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s ff l SH MF f ’" M «® ftxiOlwlsßyis^^ sj pfe 'w* Wwowß I ’ I ftSfi f i '"n - JL A <2= /" ~ _ ~"' f-frr. -'&' I „ VOLUME I. ggeljßMliw The Grange at Talbotton is flourishing finely. There are nearly five .hundred local Granges in Mississippi. - Col. A. B. Smedley has been elected Master of the lowa State Grange. Wisconsin State Grange meets at Fon du Lac, January 20th, 1874. The National Grange meets at St. Louis on the first Wednesday in February next. The lowa State Grange protests against the restoration of the duty on tea and coffee. The Macon Telegraph and Me-wnger says the best Patrons of Husbandry are the women. Gen. A. J. Vaughan, of Marshall county, is Master of the Mississippi State Grange. Berrien county reports a crop of 1,335 bales of cotton and 09,030 bushels of corn this year. Tennessee has two hundred and fifteen subordinate Grauges, and the Order is increas ing rapidly. The highest point in Georgia is Blood’s Mountain, in Union county, 4,500 feet above the level of the sea. The anniversary of the establishment of the Order of Patrons of Husbandry was generally celebrated throughout the country. By invitation of Cartersville Grange, Dr. Feltin delivered a public address in the Cit v Hall at Cartersville on Saturday, 27th inst. The total number of subordinate Granges in the United States up to December was 8,835, and the membership of the Order 652,025. A Concert was given at Pleasant Hill, Ala., the proceeds of which were devoted to the fitting up of the Pleasant Hill Grange of Patrons. T. L. Allis was elected Master of the re cently organized Massachusetts State Grange. There are twenty subordinate Granges in Massachusetts. An election for officers of Forsyth (Georgia) Grange was held on the 25th inst. The coun cil of Granges of that county organized on the same day. J. N. Sewell, of Coweta county, with one mule, and twenty days labor of another, pro duced, this year, ten kiles of cotton, weighing 5,123 pounds, 450 bushels of corn, a tine crop of potatoes, etc. The practical and able letter of one el our correspondenfs, Bro. J. S. Lavender, entitled “Raise Supplies,” published in The Georgia Grange some time ago, has been reproduced by a number of our State exchanges. The Board of Trade of Albany, Georgia has ordered one hundred pairs of English sparrows, to be used as an ex|>eriiuent to de termine has far these birds may be relied upon as exterminators of the cotton caterpillar. The Granges of Alabama art' unanimous in their determination to raise, hereafter, an am ple supply of provisions for home consumption, embraced in the resolution " That as early as practicable we change our system so that the grains, grasses and live stock—that is, ‘some thing to eat,’— be our first thought, and cotton a secondary consideration.” Order of Patrons of Industry is the name of a new organization whose objects are similar to those of the Pations of Huslumlry. J. 11. Brown, of New York, is Secretary of the Lodge. October Sikh, two hundred Lodges had been already organized. The Ny/Ae, of New York city, has been appointed the official organ of the order. This order ditl'ers from the lYtnms of Husbandry in this, that it pro poses to undertake political action in order to get rid of the special and class legislation inju rious to the producing classes of the country. A correspondent of the Macon Telegraph, writing from Blakely, says: Our farmers are still on the lookout for hands for anoth er year, and everybody is bidding against everybody, and offering all sorts of induce ments to Mr. Nig., but he can’t say now “I’ll work with you,” but “wait ’till arter Christ mas.” Nig. knows the scarcity of labor, and hence is pretty independent, and shows it. A movement is on foot among certain money-lenders and bankers that “no one con nected with a Grange shall have credit extend ed to him in the future.” We hope this thing will take some definite shape ; a better meas ure than this to strengthen our organization and make the farmer independent could not be imagined. “The Grange Convention, recently held in Griffin, resolved to call a public mass meeting of Patrons of Husbandry in Griffin for Febru ary 19, ’74. The Co»vention also resolved the organization of a General Co-operation Grange of Middle Georgia. The Convention will meet again on the 2d Wednesday in January. The meeting was largely attended, very har monious and full of the true spirit of progress. Si’Eaking of Col. W. H. Chambers, the newly elected Master of the State Grange, the Troy Messenger (Major Sidney Herbert) says : “He is an experienced and successful planter, as well as a most courteous gentleman. He is at present Judge of the Russell county crimi nal court, and was formerly an honored mem ber of the editorial corps. In addition to his extensive planting operation on the Chatta hoochee river, Col. Chambers is a member of the firm of Redd, Chambers & Banks, of the Lowell Warehouse, Columbus.” The Spirituality of Women. Lord Byron felt or