The Georgia grange. (Atlanta, Ga.) 1873-1882, January 01, 1874, Page 4, Image 4

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4 the W If ATLANTA, GEORGIA, JANUARY 1, 1874. OUR PAPER. The numerous readers of The Geor gia Grange can not fail to render an appreciative tribute to the elegant “make-up” and interesting character of the contents of this issue, We are vain enough to defy competition in any element essential to the presentation of a first-class specimen of true journal ism. We pledge, from week to week, our manliest endeavor to present its leeion of friends a visitor, which shall command, by its merit, a hearty and gladsome welcome. Our’s shall be the untiring task, to hold up the torch of agricultural science, and invite the hardy yeomanry of the soil to explore with us the fields of practical and successful experiment. Nor shall we overlook the domain of Horticulture and Floriculture. To utilize and beau tify the latter art, our fair readers must allow us to appeal to their sym pathy and effort. We dare attempt to make farm-life prosperous, and the fire sides of our friends happy. To our Brotherhood of the Patrons of Husbandry we say: born and reared a farmer among you, making it the chosen lot of maturer years, and with an ever-green memory of solemn and mutual vows within the “ inner gate, we pledge to you an unyielding advo cacy and defense of your ennobling aims and principles ; and, in commit ting ourselves to this pledge, we are well-apprised of the titanic strength of hostile opposition arrayed against us. Be assured it is not against imaginary windmills we contend, nor that we hope by Quixotic tilts, to win lor ourselves redemption from the thraldom of an impoverishing and ignoble serfdom. With an intelligent consciousness of the rectitude of our purposes, we shall ■ endeavor to inculcate lessons of pati ence, fortitude and determined perse verance in their accomplishment. As regards the official character of The Georgia Grange we can say, that all official announcements of the Geor gia State Grange will be published within its columns. Any, and every item of information, useful or inter esting to our Order, shall be given without delay. Now then, Brother Patrons, we invito you to rally around your standard, and make it a glorious success. Let the 407 Granges in the State of Georgia send each a club of subscribers. Try us — if we do not merit your favors, then abandon us. E. Taylor, See. State Grange, For Georgia Grange Publishing Company. Official Matter Patrons Will Plea*o Notice. We call the attention of every mem ber of the subordinate Granges in the State, to the listof subordinate Granges, name, master, secretary, and postoffice, in Georgia; also table of counties and number of Granges in each ; also list of counties according to districts, with total number of Granges in each, with names of lecturers and deputies in each division. All these items have been officially and carefully revised up to date, and. will be valuable to our brethren through out the State for reference. AU infor mation published in The Georgia Grange for the benefit of the Order, may be implicitly relied upon as official. Strict accuracy will be observed in this important department of The Grange; and the information thus imparted will keep our brethren fully posted in regard to the Order in Georgia, its condition and progress. fc— » “ Raiwe Your Own Supplies." The communication in the first num ber of The Georgia Grange, entitled “ Raise Your Own Supplies,” from the pen of Mr. J. S. Lavender, one of our prominent Patrons, and a farmer of large experience, has met with the hearty approval and praise of the Press of Georgia. It is a plain, sensible and graphic article, and fully deserves the j praise it has received. We trust Mr. Lavender’s wise counsel will be grad ually adopted. Our people will be glad i to see similar arti. 'es from this writer, I , through the columns of The Grange. ' ■HMfgg mi®*- The Outcome of the Grange Movement. Under this head, a recent number of the Hearth and Home, discourses on the principles and objects of the Grange organization. Alluding to this uprising as one of the most significant in the annals of our history, the editor says: “Had it come pending a general election, the farmers engaged in it would simply have been making themselves beasts of burden for the po liticians ; but coming as it does during an “oft” year, it is incapable of immediate prostitution to partisan ends, and so it is proving a hideous nightmare to the smaller political manipula tors, who are trying to keep on the safe side by wheedling and flattering the Granges, in the absence of anything better to do in the case.” All of which is true. The editor, continuing, suddenly be comes mystified as to the meaning and purposes of the movement; this is a little remarkable in a writer who is able to use such cipar and logical reas oning relative to the movement after this momentary fog has passed from his mental horizon. He says : “Precisely what the Granges contemplate it is impossible for anybody to say, principally for the reason that the Granges themselves do not know’. The members are a unit in the con viction that they have a grievance, but they are not agreed as to what that grievance is or how it is to be cured. They all unite in denouncing “monopoly,” but they di tier somewhat as to the precise form of monopoly to be destroyed and the means to be employed in its destruction. In Illinois and lowa the word monopoly