a a HISTORY OF THE GRANGE MOVEMENT; OB, THE FARMER'S WAR AGAINST MONOPOLIES: BEING A FULL AND AUTHENTIC ACCOUNT OF THE STEUGGLES OF THE AMEEICAN FARMERS AGAINST THE EXTORTIONS OF THE RAILROAD COMPANIES. WITH A HISTORY OF THE RISE AM) PROGRESS OF THE ORDER OF PATROIS OF HUSBANDRY, ITS OBJECTS, PBESENT CONDITION AND PROSPECTS. TO WHICH IS ADDED SKETCHES OF THE LEADING GBANGERS. BY EDWARD WINSLOW MARTIN, AUTHOR OF " BEHIND THE SCENES IN WASHINGTON," ETC., ETC. Illustrated with 6O Fine Engravings and Portraits of Leading Grangers, Issued by subscription only, and not for gale in the book stores. Residents of any Stat<* desiring a copy should address the Publishers, and an Agent will call upon them. See pagu 545. NATIONAL PUBLISHING COMPANY, CHICAGO, ILL. ; CINCINNATI, OHIO ; ST. LOUIS, Mo. ; PHILADELPHIA, PA. ; AND ATLANTA, GA. A. L. BANCROFT & CO., SAN FRANCISCO, CAL. 1874. Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 187 '>, by , .T. B. JONES, In the Office of the Librarian of Congress, at Washington, D. 0. BN1VERSM V OF CALIFORNIA 8AINXA BARBARA TO THE FARMERS OF THE UNITED STATES, THE STRONG-ARMED, TRUE-HEARTED HOPE OF THE REPUBLIC, NOW, AS IN THE PAST, THE FIRST TO RISE AGAINST OPPRESSION AND WRONG, THE AUTHOR DEDICATES THIS BOOK AS A TOKEN OF HIS SYMPATHY WITH THEM IN THEIR SUFFERINGS, AND HIS ADMIRATION OF THE HEROIC BATTLE THEY ARE WAGING FOR THE OPPRESSED OF THE WHOLE COUNTRY. PKEFACE. AMONG the many remarkable events of the present century, there are none more worthy of patient and careful study than the important movement among the agricultural classes, which has been popularly termed "The Farmer's War Against Monopolies." The rapid and astounding growth of this movement, the formation of Farmers' Granges in every part of the Union, and the remarkable success which has at- tended every step of the Order of Patrons of Husbandry, have nitide it the most closely and anxiously observed of any of the movements of the day. The people of the United States are deeply interested in it, and on all sides there is a growing desire to know more of it. Men cannot help regarding with a deep interest an organization which bids fair to embrace the whole agricultural population at an early period, and which proposes to exert the enormous strength and power of this class of our countrymen as a compact and united force for the accomplishment of a definite object. They natu- rally desire to know if this new and powerful element in our public affairs is to exert its power for good or for evil ; whether it is to work for the good of the whole country, with a wise and generous regard for the welfare of all classes, or whether it seeks only the advancement of its own interests regardless of the rights or well-being of others. Even those who laughed at the movement in its infancy, are now forced to confess that the 5 6 PREFACE. Patrons of Husbandry are to-day a power which no political party can afford to ignore, and which will soon, perhaps in the next year, be able to decide the majority of the popular elections throughout the Union. It is but natural, then, that the people of the United States should be very desirous of knowing more about this power- ful Order. The whole land is full of rumors regarding it, the majority of which are utterly without foundation. The present volume is offered to the public as a means of satisfying their legitimate curiosity upon this subject. It presents a care- ful, and, it is believed, impartial account of the wrongs from which the agricultural classes have been suffering ; the causes which led to the organization of the Order of Patrons of Hus- bandry ; together with an account of the establishment of the Order, its history, its present condition, its objects, and its plans and prospects for the future. It has long been evident to earnest thinkers that the farmers of the United States are the most cruelly oppressed class of our community. In these pages the writer has sought to set forth these wrongs, and to plead the cause of the farmer, in the hope of awakening the general public to a realization of the case. We cannot afford to allow the farmer to suffer at the hands of his enemies. Upon his weal or woe depends the prosperity of the entire nation. The farmers' cause is that of the people, and it is the aim of this work to show that in battling for the farmers' rights, the Grange is fighting the cause of the whole people. For several years past the country has been suffering from evils of which all have been conscious, but which none had the courage to remedy, until the Grange took up the cause of the oppressed. Prominent among these are the burdens that have been fastened upon the people by the reckless and unscrupulous PREFACE. 7 course of the great Railroad Monopolies that have sprung up in our midst. These vast and powerful corporations have inaugu- rated a series of abuses which have gradually and effectually un- dermined the solid basis upon which our finances were supposed to rest. They have debauched and demoralized our Courts and Legislatures ; have bribed and taken into their pay the high public officials charged with the making and execution of our laws ; have robbed the nation of a domain sufficient to consti- tute an empire; have flooded the land with worthless stocks and other so-called securities; have established a system of gambling at our financial centres that has resulted in a mone- tary crisis which must cover the whole land with ruin and suffer- ing ; have set at defiance the laws of the land, and have trampled upon individual and public rights and liberties, openly boasting that they are too powerful to be made amenable to the law ; and not content with all this, not satisfied with the ruin they have wrought, they propose to petition the National Legislature to give them still greater means of robbing and oppressing the people. The Grange seeks to array the agricultural class — nearly one- half of our whole population — as a compact body against these evils, and by thus opposing a solid front to the monopolists and their selfish and unpatriotic schemes, to awaken the entire nation to a sense of the danger with which it is threatened, and secure its co-operation in the enforcement of measures which will remove the evil and bring about a more healthful state of affairs. The Grange offers to the farmers the most practicable means of bettering their condition, and while it confines its membership strictly to the agricultural class, it appeals power- fully to the general public for sympathy and encouragement. Believing as he does, that the farmer has suffered great and cruel wrongs, the Author has endeavored to tell his story for him, and to show to the reader wherein it is true. 8 PREFACE. The great and overwhelming interest manifested by the pub- lic in the question has made this a fitting time for the appear- ance of such a book. Evil days are upon us, and it becomes the duty of everyone to inquire the cause of this unhappy state of affairs, which is as remarkable as it is distressing. A more singular phenomenon was never offered for our consideration. There is every reason why trade this season should be abun- dantly prosperous. Our harvest has been abundant. The markets for our productions are in our favor. We have not only a ready sale for our breadstuff's and provisions, but we have begun to send abroad manufactured goods, for which we have had no foreign purchasers heretofore. Our mills have not been overstocked. Industry has generally shown a healthy and steady activity. Our depressed shipping interest has wonder- fully revived. And yet in spite of all this, the country has been driven into one of the most serious and alarming con- ditions of financial depression it has ever experienced. Every- one is interested in knowing the cause of this evil, and in taking measures to bring about a better state of affairs. The Author has endeavored in these pages to shed some new light upon the matter in consideration, and assist the reader in the intelligent discharge of his duty as a responsible member of the community. E. W. M. LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS. HO. PAOZ 1. The Bureau of Agriculture— Washington, D. C 2. Opening a Farm in Iowa to raise Corn at 16 Cents a Bushel ... 3. A Prairie Home 4. D. W. Adams, Master, National Grange 5. O. H. Kelley, Secretary National Grange.; 6. "Wm. Saunders, First Master, National Grange 7. Col. John Cochrane, Master of Wisconsin 8. C. D. Beeman, General National Deputy 9. Mrs. D. W. Adams, "Ceres" 10. Mrs. J. C. Abbott, " Flora » 11. T. R. Allen, Master of Missouri 12. F. H. Dumbauld, Master of Kansas 13. S. H. Ellis, Master of Ohio 14. John Weir, Master of Indiana 15. A Grangers' Procession and Mass Meeting 16. Peter Cooper — Builder of the First Locomotive 17. Cornelius Vanderbilt— the greatest Kailroad King in the World 18. Grand Central Kailway Depot, New York City— the finest Kailroad Depot in the United States 19. The Men who build the Railroads on the Pacific Coast 99 20. The Great American Desert— the Country the Pacific Bail- roads propose to Improve ! Ill 21. Interior of a Palace Car 125 22. The Parlor Car— Extra Charge for its Use 127 23. William M. Tweed— Formerly one of the Directors of the Erie Railroad Company 134 24. Jay Gould 137 25. Mr. Drew calls on Mr. Fisk 140 26. New York Stock Exchange 185 27. The President of the New York Stock Exchange announcing the Suspension of Jay Cooke & Co 188 9 10 LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS. PAGE 28. Park Bank, New York— the finest Bank Building in the United States .................................................................. 192 29. Omaha — Eastern Terminus of the Union Pacific Railroad ...... 196 30. Scene on the Truckee— Central Pacific Railroad .................... 200 31. Wild-Cat Railroad Lands ..................................................... 203 32. View of the Country to be opened by the Southern Pacific Railroad .......................................................................... 204 33. In the Tunnel — Sierra Nevada. Central Pacific Railroad ...... 205 34. Duluth— Eastern Terminus of Northern Pacific Railroad ...... 209 35. Puget Sound. Proposed Western Terminus of the Northern Pacific Railroad ............................................................... 213 36. The Falls of the Yellowstone, on the Route of the Northern Pacific Railroad ............................................................... 217 37. Camp of Railroad Builders on the Northern Pacific Railroad.. 226 38. Inhabitants of the Country through which the Northern Pa- cific Railroad was being built ............................................ 238 39. Evening Recreations of Railroad Gamblers ........................... 241 40. Crossing the Plains on the Union Pacific Railroad ................. 243 41. Snow Sheds on the Central Pacific ....................................... 249 42. United States Treasury— the Medium through which the National Legislature robs the People .................................. 252 43. Mining Village in Pennsylvania ............................................ 256 44. Interior of a Coal Mine ......................................................... 262 45. Vertical Section of a Coal Mine ................ . ........................... 268 46. Scene in the Coal Regions ..................................................... 272 47. Western Coal Mine .............................................................. 276 48. Wagoning Grain to Market .................................................. 287 49. St. Paul, Minnesota .............................................................. 290 50. The Middle-Man's Dream of his Plunder .............................. 296 51. Life among the Middle-Men .................................................. 305 52. Camp of Wagoners hauling Grain to Market... ....................... 315 53. What is left of a Crop after paying Railroad Charges ............ 323 54. Raising the Rates of Railroad Freights ................................. 326 55. Fanner Green tries his Reaper ............................................. 342 56. Farmer Green mortgages his Farm ....................................... 345 57. S. M. Smith, Secretary of the Illinois State Farmers' Asso- ciation ............................................................................. 358 58. W. C. Flagg, President of the Illinois State Farmers' Asso- ciation ............................................................................. 362 .59. The Granger's Home ............................................................ 375 60. Ixincan M'Kay, Treasurer of the Illinois State Famers' Asso- ciation .............. i .............................................................. 534 CONTENTS. PART I. RAILROAD MONOPOLIES. CHAPTER I. THE EISE AND PEOGEESS OF AMEEICAN BAILEOADS. The first Eailroad Enterprises — The Pioneer Eailroad — A Modest Begin- ning— The Mauch Chunk Eailroad — Inauguration of the Eailroad Sys- tem— Introduction of Steam — The First Locomotive — Opening of the Baltimore and Ohio Eailroad to the Potomac — Improvements in the Construction of the Eoads — Eapid increase of Eailroads — Building of the Great Trunk Lines between the East and West — Efforts of the Eastern Cities to secure the Western Trade — Completion of the great Eoads — Commencement of the Eailroad System of the West — Its Eapid Growth — Statement of the Annual Growth and Cost of the Eailroads ot the United States— Their Present Condition 21 CHAPTER II. HISTORY OF THE " LAND GEAB." How to build Eailroads at the Expense of the People — The Public Domain of the Union a rich Field of Operations for Eailroad Managers — The first Land Grants — How the Illinois Central Eoad obtained its Lands — A bad Example — Handsome Profits — Inauguration of the Sys- tem of Land Grants — The Eesult — The Nation robbed by Wild Cat Eail- road Companies — How Congress aids the Eoads in robbing the People — Actual Workings of the Subsidy System — Detailed Statement of the Amount of the Public Lands granted to each Corporation — Greed of the Eailroads — Bonds and Money demanded in addition to Lands — The Eailroad Eing — Eloquent Denunciation of these Schemes of Plunder by Hon E. B. Washburne of Illinois 33 11 12 CONTENTS. CHAPTER III. WATEKED STOCKS. Adroitness of Kailroad Managers in securing Valuable Privileges from the Public — Recklessness of the People in granting the Demands of the Road — The only Restraints imposed — How the People made it possible for the Corporations to fleece them — How to build a Road without sub- scribing the necessary Funds — A False System — The Story of the Credit Mobilier Swindle — How the Pacific Railroad bled the National Treasury — New System of Railroad Financiering — The Process of " Stock Water- ing"— Instances of successful Stock Watering — How a Bankrupt Road was made to pay Good Dividends — Successful Policy of the Pennsyl- vania Railroad Company — Vanderbilt's Master Stroke — Who pays for Watered Stock — A Lesson for the People 52 CHAPTER IV. THE CONSOLIDATION PROCESS. A Railroad of necessity a Monopoly — George Stephenson's Views — The Interests of the Roads naturally Hostile to those of the People — Foolish Prodigality of the People — Competition disastrous to the Roads — Con- solidation of Railroads inaugurated to stop Competition — Success of the Efforts for Consolidation — The Four Enemies of Free Trade — Vander- bilt's Success with the New York Central — The Pennsylvania Com- pany— Its History — The Reign of Monopoly successfully inaugurated... 76 CHAPTER V. THE TRANSPORTATION TAX SWINDLE. Sources of Railroad Earnings — The Freight Business — Enormous Tribute paid by the People to the Roads — The Railroads irresponsible to the Public — The necessity of the Roads to the Country — Anomalous Posi- tion of the Railroads — What are Legitimate and what are Fictitious Earnings — Carelessness of the People respecting their Rights — Their Punishment — Arbitrary Course of the Roads in levying Freights — How the Railroads tax the People — The Community made to pay the Losses of the Roads — Instructive Lessons — How Competition is killed — Efforte of the State of Illinois to protect its Citizens — The Railroads refuse to obey the Law — The Railroad Yoke fastened upon the People 88 CHAPTER VI. RAILROAD TYRANNY. Dangers arising from the Railroad Monopoly — Irresponsibility of the Roads — Their Disregard of Individual Rights — A Man's Fight with a Railroad — A Corporation's Idea of a Contract — What a Railroad Ticket CONTENTS. 13 is worth — Brutal Assault on Mr. Coleman — A Struggle for Justice — The Policy of Eailroad Corporations announced — The Public to be tied Hand and Foot — Railroad Testimony — How to manufacture Evidence — What a Negro got by losing his Ticket — A Specimen Eailroad Murder — A Life for a Lost Ticket — A new Penalty for Drunkenness — Startling Details — The Avenue of Death — Eailroad Killing not considered Mur- der— Unjust Treatment of Passengers — The Palace Car Swindle — Bag- gage Smashers — The War on the Merchants — How a Eailroad endea- vored to ruin a Business Firm — The Power of the Corporations 98 CHAPTER VII. THE CAPTUEE OF THE COUETS. Sources of Eedress for the People against Eailroad Tyranny — Failure of the Courts to afford Protection — Efforts of the Eailroads to debauch the Courts of Justice — The Free Pass System — Judicial Stockholders — Designs of the Eailroads upon the Law — A Case in Point — How the Erie Eoad managed the Courts — A new System of Eailroad Jurispru- dence— Curious Details — How Boss Tweed became a Director of Erie — Efforts of Fisk & Co. to lock up Money — Daniel Drew beaten — The Government intervenes — The War in the Courts — The Value of an Inj unc- tion— How the Law was made to aid Sharp Practice — Mr. Jas. Fisk's little Journey — The Country Judge vs. the City Judge — The Eailroad makes War on the Press — Arrest of Mr. Samuel Bowles — Justice turned against the People 132 CHAPTER VIII. EAILEOAD LEGISLATION. Success of the Eailroads in managing Legislatures — Efforts to corrupt Congress — The Eailroad Lobby at Washington — How the State Legis- latures are managed — A Case in Point — The Camden & Amboy Monop- oly and the New Jersey Legislature — Erie Legislation — Exploits of the Erie Eing at Albany — The Story of a Check Book — A Disappointed Legislature 165 CHAPTER IX. EAILEOAD STOCK GAMBLING. Who owns the Eailroads ? — The Old-fashioned Method of building a Eoad — The Present Style — A Contrast — The Honest Policy not suited "o the Present Ideas of Eailroad Men — The Art of building Eailroads with other People's Money brought to Perfection — The Era of Mortgages — The Land Grab System — Demoralization in Eailroad Finances — The Gamblers in Power — The Eeal Owners of the Eailroads robbed by the Directors — A Eotten System and its Consequences — The Banks involved 14 CONTENTS. — The Eailroads demoralizing the whole Country — The New York Herald's Picture of the United States Senate — Food for Patriotic Eeflec- tion — Eailroad Senators 174 CHAPTER X. THE GEEAT EAILEOAD PANIC. A Eailroad Gamblers' Plot — The New York Gold Clique make War on the Farmers — The Attempt to lock up Money — Trouble in the New York Stock Market — A Eailroad the first to succumb — The Money Market on the 17th of September — Scene in the Stock Exchange — The Panic begins — Failure of Jay Cooke & Co. — Effect of the Failure — The Stock Market demoralized — Eun on the Union Trust Company — More Suspensions — Worthless Eailroad Bonds the Cause of the Trouble — Spread of the Panic throughout the Country — The United States Gov- ernment offers Aid — Suspension of the Union Trust Company — A Eail- road the Cause of the Trouble — The Stock Exchange closed — An Anxious Sunday — The Eailroad Gamblers demand that the United States Treasury be opened to them — Firmness of the Government — The Panic subsides — Its Lessons — A Warning to the Country 183 CHAPTER XI. WILD CAT EAILEOADS. False Assertions respecting Eailroad Property — Eailroad Building a profit- able Work — Useless Eailroads — Why they are built — Theory of Wild Cat Eailroad Constructors — Forming the Company — A Specimen Enter- prise— A Share of the Public Lands — How to raise Money to build a Eailroad — Disposing of the Bonds — Where the Money comes from — "Judicious Advertising" — Bribing the Press — The Eeligious News- paper Press the best Friend of the Wild Cat Eailroads — The Eoad in Operation — What becomes of the Stock — Where the Profit lies — The Crime of the Bankers — A Confidence Game — How to stop Wild Cat Eailroad Building 198 CHAPTER XII. THE CASE OF THE NOETHEEN PACIFIC EAILEOAD. The Eoad chartered by Congress — An Imperial Gift of Land — The Nation robbed of Fifty Million of Acres— Eoute of the Eoad— Character of the Country through which the Eoad is to be constructed — A Wilder- ness— Popular Doubts respecting the Success of the Eoad — The Capital of the Company— How it was to be raised — The People to pay for the Eoad — The Stockholders to receive all the Profits — The Bonds of the Northern Pacific Eailroad declined in Europe — A " Popular Loan " inaugurated — Jay Cooke & Co. undertake its Negotiation — A Terrible CONTENTS. 