affected the greatest honor of women with a good appetite. The Arcadian, although an aesthetic journal, indulges in these remarks: “If anybody wants to believe in the spirit uality of womanhood let him not visit, between 12 and 2, noon, any of the down-town restaur ants. His belief will be sadly shaken. AVomen have a right to eat, no doubt. Nature has given them stomachs and digestive organs whose de mands are just as clamorous as the same appa atus in man. We think none the less of wo man for going to the table with a good appetite. We have no admiration for the Blanche Ainorys, who would have us believe that they subsist on air, but who take private lunches on the sly, and trifle in public with a plate of soup or a bit of pastry, conscious that the demands of nature were more than satisfied only a couple of hours ago. Only, there is a point beyond which a good appetite ceases tube a virtue, and this point is daily passed by the women who frequent public resta irants. You will ask us why we do not attack the men. Bless you ! the men are not worth attacking. We gave them up, so far as eating and drinking are concerned, long ago. For their gormandism we exjiect no cun' —until the women shall have set them a better example. We defy Tennyson and Long fellow to take a lunch at Currier’s, for instance, and then write an ode in praise of womankind, deduct their inspiration from the scene from whence they have just come. The thing can not be done. It is impossible to adore the wo man who smacks her lips over a juey chop and orders a fresh relay of steak after she has had quite sufficient. Observe the happv medium, ladies —as Charles 11. Foster would say were he writing the present article. Don’t eat too much. Use* your digestive organs as you ought to use your tongue, anil find out when to stop. A woman never looks beautiful to anybody but a restaurant keeper when her face is flushed with a bottle of Scotch ale and roast beef ad libitum. Recollect what Cornaro, that model of temperance, said three hundred years ago, and keep in mind, especially when you swallow a repast before a room-full of male observes, that what we leave after having eaten heartily does us more good than what we have eaten. So shall your days be long in the land, and more pin money be accruing to you. Surely one of the L>est rules iu conversa tion, is never to say a thing which any of the cunpanycan reasonably wish we had rather kft unsaid. FRANKLIN PRINTING HOUSE, ATLANTA, GEORGIA, THURSDAY, JANUARY 1, 1874. The National Grange Headquarters, Washington, D. C. From a long and interesting description of the headquarters of the National Grange, at Washington, written for the Scythe, by its spe cial correspondent, we compile the following particulars which will be interesting to the readers of The Georgia Grange. the office: The office of the National Grange of the Pa trons of Husbandry, in the United States of America, is at No. 612 Louisiana avenue, Washington, D. C. The house is a plain, three story brick build ing, and the entire locale is humble and unpre tentious, remarkably so when we consider that this is the headquarters of one of the most pow erful, influential, and extensive organizations ever formed, numbering already a membership of one million persons, and increasing rapidly. ITS LOCATION. The location of the office is eligible being in proximity with the Postoffice, Capitol, Patent office, and other governmental departments. The Secretary’s room is furnished plainly and practically; pamphlets of the Order, shelves and mantles burdened with booksand works of ref erence, and huge piles of newspapers from all parts of the Union and Canada, meet the eye everywhere. MR. 0. 11. KELLEY, a genial, hardworking man, is the Secretary. He is earnest and practical a man who seems to be the embodiment of the spirit of the Order, economy, enterprise, rectitude. The National Grat ge Headquarters are visited by thousands, by curious idlers, and Patrons seeking informa tion, advice or assistance. Grangers meet with warm hospitality, and their personal interests at the Capital are guarded and directed by Secre tary Kelley and his obliging assistants. One portion of the room is occupied by a half-dozen ladies, who are employed to answer letters, copy, fill out blanks, charters, dispensa tions, etc. Parties similarly engaged also oc cupy the third floor. the basement. The roomy basement of the building is the receptacle for all sorts of printed matter. It is closely packed with boxes and barrels ready for shipment. Vast quantities of tracts, rules and by-laws, dispensations, charters, blanks, etc., are stored around the walls, and men and women are kept busy assorting and packing the orders received from hundreds of Granges. thr regalia rooms. On the second floor are a number of persons —mostly ladies, to the number of about twenty —employed in making the regalias of the Or der. The cloth used is the pure yellow nan keen, representing almost exactly the baek woods-cured buckskin. This is