is synonymous with railroad; in Missouri it means national banks, while in the South it means the local merchants who, by an extended system of credit and crop mortgage, have man aged, since the war, to pretty effectually ruin everybody, themselves included.” Monopoly, of course, takes various shapes, according to the nature of things it operates upon, or the peculiarities of the field of its operation, but it is still the same hydra-headed monster, under all of its disguises ; therefore, the “head and front” of this offending evil is well defined, and the grand object of attack plainly enough to be seen for practical purposes. Crush the serpent’s head, and little danger need be apprehended from the constrictions and convulsions of the rest of the “ring’’-tailed body. The writer, under review, goes on to speak of the unavailability of numerous “res olutions” passed by the farmers in various States, which have never accom plished anything. We agree with him in this, as we are in favor of not only “ resolving ” to do, but of doing that which we resolve upon. The mystification under which the writer suffered in the beginning of his discourse, changes at this point into a clear appreciation of the motives, strength, scope, and practical results of the movement; and, alluding more es pecially to the producing interests of the great West than to the equally im portant interests of the other sections, he says : “And yet out of all this confusion some gen uine good has certainly grown already, and more is promised in the luture. The farmers have discovered their own power when acting in concert, and the discovery augments that power Their demonstration of their ability to act in concert has bred a wholesome resnect for them in the breasts of the politicians, which is a very great gain indeed. Their movement has stirred up the merchants of New York too ; and the very valuable discovery has been made that the interests of these merchants are clearly allied to those of the farmers. Now this last, to our thinking, is the greatest good yet born of the movement, inasmuch as the one lesson which above all others we all need to learn is the lesson of brotherhood. As a people we have been blind to the fact that we are insepa rably one in interest as we are in nationality; that there can no calamity come to one class or one section which will not bring misfortune upon all ; that whatever of prosperity comes to one must be shared by the rest; that whether we will it or not,weare one great family,with in dividual opinions and private interests it is true, bnt with far greater common interest, which it will not do to sacrifice in petty self seeking. Not that the lesson has been suffi ciently learned, by any means. We have only made a good beginning. The merchants have learned its rudiments it would app ar, and we may reasonably hope that the farmers will now discover, not only that the merchants of the East are dependent upon them, but that they in their turn are dependent upon the mer chants. Both will discover, perhaps, after a while at least, that the railroadsand national banks are valuable allies, and the railroads and banks will find out that the prosperity of merchant and farmer is absolutely necessary to their own ten per cent, dividends. This is the knowledge towards which they seem to be tend ing, and it is the knowledge most essentially necessary to all of them. When merchant and farmer, and’bankerjand railroad king, shall fully realize this truth, the grievances of each will cure themselves, and until that time no amount of crude legislation, or well considered .legislation either, will afford any permanent relief. As antagonists these several interests are powerful for each other’s destruction, but no one o! them can stand alone w ithout the sup port of all the rest, and when they shall come to recognize their mutual dependence, enlightened self-interest will afford the best possible solution of the present problems.” The great lesson of common brother hood, attd mutual respect for the rights and interests of all, is precisely the aim of the Grange movement ; this desira ble end once reached, the paramount necessity for the organization of our citi zens to preserve and enforce these sev eral rights and interests will cease to : exist. But this glorious goal has not yet , been reached, although every effort of our honest workers is paving the way, and directing a movement in that direc tion. It is because monopolists, of every name and condition, have for years polluted legislation, and striven to sepa rate the common interests, and the unity of our people, in order to benefit their own pockets, and that they might ride over the prostrated backs of millions of toilers, who earn their bread by the sweat of their brow—it is for this that an Order like that of the Patrons of Husbandry has been organized to con serve the best interests of all men, and to bring these vampires of finance to a realizing sense of their obligations to the people, especially to the farming interest of the country. This is the main support of all other interests ; its ruin would involve the ruin of the country, because it is the foundation rock of the Republic, upholding the State against assaults from any quar ter. “ When merchant, banker, and rail road king, shall fully realize this truth,” the grievance of their oppression ought to cease, and it is our belief that they tvill realize it, and act upon the dictates of wisdom ; but if they will not