15 Blunder — The Loan does not command the Public Confidence — The true Character of the Scheme — What Might Have Been — The Sequel — Report of the German Commissioners — A Capitalist's View of the Scheme — The Bisks too great to warrant the Investment of German Capital — A remark- able Statement of the Character and Prospects of the Northern Pacific Bailroad 208 CHAPTER XIII. DANGER AHEAD. Evils resulting to the Country from Railroad Mismanagement — The Dan- ger of Monopolies — Disregard of Individual and Public Rights — Efforts to corrupt the Legislative and Judicial Powers of the Country — How the Corporations menace the Public Liberties — Mistakes of the People — Helplessness of the Community — Mr.Thomas Scott's Boast justified — A Railroad King — Contrast between Vanderbilt and Drew — Immense Power of Commodore Vanderbilt — A Gigantic Monopoly — A Real Dan- ger— An unsafe Power in the Hands of an Interested Man — Danger Ahead — The Way to meet it 236 PART II. THE COAL MONOPOLY. CHAPTER XIV. OPERATIONS OF THE COAL RING. » Character and Extent of the Coal Deposits of the United States — The Supremacy of Anthracite — Enormous Coal Wealth of the Country — This should be a Land of Cheap Fuel — Coal one of the Costliest Articles of Consumption— The Cause of this — The Anthracite Fields — Their Location and Value — The Pennsylvania Coal Ring — A Crush- ing Monopoly — Efforts of the Corporations to keep up the Price of Coal — Condition of the Companies kept secret — History and Present Con- dition of the Reading Railroad — A Danger6us Monopoly — Immense Wealth and Power of this Corporation — Ten per cent, on Watered Stock — How Money is extorted from the People by the Coal Ring — An Inside View of the Scranton Coal Sales — Amount of the Tax paid by the People to the Coal Ring — An Imperial Tribute — Who are the Sufferers — The Poor driven to Despair — How a Scarcity of Coal is brought about — The People at the Mercy of the Coal Ring — Popular vs. Corporate Rights — The Remedy for the Great Evil — How to bring down the Price of Coal and destroy the Power of the Monopoly — The Remedy in the Hands of the People — The Future of the Country at the Mercy of the Coal Ring — The Duty of Congress — Will Congress stand by the People or yield to the Monopoly?. 253 16 CONTENTS. PART III. THE FARMERS' WRONGS. CHAPTER XV. THE AGEICULTUEAL CLASSES AND THEIE WEONGS. Detailed Statement of the Agricultural Wealth of the United States, and of the Strength of the Agricultural Class — The American Farmer — His Defects and Virtues — His Character as a Man and a Citizen — The Su- perior of the Old World Farmer — He should be the most independent and contented Man on Earth — The actual State of Affairs — Hard Lot of the American Farmer — Difficulty of making the Farm pay — A real Grievance — Wrongs of the Farmer — The Effect upon the Young Men — Driven from Home — Sad Story of a Farmer's Daughter — Not an iso- lated Case — Cause for Apprehension — A Remedy needed 283 CHAPTER XVI. THE MIDDLE-MEN. A Leading Cause of the Distress of Farmers — Working at Starvation Prices — High Price of Bread — Who is responsible, for it — How the Middle- Men grow Kich at the Expense of the Farmer — An Unequal Division of Profits — The Farmer receives too little — Comparison between Agricul- tural and Manufacturing Profits — The Story of Two Brothers — A Lesson for Farmers — Profitable and Unprofitable Labor — Contrast between the Middle-Men and the Farmers — Where the Profit on Grain goes — A Palace and a Farm House — Who pay for the Splendors of the Large Cities — Need of the Farmer for Eeady Money — How this Necessity is taken Advantage of — The Local Grain Dealers — How they plunder the Farmers — The Excess of Western Production — The Eeal Cause of it.... 294 CHAPTER XVII. THE EAILEOADS AND THE FAEMEES. Opportunity of the Eailroads to plunder the Farmers — Extent of the Wheat Production of the United States — Amount consumed at Home — The Western Surplus — Amount of Corn produced — The System of High Freights — The West shut out from Market — Effect of the Civil War — Burning Corn for Fuel — Greed of the Eailroad Companies — The Cost of getting Grain to Market — Facts for Farmers — Combination of the Eail- roads and the Middle-Men — The Story of a Car Load of Corn — Mr. Walker's Views — The Farmers' Complaint — Eailroads disregard the Law — Futile Efforts of the Western States to protect their Citizens — How High Freights are arranged — The Dependence of the Farmers upon the Eailroads — The Effect of High Freights upon the Value of the Farm —A Startling Exhibit 333 T. B,. Allen, Master of Missouri. Col. John Cochrane, Master of Wise John Weir, First Master of Indiana. Mrs. J. C. Abbott, " Flora." Wm. Saunders, First Master, Nat'l Grange. D. W. Ada SOME OF THE LEADING OFFICERS OF j«fn. S. H. Ellis, Master of Ohio. F. II. Dumbauld, First Master of Kansas. Mrs. D. W. Adams, " Ceres." C. D. Beeman, Gen'l Nat'l D< faster, Nat'l Grange. O. H. Kelley, Secretary, Nat'l Grange. E ORDER OF PATRONS OF HUSBANDRY. CONTENTS. 17 CHAPTER XVIII. THE STOEY OF FARMER GREEN'S REAPER. A Common Fault with Farmers — Not in a Condition to incur Risks — The Danger of running into Debt — The Curse of Mortgages — Labor-Saving Machines — What they are worth — Unfair Prices demanded for them — Farmers paying twenty per cent. Interest — An iniquitous Business — Danger of Indiscriminate Purchases of Machinery — A few Words of Sober Counsel — Farmer Green and his Farm — Getting on in the World — Fanner Green buys a Reaper — How he paid for it — The first false Step — Beautiful Calculations — An Iron-clad Note — In the Toils — Arrival of the Reaper — Disappointment — Second Visit of the Agent — The Theory of Deferred Payments — How it works — Deeper in Debt — The Farm mortgaged — New Misfortunes — Selling the Homestead — Be- ginning anew — What Farmer Green's Reaper cost him — A Lesson for Farmers 336 CHAPTER XIX. FARMER SMITH SPEAKS HIS MIND. The Secretary of the Illinois Farmers' State Association — Speech at Car- rollton — Views of a Practical and Thinking Farmer — Sound Views for the Consideration of the Farmers of the Union — Mr. Smith's Home- stead— A comfortable Western Farm — A quiet Talk with Farmer Smith — His Statement of the Farmers' Wrongs, and his Views as to the Remedy — Corn selling for less than Cost — " Sixty Bushels of Corn to buy Two Pairs of Boys' Boots "—The Mysteries of Western Coal Selling— The Farms more heavily taxed than the Railroads — The Grange offers the best Remedy, and the best Means of attaining it 347 CHAPTER XX. VIEWS OF A WISCONSIN FARMER. The Master of the Wisconsin State Grange — A Model Farmer and IUB Farm — Colonel Cochrane's Views of the Situation — Conflict between the Railroads and the Farms— The Roads first built with the Farmers' Savings— How the Farmer was induced to buy Railroad Stock — How they are robbed by the Roads— Position of the Middle-men— The Cost of Western Farming — Through and Local Shipments — How the Grange helps the Cheese Makers — Farming in Wisconsin ; what it costs and what it pays — The Farmers unable to fix their Prices 374 CHAPTER XXI. HOW THE GOVERNMENT ROBS THE FARMERS. Relative Strength of the Farming and Manufacturing Classes — Estimate of the Number of Employers and Working People— The Farmers at the 2 18 CONTENTS. Mercy of the Manufacturers — Need of a free and cheap Market — How the Tariff works — The Government protects the Manufacturers in their Extortions from the Farmers — The Farmer requires a cheap Market — What the Farmer pays for Staple Articles of Consumption — The Far- mers making the Fortunes of the Manufacturers — A Tax upon Agricul- ture— "What a Dose of Quinine costs — Necessities taxed more heavily than Luxuries — The Interests of the Farmer opposed to those of the Manufacturer — The Government hostile to the Farmers — Food for wholesome Reflection — How the Farmer can be benefited by a Free Market — How to bring it about 389 CHAPTER XXII. THE REMEDY. Review of the Wrongs suffered by the Agricultural Classes — A Minor . Evil — The Remedy — The Farmer to receive a fair Return for his Industry — The Farmer's Interest that of the Nation — The Duty of the Country to protect the Farmer — The Kind of Laws needed — The Mo- nopolists the Enemies of the Whole People — A Free and Cheap Market demanded — Power of the Farmers of the United States — The Extent to which they control the Popular Vote — Number of voting Farmers — The People in Sympathy with the Agricultural Class — What the Farmers can accomplish — Necessity of Union — A great and glorious Revolution at Hand 400 PART IV. THE ORDER OF PATRONS OF HUSBANDRY. CHAPTER XXIII. ORGANIZATION OF THE ORDER. Mission of Mr. O. H. Kelley to the Southern States — He discovers a Remedy for the Farmers' Grievances — Conferences at Washington — Formation of the Order of Patrons of Husbandry — Organization of the National Grange — Subsequent History of the Order — Increase of the Granges — The Grange in Iowa — Strength of the Order — The Weekly Bulletin — A Wonderful History — Unprecedentedly Rapid Growth of the Order— Comments of the " Tribune " on the Increase of the Granges — The Order in Canada— List of Canadian Granges 407 CHAPTER XXIV. COMPOSITION OF THE GRANGES. Objects of the Order — Male and Female Members — Division into Na- tional State, and Local Granges — Officers of the National Grange — CONTENTS. 19 Membership limited to Agriculturalists — Organization of the Grange — Qualifications* of Members — Secrecy required — The Degrees of the Order — The Bituai Degrees of the Subordinate Grange — Degrees of the State Grange — Degrees of the National Grange — Financial Matters — How the Grange is organized — Description of the Working System of the Order — How the Expenses of the Grange are paid — The Secret Feature con- sidered— Necessity for and Advantage of Secrecy — Advantages of Fe- male Members — Woman's Work in the Grange — Objects of the Order discussed 419 CHAPTER XXV. THE LAWS OF THE ORDER. Constitution and By-Laws of the Order — Preamble — Organization — De- grees — Officers — Meetings — Laws — Ritual — Membership — Fees for Membership — Dues — Requirements — Charters and Dispensations — Duties of Officers — Treasurers — Restrictions — Amendments — Birth-day of Ceres to be observed — By-Laws 431 CHAPTER XXVI. THE GRANGE AS A MEANS OF PROTECTION. Advantages to the Farmers of the Grange — A Means of Combination afforded them — Good Results of Combination — Harmonious Action secured — The Grange intended as a Means of resisting the Farmers' Enemies — How it proposes to correct Abuses — The War against the Railroads — The Grange pledged to secure Measures just to all Parties — The Entire Order working for the Accomplishment of One Object — The Order the Protector of the Farmer — Plan of Action — How Measures are devised and carried out — Position of the Grange towards the Railroads — The Grange not a Political Institution — The Power of the Order, and how it is exerted — Individual Opinions respected by the Order — Prospects for the Future — Ite Work — Membership confined to Agriculturalists 440 CHAPTER XXVII. SOCIAL ASPECT OF THE GRANGE. Dull and Monotonous Life of Farmers and their Families — The need of the Farmer for Social Intercourse — Hard lot of Farmers' Wives and Daughters — Scarcity of Amusements — " All Work and no Play " — Demand for a Change — The Work of the Grange — The Grange a Means of Social Enjoyment — Advantages of the Social System of the Grange — Farmers' Wives and Daughters in the Grange — The Lesson of Innocent Enjoyment taught — Festivals and Pleasures of the Grange — How the Order promotes Sociability and Friendship among the Farm- ers— Interesting Details — Barbecues — Sociables — Public Meetings — The Lesson of Courtesy — What the Grange has done for the Happiness of the Agricultural Class — A Great and Good Work 460 20 CONTENTS. CHAPTER XXVIII. THE LESSONS OF THE GRANGE. The Grange as a Means of disseminating Agricultural Information- Grange Tracts — How they are circulated — Efforts of the Order to im- prove the Farmer's Condition — The Grange as a School of Reform — It makes Better Farmers — How it spreads Information — Advice as to Improvements — The .Grange the Enemy of Careless and Improvident Farming — It encourages Good and Careful Work — The Stacks of Wheat — Only Virtuous and Industrious Members admitted into the Order — The Grange making Intelligent Farmers — Beneficial Effects of the Discussions of the Grange — The Grange teaches Habits of Thrift and Economy — Discountenances Debt — The Grange the Enemy of Selfishness — Encourages Education — The Friend of the Schools — The Grange making Better Men as well as Better Farmers — Claims of the Order upon the Sympathy of the Country 462 CHAPTER XXIX. THE COOPERATIVE FEATURE. Cooperative Feature of the Grange — How the Grange saves the Farmers the Middle-man's Profit — Circular of the Secretary of the National Grange — A Means of Practical Economy — The System of Purchases adopted by the Grange — The System on Trial in Iowa — The System productive of Economy — How the Iowa Grange conducts its Operations — Bringing the Manufacturers to Terms — The Plow Trade — A Saving of Fifty Thousand Dollars on Plows — A Liberal System of Discounts — Work of the State Agent — Joint Stock Stores established — Method of Cooperative Selling — Elevators established by the Granges — Direct Shipments — Magnificent Success of the Grange in Iowa — The Granges saving more Money than they cost — Efforts to embarrass the Grange—- Warning of the National Grange — Opposition of the Middle-men — A Successful Effort at Cooperation abroad — The History of the Civil Service Supply Association of London — A Lesson and an Encour- agement to the Grange 471 CHAPTER XXX. THE FUTURE OF THE GRANGE. Retrospective — Future of the Order — What it will accomplish for the Farmer and for the Country — The Grange pledged to a Just and Liberal Course of Action — The Grange not a Destructive Order — Its Stake in the Community — Elements of Opposition — Distrust of Politicians — Political Views of the Granges — Platforms of the Farmers of Illinois, Minnesota, and Iowa — Necessity for the Order to confine itself to its Proper Work.. 505 CHAPTER XXXI. LEADING GRANGERS 515 HISTORY OF THE GRANGE MOVEMENT; OB, THE FARMER'S WAR AGAINST MONOPOLIES. PART I. EAILEOAD MONOPOLIES. CHAPTER I. THE RISE AND PROGRESS OF AMERICAN RAILROADS. The first Railroad Enterprises — The Pioneer Railroad — A Modest Beginning — The Mauch Chunk Railroad — Inauguration of the Railroad System — In- troduction of Steam — The First Locomotive — Opening of the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad to the Potomac — Improvements in the Construction of the Roads — Rapid increase ol Railroads — Building of the Great Trunk Lines between the East and West — Efforts of the Eastern Cities to secure the Western Trade — Completion of the great Roads — Commencement of the Railroad System of the West — Its Rapid Growth — Statement of the Annual Growth and Coat of the Railroads of the United States — Their Present Condition. FEW things have been so remarkable in the wonder- ful growth of the American Republic as the increase and expansion of its railway system. A comparatively young man finds no difficulty in remembering the time when the only means of communication between the various parts of the Union were the canal boat and the stage coach. Half a century has witnessed the won- derful growth of the American railways. It has also witnessed the gradual change of the system, which was 21 22 HISTORY OF THE GRANGE MOVEMENT; OR, designed to be a lasting benefit to the Republic, into one of the greatest dangers which now threaten its existence. We propose to trace in these pages the growth of the railway system of the country, and to present to the reader a statement of its present condition, in order that he may the better appreciate the grave danger with which this immense system threatens the land. It was not until 1826 that capitalists became satis- fied of the value of the railway as a means of communi- cation between distant points. The first road of this kind in America was a mere tramway for the transpor- tation of granite from the quarries at Quincy to the Neponsett River, in Massachusetts. The total length of this road was about three miles. It terminated at the quarries in a self-acting inclined plane. It was built upon granite sleepers, seven and a half feet long, laid eight feet apart. The rails were laid five feet apart, were of pine, a foot deep, and covered with an oak plate, and this with flat bars of iron. The cars were drawn by horses. In January, 1827, a second road was begun, and completed in May of that year, from the coal mines, at Mauch Chunk, Pennsylvania, to the Lehigh River, a distance- of nine miles. " From the summit within half a mile of the mines the descent to the river was 982 feet, of which 225 feet were included in a self-act- ing plane at the river, and twenty-five feet more in a shute by which the coal was discharged into the boats. The remainder was in a continual descending grade, down which the loaded wagons ran by gravity, one of them being appropriated to the mules by which the empty wagons were drawn back. The rails were of tim- ber, laid on wooden sleepers and strapped with flat iron." THE FARMERS WAR AGAINST MONOPOLIES. 23 These roads demonstrated the fact that heavy loads could be drawn with a slighter expenditure of power than must be used on the ordinary highways. Admir- able results had been obtained in Europe by the adop- tion of -this system, and by the close of 1827 it had come to be acknowledged in the United States that the railway was the best method of transporting freight. Accordingly measures were set on foot in many of the States, especially in Massachusetts, New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Maryland, and South Carolina, for the construction of various roads, some of which were designed upon a grand scale. Steam had now been introduced upon the European roads as a motive power, and the managers of the American roads at once adopted it as the cheapest and the best means of propelling their cars. The Delaware and Hudson Canal Company began, in 1828, the con- struction of a road from their coal mines to Honesdale, the terminus of the canal. Before the road was fairly begun, they sent Mr. Horatio Allen to England to in- vestigate and report upon the railways of that country, and also to purchase their railroad iron. Later still, he was directed to buy three locomotive engines. These purchases were made, and the first, a locomotive, built by George Stephenson, at his works at Newcastle-upon- Tyne, arrived in New York in the Spring of 1829. It was exhibited for some time in New York, and attracted great attention. The other locomotives were built by other persons, and arrived and were placed on the road in the latter part of 1829. They were the first loco- motives used in this country. They were engines on four wheels, furnished with the multitubular boiler and the exhaust blast. 24 HISTORY OF THE GRANGE MOVEMENT; OR, In 1829 work was begun on the South Carolina Rail- road, designed to connect Charleston with Hamburg, on the Savannah River, opposite the City of Augusta, Ga. Six miles of this road were completed from Charleston before the close of the year. It is an interesting fact that some time previous to the commencement of work upon this road, the directors determined, under the advice of their engineer, Mr. Horatio Allen, who was convinced that horses could not draw cars over this road with profit to the Company, to make a species of horse locomotive "the motive power, and the road was constructed in such a manner as to be wholly de- pendent upon them, being built upon piles often at a great height above the ground. The company offered a premium of $500 for the best plan of horse locomotive, and this was awarded to Mr. C. E. Detmold, afterward of New York, who constructed one with the horse working on an endless chain platform. It carried twelve passengers at the rate of twelve miles per hour. The same gentleman, in the winter of 1829-30, made drawings of the first American steam locomotive, called the ' Best Friend,' which was planned by Mr. E. L. Miller, then residing in Charleston, made by the Kernbles at their shop in West street, and placed on the road late in the summer of 1830. It was a small four-wheeled engine, with upright boiler and water flues close at bottom, and the flame circulating around them. It worked successfully for about two years, when it ex- ploded, and was rebuilt with a flue boiler. Upon this road, in 1831, was first introduced on any road, either abroad or in the United States, the important arrange- ment of two four-wheeled trucks for locomotives and long passenger cars. These were built from plans de- THE FARMER'S WAR AGAINST MONOPOLIES. 