manufactured into aprons and sashes. The former are stamped with the impress of a plow and harrow. The sashes are plain, but trimmed in colors suitable to the rank. The emblems (in silver and gold plate,) are made on the next floor. A perfect description of these would be almost impossi ble. The plain, practical, old-fashioned farming implements, are represented for the several de grees, the plow, scythe, harrow, rake, spade, axe, and other tools being the emblems, a rail fence invariably surrounding all. All of these are made up in the most simple and severe style, and are most perfectly illustrative of the work. Each Grange, of course, has its seal and press, to attach to checks and documents ; these seals are also made in the building, and are frequently very beautiful. The whole establishment looks like a huge bee-hive, and its inmates, like the busy bev, "improve each shining hour.” IMMENSE AMOUNT OF WORK. Os course an immense amount of work is transacted. Only a perfect system could con trol, harmoniously, the labor of expressing tons ot printed matter, thousands of emblems and other paraphanalia, and replying to the hun dreds of letters received daily from all parts of the country, and foreign places. UORRESPONDENCE. This is the most important of all the depart ments, and is a severe strain upon the patience, skill, and fine business capacities of Secretary Kelley. All sorts of questions are asked by all ports of people. Y\ heat and chat! pours in upon the Secretary, who is supposed to know everything w ithin the range of human knowl- edge, from the next solar eclipse down to the mending of a harness strap. Yet all must be attended to. Wherever and whenever the good of the Order can be served, it is done. Every letter comes under the eyes of the Secretary. The hundreds of letters relating to the business of thq Order are generally answered on a print ed blank form, which greatly facilitaees and economizes the time and labor. Hundreds of letters come from State and subordinate Granges on official business, and are, of course, the first and easiest disposed of. Others are inquiries for information in aid of organizing subordi nate liranches, and in all cases are sent to the mail clerks in the basement, who immediately post a bundle of selected documents to the “anxious inquirer,’* The heaps of newspapers are next scanned, and intelligence of popular opinions, move ments, etc., concerning the Order, from all points are noted. THE EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE. The purchasing interests of a million of Grangers must be guarded, and require a great deal of attention. The Executive Committee, which consists of D, AV. Aiken, of Cokesburg, South Carolina; E. R. Shankland, of Dubuque, Iowa: and William Saunders, of.Washington, im., are performing their onerous duties with zeal and diligence. Os course a great deal of the detaails and necessary correspondence of this department devolves upon Secretary Kel ley. Through the exertions of this department, important reductions in freight rates have been conceded to members of the Order, and several transportation companies arc making arrange ments for permanent reductions in freight tariffs. Another important feature of Grange work is the PURCHASING SYSTEM, whereby the extortionate profits of agents and middlemen are saved to the purchaser- This one consideration is of immense weight to even the smallest purchaser, the saving on one pur chase alone may amount to tenfold the entire cost of membership for years. A price list is published, containing the description and value of the article, whatever it may lie, a sewing machine, a mower, a reaper, a patent washer or wringer, any kind of patented tools or machin ery, pianos, melodeons, organs, books, carpets, clothes and clothing for either sex, indeed al most anything that is desirable and neceesary in every day life. The regular agents price is given ; also the deduction which —as the case may be—is from ten to forty per cent, made to Grangers through the Master of each Grange. None but superior articles are mentioned, and the actual worth is always carefully ascertained before placing it on the list. There is a carefully devised and strictly en forced system in these purchasing transactions, viz: a member of a Grange wishing to buy an article selects what is desired from the price list, writes an order on the Master of his local Grange for the same, and presents it with the money or a check duly certified. The Master endorses the order, stamps it with the seal of the Grange, and sends it to the dealer named on the list, who promptly packs and ships the goods as directed. The price list is a secret document, and the Grangers are obligated not to disclose any part of its contents. The benefits ol these transactions are manifold. The pur chaser is protected against all fraud in the quality of the goods, is saved a large j>ereentage of what the purchase would have cost him out side of the Grange system, and the dealer has the benefit of a cash