Page:The American Cyclopædia (1879) Volume IX.djvu/97

 HUSBANDRY HUSBANDS 89 ished, and women of the requisite age are ad- mitted to vote and are eligible to office. In Il- linois, by statute, women passing the necessary examination may be admitted to the bar, and in some of the other states they have been ad- mitted by the courts without question. Wo- men who pay school taxes are voters at school meetings in a number of the states, and in re- cent elections in some, notably in Illinois and Iowa, women have been chosen county super- intendents of schools. In Michigan a woman has for several years been state librarian. HI SliAVDBV, Patrons of, an organization of agriculturists in the United States. Its origin is attributed to Mr. O. H. Kelley, a native of Boston, who in 1866, being then connected with the department of agriculture in Wash- ington, was commissioned by President John- son to travel through the southern states and report upon their agricultural and mineral re- sources. He found agriculture in a state of great depression consequent upon the radical changes wrought by the civil war and the abolition of slavery. At the same time there was much dissatisfaction among the farmers of the west and northwest in consequence of the alleged high charges and unjust discriminations made by railroad companies in the transporta- tion of their products. The farmers also com- plained of the exorbitant prices exacted by mid- dlemen for agricultural implements and stores. Mr. Kelley conceived the idea that a system of cooperation, or an association having some re- semblance to the order of odd fellows or ma- sons, might be formed with advantage among the dissatisfied agriculturists. For this purpose a plan of organization was determined upon by him and Mr. William Saunders, of the de- partment of agriculture. The name chosen for the order was "Patrons of Husbandry," and its branches were to be called granges (Fr. grange, a barn). The constitution of the or- der provides for a national grange and state and subordinate granges. There are ceremo- nies of initiation, rituals, and injunctions of secrecy, though in some respects the order is not secret. The officers of a grange, whether national, state, or subordinate, are elected by the members, and comprise a master, over- seer, lecturer, steward, assistant steward, chap- lain, treasurer, secretary, gate keeper, Ceres, Pomona, Flora, and lady assistant steward. Women are admitted to membership upon the same terms and with equal privileges as men, but only those persons interested in agricultural pursuits are eligible. Regular meetings of the national and state granges are held annually, while subordinate granges usually meet monthly or oftener. The constitution was adopted, and on Dec. 4, 1867, the national grange was or- ganized in Washington ; its headquarters are now in Georgetown, D. C. In the spring of 1868 Mr. Kelley founded a grange in Harris- burg, Pa., one in Fredonia, N. Y., one in Co- lumbus, O., one in Chicago, 111., and six in Minnesota. The number of granges soon began to multiply rapidly, and in 1874 they had been organized in nearly every state and territory of the Union. In 1871, 125 granges were es- tablished ; in 1872, 1,160 ; in 1873, 8,667 ; and in the first two months of 1874, 4,618. At the beginning of 1874, the number of granges in the United States was 10,015, with a member- ship of 750,125. The total number of members in April, 1874, was estimated at about 1,500,- 000. The order has its greatest strength in the northwestern and western states, and is well represented in the south. At the annual meeting of the national grange in St. Louis, Mo., in February, 1874, a declaration was adopted setting forth the purposes of the or- ganization as follows: "To develop a better and higher manhood and womanhood among ourselves ; to enhance the comforts and attrac- tions of our homes, and strengthen our attach; ment to our pursuits ; to foster mutual under- standing and cooperation ; to maintain invio- late our laws, and to emulate each other in labor ; to hasten the good time coming ; to re- duce our expenses, both individual and corpo- rate ; to buy less and produce more, in order to make our farms self-sustaining ; to diversify our crops, and crop no more than we can cul- tivate ; to condense the weight of our exports, selling less in the bushel, and more on hoof and in fleece ; to systematize our work, and calcu- late intelligently on probabilities ; to discoun- tenance the credit system, the mortgage sys- tem, the fashion system, and every other sys- tem tending to prodigality and bankruptcy. We propose meeting together, talking together, working together, buying together, selling to- gether, and in general acting together for our mutual protection and advancement as occasion may require. We shall avoid litigation as much as possible by arbitration in the grange. We shall constantly strive to secure entire harmony, good will, vital brotherhood among ourselves, and to make our order perpetual. We shall earnestly endeavor to suppress personal, local, sectional, and national prejudices, all unhealthy rivalry, all selfish ambition. Faithful adherence to these principles will insure our mental, moral, social, and ihaterial advancement." One of the chief aims of the organization is to bring producers and consumers, farmers and manu- facturers, into direct and friendly relations; for this purpose cooperation is encouraged among farmers in the purchase of agricultural implements and other necessaries direct from the manufacturer. The organization therefore is maintained for social and economic purposes, and no grange can assume any political or sec- tarian functions. Ill si;iMs, Herman, an American revolu- tionist, born in Pennsylvania, died near Phila- delphia about 1794. Removing to Orange co., N. C., he became a member of the legislature and leader of the " regulators," a party which was organized in 1768 for the forcible redress of public grievances. He published in 1770 a full account of the rise of the troubles. A