25 signed by Mr. Horatio Allen in 1830 ; and with no es- sential change his system of double truck running gear, including the application of pedestals to the springs, has ever since been adopted upon all the roads of the country." In 1828, the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad, the first of the great routes connecting the Eastern and Western States, was begun, the first stone being laid with great rejoicing in the city of Baltimore on the 4th of July of that year. It was originally designed to use horse cars only upon it, and in June, 1830, the road was finished to Ellicott's Mills, a distance of fourteen miles from Baltimore. The cars were drawn by horses. " For a long time," says the historian of the road, "notwith- standing the use of horse power, the railroad was re- garded as a great novelty; and the people of Baltimore, with their wives, sisters, or friends, patronized it very extensively. A ride to Ellicott's Mills by railroad was a daily or Aveekly amusement ; and that interesting vil- lage became exceedingly popular with all classes of people. The number of cars provided by the company proved entirely inadequate to the trade, both for pas- sengers and merchandise ; and although but one track had been finished, the receipts for the first four months showed an aggregate of over twenty thousand dollars." It was at one time proposed to propel the cars on this road by means of sails. By April, 1832, the road was opened to the Point of Rocks, on the Potomac, a distance of seventy miles. Long before this, it had become evident to the company that horse power was utterly inadequate to the de- mands upon the road. The successful introduction of steam upon the English roads encouraged the directors 26 HISTORY OF THE GRANGE MOVEMENT; OR, to believe that they could use it with equal success in their own undertaking, and rewards were offered for the construction of the best locomotive suited to the needs of the road. A small locomotive, built in Balti- more by Mr. Peter Cooper, was placed on the line in 1830, and gave considerable satisfaction, but it did not fully meet the requirements of the company. "Agreeably to the invitation of the President and Directors, three locomotive engines were introduced upon the road, in the summer of 1831, of which only one proved to be successful, according to the stipula- tions of the company. This was the York, having been erected in the town of that name, in Pennsylvania, situated fifty-seven miles north of Baltimore. This en- gine was erected by Phineas Davis (a very ingenious and worthy man, who subsequently met with an acci- dent which proved fatal, while experimenting with his machinery), of the firm of Davis & Gardiner, and, after undergoing some slight modifications, wras found capable of conveying fifteen tons, at the rate of fifteen miles per hour, on a level portion of the road. It was employed for a considerable time between Baltimore and Ellicott's Mills, and generally performed the trip in one hour, with four cars, being a gross weight of fourteen tons. The engine, it will be observed, was mounted on four wheels, of thirty inches diameter, like those of common cars ; and the velocity was obtained by means of gear- ing with a spur wheel and pinion, on one of the axles of the road wheels. The entire weight was but three and a half tons, and it not unfrequently attained a speed ranging from twenty to thirty miles per hour. It passed over curves with much facility, overcoming those of four hundred feet radius, the shortest on the THE FARMER'S WAR AGAINST MONOPOLIES. 27 road, at the rate of fifteen miles per hour. The fuel used was anthracite coal, which is said to have an- swered the purpose very well ; but the lightness of the machine prevented it from drawing very heavy loads over ascending grades." The railroads at this time were built of longitudinal rails pinned 'down to the wooden or stone cross ties, which were imbedded in the ground, and upon the rails flat bars of iron about half an inch thick, and from two and a half to four and a half inches in width, were fastened by spikes, the heads of which were counter- sunk in the iron. This species of rail was generally adopted as the cheapest, but it was not long before it attained an unenviable notoriety as the most dangerous. The ends of the rails would frequently curl up, and being caught by the wheels would be thrust through the bottoms of the cars, causing sometimes very serious accidents. The Baltimore and Ohio road was carried steadily forward, accomplishing in its construction feats of en- gineering which were justly regarded as national tri- umphs. It climbed to the summit of the Alleghanies, and passed them by a series of grades at which the most accomplished engineers had halted in dismay when told of them by the friends of the road, and it is not too much to assert that the success of this road was one of the greatest encouragements offered to the per- sons interested in these enterprises. In the meantime, however, other roads were begun and carried forward with energy. The use of steam as a motive power had overcome the chief obstacle in their way, and the whole country was engaged in schemes for their increase and diffusion throughout its 28 HISTORY OF THE GRANGE MOVEMENT; OR, limits. In 1830-31, as many as twelve railway com- panies were chartered by the Legislature of Pennsyl- vania. By the close of the year 1832, Pennsylvania is said to have had sixty-seven lines of railway in opera- tion. In the same year, the principal lines in Massa- chusetts and New Jersey were also begun. The most important of these lines were designed to connect the cities of the Atlantic seaboard with the States west of the mountains. The Great West was just beginning its wonderful growth in population and prosperity, and each of the principal seaports of the East became eager to secure the rich harvest offered by the trade of the West. By means of the Western Rail- way of Massachusetts, Boston was brought into direct communication with the Erie Canal and the roads now constituting the New York Central Railway, over which the grain of the West was conveyed to Albany. This induced the capitalists of New York to undertake the construction of the Erie Road, which was begun in 1833, but was not finished until 1857. In order to compete still more advantageously with New York, Boston furnished the means for the construction of the Michigan Central road, and its extension from Detroit to Chicago, thus bringing the products of the West di- rectly to Albany and thence to Boston. " It was also sending out its long arms toward the Northwest, reach- ing the outlet of the great lakes at Ogdensburg, before this point was connected by railroad with the metropo- lis of its own State. These enterprises stimulated Pennsylvania to perfect her line of communication be- tween Philadelphia and Pittsburg, which from Harris- burg to Hollidaysburg was by canal, and thence over the Alleghany Mountains by a succession of five in- THE FARMER'S WAR AGAINST MONOPOLIES. 29 clined planes and intervening levels up the mountain on one side, then by a long level to the five inclined planes and levels which terminated below at Johns- town, where another canal took the boats that had been brought over the mountain in sections, and con- veyed them to Pittsburg. The canals and inclined planes were done away with, and a continuous road was opened across the State." This was the now famous Pennsylvania Central Railroad. Connections were pushed out from it to Lake Erie at Cleveland, to Chicago, and by way of Columbus and Cincinnati, with the railroads of Ohio, Indiana and Illinois. " Baltimore, feeling the effects of these advances, was impelled to push forward the Baltimore and Ohio road, which had long stopped in the coal region of Cumber- land, and it was at last completed to Wheeling on the Ohio. Charleston and Savannah early appreciated the importance of connecting their harbors with the pro- ductive districts of the interior by railroads ; and when these had penetrated their own States, the line of equal importance to both was extended through North Georgia into Tennessee, connecting, in 1849, Chatta- nooga with those cities. " All these advances into the valleys of the branches of the Mississippi affected the cities of the Gulf of Mexico, and Mobile and New Orleans hastened forward the lines which in the early history of American rail- roads they had projected for securing to themselves the trade of these valleys." In the Western States the growth of the railway system was not less marked than in the East. In 1838 there were but 22 miles of railway in operation in the West, and this in the State of Kentucky. Four years 30 HISTORY OF THE GRANGE MOVEMENT; OR, later, in 1842, there were 274 miles in operation in the West, of which Michigan contained 138 miles. In 1850 the Western States contained over 1400 miles of rail- way; and in 1860 over 13,000 miles out of a total of 31,185 miles in the entire Union. In 1872, out of a total of 62,647 miles in the whole Union, the Western States contained over 34,000 miles of railroad. The following Table will show the gradual growth of our railways from the commencement to the present day: Tear. Miles open. Yearly Increase. 1827 3 1828 3 1829 28 25 1830 41 13 1831 54 13 1832 131 77 1833 576 445 1834 762 186 1835 918 156 1836 1102 184 1837 1431, 329 1838 1843 412 1839 2220 377 1840 2797 577 1841 3319 522 1842 3877 558 1843 4174 297 1844 4311 137 1845 4522 211 1846 4870 348 1847 5336 466 1848 „ 5682 346 1849 6350 668 1850 7475 1125 1851 8589 1114 1852 11,027 2438 1853 13,497 2470 1854 15,672 „ 2175 1855 17,398 1726 1856 19,251 1853 1857 22,625 3374 THE FARMER S WAR AGAINST MONOPOLIES. 31 Tear. Miles open. Yearly Increase. 1858 25,090 2465 1859 26,755 1665 28,771 2016 30,593 1822 1862 31,769 1176 1863 32,471 702 1864 33,860 1389 1865 34,442 '. 582 1866 35,351 909 1860 1861 1867 , 1868.... 36,896 1545 38,822 1926 1869 42,272 3450 1870 48,860 6588 1871 54,435 5575 1872 62,647 8212 In Poor's " Railroad Manual of the United States " for 1873—74, the following estimate is given of the cost and capital invested in the railways of the United States : STATCS. Capital Stock. Funded and other Debt. Total Capital Account. Cost of R.E. per mile. $129,012,748 568,838,174 724,686,046 171,683,155 63,623,990 $101,597,040 363,862,600 747,939,186 230,230,112 67,950,000 8230,609,794 922,700,774 1,472,625.232 401,913,267 131,573,990 850,418 79,427 60,550 36,575 98,300 Middle States Pacific States Total 81,647,844,113 $1,511,578,944 83,159,423,057 65,116 A still more definite idea of the immense system which has grown from the modest beginning at Quincy in 1826, will be gained from the following extract from the same Manual : " The total cost of the railroads, the operations of which are given for the past year, is $3,159,423,057, made up of $1,647,844,113 of capital stock, and $1,511,- 578,944 of various forms of indebtedness, chiefly of bonds maturing at distant periods. The capital stock amounted to 52-15 per cent., and the debt to 47*85 per cent, of the total cost. The cost of these roads per .32 HISTORY OF THE GRANGE MOVEMENT; OR, mile was $55,116. The gross earnings for the year were $473,241,055, of which $132,309,270, or 28 per cent., was received for transportation of passengers, and $340,931,785, or 72 per cent., for the transportation of freight, including under this head the small amount received from ' miscellaneous sources.' The receipts per mile were $8256. The ratio of earnings to population was $11.76 per head. The operating expenses for the year were $307,486,682, or 65 per cent, of the gross receipts, leaving $165,754,373, or 35 per cent., as net earnings." Thus, in the comparatively short period of forty-six years, over 67,000 miles of railroads have been con- structed in the Union, involving an outlay for construc- tion alone of over three thousand millions of dollars. These vast corporations are the possessors of immense quantities of real and personal estate, employ thousands of operatives, and receive and pay out annually sums of hundreds of millions of dollars. It is a wonderful history. THE FARMERS WAR AGAINST MONOPOLIES. CHAPTER II. HISTORY OF THE "LAND GRAB." How to build Railroads at the Expense of the People — The Public Domain of the Union a rich Field of Operations for Railroad Managers — The first Land Grants — How the Illinois Central Road obtained its Lands — A bad Example — Handsome Profits — Inauguration of the System of Land Grants — The Result — The Nation robbed by Wild Cat Railroad Companies — How Congress aids the Roads in robbing the People — Actual Workings of the Subsidy Sys- tem— Detailed Statement of the Amount of the Public Lands granted to each Corporation — Greed of the Railroads — Bonds and Money demanded in addition to Lands — The Railroad Ring — Eloquent Denunciation of these Schemes of Plunder by Hon. E. B. Washburne of Illinois. A RECENT writer, describing the construction of a railway, says : "The first step, after selecting the route, is to purchase the land upon which the proposed road is to be built." Many of our roads are built upon land fairly purchased and paid for, but not all ; and it was regarded as a great step gained in scientific railroad financiering when a shrewd railway magnate of the West conceived the happy idea of building a road at the cost of the people of the whole country. Previous to 1850, the United States possessed vast tracts of lands in the Western States and Territories. These lands were the common property of the States, and were held by the General Government for their benefit. It was believed at one time that the sale of these lands would produce a large revenue for the Republic, which could be expended in various enter- prises for the benefit of the country at large. 3 34 HISTORY OF THE GRANGE MOVEMENT; OR, In 1850, however, it occurred to certain of our pub- lic men that the public lands might be advantageously used for the purpose of defraying the cost of the various railways which were then in contemplation. Who first conceived the idea is not known, but it was caught up by the Illinois Central Railroad Company, and they suc- ceeded in interesting the late Stephen A. Douglas, Senator from Illinois, in the scheme. Mr. Douglas was captivated by the idea of the great railway intersecting the entire State, and bringing Northern and Southern Illinois into rapid and direct communication with Chicago and Cairo. He saw the importance of the undertaking, recognized the magnitude of the expense attending it, and, in an evil hour for the country, adopted the opinion that the General Government should aid the construction of the road by bestowing upon the company a portion of the public lands, since the successful accomplishment of the undertaking would result in building up the population and increas- ing the wealth of Illinois. Mr. Douglas, with all his great genius, did not seem to recognize the fact that he was really asking the people of the United States to build a road for a corporation in his own State, or that he was opening a way for a systematic fleecing of the nation for the benefit of private individuals. In 1850, the application of the Illinois Central Com- pany for assistance from the Government was presented in Congress. It was hotly opposed, but supported by the persuasive eloquence of Senator Douglas, the peti- tion was granted. An Act of Congress, approved Sep- tember 20th, 1850, granted to the State of Illinois six sections of land per mile of road -in aid of the construc- tion of a railroad from Cairo^to Chicago and Dunleith. THE FARMER'S WAR AGAINST MONOPOLIES. 35 This grant was transferred by the State to the Illinois Central Company, in consideration of which, and in lieu of all other taxes, the company agreed to pay to the State an amount equal to seven per cent, of the gross earnings from freight and passengers moved over their lines. The amount of land embraced in this grant was about 2,595,000 acres. This immense property consisted of a broad strip of land lying on each side of the line of the road throughout the entire length of the State, and for a distance of about six miles on each side of the track. It was a magnificent grant. The company made a good use of the lands thus acquired. They were promptly surveyed and laid off in sections. Liberal offers — for the company could afford to be liberal since the lands had cost them practically nothing — were made to actual settlers. As they comprised some of the best lands in the State, the railway sections were rapidly taken up, and all along the line of the road there sprang up farms and settle- ments as if by magic. By the first of January, 1873, the sales of the company amounted to 2,250,633 acres, leaving 344,367 acres on hand. The amount received and due for the lands thus sold up to January 1st, 1873, stands as follows : Principal $ 23,320,463 Net cash 5,268,557 Advance interest 976,133 Interest notes 710,328 Notes and deferred payments 18,762,243 Sales, including advance interest 24,296,596 The example of the Illinois Central Company was not lost upon other corporations. Each had its cham- pion in Congress, and applications for land grants began to pour in upon that body.' Having granted such aid 36 HISTORY OF THE GRANGE MOVEMENT; OR, in one case, Congress could not refuse it in others, and the result was that the greater portion of the public domain was given away to railway corporations, the people of the country practically receiving no valuable consideration for the grants. These grants were made to the States and by them conveyed to the respective railways. Congress conveyed to each of the applicants "six alternate sections of public lands of 640 acres each (and equalling 3480 acres to the mile), to be taken by the odd numbers within six miles of the line of the road proposed. In case such a num- ber of sections of odd numbers of public lands could not be found within six miles of such line (in con- sequence of previous sale), then the grant was to be enlarged so as to apply to the odd sections within fifteen miles of the line on either side, so as to make up the full amount intended to be granted. Many of the grants were subsequently further enlarged so as to apply to sections of odd numbers within twenty miles of the line." So common has the custom of giving the public land to a railway corporation, to enable it to build its road, become, that at present, the first care of the directors of a new enterprise of this kind is to obtain, from the Government, land enough to defray the cost of the road. In other words, men forming a corporation to build a road for their own profit, are shrewd enough to throw the expense of their enterprise upon the people of the country at large. The people pay for the roads ; the stockholders receive the profits. Members of Con- gress seem to agree thoroughly with the railway direc- tors of the present day in the belief that it is the duty of the General Government to make the tax-payers THE FARMERS WAR AGAINST MONOPOLIES. 