volun tarily “realize truths,” they will be made to do it, to their own discomfiture and loss, if there is truth in the ac cepted axiom that, “Truth is mighty, and will prevail.” Waking Up. The impetus which the concerted action of our farmers in Georgia has given to public thought and feeling, is beginning to show itself in various ways, all of which are tending in the direction of progress and intelligent information. In this connection, we are gratified to learn, that many of our leading men have become disgusted with the negligence heretofore exhibited by our Legislatures, in failing to provide means and enactments for the estab lishment of a Bureau of Statistics and Agriculture, such as the majority of States have had for years. If we desire to have the incomparable natural resources of Georgia placed in a proper light before the world, and so conduce to the promulgation of facts which will invite immigration, and the progressive development of our wealth, we must have a department in our State govern ment whose duties shall be the collec tion and official promulgation of these vital facts. Any man of common sense can read ily appreciate the great importance of such information, and we are surprised that an intelligent commonwealth should have neglected its own interests so long. The Montgomery Advert iser and Ma il, commenting on Hon. Alexander H. Stephens’ position on the “ Back-pay ” law, and on his recent speech advoca ting the right of each Congress to fix the pay of its members, says : “We deny that this man, who has heretofore defended Grant in his foul Louisiana outrage, who now seems to take delight in toadying the President, and who has gone to Congress to prove that the mercenary times have come, and lie with them, is not the true Representative of Southern Conservative sentiments anti princi ples. He will not be permitted to sell out the honor of the South to Radical power, no mat ter what the price. He does not represent the Democratic South, and never will. He is no more than an adventurer in the halls of Con gress, as the defender of the back-steal, and of any sort of demagoguism!’’ We are sorry to sec that a journal, claiming to be a representative of the Southern people, should so far forget itself as to denounce, in such ungenerous and unmanly terms, a gentleman and a statesman, who is intellectually the superior of any man in the South, and whose high sense of honor, and devo tion to noble principles, has made him admired wherever the English language is spoken. We do not defend the opin ions advanced by him in regard to this public matter, and believe it unadvisa ble in principle, but in asserting our own opinion, we shall not attempt the defamation of another, whose views dif fer from our own. A weak dilution of billingsgate is not argument, and we be lieve few gentlemen will be found in the South willing to indorse the vul garities of the Advertiser in this respect. Agricultural Warehouse. We call attention to the advertise ment of Mark W. Johnson’s great ag ricultural warehouse and seed store, Atlanta, Ga. Southern farmers and I planters will find everything in the wav | of farming at this extensive and popu- ' lar establishment. Large discounts will be allowed to clubs and Granges. Read the advertisement carefullv. Nashville is thronged with cotton bales, and the warehouses are jammed full of the fleecy wealth. The Supreme Court of Georgia. A pure, Lightened, and incorruptible Judiciary is one of the main pillars upon which the stability and safety of a State must rest. The welfare of a people, the best interests of society, the rights of individuals and of communi ties, alike depend upon its edicts, and its rulings become a recognizable stan dard of the civilization maintained by the people over which it is placed as a decisive power. The Supreme Court of Georgia, in the qualities we have mentioned as essential, stands second to none in the United States. Georgia has ample reason to be proud of it. It is one of the shining land marks of our grand old Commonwealth; a bulwark of our rights and privileges as freemen ; a rock against which the angry tides of political malice, and the blasts of partisan fury have tried their strength in vain. From the Supreme Court is reflected I some of the brightest light that beams j from the pages of Georgia’s history, > and reminiscences of devoted patriotism, glorious genius, and exalted intellect, are contained in its annals, and are wreathed about it in the great names that have been connected with it iu the course of its existence. The proud names of Lumpkin, Nes bit, Warner, and others, are linked im perishably with the history of the Court, as well as with the affection of a grate ful people. Without referring further to its past, we may be allowed to allude, in passing, to the present decidedly able incum bents of the Supreme Bench, upholding, as they do, the fair fame of our Su preme Court with the most marked suc cess. Judge Warner was one of the first Judges, and has, with slight interrup tion, filled the position since the organ ization of the Court in 1846. To him the people of Georgia are mainly in debted for the protection of their rights, and their property, during the reign of Radical partisans, and thievish carpet baggers. He is noted for firmness, and unwavering adherence to the fundamen tal principles of law. His associates, Judges McCay and Trippe, are worthy of their chief. Judge McCay’s mind is strictly analytical; seizes the salient