transaction, with the cer tainty of a rapid increase of the same business with other Granges. These benefits are avail able to all members of the Order, to whom in many c.t<es the exorbitant prices extorted by agents would deprive of many comforts and advantages in life. All purchases are made 1 through the agency of local Granges. A FEW MORE FACTS. From the preceding description it will be I seen that the complicate! machinery always to be found at the headquarters of a vast organiza tion, is run in a most practical, economical and successful manner at the headquarters of the National Grange of America, with its ramifi cations through thousands of sub-ordinate Granges, and its membership of a million, in creasing. as shown by the applications, at the average rate of fifty subordinate Granges per day. It is also made apparent that in its incep tion and practical operation the Order posseses the most natural and logical basis that has ever been introduced or devised for kindred pur poses. The ceremonials are simple, expressive, and in the best sense practically adapted to the fraternization of multitudes of toilers in the in dustrial occujiations of the nation and world. It claims to instruct, protect and enlighten its members, and the most gratifying success has thus far accompanied its rapid progress. The happiness of the individual depends upon gen eral prosperity, and the prosperity of the na tion depends upon its productions. Agricul culture is the greatest ai>d most invaluable source of all that we live on and live for. Linked next to it are manufactures and com merce. The three working in harmony and proper proportion cannot but accomplish the best results for mankind. Under the system inaugurated by the Patrons of Husbandry, a bond of union is established that must’ grow greater, better and more profitable as time and its influences add to its age. Already the grand promises of the years to come are clearly visi ble. Madame Ida .Pfeiffer. Mme. Ida Pfeiffer, as standing at th? head o all females travelers, must close this short sur vey. Brought up at Vianna as the playfellow of her rough brothers, she soon equalled them in their bold independence, and always wore their dress. At the age of fourteen, to her great grief, her parents put her into a suitable costume, and intrusted the care of her educa tion to a young professor, from whom she re ceived four years solid instruction, and from a turbulent child was changed into a modest young lady. Her gratitude was boundless and when a Greek asked her hand in marriage, at the age of seventeen, she discovered that she could love none but her tutor, who was equally pleased with her. His want of fortune made her parents refuse their consent; three long years passed without their meeting, but their feelings were unchanged. Chance brought them together for a few moments, and Ida’s emotion was so great that a fever came on, and she was not expected to recover ; but a strong constitution overcame all. Determined not to stay with her parents, she declared her intention of accepting the first offer she received. An estimable man, thirty years older than herself, came forward ; and in spite of her romantic disposition, she made ex cellent mother and housekeeper. Her sons grew up; and when her duties were ended, at the age of fifty, she determined to indulge in her ardent love for traveling. Her debut was made in Palestine ; and from thence she passed from one adventure to another, enduring the most rigorous cold and overpowering heat; went among the savages of South America; braved the te npests of Cape Horn ; sat beside Queen Poinare at a banquet in the South Sea Islands; hunted tigers, pistol in hand, in the India jungles; descended into the diamond mines: ot Borneo; was taken prisoner in Mad agascar, and explored the country ol those ter rible cannibals, the Dyaks, who only spared 1 er life in consideration of her age. Worn down by a terrible fever in Madagas car, she embarked in an almost dying state for Mauritus; the desire of once more reaching Europe sustained her; and she arrived at Vienna in 1858, only to pass a few painful mouths with failing strength until death re leased her. It is difficult to pass a judgment on such a singular life; those who think that women are most to be admired when they dis play their weakness will consider such bold adventures in the world as a proof cf madness; while others, believing that women are endow ed for every vocation and aspiration, and can feel the noble enthusiam of great men, will not hesitate to consider Mme. Ida Pfeiffer :s a wonderful example of courage and self-depend ence. — Chamber’s Journal. How I wan Saved. To every wife whose husband is the slave to liquor, I say Hope and pray ! Do not give up to despair, and if your hu-band has any sense of religion or affection for you, he will, by the . grace of God reform. For ten years alcohol was my master, and for seven years I battled fiercely to overcome him. Sometimes I would abstain for several months—once