37 of the United States build roads for the benefit of the stockholders. Very many of the railway enterprises of the present day would not be undertaken, but for the hope of receiv- ing Government aid. The men who organize them, although they do so for their own private benefit, rely upon using the property of the whole people rather than their own. Their plan is veuy simple. If they can secure a grant of land from the General Govern- ment, the public property thus placed in their hands will afford them the means of carrying out their schemes. To be plainer — their plan is simply to rob the nation of its possessions, with the aid or connivance of the august body to whose keeping the trust has been confided. The people of the United States are not averse to the granting of aid by the Government to enterprises which are national in their character, which are for the public good, and which will render, at some time, an equivalent for the aid thus extended. The Amer- ican people are decidedly, and very sensibly, averse to giving their property away, for the benefit of a private corporation, and are opposed to such a use of it by Congress. Just now they are very sore over the im- mense sums that have been squandered by Congress in this way. The Honorable members are aware of this, but they appear to entertain a lofty contempt for the will of the people, fancying that they are the masters rather than the servants of the nation. The public feeling has been repeatedly expressed, but the work of "subsidizing" by the Government still goes on. Not long since, a leading New York journal gave 38 HISTORY OF THE GRANGE MOVEMENT; OR, the following forcible statement of the popular view of this question : " Let us say that the property of the Government of the United States — meaning thereby of course the common property of the people of the United States — is worth $4,000,000,000, or $100 a head. In the management of this property by the few hundred men who make up what we call the Government, the im- plied trust is that the property will in all cases be managed for the benefit of the whole people, and that in no case shall one or two, or half a dozen, or a hun- dred citizens be given any portion to use for their own peculiar personal profit, to the exclusion of the re- maining millions. Now if the Government — i. e., the men under this trust, the trustees of the people in other words — give, say, $500,000,000 of this property to a score of men associated together as a railway or other company, to have and to hold and to use it as their own as much as if it were the product of their own toil, the implied trust is broken; the trustees betray the confidence reposed in them. This is not a fashionable view, we know, but still it is a true one. The wrong is the same in the few men called and call- ing themselves the Government as if they had com- mitted it in their individual capacities and as private citizens. No man in any capacity has any right to betray a trust reposed. And yet, that such betrayal is not only not wrong, but that it is even nobly, glor- iously, beautifully right, is the doctrine underlying the subsidy system. The Government, (so the subsidy doctrine runs,) may, and not only may but should, give the Union Pacific Railroad Company, and the rest, hundreds of millions of public acres and scores THE FARMER'S WAR AGAINST MONOPOLIES. 39 of millions of public money for the purpose of build- ing up and operating a business for the exclusive profit of the said company, to the utter and eternal exclusion of any and all of the millions of other citizens whom the act of incorporation fails to recite. And as with this one particular donation so with scores of others ; it is right and proper for the Government to give away to whom it will so much of the $4,000,000,000 as it dee/ns proper. It develops the country to do this; it is progress; it is in the line of the best patriotic thought; the wilderness is thereby made to bloom and blossom as a rose — there are, in short, an infinite variety of fine phrases to conceal the real nature of the breach of trust. One particularly specious plea is that unless the millions were thus robbed in behalf of the scores, the scores could not provide great and beneficent instrumentalities for the use of the millions. It is forgotten that the scores charge the millions as much for the use of the instrumentalities as if they had not been built with the millions' own means, but had come bodily out of the bank accounts of the scores. If a man steal from me enough to buy him a horse and vehicle, and then insists he is doing me an immense service by charging me $5 for carrying me a mile on my own property, he does that on a small scale which subsidized corporations, railroad or any other, do upon a large. Such then is the morality of the subsidy sys- tem, which has been fostered into such magnificent proportions. The natural operation of the system is to generate about it a fine swarm of adventurers, of all grades, from the benevolent looking company presi- dent, whose gold-rimmed glasses would shrivel in the heat of his indignation did any one call him an adven- 40 HISTORY OF THE GRANGE MOVEMENT; OR, turer, down to the professional lobbyist, whom he uses as the huntsman uses his hound, to run down the game. There being millions at stake, these adven- turers, each in his sphere, are instant in action. They cajole, they seduce, they ensnare. All the arts of temptation ooze from their tongues in drops of honey, and fall from their hands in streams of gold. What wonder if success only too often rewards their nefarious efforts — if the not over-stubborn normal virtue of the Senator or Congressman succumbs ? If the records of the Credit Mobilier investigation reveal anything, they disclose this — that tactics of this kind were employed with exquisite skill and relentless tenacity; and, de- spite the half-frantic denials of the victims, it is per- fectly evident the strategy of the subsidy adventurers won." The lands granted by the Government to various railway corporations make up a total area of 198,165,- 794 acres, or about 300,000 square miles — an area larger than the State of Texas, which contains 237,504 square miles. Texas and the two Virginias combined would make an area smaller than that of the lands thus given away. The total area of the United States is 3,578,392 square miles, and the railway subsidies, it will be seen, comprise nearly one-tenth of the entire Union. The following Table shows the land grants to rail- ways since 1850, and the amount of land actually re- ceived or certified by each company : THE FARMERS WAR AGAINST MONOPOLIES. 41 Date of Laws. Name of Road. Acres Grunted. Acres Certified. Sept. 30, 1850 ILLINOIS. Illinois Central 2,595,053 2,595,053 Sept. 20, 1850 MISSISSIPPI. 1,004,640 737,130 Aug. 11, 185G 404,800 171,550 Gulf and Ship Island Railroad 652,800 Sept. 21, 1850...... ALABAMA. Mobile and Ohio 230,400 419,528 May 27, 1856 419,520 394,522 481,920 440,700 June 3, 1856 Northeastern and Southeastern, Alabama and Chatta- 691,840 289,535 ii 11 Wills Valley, Alabama and Chattanooga 206,080 171,920 11 ii Coosa and Tennessee ,\i... 132,480 64,784 a a 840,880 504,145 ii a 150,000 ii 11 576,000 May 17, 1856 FLORIDA. Florida Railroad 442,542 281,984 Alabama and Florida 165,088 1,568,729 165,588 1,275,012 11 u Florida, Atlantic and Gulf Central 183,183 37,583 June 3, 1856 LOUISIANA. Vicksburg and Shreveport 610,880 353,211 New Orleans, Opelousas and Great Western 967,840 719,193 Feb. 9, 1853.. ARKANSAS. 1,100,667 1,115,408 July 28, 1856 966,722 Feb. 9, 1853 438,646 127,238 July 28, 1S66 365,539 Feb. 9, 1853 July 23, 13G6 Little Rock and Fort Smith 650,525 458,771 550,520 July 4, 1866 864,000 June 10 1852 MISSOURI. 791,944 493 812 1,161,235 1,158,073 Feb. 9,1853 July 28 1866 Cairo and Fulton „ 219,262 182718 63,540 July 4, 1666 May 15, 185C Iron Mountain (Pilot Knob to Helena, Arkansas) IOWA. 1,400,000 948,643 291,725 June 2, 1864 101,110 95,656 May 15, 1856 1,144,904 481,774 Juno 2, 1861 May 15 1856 Chicago, Rock Island and Pacific 11(5,276 1,208,739 144,229 778,869 June 2 1864 123,370 342,406 May 15 1856 June 2 186 1 1,220,163 1,226,163 May IS 1864 1 5: ;r.i ion 256,000 July 2 1864 Sioux City and Pacific . 580,000 MICHIGAN. 312,384 6,468 355,420 30,998 ii u July 3,1866 June .'?, 1,J."<; July 3 18li(> ... Time extended seven years / Flintand Pirn Marquette 1,052,469 586,828 721,469 "5il.426 Juno :i is/if, 629,1 82 629,182 June 7, 1 *<:\ June 3 ls">l'i Oruml Cupids, from Fort Wayne to Grand Rapids, etc... 531 ,20!1 21 8.880 191,607 218,881 M'irrli '! IM',ri ]-'S (>'•() Juno 3, 1W, ... March 3 1*05 Marquette and Ontonagon 309,315 24:1 200 216,919 49.0S6 June 3. 1856 208.06:4 174.020 42 HISTORY OF THE GRANGE MOVEMENT; OR, Date of Laws. Name of Road. Acres GraDted. Acres Certified. MICHIGAN— Continued. Chicago, St. Paul and Fond-du-Lac (branch) to Mar- 188,507 375,680 162,044 July 5,1862 March 3, 1865 June 3, 1856 May 5, 1864 June 3, 1856 May 5, 1864 June :i, 1856 May 5, 1861 June :i, 1856. April 25, 1862 May 5, 1864 March 3, 1857 March 3, 1865 March 3, 1857 March 3, 1805 July 12, 1862 March 3, 1857 March 3, 1865 March 3, 1857 March 3, 1865 March 3, 1857 May 12, 18(54 July 13, 1*66 May 5, 1864 July 13, 1866 July 4, 1866 July 4, 1866 March 3, 1863 July 1, 1864 July 1, 1864 July 23, 1866 July 25, 18G6 July 26,1866 July 25, 1866 July 13, 1866 March 2, 1867 July 25, 1866 May 4, 1870 188,800 894,907 675,000 524,714 350,000 318,737 215.0UO WISCONSIN. 324,943 163,263 524,718 318,740 600,000 1,800,000 660,000 500,000 750,000 725,000 '353,403 290,000 720,000 690 000 311,307 From Portage City to B^yfleld, thence to Superior MINNESOTA. St. Paul and Pacific 466,566 St. Paul and Pacific 438,000 Branch St. Paul and Pacific. > Authorized change of route J Minnesota Central , "174,578 342,876 860,000 150,000 7il,442 1,040 Authorized to make up deficiency within thirty miles > 800,000 735,000 550 000 367,424 125,480 Minnesota Southern KAKSAS. Leavenworth, Lawrence and Galveston ~\ 2,550,000 1,700,000 2,350,000 1,203,000 1,540,000 203,1)00 320,000 1,660,000 Union Pacific Southern Branch (M K. & T.) j St. Joseph and Denver City Kansas and Neosho Valley Southern Branch Union Pacific from Fort Biley to CALIFORNIA. Placerville and Sacramento Valley Stockton and Copperopolis OREGON. From Portland to Astoria and McMinnville 1,200,003 In addition to the above grants, the General Govern- ment has granted to the various Pacific railways im- mense tracts of land, making these grants direct to the companies. It has granted to the Central and Union Pacific Railroads a total of 35,000,000 acres, of which only 544,759 had been certified up to January, 1872. To the Northern Pacific road it has given 58,000,000 of THE FARMER'S WAR AGAINST MONOPOLIES. 43 acres, and to the Atlantic and Pacific road 42,000,000 ; making a total of 135,000,000 acres to the three Pacific roads, or about 200,000 square miles. Lands, however, lavishly as they have been given, no longer form the limit of railway expectations. The greed of these corporations has extended to the public funds, and bonds and- money are now demanded with as much coolness as lands. The railway incorporators have learned that with a pliant Congress it is easy to draw from the National Treasury the funds they are not willing to provide for their enterprises. In order to effect this, they maintain at Washington a force of paid lobbyists, whose business it is to influ- ence the legislation of Congress by unpatriotic and ille- gal means. What these means are was shown by the investigations attending the Credit Mobilier scandal of the last session. Yet, that the reader may the better understand how these railroad leeches fasten upon the Government, we give the following account of the schemes that were introduced into the Fortieth Con- gress, which was particularly distinguished for them. Many of these schemes were successful : "At present," says a correspondent writing from Washington early in the session, "perhaps there is more money in the various railroad schemes than in any other. And this thing is on a scale which the country does not comprehend, notwithstanding the con- stant talk about it. Thus far, in the Fortieth Congress, there have been seventy-two railroad bills introduced into the Senate alone. Eight were presented at the first short session, fifty-two at the second session, and in the two weeks of the present session eleven have been reported and printed. And these last do not in- 44 HISTORY OF THE GRANGE MOVEMENT; OR, elude four as gigantic as any which have been passed, yet to come. One is in preparation for which its friends are now gathering power, for the Northern Pacific, one for the Albuquerque line and its several connections ; one for Mr. Pomeroy's little private Atchi- son Pacific — one of the nicest and fattest speculations ever concocted and worked through — having these special qualifications of nice and fat, on account of the small number to divide the spoils ; one for two roads south and west from St. Louis, and two or three for Southern Pacific lines from Memphis, New Orleans, and points in Texas. "In all this there are four lines across the Conti- nent, with connecting roads enough to stretch out into two more ; and then such little ventures as the Atchi- son and Denver lines by the score. "Of all these bills, fully three-fourths were origi- nated by Republicans. Four Senators brought in nearly half of them. Mr. Pomeroy reported eleven, Mr. Ramsey seven, Mr. Conness five, and Mr. Harlan four. " Mr. Pomeroy did not confine his attention to any particular part of the country. He proposed one land grant through the rich lands about Port Royal, South Carolina, and another one of his measures was for the benefit of his Wisconsin brethren ; but, not desiring to be reckoned as worse than an infidel, he made full provision for his own political household in Kansas. We find his name attached to a land grant for a railroad from Lawrence to the Mexican line ; to three bills for roads from Fort Scott to Santa Fe ; to a pleasant arrangement for the Southern branch of the Union Pacific Road — whatever that may be — and also THE FARMER'S WAR AGAINST MONOPOLIES. 45 to a land grant from Irwing, Kansas, to New Mexico ; and all for the national good, of course. " These, it must be remembered, are such railroads as Northern companies, Northern lobby-men, and Northern Congressmen have concocted. The word concocted is good for most, though a few are meritori- ous. The Southern States are just beginning to vote, and the scent of Southern men in Congress is now as keen in respect to all material interests as the Northern Congressman's nose. The reason is evident. Southern smelling is now done with Northern noses. Carpet, bags have wrought this change for the South ; and as a result, among the very first subjects to call out bills from Southern men are the railroad interests. "And heading the column, comes Mr. Senator Spencer, with a bill making a land-grant, not through the public domain on the plains, but through the States of Tennessee, Georgia, Alabama, Mississippi, and Louisiana, with permission to get all the ( earth, stone, timber, and other materials' for the construction of its roads, off the public lands along its line, and then to receive ten sections of land to the mile, wherever they can find that amount within twenty miles of the line they may see fit to locate, and from Mobile onward to the western boundary of Louisiana ; if the land cannot be found within twenty miles of the road, these patri- otic gentlemen are to be obliged to hunt it up within forty miles north of their line. As this is the first attempt on the part of a Southern Senator to follow in the paths already worn so smooth by his fellow Repub- licans from the North, it will be interesting to see what a fine start Senator Spencer, of Alabama, makes. Sec* tion second of his bill is in part as follows : 46 HISTORY OF THE GRANGE MOVEMENT; OR, " * SEC. 2. And ~be it further enacted* That, for the purpose of aiding in the construction of the railroad of said company, there be, and is hereby granted to said company, from the public lands of the United States, ten sections of land for each mile of railroad completed and placed in running order by said company, pursuant to its charter. That said lands are granted as follows : On the line of said railroad from the city of Chatta- nooga, in the State of Tennessee, to the city of Mobile, in the State of Alabama, every alternate section of public land designated by odd numbers, to the amount of ten alternate sections per mile, for each mile of said railroad from the said city of Chattanooga to the said city of Mobile, such alternate section of land to be se- lected within the limits of ten miles on each side of the centre line of said railroad ; and if public lands sufficient for the purpose shall not be found within said limit of ten miles upon each side of said railroad, then the said alternate sections of land are hereby granted, and may be selected within the limits of twenty miles on each side of the centre line of said railroad. And on the line of said railroad from the city of Mobile, in the State of Alabama, to the western boundary of the State of Louisiana, every alternate section of public land, designated by odd numbers, to the amount of ten alter- nate sections per mile for each mile of said railroad, from the said city of Mobile to the western boundary of the State of Louisiana, such alternate section of land to be selected within the limits of ten miles upon each side of the centre line of said railroad ; and if public lands sufficient for the purpose shall not be found within said limits of ten miles upon each side of said railroad, then the said alternate sections of land are THE FARMER'S WAR AGAINST MONOPOLIES. 47 hereby granted, and may be selected within the limits of forty miles north of the centre line of said railroad, excepting, however, from this grant, all mineral lands, and lands sold by the United States, or lands in which a preemption or homestead claim may have attached at the time the line of said railroad shall have been loca- ted and established/ " What will the railroad docket of the Senate not contain by the time the Southerners have Brought up their side of the railroad jobs to the present proud height of their Northern friends, and shall have added to the Washington lobby, its own army of blood- suckers, plausible gentlemen of unquestioned honor, and thieves ? — for it takes all these, and more, to make a lobby. What a nice thing it will be for taxpayers ! "All this presents the railroad interest merely in outline. Every bill deserves a separate letter to show the means used to get it before the Senate, the persons engaged in pressing it, and the parties to be Benefited by it ; and in due time the principal ones at least will get that chapter. " When the railroad jobs are disposed of, then the deck is only cleared for action against jobs in general. There are, aside from these, the Niagara Ship Canal with a coupon of twelve millions attached ; the Com- mercial Navigation Company, with half as much on its coupon ; the bills and schemes for getting damages paid to Southern men for property destroyed during the war, in all hundreds of millions ; and then the lobby upon the more modest sum of five millions due from Southern railroads, and in which radical Republicans from Tennessee are deeply interested. The Osage Treaty is a nice plum ; and one new feature is, that 48 HISTORY OF THE GRANGE MOVEMENT; OR, some Kansas men who showed a vast amount of right- eous indignation over it, before their reelection, are, now that their places are assured, helping the swindle on. Alta Veta is coming up again, and to crown all things,'if it is possible, the change in the Indian Bureau is to be so managed as to place the present Indian ring on a firmer foundation than ever. " The Republican party can now afford to rectify the irregularities which have crept into all portions of the Government while the great political battle with Rebel- lion was going on. If those here, as its Congress, will not free themselves from such things, the party need not die if it only throws them overboard. There are honest men enough who can take their places. Let the press watch jobs when the recess closes and the outside lobby, which is here in force, begins to work through its Senators and Representatives." Commenting upon the same subject, the New York Herald said, editorially : "The corruptions which have grown up in the national government, from the general demoralizations of our late civil war, are fearful to contemplate. One hundred millions a year lost to the Treasury from the spoliations of the whiskey rings ' beats out of sight' any thing in the line of whiskey frauds under any other government on the face of the globe ; but on a corres- ponding scale with their field of operations, the Indian rings, the Post-Office and Interior Department rings, the tobacco rings, the frontier smuggling rings, and various other rings, insiders and outsiders, jobbers, con- tractors, Government officials and private speculators, are pretty well up to the percentage of the enormous stealings of the whiskey rings. The latest develop- THE FARMER'S WAR AGAINST MONOPOLIES. 