points of a case with unerring certainty, and brings them to bear upon the issue of the case by a remarkably rapid com parison of facts and principles. Judge Trippe is noted for sagaciousness, har mony of temper, and a fidelity of pur pose which never allows technicalities, or conflicting verbiage, to warp judgment from its true course ; the Right, as in terpreted by the fiat of law, finds in Judge Trippe an inflexible advocate and champion. Indeed, the Supreme Bench has never been occupied by judges worthier of the praise and regard of our people than these. We are pained to perceive that there are those,who, in connection with the proposed State Convention for the formation of a new Constitution, are agitating, on very unreasonable grounds, the abolishment of the Supreme Court. A more wretchedly injudicious and un warranted blow at the welfare of our State could not be made. Its very ab surdity would be the best antidote for this poison, which a few hot-headed schismatics arc attempting to infuse into the healthy life-blood of our Com monwealth, were it not for the fact, unfortunately true, that in the ranks of the masses,many will follow aloud-voiced and brazen-mouthed demagogue as willingly as sheep follow a bell-wether, , and as ignorantly ; hence it is proper, ! that good citizens, having the fortunes , of Georgia at heart, and unwilling to | see one of the corner-stones of our po litical and social polity wantonly re moved, should nip this foolish attempt to destroy the Supreme Court of our State in the bud, because the success of these iconoclasts would entail upon our people a long train of almost irreparable evil. _ __ We are glad to learn that a number of gentlemen of means, actuated bv a ! °.. * I most commendable spirit, have deter- . mined to undertake the establishment I of fruit farms, on an extensive scale, 1 and in accordance with the highest standard of horticultural science, in Fulton and adjoining counties. This important branch of domestic 1 wealth is in the hands of men of expe rience and large capacity, and the re sult cannot fail to be eminently suc cessful. This is the true spirit of pro gress, and to means like this we must look for the intelligent and practical development of the resources of our fertile soil. 1 Main Points of the late Grange Con vention Considered. The Convention of Patrons of Hus bandry which assembled in Atlanta last month, to take into consideration the proper means for promoting the welfare of the Order, as well as that of the agricultural interests of the South in general, is acknowledged to have been an able and representative body. A more intelligent and earnest assem bly of men, than this, never congrega ted anywhere; and the deliberations upon the subjects now engrossing pub lic attention, are worthy of serious re flection on the part of all who love their country. The discussion relative to the repeal of the lien law, has brought this grave question prominently into public notice, and it will doubtless cause considerable agitation in the coming General As sembly. The resolutions to utilize the value of cotton as much as possible, to manufacture as much of it as we can, and to sell the balance of it direct to manufacturers, is the dictate of common sense. Our farmers have also, as a general thing, nobly responded to the expression of the Convention, that the prompt payment by the farmer of his indebtedness to the middle men and other lien holders, was obligatory as a matter of honor, as well as good policy. The resolution looking to the devel opment of Vie coal and iron interests of our section, as a matter demanding not only the attention of the capital ists and financiers, but of every man in our section who desires our future prosperity and advancement, is one that will strike every good citizen as emi nently proper. The subject of cheap transportation —a matter which has acquired pre dominating importance, because upon a better and cheaper system of trans portation depends, in a great measure, the value of farm products —was also intelligently attended to. The advocacy of a return to the cash system as soon as practicable, backed*by the unanimous sentiment of as large and dominating a body of our citizens as this Convention, must necessarily have great influence for good upon the people of our section. The general practice of such a system would break the backbone of monopolism, and be a potent power for the enfranchisement of our hitherto enslaved and oppressed Southern agriculture. In strict connection with the cash system resolved upon, is another glori ous resolution: that obligating our fanners to circumscribe their propensi ty for speculating in cotton crops, and to adopt the sensible one-third corn, one-third cotton, and one-third small grain system. If our farmers, to a man, will stick to this wise resolve, a few years more will see Georgia the most independent State in the Union— prosperous, and out of debt. The resolution appointing a commit tee to investigate the question of direct shipment of cotton from the Southern seaboard to European markets, and to make arrangements for that purpose, was also a good one, and the matter having been placed into the hands of an able and practical minded commit tee, we look for the results of their ac tion with considerable interest. Among the wisest of the resolutions was the one appointing a committee, whose duty it is to revise the law, so as to protect farmers from the chicanery and imposition of agents