for six, then, trusting in my own strength would fall. My angel wife bore her troubles without a murmur.and though delicate and nervous, never gave way to despair; was always most kind and affectionate, and clinging to my neck,would say, “Poor dear John, how I pity you, but let us hope and pray, and you will yet conquer.” We did hope and pray, and God in his mercy answered our prayers, and a happier home on earth than ours cannot be found. We are now old and gray and are looking forward to that happy home above. No mem ory of the past is ever allowed to mar our per fect peace, for we known that the blood of the Lamb cleanseth from all sin. My wife says, “I love you all the more, John, for I know how you struggled, and I feel proud that I was the instrument in God’s hands of saving you. I never, even in the darkest moments, regiet ted marrying you, for I thought if I had not you would have been lost.” Oh ! if all wives were like mine, how many more might be saved, if they would adopt her course instead of a harsh one.— Montreal W ness. “ The Question of a Safe and Profitable Insurance Company, Ac.” The question as to the amount which a Life In surance Company should hold in readiness to pay its losses is all important. Safety. beyond ques tion is what eoery policyholder desires. America’s great Actuary, EUzur Wright, as also most of the leading insurance editors are urging all com panies to place themselves on a four per cent, actuary’s basis, because it is beyond question, safe. It may be well enough to explain that the sou per cent, reserve is an amount of money which, when compounded at that rate of interest will certainly yield a sufficient sum, with the reserve itself, to pay the average losses. Os course more money has to be reserved than would be called for on a higher rate of interest. While it will with equal certainty, in time, yield a larger sur plus. When this fund is loaned at 10 per cent., then 6 per cent, is left to be divided among policy holders, while at 7 per cent, on a 41 per cent, reserve only 21 per cent, would be left. As near as we can fix it, this would be, as compared with the standard required in New York, as sll or sl2 is to $lO. At a glance it will be seen that this makes a big difference in reserve of millions about SIOO,OOO in every million on a like amount of risk. Insurance of late has been given unfavorable prominence by the mismanagement and want of success of several companies, wliile nobody lost their insurance, as these companies were obliged by Insurance Commissioners, etc., in the several States, to re-insure their risks. Yet in one way parties who insured in compa nies of this class have lost: Their premiums continued unifoimly the same when paid in cash and when notes were given for a part of them they grew larger because of the accumulated in tarest and want of dividends to meet it. All the surplus which would have accrued to policies in old, well established, purely mutual companies was used up to keep them going. The Northwestern Mutual Life Insurance Com pany placed itself, in 1870, on this 4 per cent, reserve by adding hundreds of thousands of its large surplus to its reserve fund ; and since, has taken that ratio from all premiums paid to it. This fact, together with its money being invested at 10 per centum on real estate, which has, and is rapidly increasing in value, and its returning all its surplus to its policy holders—instead of a portion to stock holders for the use of money which gives no strength to one’s policy, in a great measure, accounts for its rema:kab‘e grow.h and good stan ling. The sink, actuaries tell us, goes in as part of the reserve fund, and is not added to it. Is there any reason for sub mitting to this continued leech, when one can ecu e f r the same rates and share all the profits? Sock holders, in m xed as well as stick companies, invested th sir money to mal'e it profitable. Why should not tLe policy-holders have that profit ? Economy in management is another important matter to be looked to in selecting a company. On examination of the Insurance Index for last year, we find that the working expenses of this same company (the Northwestern) was unusually low; and that it) interest receipts were about $2(X),000 more than its losses for the year. Indeed, we find it lias paid in the last fourteen years $2,800,000 to widows and orphans, and that, too, mostly from its interest receipts. Its present ass.ts are $14,000,000. Di speaking of surplus—we find also that its surplus last year was upwards of $1,501,030. Now if it had been m uie up on the New York standard it would have leen alxtnt $2,50 ),o<o - difference of about one millim ii the additional security given by a 4 per cent, reserve over that of 4* per cent., and it grad ually increases as the company grows. Life insurance is certainly a good thing; we urge it on principle, but it should be carefully studied and entered upon understandingly. Go into a good company, a safe company, and the uvestmsni is a good one. ♦ NUMBER 10