49 ments, however, show, that in the grandeur and num- ber of their schemes of spoils and plunder, the Congres- sional rings of railroad jobbers throw into the shade all the other rings of the lengthy catalogue of confederate Treasury robbers. " A Washington correspondent, who has been looking into the business, reports that one hundred and fifty- nine railroad bills and resolutions have been introduced in the Fortieth Congress (the term of which expired on the 4th of March, with that of President Johnson), and that twice as many more were in preparation in the lobby ; that one thousand millions of acres of the public lands, and two hundred millions in United States bonds, would not supply the demands of these cormorants. In other words, their stupendous budget of railway jobs would require sops and subsidies in lands and bonds, which, reduced to a money valuation, swell up to the magnificent figure of half the national debt. " Among the jobs of this schedule is the Atchison and Pike's Peak Railroad Company, or Union Pacific Central Branch, which, after having received Govern- ment sops to the extent of six millions, puts in for seven millions more. Next comes the Denver Pacific Railway and Telegraph Company, which, having feathered its nest to the figure of thirty-two millions, puts in for a little more ; and this company is reported to be a mere gang of speculators, ' without any known legal organization whatever ' — a lot of mythical John Does and Richard Roes, who cannot be found when called for. Next we have the Leaven worth, Pawnee and Western Railroad Company, now known as the Union Pacific, Eastern Division, chartered by the Kansas Territorial Legislature, in 1855, subsidized with 4 50 HISTORY OF THE GRANGE MOVEMENT; OR, Delaware Indian reserve lands in 1861, and then in 1862, by a rider on the Pacific Railroad law, granted sixteen thousand dollars per mile in United States bonds, and every alternate section of land within cer- tain limits, on each side of the road, and the privilege of a second mortgage. This is cutting it pretty fat. But it further appears that a clique of seceders from the old company illegally formed a new company, and, having by force of arms taken possession of the road, are pocketing the spoils which legally belong to the old company. All this, too, with the consent of the Presi- dent, the Secretary of the Treasury, and Congress. Are they all birds of a feather, that they thus flock to- gether ? " From another source we learn that some half dozen other Pacific branch or main stem railroads, Northern and Southern, are on the anvil, involving lands and bonds by tens and twenties and hundreds of millions ; that of all these schemes fully three-fourths come from the Republicans in both Houses ; that Senator Pomeroy, of Kansas, has seven of these jobs on the docket ; Sena- tor Ramsey, of Minnesota, four, Senator Conness, of California, five, and Senator Harlan, of Iowa, four. Senator Pomeroy, however, distances all competitors in the number and extent of his jobs ; for, as it appears, they include a line from Kansas to Mexico, three bills for roads from Fort Scott to Santa Fe, in Texas, a South Carolina line through the Sea Island cotton sec- tion, two or three lines from the Mississippi River through to Texas, and ' a little private Atchison Pacific, one of the nicest and fattest speculations ever worked through.' " Is not this a magnificent budget, and is not the THE FARMER S WAR AGAINST MONOPOLIES. 51 audacity of these railroad jobs and jobbers positively sublime ? Some of these schemes are in successful operation, but many of them are still in the caterpillar, or chrysalis, state, and there is a prospect that very few of this class will come out as the full-blown butterfly." Well might the eloquent Illinois Congressman, who now so ably represents the Republic in France, exclaim in indignant rebuke of these schemes of plunder, as he denounced them from his place in the House of Repre- sentatives : " While the restless and unpausing energies of a patriotic and incorruptible people were devoted to the salvation of their Government, and were pouring out their blood and treasure in its defence, there was the vast army of the base, the venal and unpatriotic, who rushed in to take advantage of the misfortunes of the country and to plunder its treasury. The statute-books are loaded with legislation which will impose burdens on future generations. Public land enough to make empires has been voted to private railroad corporations ; subsidies of untold millions of bonds, for the same pur- poses, have become a charge upon the people, while the fetters of vast monopolies have been fastened still closer and closer upon the public. It is time that the repre- sentatives of the people were admonished that they are the servants of the people and are paid by the people ; that their constituents have confided to them the great trust of guarding their rights and protecting their in- terests ; that their position and their power are to be used for the benefit of the people whom they represent, and not for their own benefit and the benefit of the lobbyists, the gamblers, and the speculators who have come to Washington to make a raid upon the Treasury." 52 HISTORY OF THE GRANGE MOVEMENT; OR, CHAPTER III. WATERED STOCKS. Adroitness of Railroad Managers in securing Valuable Privileges from the Public — Recklessness of the People in granting the Demands of the Road — The only Restraints imposed — How the People made it possible for the Corporations to fleece them — How to Build a Road without Subscribing the necessary Funds — A False System — The Story of the Credit Mobilier Swindle — How the Pacific Railroad bled the National Treasury — New System of Rail- road Financiering — The Process of " Stock Watering " — Instances of success- ful Stock Watering — How a Bankrupt Road was made to pay Good Dividends — Successful Policy of the Pennsylvania Railroad Company — Vanderbilt's Master Stroke — Who pays for Watered Stock — A Lesson for the People. WE have seen the eagerness and success with which the railroad corporations of the present day seize upon the public lands, paying the public nothing in return for the immense wealth thus given them ; and we have as- serted that it is in reality the people who build the roads for the benefit of these corporations. The facts presented sustain our assertion. It is the boast of the modern railway director that he is the friend of the public, and that his work is entirely for the good of the community. He modestly keeps himself in the background, and speaks of his road only, and of the immense advantages that it will bestow upon the regions through which it is to pass, and so plausible and well delivered are his words, that he succeeds in making the public believe that he is really working for the good of others, and investing his own capital for the benefit of the community, without thought for himself. THE FARMER'S WAR AGAINST MONOPOLIES. 53 Thus influenced, the confiding people grant unhesi- tatingly all the privileges asked for. The right of way is given, lands are donated by Congress, money is sub- scribed by counties and cities, and the inhabitants of the region through which the road is to be built imagine themselves on the highway to wealth and prosperity. Trade, they are told, is to come pouring over the new route, a direct market is to be provided for the products of the region, and an era of general prosperity is to be inaugurated. Figures are not wanting to encourage these expectations. The most plausible calculations are made, the cost of the road is given, the annual expenses are estimated, and it is shown to the satisfaction of all that a system of moderate charges for the transportation of passengers and freight will secure to the road a reve- nue sufficient to meet its expenses, and, in time, to pay a fair dividend upon the capital invested in the under- taking. A little reflection would cause the confiding public to be suspicious of the men who profess to have its interests so much at heart. Capitalists do not under- take railway enterprises from such benevolent motives. Like other men, they seek their individual profit, and the welfare of the public is with them a consideration only so far as it influences their undertaking. They look to receive ample dividends, and are careless of the thanks of a grateful country. " In America, as in England, the private corporation owning the thoroughfare is the basis of the whole rail- road system. In thus surrendering the control of this system out of its hands, the community as a rule made one and but one reservation in its own favor ; it was almost universally stipulated that the rate of profit 54 HISTORY OF THE GRANGE MOVEMENT j OR, upon the capital invested in the work of construction should not exceed a certain annual per centage, vary- ing, according to locality, from 10 to 20 per cent. Within this limit the corporations were free to earn and divide all they could." But having set this limit, the community allowed the corporations to retain the exclusive management of their roads, and made no arrangement whereby the latter could be held up to the limit thus fixed. No provision was made for ascertaining the real, as contra- distinguished from the nominal cost of the roads, nor was anything arranged in regard to arrears of unpaid dividends. A recent writer upon the subject well says : " It was absurd to suppose that even the most honest capitalist would accept the strict construction of a law which insured him a certain loss in each bad year or unprofitable enterprise, and limited him in case of success to a reasonable profit. Of course, therefore, the law was no sooner enacted than it was circumvented The doubt raised was whether the stipulated per centage was to be paid upon what the property cost its holders, or upon what it was actually worth. Interpreting it in the way last specified, the capitalist proceeded to act accordingly It therefore devolved upon the owners of the property to cast up the balance sheet themselves, and to decide all nice points undoubtedly in their own favor. Where a people so provides for its own interests it needs no prophet to foretell the consequences. No landlord deals in this way with a tenant." The community has voluntarily placed itself in the power of the raiL ways, and it must pay the penalty of such absurd conduct. THE FARMER'S WAR AGAINST MONOPOLIES. 55 In the early days of railroad financiering it was customary to make sure that funds would be forth- coming in sufficient quantities to finish the undertaking before embarking in it. But the times have changed since then. In the Western States the public guarantee the cost and furnish the means of paying for the road by the land grants we have been considering. In the Eastern States other expedients are resorted to. In both sections, however, many of the tactics employed are the same. Funds must necessarily be procured before the work can be begun, and the manner in which these are generally obtained reveals at once a mastery of the science of railroad financiering. The road for which aid is sought promises well, but it does not yet exist. It is to be constructed. Yet in spite of this the direc- tors of the scheme proceed to pledge the road for the cost of its construction ; or in other words they mort- gage a work which does not exist. The stock is worth nothing, but there is another means at hand. Bonds are created and put in the market at a certain stated price. They are usually placed in the hands of some leading banking house in the principal financial centres of the country to be sold. The bonds are sold, and the work of constructing the road goes on with the money obtained for them. " The stock itself then passes as a gratuity into the hands of those advancing money upon the bonds. The result is, that by this ingenious expedient the capitalist holds a mortgage, paying a secured and liberal interest, on his own property, which has been conveyed to him forever for nothing. The stock is at once nothing and everything. Given away, the donees own and manage the road, and, re- 56 HISTORY OF THE GRANGE MOVEMENT. ceiving a fixed and assured interest upon their bonds, enjoy a further right to exact an additional sum, and one as large as they are able to make it, from the developing business of the country, as dividends on the stock. Instances of this form of railroad financier- ing need not be specified, for it is now the common course of Western railroad construction." Perhaps the best instance on record of the manner in which skilful directors of a railroad can procure the construction of their road at the cost of other parties, and secure the profits to themselves, is afforded by the history of the notorious Credit Mobilier Company, which constructed the Union Pacific Railway; and though the story is now old and known to the reader, it will bear repeating here. The early history of. the Pacific Railroad is a story of constant struggles and disappointments. It seemed to the soundest capitalists a piece of mere fool-hardi- ness to undertake to build a railroad across the conti- nent and over the Rocky Mountains, and, although Government aid was liberally pledged to the under- taking, it did not, for a long time, attract to it the capital it needed. At length, after many struggles, the doubt which had attended the enterprise was ended. Capital was found, and with it men ready to carry on the work. In September, 1864, a contract was entered into between the Union Pacific Company, and H. W. Hoxie for the building by said Hoxie of one hundred miles of the road, from Omaha west. Mr. Hoxie at once assigned this contract to a company, as had been the understanding from the first. This company, then comparatively unknown, but since very famous, was known as the Credit Mobilier of America. 58 HISTORY OF THE GRANGE MOVEMENT; OR, The company had bought up an old Charter that had been granted by the Legislature of Pennsylvania to another company in that State, but which had not been used by them. "In 1865 or 1866, the late Oakes Ames, then a Member of Congress from the State of Massachusetts, and his brother Oliver Ames, became interested in the Union Pacific Company, and also in the Credit Mobilier Company, as the agent for the construction of the road. The Messrs. Ames were men of very large capital, and of known character and integrity in business. By their example and credit and the personal efforts of Mr. Oakes Ames, many men of capital were induced to embark in the enterprise, and to take stock in the Union Pacific Company and also in the Credit Mobilier Company. Among them were the firm of S. Hooper & Co. of Boston, the leading member of which (Mr. Samuel Hooper) was then and is now a member of the House ; Mr. John B. Alley, then a member of the House from Massachusetts, and Mr. Grimes, then a Senator from the State of Iowa. Notwithstanding the vigorous efforts of Mr. Ames and others interested with him, great difficulty was experienced in securing the required capital. "In the Spring of 1867, the Credit Mobilier Com- pany voted to add 50 per cent, to their capital stock, which was then $2,500,000, and to cause it to be readily taken, each subscriber to it was entitled to re- ceive as a bonus an equal amount of first mortgage bonds of the Union Pacific Company. The old stock- holders were entitled to take this increase, but even the favorable terms offered did not induce all the old stockholders to take it, and the stock of the Credit THE FARMER'S WAR AGAINST MONOPOLIES. 59 Mobilier Company was never considered worth its par value until after the execution of the Oakes Ames contract hereinafter mentioned. On the 16th day of August, 1867, a contract was executed between the Union Pacific Railroad and Oakes Ames, by which Mr. Ames contracted to build 667 miles of the Union Pacific road at prices ranging from $42,000 to $96,000 per mile, amounting in the aggregate to $47,000,000. Be- fore the contract was entered into, it was understood that Mr. Ames was to transfer it to seven trustees who were to execute it, and the profits of the contract were to be divided among the stockholders in the Credit Mobilier Company, who should comply with certain conditions set out in the instrument transferring the contract to the trustees. Subsequently, all the stock- holders of the Credit Mobilier Company complied with the conditions named in the transfer, and thus became entitled to share in any profits said trustees might make in executing the contract. All the large stock- holders in the Union Pacific were also stockholders in the Credit Mobilier, and the Ames contract and its transfer to trustees were ratified by the Union Pacific and received the assent of the great body of stock- holders, but not of all. After the Ames contract had been executed, it was expected by those interested that, by reason of the enormous prices agreed to be paid for the work, very large profits would be derived from building the road, and very soon the stock of the Credit Mobilier was understood to be worth much more than its par value. The stock was not in the market, and had no fixed market value, but the holders of it, in December, 1867, considered it worth at least double the par value, and in January or February, 1868, 60 HISTORY OF THE GRANGE MOVEMENT; OR, three or four times the par value; but it does not appear that these facts were generally or publicly known, or that the holders of the stock desired they should be." As will be seen from the above statement, the stock- holders of the Credit Mobilier were also stockholders in the Union Pacific Company. Like all great corporations of the present day, the Union Pacific road was largely dependent upon the aid furnished by the Government for its success. The managers of the company, being shrewd men, suc- ceeded in placing all the burdens and risks of the enterprise upon the General Government, while they secured to themselves all the profits to be derived from the undertaking. " The Railroad Company was en- dowed by Act of Congress with 20 alternate sections of land per mile, and had Government loans of $16,000 per mile for about 200 miles ; thence $32,000 per mile through the Alkali Desert, about 600 miles, and thence in the Rocky Mountains $48,000 per mile. The Rail- road Company issued stock to the extent of about $10,000,000. This stock was received by stockholders on their payment of five per cent, of its face. When the Credit Mobilier came on the scene, all the assets of the Union Pacific were turned over to the new company in consideration of full-paid shares of the new com- pany's stock and its agreement to build the road. The Government, meanwhile, had allowed its claim for its loan of bonds to become a second instead of a first mortgage, and permitted the Union Pacific road to issue first mortgage bonds, which took precedence as a lien on the road. The Government lien thus became almost worthless, as the new mortgage which took THE FARMER'S WAR AGAINST MONOPOLIES. 61 precedence amounted to all the value of the road. The proceeds of this extraordinary transaction went to swell the profits of the Credit Mobilier, which had nothing to pay out except for the mere cost of construc- tion. This also explains why some of the dividends of the latter company were paid in Union Pacific bonds. As a result of these processes, the bonded debts of the railroad exceeded its cost by at least $40,000,000." Mr. Ames was deeply interested in the scheme, being, indeed, one of its principal managers. Being a Member of Congress, he was peculiarly prepared to appreciate the value of Congressional assistance in behalf of the Credit Mobilier. It would seem that the object of the Credit Mobilier was to drain money from the Pacific road, and consequently from the Govern- ment, as long as possible. Any legislation on the part of Congress designed to protect the interests of the Government, would, as a matter of course, be unfavor- able to the Credit Mobilier, and it was the aim of that Corporation to prevent all such legislation. The price agreed upon for building the road was so exorbitant, and afforded such an iniquitous profit to the Credit Mobilier, that it was very certain that some honest friend of the people would demand that Congress should protect the Treasury against such spoliation. It was accordingly determined to interest in the scheme enough Members of Congress to prevent any protection of the National Treasury at the expense of the unlawful gains of the Credit Mobilier. Mr. Oakes Ames, being in Congress, undertook to secure the desired hold upon his associates. The plan was simply to secure them by bribing them, and for this purpose a certain portion of the Credit Mobilier stock was placed in the hands of 62 HISTORY OF THE GRANGE MOVEMENT; OR, Mr. Ames, as trustee, to be used by him as he thought best for the interests of the company. Provided with this stock, Mr. Ames went to Wash- ington in December, 1867, at the opening of the Session of Congress. The story of his exploits there is now familiar to every one. Reduced to plain English, the story of the Credit Mobilier is simply this : The men entrusted with the management of the Pacific road made a bargain with themselves to build the road for a sum equal to about twice its actual cost, and pocketed the profits, which have been estimated at about THIRTY MILLIONS OF DOL- LARS— this immense sum coming out of the pockets of the tax payers of the United States. This contract was made in October, 1867. "On June 17, 1868, the stockholders of the Credit Mobilier received 60 per cent, in cash, and 40 per cent, in stock of the Union Pacific Railroad ; on the 2d of July, 1868, 80 per cent, first mortgage bonds of the Union Pacific Railroad, and 100 per cent, stock; July 3, 1868, 75 per cent, stock, and 75 per cent, first mort- gage bonds; September 3, 1868, 100 per cent, stock, and 75 per cent, first mortgage bonds; December 19, 1868, 200 per cent, stock ; while, before this contract was made, the stockholders had received, on the 26th of April, 1866, a dividend of 100 per cent, in stock of the Union Pacific Railroad; on the 1st of April, 1867, 50 per cent, of first mortgage bonds were distributed ; on the 1st of July, 1867, 100 per cent, in stock again." After offering this statement, it is hardly necessary to add that the vast property of the Pacific road, which should have been used to meet its engagements, was soon swallowed up by the Credit Mobilier. THE FARMER'S WAR AGAINST MONOPOLIES. 