and manufac turers in the matter of fertilizers. This involves millions of money, and proper ly accomplished, will save the State an immense sum of money annually. The action taken by the Convention, look ing to the refunding of the cotton tax by the United States Government to the producer, and instructing our repre sentatives in Congress to use their in fluence in behalf of such a measure, was eminently wise and proper. Somesixty millionsof dollars,unjust ly taken from the impoverished pockets of our people, would thus again be ad ded to our resources, and help us great ly in our struggles for prosperity and financial independence. We hope that the interests of our people in this weighty direction, will not be neglected by our delegation in Congress. Upon the whole, we feel great pride in the work accomplished, and the dis cussions had by the late Convention, and predict valuable results therefrom. We have indulged in this retrospection in order to keep its action fresh in the memory of our readers, and to urge u[>on the coming Legislature a free and full discussion of every vital point touched upon by this Convention of Farmers. Emigration to North Carolina. Professor Kerr, who is in Germany distributing pamphlets descriptive of North Carolina, to induce immigration to that State, writes to the Sta'e Agri cultural Journal as follows : “ Wc must look for emigrants to South Ger many, Hungry and Switzerland, chiefly, and secondly to the Rhine (French) provinces of Germany. Wc can get them from these regions without much trouble, beyond show ing them the way and making them acquaint ed with the characteristics and conditions of the country. * * The Swiss and the Hungarians are the best material for our purposes ou the continent.” We hope the Professor will succeed in his sanguine expectations, and in duce thousands to emigrate to the good old North State. Georgia has had bad luck in this respect. The agent sent a few years ago by the State government to bring emigrants from Germany to Georgia, succeeded in bringing only one lady (a relative, we I believe). True, it cost the State only three thousand dollars in gold, still we can hardly bring ourselves to consider this attempt a brilliant and remunera tive success. Tlie Next Legislature. Our Legislature, whose next session will soon open, will have matters of serious importance to the State under discussion. The people of Georgia look to their representatives for an earnest and thorough consideration of questions deeply involving their wel fare. It is to be hoped that this coming session will be a little more productive of good legislation than the preceding session was. A little more practical, intelligent w r ork, and less talk and political wire-pulling, will be an agree able and profitable change. Prominent among the topics which require the thoughtful and conscientious attention of our law makers, are those bearing reference to the agricultural interests of Georgia, and the practical develop ment of its resources and industries. The action and resolutions of the late Grange Convention, in Atlanta, are particularly worthy of the attention of our legislators, and we hope to see laws and regulations passed during this session that will reflect credit upon the Legislature, and conduce to the pro gressive welfare of our people. The New Orleans Times says that the cotton planters in various portions of Texas are entering into written obliga gations to reduce the amount of land devoted to next year’s cotton crop, by at least one-third, in order to secure better prices for the cotton raised, and a better supply of provisions. Through out the interior of Louisiana and neigh boring States, provisions are now scarce and high, and cotton is too low to pay the cost of production. Such a condi tion of things cannot, and should not, be maintained. The Patrons of Hus bandry must see to it, that an intelli gent discrimation is exercised in the choice ami extent of crops. This course is precisely the one that the intelligent farmers of Georgia in tend to pursue in the future. They will then be independent of panics, and will always be sure of fair renumeration for all the crops they may raise for the market. A correspondent writes: “ I think I can sec, in the Patrons of Husbandry, the Day Star of Hope for the farmers.” He says that notwithstanding the fact that farmers are the wealth-producing class of citizens, it is a rare thing for one of them to get an office of honor or profit, and believes the Patrons will do good by uniting their forces to elect prudent and intelligent farmers for our law makers. He thinks such men will be opposed to extravagant legislation, as men who make theii’ living at the plow handle know the value of money. This is true; the fault, heretofore, has been with the farmers, who would stand in their own light, as the saying is, and allow selfish and unpatriotic men to usurp all the places of honor and profit. However, we are glad to know that things are taking a change for the better. Let the good work of the Order go on. A reformed general bankrupt law, based upon sound conservative princi ples, is now under discussion in Con gress, and will doubtless be passed during this session. It will be a deci ded improvement upon the old bank rupt law. A correspondent of the Americus (Ga.) Republican says: That the in crease of reptiles in some sections of the State is due to the scarcity of large hogs, which, he says, are noted for destroying them in large bodies.