the society, and papers that are apparently friendly to the Order receive liberal pay to intermix in their grange items such innuendoes and insinuations as shall lead the Patrons to be suspicious of each other of their degree work, of the commercial work, and the national grange.

The opinion is gaining ground that there ought to be in the treasury of the national grange one hundred thousand dollars, securely invested, so that the interest of it would, with economy, pay the expenses of the national grange, and the subordinate granges would be free from any necessity of assessment to pay expenses of the meetings of this very necessary body of men.

How is it now? There is a cry and whine that the small amount of money in the national grange treasury shall be divided back to the states; but thank the Lord, poor Vermont, that rests six months in the snow and is constantly drained of its good men and their money to build up the west, has not started the cry and does not respond to it. No, it is the rich west that brags about its soil and crops and yet is begging, begging, begging, from Congress, to aid railroads, to dig out their rivers, to do this and that and from the national grange has received some $15,000 to aid poor grasshopper sufferers, and from subordinate granges old clothes, money and seeds, and some Vermont granges have aided the sufferers. The national grange has finally voted to lend the state granges $2.50 for each grange in the state which would give $500 to Vermont when if is applied for by the master and secretary of the state grange, but it will not be applied for in Vermont. I have never heard a man that belonged to a grange in Vermont express a desire to impoverish the national grange or to destroy the national character of the order.

Do not let the insinuations of our enemies cause us to regard as an "enormous pile" the sum that is very small compared with the capital leagued against us, and small compared to the great advantages that have already resulted from the organization, and small to do the work that ought to be done.

Z. E. JAMESON.