63 The history of the Credit Mobilier is instructive upon another point. It presents to us a skilful and success- ful instance of what is now a common practice with railroad companies — the fictitious increased watering of the stock of the company. Stock watering has become so common, and has been indulged in with such success, that many persons have come to regard it as a legitimate transaction. A com- petent writer has defined the practice as "the re- appraisal by its owners of a corporate property which has, or is alleged to have, increased in value on their hands, without any new outlay, and the issue to them- selves of new evidences of value equal to such supposed increase." But the popular definition — and the true one — would be the increase of the stock of a corpora- tion at the expense of the public, and for the purpose of earning dividends upon money never invested. It will be well to consider how this operation of " watering " the stock of a road is performed. Such knowledge will be of value farther on. " The history of the companies which have been consolidated into what is known as the Pittsburg, Fort Wayne and Chicago Railroad, furnishes a very fair illustration. Here the process of watering was early commenced as a simple and desperate expedient for raising money at an enormous discount for the purpose of completing an enterprise of doubtful success. In the earliest history of one of these companies we read : < The stock subscriptions which were paid in cash into the treasury of the company were very small — amounting, perhaps, in all, to less than three per cent, on the final cost of building and equipping the road. The stock subscriptions were paid for mostly in uncultivated 64 HISTORY OF THE GRANGE MOVEMENT; OR, lands, farms, town lots and labor upon the road.' Of the whole road as it stands we are told that, of the $18,663,876, now representing the cost of the road and equipment,' etc., the shareholders contributed in cash only about ten per cent., or less than $2,000,000 ; and their contributions in cash, bonds, notes, lands and per- sonal property, labor, etc., amounted to something less than $4,000,000, or rather more than twenty per cent, of the present cost of the work. The difference between this sum and the capital stock, as now shown by the books of the company, is made up of dividends which were paid in stock, interest on stock paid in stock, premium on stock allowed to stockholders at the time of consolidation, which was paid in stock, and a balance of stock still held by the trustees. " This, however, was in the early days of the enter- prise, the days of doubtful success, when the stock was thought worthless, and was almost given away. But in 1866 a new era dawned upon the Fort Wayne road ; it began to pay dividends. In 1870 the stock of the company, the history of a portion of which has just been given, stood at $11,500,000, while its indebted- ness amounted to about $13,600,000 more, being in all some $1,150,000 above the cost of road and equipment as they stood upon the books of the company. In June of this year a lease was effected of the entire property by the Pennsylvania Railroad Company. The Fort Wayne stockholders had their option between annual dividends of 12 per cent, on the stock then in exist- ence, or the more moderate rate of 7 per cent, on a proportionately increased amount. They wisely chose the latter, and forthwith the $11,500,000 of stock be- came $19,714,000, while the road, which was claimed THE FARMER'S WAR AGAINST MONOPOLIES. 65 to have cost only $24,000,000, was suddenly represented by $33,400,000 of securities, none of which bore a less interest than 7 per cent. " The great masterpieces of Commodore Vanderbilt have, however, so eclipsed all other performances in this line that they may be said to constitute an epoch in the history of paper inflation — it might also be said of bubble-blowing. It is only necessary, therefore, in this connection, to recount the history of the chain of roads, now reduced in number to two, which connect New York and Chicago by way of Albany. The dis- tance between these points is 982 miles. It is useless to begin the story further back than 1852, when the through line was completed, consisting of sixteen inde- pendent links, several of which were themselves made up of numerous smaller and once independent roads. That was a year of active and much-needed consolida- tion. The New York Central led off under a special act of legislature. Eleven roads went into the consoli- dation, with an aggregate capital of $23,235,600. The stock lowest in value of the eleven was settled upon as the par of the new concern, and the stocks of the other ten companies were received at a premium varying from 17 to 55 per cent. By this simple financial arrangement, $8,894,500 of securities, of which not one cent was ever represented by property, but which in reality constituted so much guaranteed stock, was made a charge, principal and interest, against future income. This was the price paid to get rid of the vested rights which had been allowed to settle down upon this thoroughfare. Between 1852 and 1868, the stock and indebtedness of the consolidated company had been in- creased, for one reason or another, until, when Mr. 5 66 HISTORY OF THE GRANGE MOVEMENT; OR, Vanderbilt became President in the latter year, they amounted in round numbers to $40,000,000, represent- ing a road which its construction account showed had cost $36,600,000. Vanderbilt had for some years been President of the Hudson River road, and, as such, in 1867 had doubled its capital stock ($7,000,000), calling in 50 per cent, of the increased amount, and thus water- ing to the extent of $3,500,000. Extending his control over the Central, he now proceeded to better his pre- vious instructions. A stock dividend of 80 per cent., not a dollar of which was called in, was suddenly de- clared. Over $23,000,000 of securities were thus created at once. Operations stood still at this point, but only for a moment. The next measure was a con- solidation of the Central and the Hudson River Rail- roads. This was effected in the succeeding year upon a stock basis of $90,000,000— a further watering of 27 per cent, being allotted to the Central — while the turn of the Hudson River road now having come again, there was provided for it the munificent amount of 85 per cent. The result of these astounding feats of financial legerdemain was that a property which in 1866 appeared from its own books to have cost less than $50,000,000, and which was then represented by over $54,000,000 of stock and indebtedness, was sud- denly shot up to over $103,000,000 in 1870, upon the whole of which interest and dividends were paid. At the same time the cost of the road stood upon the books of the company at less than $60,000,000, or about $70,000 per mile, while in evidences of property each mile was charged with no less than $122,000. The average cost of railroads throughout the world has been somewhat less than $100,000 per mile, while in THE FARMER'S WAR AGAINST MONOPOLIES. 67 America it has stood at about half of that amount. According to the books of the company over $50,000 of absolute water has been poured out for each mile of road between New York and Buffalo. " The next step towards Chicago was one of 88 miles to Erie. This was made up of a consolidation of two roads effected in 1867, which went in with $2,800,000 of capital and came out with $5,000,000. The total capital account of the company was then a trifle over $3,200,000. In 1869, the consolidation of the lines between Buffalo and Chicago was effected, and this road became a party to it with $6,000,000 of stock and $d, 000,000 of indebtedness — at least 30 per cent, of water in excess of all cost of construction. "The next step in the line is one of 96 miles to Cleveland ; this was filled by the celebrated Cleveland, Painesville and Ashtabula road, which, in the six years between 1862-67, divided 120 per cent, in stock, 33 per cent, in bonds, and 79 per cent, in cash. Hav- ing really cost less than $5,000,000 in money, it was consolidated at nearly $12,000,000. " The next step was from Cleveland to Toledo, 148 miles. Here it was that Vanderbilt began his opera- tions, for in 1866 he secured possession of this road, and signalized his administration of its affairs by the issuing of a scrip dividend of 25 per cent, upon its $5,000,000 of capital. " The last two roads were consolidated into the Lake Shore road, 258 miles in length, in 1867; the stock and indebtedness of the new company was $22,000,000. In 1869 the work of consolidation was perfected from Buffalo to Chicago by the merging of all the connecting links into the Lake Shore and Michigan Southern 68 HISTORY OF THE GRANGE MOVEMENT; OR, Railroad Company, operating nearly 1300 miles of road, represented by $57,000,000 of stock and indebtedness, which was increased to $62,000,000 in 1871, and which it had the further privilege of increasing to about $73,000,000. These figures throw a very curious light upon the real cost of railroad construction in America. They represent a nominal outlay of but $48,000 per mile, and yet it is not denied that in the amount was included $20,000,000 of fictitious capital. These roads, not improbably, may have cost those who constructed them in cash, actually paid in either directly in money or in dividends which had never been drawn out, the full amount of the consolidation capital. The profits had, it is true, been very unequally divided, but sub- stantial justice was done in the end; what had been lost in one road was made good in another, but as a whole the community was, perhaps, paying for nothing which it had not received. No credit on this account is due to those managing the affairs of the company. They undoubtedly regarded the Vanderbilt operations as masterpieces of railroad management, and only re- gretted that the earnings of the company under their control could by no possibility justify any similar per- formances; and yet the contrast between the results hitherto arrived at upon this line, under a system of moderate, average watering, and those achieved further east by Vanderbilt, is singularly suggestive. It is pro- bably safe to say that the Vanderbilt stock waterings between Buffalo and New York annually cost the American people not less than $3,000,000 in excess of all remuneration which ever, under any construction of right, belonged to the owners of the lines. Under these circumstances it would seem, judging by the example THE FARMER'S WAR AGAINST MONOPOLIES. 69 of the Lake Shore road, that comparatively legitimate and reasonable waterings should satisfy any one not inordinately rapacious. " The Pacific Railroad furnishes a fine example of all these ingenious devices'. In speaking of this enterprise it is not pleasant to adopt a tone of criti- cism toward the able and daring men who with such splendid energy forced it through to completion. It was a work of great national import and of untold material value. Those who took its construction in hand incurred great risk, and at one time trembled on the verge of ruin. This enterprise was to them a lottery, in which they might well draw a blank, but, should they draw a prize, the greatness of the prize must justify the risk incurred. The community asked them to assume the risk, and was willing to reward their success. Success was thought to be well worth all it might cost. At the same time the process of con- struction afforded a curious example of the methods through which fictitious evidences of value can be piled upon each other. The length of the united road was 1919 miles, and the cost of construction was estimated at $60,000,000. To meet this outlay a stock capital was authorized of $100,000,000 for each of the two great divisions of the line ; upon this, however, no de- pendence was placed as a means of raising money ; it was only a debt to be imposed, if possible, on the future business of the country. A curious mystery hangs over this part of the financial arrangements of the concern. Probably not $20,000,000 ever has been, or ever will be, derived from this source. The rest is very clear. There was the Government subsidy of $30,000 a mile and $30,000 a mile of mortgage indebtedness ; there was 70 HISTORY OF THE GRANGE MOVEMENT; OR. a land grant of 12,800 acres a mile, and, where there were States, there were bonds, with interest guaranteed by the State and gifts of real estate from cities, where cities existed; and there were even millions of net earning applied to construction. The means to build the road were not grudgingly bestowed Meanwhile, of the real cost of construction but little is correctly known ; absolutely nothing indeed of the western divi- sion, or Central Pacific. Managed by a small clique in California, the internal arrangements of this company were involved in absolute secrecy. The eastern division was built, however, by an organization known as the Credit Mobilier, which received for so doing all the un- issued stock, the proceeds of the bonds sold, the gov- ernment bonds, and the earnings of the road — in fact, all its available assets. Its profits were reported to have been enormous, and they made the fortunes of many, and perhaps of most of those connected with it. Who, then, constituted the Credit Mobilier ? It was but another name for the Pacific Railroad ring. The members of it were in Congress ; they were trustees for the bondholders, they were directors, they were stock- holders, they were contractors; in Washington they voted the subsidies, in New York they received them, upon the Plains they expended them, and in the Credit Mobilier they divided them. Ever-shifting characters, they were ubiquitous — now engineering a bill, and now a bridge — they received money into one hand as a cor- poration, and paid it into the other as a contractor. As stockholders they owned the road, as mortgagees they had a hen upon it, as directors they contracted for its construction, and as members of the Credit Mobilier they built it. What is the community to pay for it ? THE FARMER'S WAR AGAINST MONOPOLIES. 71 "At the close of 1870, with $103,000,000 of their capital yet unsubscribed, and thus reserved for issue, should the earnings of the roads at any future period make watering practicable ; with this amount of stock in reserve, the two companies operated 2083 miles of road, represented by stock and debt to the amount of $240,000,000. Thus the last results of Vanderbilt's genius have been surpassed at the very outset of this enterprise. The line from Chicago to New York repre- sents now but $60,000 to the mile, as the result of many years of inflation, while the line between Omaha and Sacramento begins life with the cost of $115,000 per mile. It would be safe to say that the road cost in money considerably less than one half of this sum. The difference is the price paid for every vicious element of railroad construction and management ; costly construc- tion, entailing future taxation on trade ; tens of millions of fictitious capital; a road built on the sale of its bonds, and with the aid of subsidies; every element of real outlay recklessly exaggerated, and the whole at some future day is to make itself felt as a burden on the trade which it is to create. " Enough has been said to illustrate the bearing which stock-watering and extravagant construction have upon taxation. It would be useless to attempt to estimate the weight of the burden imposed through these means upon material development. The statistics which should enter into any reliable estimate are not accessi- ble, and any approximation would be simply a matter of guess-work. A table was published, during the year 1869, in a leading financial organ, comparing the capi- tal stocks of twenty-eight roads as they stood on July 1, 1867, and May 1, 1869. During those twenty-two 72 HISTORY OF THE GRANGE MOVEMENT; OR, months it was found that the total had increased from $287,036,000 to $400,684,000, or 40 per cent. Carry- ing the comparison on nine of these roads back two years further, it was found that, in less than four years, their capitals had increased from less than $84,000,000 to over $208,000,000, or 150 per cent. A portion of this, perhaps 25 per cent, of the whole, represents private capital actually paid in and expended ; another portion, perhaps equally large, represents dividends the payment of which was foregone and the money applied to construction ; the whole of the remainder may be set down as pure, unadulterated ' water,' which calls for an annual tax-levy of some three or four millions a year." It will, of course, be clear to the reader that the motive influencing the men who thus increase their stock is simply to increase the amount drawn from the public as earnings upon the sums supposed to be in- vested in the road. A road operating with a capital of $3,000,000, and earning ten per cent, upon this, in- creases its capital, by the watering process to $6,000,- 000 and claims ten per cent, upon this valuation. In plain English, the road is extorting from the community the $300,000 represented by the earnings upon the $3,000;000 of watered stock. That sum is drawn from the people and transferred to the pockets of the stock- holders. Commenting upon this, the Chicago Tribune in a recent issue said : ' The railroads have the full protection of the law in the decisions of the United States courts, which hold their charters to be in the nature of a contract which the State cannot violate. They can set up the law in THE FARMER'S WAR AGAINST MONOPOLIES. 73 any case where a State Legislature or the people en- deavor to deprive them of any of the privileges specifi- cally conferred by their charters. But they will make a mistake if they presume that any law bars out the people from ascertaining whether or not they are com- plying with their obligations under the contract. The courts will extend to the people the same protection that they extend to the corporations ; and, in the con- flict between the railroads and the farmers, the princi- pal thing to be determined by evidence is whether the rates charged by the railroads represent a profit on the actual investment, or a percentage on fictitious capital not authorized under the charters, but created in a variety of ways without the investment of money. If the former, the railroad rates will be sustained; if the latter, the rates will be changed, in one way or another, and the railroads will be forced to be content with earnings that will pay a fair interest on the actual in- vestment. " In the eyes of the law a corporation is a fictitious person, created for special purposes and strictly limited to the terms of its charter. It can take nothing by implication. It can form no copartnerships, enter into no business transactions, spread out into no field not explicitly defined in the law which originally brought it into being, or in amendments thereto. Now, we know of no railroad charter which authorizes the cor- poration to earn a percentage on fictitious capital, and the courts will not construe this to be an unexpressed or implied privilege of the railroads. On the contrary, the law expressly holds that railroads must make fair and reasonable rates — and rates can be neither fair nor reasonable which represent dividends on capital that 74 HISTORY OF THE GRANGE MOVEMENT; OR, has never been invested or profits on stocks fictitiously issued for the benefit of speculators. It is on this ground that farmers can make their best fight, and if they keep close to this line of battle they will be certain of victory. " We have no means of knowing what proportion of the capital stock of the railroads of this country is ficti- tious. An estimate made some two years ago placed it at 33 per cent, of the aggregate railroad stocks. The proportion is certainly not less to-day, and probably is much larger. If this be true then the average railroad rates are 33 per cent, higher than they would-be if the railroad stocks of the country represented the capital actually invested in constructing and operating them. It is the work of the people to ascertain the precise dif- ference between the actual investments and the fictitious stocks, and when this shall have been done there will be a solid basis for determining what reasonable rates are. " The way and means adopted for creating fictitious railroad stocks are at once numerous and ingenious. A popular method is to declare stock dividends. If the Rock Island road, for instance, is earning more money than it cares to have the people know of, it declares a stock dividend. The capital stock is thereby increased and the earnings appear to be less. The fact is, that a means has been provided whereby the earnings may be increased without arousing the suspicion of the public. The new stock represents no investments of capital whatever, but thenceforth it constitutes a basis on which the railroads claim the right of earning the current rate of interest. The rates of transportation are thus in- creased to pay interest on stock originally issued for the THE FARMER'S WAR AGAINST MONOPOLIES. 75 purpose of covering up excessive earnings. Another favorite way of issuing fictitious stock is by the leasing of other railroads. But the most common means of obtaining fictitious stock is by what is known as the Credit Mobilier plan of building railroads. Starting with a land grant from Congress, or subsidies from State or municipal governments, the construction company issues sufficient bonds to cover the cost of building the road, outside of all shrinkage from depreciation, brokers' commissions, etc. These bonds are sold, and the road is built and equipped from the proceeds. The construc- tion company then have the capital stock of the road intact. Whether it be $1,000,000 or $10,000,000, it has not cost them one dollar. They then commence operating the road, and claim that it should not only earn money to pay the interest on the bonds, but also enough to pay dividends on capital stock that does not represent a single dollar of actual investment. The cost of the road is entirely comprised in the bonds that have been issued, and the capital stock is altogether fic- titious. How large a proportion of the 63,000 miles of railroads in the United States has been constructed in this way, it is not possible to say. But the time has come when the people will undertake to find out. The people are willing that the railroads shall earn a fair profit on actual cost, but they can no longer be forced to pay a royalty on fraudulent issues. That time has passed, and the sooner the railroads make up their minds to it the better it will be for them." 7C HISTORY CF THE GRANGE MOVEMENT; OR, CHAPTER IV. THE CONSOLIDATION PROCESS. A Railroad of necessity a Monopoly — George Stephenson's Views — The Interests of the Roads naturally Hostile to those of the People — Foolish Prodigality of the People — Competition disastrous to the Roads — Consolida- tion of Railroads inaugurated to stop Competition — Success of the Efforts for Consolidation — The Four Enemies of Free Trade — Vanderbilt's Success with the New York Central — The Pennsylvania Company — Jts History — The Reign of Monopoly successfully inaugurated. A RAILROAD is of necessity a monopoly. It is built for the express purpose of monopolizing the trade of the region through which it passes, and its first necessity is to prevent or destroy competition. Competition means cheap freights, low fares, and is in the interest of the community. It deprives a corporation of its power to tax the public with excessive rates, and com- pels it to make only such charges as are fair and reason- able. The interests of the road demand that there shall be no interference with it from any quarter, that its directors shall have the sole power to fix and arrange the rates for the transportation of passengers and freight, and that nothing shall occur to interfere with the monopoly they seek to establish. The true nature of the railway system was plainly understood and stated by its great founder and advo- cate in England, George Stephenson. " He saw that a line once built must impose a tax on the community, if only to keep itself in existence. He also saw that if THE FARMER'S WAR AGAINST MONOPOLIES. 77 a competing road was built to divide any given business which could by any possibility be done over a road already constructed, in the end that business must support two roads instead of one. A very slender knowledge of human nature would have enabled him to take the next step, and conclude that any number of competing roads would ultimately unite to exact money from the community, rather than continue a ruinous competition." It may be plainly stated then, that from the very outset, the interests of the public and those of the rail- road companies were antagonistic. There was and is an irrepressible conflict between them, and it will require a more than ordinary degree of forebearance and patriotism on the part of the railroads to bring about a compromise. At the outset, the people of the various States, in their eagerness to obtain the roads, granted important privileges without demanding any equivalent. Few restrictions were placed upon the proposed schemes. Corporations were given the right of way, and other important privileges the granting of which often in- volved the sacrifice of valuable private interests, and the State or the people demanded and received practically nothing in return. The eagerness of the people to obtain the roads was so great that nearly every projected enterprise received the sanction of the State, and was put into operation. In this way many useless roads were built, and the present generation is called upon to suffer for this folly. In one respect, however, the system, as originally inaugurated, was correct. It provided for and allowed the construction of competing roads, and thus gave the 78 HISTORY OF THE GRANGE MOVEMENT; OR, public an opportunity to pay a fair price for transpor- tation. This was not as the corporations wished. Their risk was increased by it and their dividends dimin- ished. They began to cast about for. ways and means of putting an end to this state of affairs, and at length hit upon an expedient which has well nigh realized their wildest dreams of power and wealth. They inaugurated a policy of consolidation of roads. The great corporations of the East set to work to lease or buy up the lines connecting with them, by which they must reach the Western States, or which acted as feeders to their routes. They succeeded in their object, and soon the railroad system of the country was narrowed down to a few great lines, the minor enter- prises disappearing as independent roads and forming parts of the great consolidated companies. The principal railroad enterprises of the United States were undertaken with one common object — to bring the produce of the West to the Atlantic markets, and to provide the Western States with the manufac- tures and wares of the Eastern States. This was the grand prize for which so many plans were laid, and so much skilful work performed. By the process of consolidation, the communication between the seaboard and the West has been limited to four great lines — the New York Central, the Erie, the Pennsylvania, and the Baltimore & Ohio Railroads. At the first glance it would seem that these four lines are sufficient to furnish all the competition necessary to secure fair rates in the matter of transportation. But such is not the case. These four consolidated companies were formed for the express purpose of destroying com- THE FARMER'S WAR AGAINST MONOPOLIES. 79 petition, and they stand like four gigantic sentinels over the avenues of trade to.enforce their will. They offer the only means of communication between the East and West, and shippers and travellers are compelled to choose between them. Having disposed of their rivals, they have now a common interest — to keep rates up to the highest point, and they have power and wealth enough to carry out their wishes. With power to prevent the construc- tion of any rival lines, these four companies hold the transportation business of the country in their grasp ; and, being subject to no practical restraint, they may make such regulations, and compel the public to pay such rates as they may see fit. It will be well to glance at the manner in which the consolidation of the two most powerful corporations was effected. It reveals some curious facts in our rail- road history. We tell the story in the language of a brilliant writer,* from whom we have quoted before : "Twenty-one years ago, the New York Central road, which forms the nucleus of the Vanderbilt combination, was not in existence as a corporation. In 1853 it was chartered, and eleven distinct corporations were merged into it. Five of these corporations, the longest of which could boast but of 76 miles of track, divided among them the 300 miles which separate Albany from Buffalo. The corporation created out of these elements was again, in its turn, merged in 1869 into the larger New York Central & Hudson River Railroad Company, which controls within the State of New York but little less than a thousand miles of track, and is represented by rather more than $100,000,000 of capital. The con- * Charles F. Adams, Jr. 80 HISTORY OF THE GRANGE MOVEMENT; OR, solidation, so far, was perfect, and had taken place under a State law and within State limits. Growth, however, did not stop here ; the combinations of capital simply adapted themselves to the forms of a political system. Beyond the limits of New York, the corpora- tion held, in the eye of the law, no property; it did not control a mile of track. At Buffalo, however, the Cen- tral connected with another company, itself made up of four separate primal links which had once connected Buffalo with Chicago, and which had united in obedi- ence to the same law of development which had built up the Central. West of Chicago came yet other links in the trans-continental chain. Three lines competed to fill the gap which lay between Chicago and the east- ern terminus of the Pacific road, — the Northwestern, the Rock Island, and the Burlington & Missouri. In the autumn of 1869, the consolidation of the Central and the Hudson River took place. Immediately after- wards, at the annual election of the Lake Shore & Michigan Southern, the Vanderbilt interest took open possession of that corporation, controlling a majority of its stock. In May, 1870, it in like maun or assumed control of the Rock Island and Chicago & Northwestern. The same parties in interest were now practically the owners of a connected line of road from New York to Omaha ; there was no consolidation as yet, but, so far as the public and competing roads were concerned, the close of 1870 found the six parties, which but a short time before had been in possession of the trans-conti- nental thoroughfare, reduced to three. Without taking into consideration the immense influence which their position necessarily gave to them over other and less powerful members of the railroad system, here was a THE FARMER'S WAR AGAINST MONOPOLIES. 81 single combination of capital representing the control of at least 4500 miles of road and not less than $250,000,000 of capital. " This, however, is but the result of a loose alliance between men notorious for their feuds and their selfish- ness ; the combination is temporary, depending perhaps upon the continued life of one who lacks little of being an octogenarian. The men who control it not infre- quently evince talents of a very high order, and their course is made continually interesting by episodes of dramatic surprise. They lack, however, the greatest and most indispensable element of permanent success, — some underlying, indissoluble bond of union. In this respect they differ entirely from the great combination which has gradually taken shape in the neighboring State of Pennsylvania. What is commonly known as the Pennsylvania Central Railroad Company is prob- ably to-day the most powerful corporation in the world, as, indeed, it owns and operates one of the oldest of railroads. Its organization, as compared with that of its great rival, the New York Central, bears the relation of a republic to an empire. Csesarism is the principle of the Yanderbilt group ; the corporation is the essence of the Pennsylvania system. The marked degree in which the character of the people have given an insen- sible direction to the management of their corporations in these two States is well deserving of notice. In New York politics the individual leader has ever been the centre ; in Pennsylvania, always the party. The people of this last State are not marked by intelligence; they are, in fact, dull, uninteresting, very slow and very persevering. These are qualities, however, which they hold in common with the ancient Romans, and 6 82 HISTORY OF THE GRANGE MOVEMENT; OR, they possess, also, in a marked degree, one other char- acteristic of that classic race, the power of organization, and through it of command. They have always deci- ded our Presidential elections ; they have always, in their dull, heavy fashion, regulated our economical policy. Not open to argument, not receptive of ide'as, not given to flashes of brilliant execution, this State none the less knows well what it wants, and knows equally well how to organize to secure it. Its great railroad affords a striking illustration in point. It is probably the most thoroughly organized corporation, that in which each individual is most entirely absorbed in the corporate whole, now in existence. With its president and its four vice-presidents, each of whom de- votes his whole soul to his peculiar province, whether it be to fight a rival line, to develop an inchoate traffic, to manipulate the Legislature, or to operate the road, — with this perfect machinery and subordination, there is no reason why the corporation should not assume abso- lute control of all the railroads of Pennsylvania. " Such is this great corporation, high in credit in the money-markets of the world, careful withal of its out- ward repute, apparently unbounded in its resources. Organized so long ago as 1831, it had thirty miles of road ready for operation in the succeeding year. Not until 1854, however, was the Pennsylvania Railroad proper completed. It then controlled the line from Harrisburg to Pittsburg, 210 miles, which had cost a little less than $17,000,000, and was represented by about $12,000,000 of stock and $7,000,000 of indebt- edness. This might be considered the starting-point ; $3,500,000 of annual gross earnings on a capital a little less than $20,000,000. For many years its growth FARMER'S AVAR AGAINST MONOPOLIES. 83 was confined to Pennsylvania. In 1869, however, its policy in this respect underwent a change, and it burst through State limits, extending its field of operations over the vast region lying between the great lakes and the Ohio upon the north and south, and the Missouri onrthe west. This sudden development was, as ususl, the immediate result of competition, and was almost forced upon the corporation in spite of itself, as a measure of defence. The secret history of the railway intrigues and legislative manipulations of 1869 would make a very singular narrative could the whole of it be disclosed. That year was, in fact, a turning-point in our railway progress. The Erie management had then fallen into confessed discredit, and was beginning its remarkable attempt under Messrs. Gould and Fisk to carry on a great commercial enterprise in absolute disregard of every principle pf good faith, commonly supposed to be at the basis of civilized transactions. Those managing this thoroughfare were desperately thrusting out in every direction, contracting, buying, and leasing all adjoining roads with a rashness only surpassed by their easy disregard of the obligations thus contracted. Early in 1869 they sought to cut off the connections of the Pennsylvania road, and to shut it up within the limits of that State. For a brief time the battle seemed to go in their favor, but suddenly the tide turned. The result showed that they were no match for the powerful antagonist they had provoked ; — their overthrow was so effectual as to have in it some elements of the ludicrous. Bills in the interest of the Pennsylvania company, which it was doubtful if it were in the power of any legislature to pass, were pushed through their various stages, and received exe- 84 HISTORY OF THE GRANGE MOVEMENT; OR, cutive approval, with a speed unprecedented ; con- tracts, arranged with the Erie managers by boards of directors, were unexpectedly rejected in meetings of stockholders; and for a time this irresistible power even threatened to wrest from the Erie road its own Deculiar and long-established connections. The result of these operations was that the Pennsylvania Central soon controlled by perpetual lease a whole system of roads radiating to all points in the West and South- west. By one it reached Chicago, by another St. Louis, and by a third Cincinnati. At Indianapolis it had absorbed a network of routes ; at Chicago and St. Louis it had formed close connections looking directly towards the Pacific. Here for a time it rested, declaring that its policy did not look to any expansion beyond the Mississippi. The corporation rested, perhaps, but not .the ambitious men who con- trolled it; their individual operations now commenced. They obtained the control of roads endowed with vast land grants in Michigan and in Minnesota ; they were the directors of the Northern Pacific ; and when the men who had constructed the Union Pacific broke down under the multiplicity of their engagements, the first vice-president of the Pennsylvania road ap- peared as the new president of that road also. The very land grants belonging to the companies these men now controlled amounted to 80,000 square miles, or an area equivalent to the aggregate possessions of four of the existing kingdoms of Europe. "Meanwhile the Pennsylvania Railroad Company, distinct from its individual directors, now owned or held by lease 400 miles of road in Pennsylvania, and directly controlled 450 miles more, almost entirely THE FARMER'S WAR AGAINST MONOPOLIES. 85 within the same State ; beyond its limits it leased and operated nearly two thousand miles in addition, hold- ing the stock and bonds of railroads, canals, towns, and cities, like some vast Credit Mobilier ; it had, indeed, no less than $20,000,000 standing on its books as represented by these investments. In the sixteen years its own capital and indebtedness had swollen from $20,000,000 to $65,000,000, with a liberty se- cured to increase them to nearly $100,000,000; at the same time the system of roads which it held in its hands returned a yearly income of hardly less than $40,000,000, of which about $10,000,000 was claimed as net profit. " If, however, as its direction had officially declared, the corporation had no distinct interests to push west of the Mississippi, the same could not be said of the region east of the Susquehanna. In the closing days of 1870 New York was suddenly startled by the an- nouncement that the Pennsylvania Railroad had effec- ted a perpetual lease of the whole famous railroad monopoly known as the United Companies of New Jersey. The rumor proved true, and some 450 miles of additional track, besides 65 miles of canals and some 30 steamers, in all some $35,000,000 of property, was by this transaction added to the vast consolidation, and brought it to the shores of New York harbor. " It is unnecessary to consider how much further this combination will carry its operations, or in what they will result. The Pennsylvania road now controls directly and as itself owner or proprietor, and wholly distinct from its directors, more than 3000 miles of track, claiming to represent $175,000,000 of securities, and returning a gross income of at least $40,000,000 86 HISTORY OF THE GRANGE MOVEMENT; OR, per annum. It is far from impossible that this combi- nation may, from its very magnitude, lead to its own downfall." The Erie Kailway properly extends from Jersey City to Dunkirk, New York, a distance of 451 miles, but with its various branches it now operates a total length of 1032 miles. Until July, 1871, it was the lessee of the Atlantic and Great Western road, which. connecting with the track of the Erie at Salamanca, New York, carried the line to Cincinnati, a distance of 447 miles. Though the lease has been surrendered, the two roads are practically one as regards the ques- tion of transportation. The Erie Company own pro- perty to the amount of $118,295,979, and, in 1872, the gross earnings were $18,371,887. The Baltimore and Ohio Railroad extends properly from Baltimore to the City of Wheeling, on the Ohio River, a distance of 379 miles, but, with its branches and leased roads, it controls and operates a total of 10G7 miles of road. It already touches Lake Erie at Sandusky, and has now in construction a branch road extending from a point 90 miles north of Newark, Ohio, on the Lake Erie Division, to Chicago. The Company own property to the amount of $56,014,481, and, in 1872, the gross earnings were $13,626,677. Here we have four corporations representing a total ownership of nearly $600,000,000, and an aggregate annual income of over $100,000,000. It would be impossible to mention in detail all the various attempts at consolidation, successful and un- successful, that have been made in this country. What we have given will sufficiently illustrate this part of our subject. All such efforts have a common object, THE FARMER'S WAR AGAINST MONOPOLIES. 87 and that object is the extortion from an already over- taxed commuriity of the highest rates of transporta- tion that can be obtained. We shall again refer to this portion of our subject, to point out some of the evils arising from the monopoly we have been considering. 88 HISTORY OF THE GRANGE MOVEMENT; OR, CHAPTER V. THE TRANSPORTATION TAX SWINDLE. Sources of Kailroad Earnings — The Freight Business — Enormous Tribute paid by the People to the Roads — The Railroads irresponsible to the Public — The Necessity of the Roads to the Country — Anomalous Position of the Railroads — What are Legitimate and what are Fictitious Earnings — Care- lessness of the People respecting their Rights — Their Punishment — Arbi- trary Course of the Roads in levying Freights — How the Railroads tax the People — The Community made to pay the Losses of the Roads — Instructive Lessons — How Competition is killed — Efforts of the State of Illinois to pro- tect its Citizens — The Railroads refuse to obey the Law — The Railroad Yoke fastened upon the People. THE object for which railways are constructed is the earning of interest on the amount of capital invested in them. The only means by which such enterprises can earn money, are by the transportation of freight and passengers. All roads are built with a view to the ultimate freight business that will come to them, the passenger traffic being with most corporations a secondary consideration. As the wealth and productiveness of the country increase, the transportation increases also. In 1840, when there were less than 3000 miles of railroad in operation in the United States, the transportation busi- ness of the country amounted to about $8,000,000, or about fifty cents to each inhabitant of the Union. In 1860, it had increased to about $150,000,000, or about $5 to each inhabitant. In 1871, it had grown to the THE FARMER'S WAR AGAINST MONOPOLIES. 89 enormous sum of $450,000,000, or nearly $12 to each inhabitant. This enormous sum of $450,000,000 may be taken as a fair annual average of the value of our internal commerce. It comes directly from the earnings of the whole people of the United States, and is gathered into the treasuries of the various railway corporations in the form of sums paid for the transportation of passengers and of the products and manufactures of the country. In chartering the railways of the Union, the people have given to the corporations conducting these enter- prises, the sole right to regulate the freight charges of their roads. In some cases there has been a stipulation that the earnings of the road should not exceed a cer- tain percentage upon the capital invested, but, as we have shown, it has been left to the road not only to regulate its charges, but to make such returns of its earnings as it may see fit. The people have surrendered the right to scrutinize the proceedings of the corpora- tion, and the corporation charges whatever rates it pleases, and as much as it thinks the public will pay. Men may travel or not, as they are inclined, but the farmer must send his products to market, and the merchant and manufacturer must transport their wares to the point where there is the greatest demand for them. So the road is sure of its freight traffic. Men are compelled to use it, for it is the only means of transportation open to them. They are fully aware of this, and the corporation is equally aware of it. The railroads then occupy the position of a body within the State, and almost, if not quite, independent of it, levying a tax upon its citizens. Not one man in 90 HISTORY OF THE GRANGE MOVEMENT; OR, the community can escape the necessity of in some way contributing to the earnings of the road. The aggre- gate amount annually contributed is, as we have seen, enormous. How much of this represents a legitimate profit upon the capital invested in railways ? and how much is a wanton robbery of the public? These are questions of the deepest interest to the public, and yet they have attracted so little attention that none of the State Governments have made an effort to obtain the requisite data from which to answer them. We only know what the roads choose to allow us to learn, and they are very careful to keep us from knowing too much ; while staggering under this enormous tax, and vaguely comprehending that it is excessive and unjust, no one has undertaken to introduce measures which will lay before the people the full extent of the evil from which they are suffering. We only know that "certain private individuals, responsible to no authority and subject to no supervision, but looking solely to their own interests, or to those of their immediate con- stituency, yearly levy upon the internal movement of the American people a tax, as a suitable remuneration for the use of their private capital, equal to about one- half of the expenses of the United States Government, — army, navy, civil list, and interest on the national debt included." The power to levy such charges as they think proper on the transportation of freight being entrusted tc the railway corporations, they are not slow to use it. At certain periods of the year the movement of freights is very brisk, as when the year's harvest is finding its way to market, or when merchants and dealers are sending home the stock they have purchased in the THE FARMER'S WAR AGAINST MONOPOLIES. 91 great centres of commerce. Then, when men are com- pelled to use the roads, the corporations advance the rates. Complaint is useless. The directors know that goods and grain must be carried over the road, and they fix the rates at an extravagant figure, and the shipper is forced to submit to the extortion. The " through rates," as they are called, are high enough, but they do not affect the majority of shippers as much as the local rates. It has become a maxim with railroad men that if in the war of competition a loss is incurred in the " through rates," it must be made up in the amount received for local freights. It is always possible to ship a case of goods or a sack of grain from New York to Chicago at a proportion- ately cheaper rate than is charged for the same article from New York to Syracuse. Often times the amount charged for local freight is double that charged for through freight. The reason is that in the through freight transportation, the competition of a few great lines keeps the rate down to a compara- tively lower figure; while a given road, enjoying a monopoly of the local business, can charge what it pleases. It is utterly irresponsible, and the shipper is at its mercy. This irresponsibility leads to continual change, espe- cially in the through freight business, and introduces an element of chance into mercantile transactions which sound business men find it hard to contend against. Merchants find it difficult to regulate their purchases, and producers are sometimes utterly at sea in their efforts to- calculate their profits, when the tariff may be changed in a day, and all their calcula- tions destroyed. " Just this fluctuation took place in 92 HISTORY OF THE GRANGE MOVEMENT; OR, September, 1870, when it at one time cost far more to send goods from Boston to Chicago than from New York, and shortly after the New York firms had to ship their goods to Boston as the cheapest way of get- ting them to the West." During the year 1869, freights between New York and Chicago fluctuated between $5 and $37.60 per ton ; and between New York and St. Louis, between $7 and $46 per ton. At one time during that year, the Erie Railroad carried freights from New York to Chicago for $2 per ton, and soon after advanced the rate to $37 per ton. The year 1870 was remarkable for its fluctuations of this kind, and it led to a singular warfare between the rival lines connecting New York with the West. Each met with considerable losses, but each undoubt- edly made these good at the public expense by some operation entirely within its control. " During that year competition was bitter in the extreme ; the rates made East and West were simply ruinous. On certain descriptions of freight they lite- rally were reduced to nothing, and cattle were carried over the Erie road at a cent a head, as against one dol- lar a car, the rate charged on the Central. On other articles the reduction was not so great, but, both on passengers and goods, rates were purely nominal, and hardly averaged a third of the usual amounts. Of course this could not last. Early in September, 1870, representatives of the competing lines met in New York, and proceeded to put a stop to competition in the one way possible among monopolists, — by combi- nation. The parties in interest were the Central, the Erie, and the Pennsylvania railroads. The competition was mainly from Illinois to New York. In both THE FARMER'S WAR AGAINST MONOPOLIES. 93 Illinois and New York, laws forbidding the consolida- tion of competing lines were in force, and all the roads were carrying on operations in one or both of those States. At the meeting in question, it was decided to 'pool' the earnings of the colored lines to all competing points ; in other words, all receipts from that business which was supposed to receive a peculiar benefit from competition, were to be paid into a common fund, com- petition was immediately to cease, fixed rates were to be charged, and thus, at last, all the great trunk lines were to be practically consolidated, in so far as the business community was concerned. This arrange- ment was agreed to, but broke down for the moment because of quarrels among certain of the individual contracting potentates. The irreconcilables were Messrs. Gould and Vanderbilt, two New York men, who represented two New York roads ; and yet the New York statute-book contained a recently enacted law intended to prevent and render impracticable any combination like the one agreed upon. Not being able to effect the desired arrangement there, certain of the same parties went to Chicago, in a State where a simi- lar provision to that in force in New York had been made a part of the Constitution, and there they actu- ally did enter into an agreement, under which all the roads between Chicago and Omaha ' pooled ' their re- ceipts between those points, and this contract went into effect. . . . '' The failure of the New York negotiators was, how- ever, only temporary; and, moreover, it is by no means clear that its failure was not a disaster to the commu- nity. In this combination would at least have been found some degree of certainty and of responsibility. 94 HISTORY OF THE GRANGE MOVEMENT; OR, Rates would no longer have varied with every season and to every city; points destitute of competition would not have been plundered, as they now habitually are, that competing points might be supplied for nothing. During the summer of 1870, accordingly, many towns in New England were charged upon Western freights heavily in advance of the sums charged for carrying the same freights on the same roads a hundred or two miles farther on. All because the farther point was served at a loss to the carrier, and, therefore, the nearer had to pay the road profits for both, besides replacing the loss. The agents of the roads do not seek to deny this ; they acknowledge and defend it. They say, and say truly: 'We must live. If our through business is done at a loss (and they show that it was done for nothing), then our local business must pay for all/ This was the case in New England. The cities of cen- tral New York fared no better. During a war of rates, almost any manufactured article will be carried from the seaboard to the West for perhaps one half of the amount charged for carrying the article there from a semi-interior point. So also as regards Eastern freights. Syracuse, Rochester, and the like class of cities can neither compete on equal terms with Boston in the markets of the West, nor with Chicago in those of the East. The discrimination against them is said to amount in certain cases to ten per cent, of the whole value of the article transported. Neither, under the competing system, is there any remedy for this evil, and a consciousness of this fact, of the risk to which they are continually exposed, has caused the breaking up of many manufacturing establishments at interior points." THE FARMER'S WAR AGAINST MONOPOLIES. 95 The State of Illinois has undertaken to investigate the management of its railroads, and to impose upon the railroad companies a series of regulations for the protection of the public. The new railroad law passed by the Legislature of Illinois in May, 1873, directs the Railroad and Warehouse Commissioners to prepare for each rail- road in the State a schedule of reasonable maximum rates; prohibits as extortion more than a fair and reasonable rate to be charged for transportation of passengers or freight, or for the use of track ; pro- hibits as unjust discrimination any difference in the prices charged for equal services of these three kinds rendered at different points or to different persons, the penalty being fines (recoverable in an action of debt, in the name of the People) of $1000 to $5000 for the first offence, $5000 to $10,000 for the second offence, $10,000 to $20,000 for the third offence, and for every subsequent offence $25,000, either party having the right of trial by jury. Moreover, the overcharged person may recover in any form of action thrice the damages sustained, with costs and attorney's fee. As may be supposed, this law gave great offence to the railroad interest of the State, and every obstacle has been thrown in the way of its execution. Indeed the roads have steadily disregarded it. Governor Palmer, of Illinois, in a speech delivered at Springfield, on the 4th of July, 1873, said: " The last Legislature enacted a law for the govern- ment of railroads in this State, which is a monument of the patience and reasonableness of the people. It merely declares that the railroads shall not charge for 96 HISTORY OF THE GRANGE MOVEMENT; OR, their services more than a fair and reasonable rate; that they shall make no unjust discriminations in their charges for any kind of service; that to charge a greater sum for services rendered to one person than is charged to another for greater services, shall be pre- sumptive evidence of extortion; and the whole law merely assumes that the relation of the railroads and their customers shall hereafter exist and continue upon the footing of equality and justice, and that like ser- vices shall be' presumed to be worthy a like compensa- tion. I regret to be compelled to say that the railroad managers have as yet shown no disposition to accept this law in the just spirit in which it was enacted. On the contrary, they have found in its passage a new pretext for extortion. They assume, in the first place, that they must have ten per cent, net profit on the nominal capital invested in their roads, and the large sums furnished to them by the people is a part of the aggregate upon which the same people are required to pay them the interest. Such a claim is most unreason- able. Their capital was invested in railroads, subject to the fluctuations and casualties of business, and that is all that will be conceded to them. They must also submit the cost and methods of their management to the scrutiny of the juries of the State, and must account for all unnecessary expenses incurred in efforts to counteract rivals, or to force business into unwilling channels. In their pretended obedience to law, it is manifest they are merely acting a part, intended to test the firmness of the people. They no longer dis- criminate, they say. They now apply the knife to the root of every branch of industry. I have seen the proposed tariffs of many of the roads, and they THE FARMER'S WAR AGAINST MONOPOLIES. 97 are avowals of a distinct purpose to crush out every interest with the utmost impartiality. They intend to compel the next Legislature to repeal the railroad law of last winter; they mean to make war upon every effort to curb them, and to use the people as the agents of their own undoing." 1 98 H-ISTOEY OF THE GRANGE MOVEMENT; OR, CHAPTER VI. RAILROAD TYRANNY. s— Dangers arising from the Eailroad Monopoly— Irresponsibility of the Road Their Disregard of Individual Eights— A Man's Fight with a Railroad— A Corporation's Idea of a Contract— What a Eailroad Ticket is Worth- Brutal Assault on Mr. Coleman— A Struggle for Justice— The Policy of Eailroad Corporations Announced— The Public to be tied Hand and Foot — Railroad Testimony— How to Manufacture Evidence— What a Negro got by Losing his Ticket— A Specimen Eailroad Murder— A Life for a Lost Ticket— A new Penalty for Drunkenness— Startling Details— The Avenue of Death— Eailroad Killing not considered Murder— Unjust Treatment of Passengers— The Palace Car Swindle— Baggage Smashers— The War on the Merchants— How a Eailroad endeavored to ruin a Business Firm— The Power of the Corporations. WE have seen the gradual growth of the railroad system of the country ; how many of the roads have been built at the public expense by means of the im- mense land grants they have obtained ; how fictitious capital has been created by the issuing of watered stock for the purpose of concealing the impositions of the road upon the public ; how that which is a monopoly in itself has been made a more odious monopoly by the process of consolidation; and how these corporations have committed to them the right to tax the whole community, without being responsible to any one. We come now to consider some of the evils springing from this immense system of monopolies. Conceding all the good results that have been brought about by the successful growth of our railways ; admit- THE FARMER'S WAR AGAINST MONOPOLIES. 99 THE MEN WHO BUILD THE RAILROADS Otf THE PACIFIC COAST. ting all that they have done towards furnishing a rapid and convenient method of communication between dis- tant points, and all that they have accomplished in developing new sections of country, we are sure it will be admitted by the majority of the thinking men of the country that the railroads of the present day are as much of a danger as a convenience to the country, and that unless they are soon subjected to some system of regulation by which they can be compelled to respect the rights of the people to whom they owe their exists ence, they will become not only sources of danger, but the most annoying tyrannies that have ever cursed a land. That there is danger from this source we hope to show. Practically the railroads of the United States are subject to no restraint. Nominally they are acting 100 HISTORY OF THE GRANGE MOVEMENT; OR, under the law, but in reality they make themselves superior to it, and when occasion suits them, they do not hesitate to violate and defy it. They claim the right to manage their road for their own benefit only, and are utterly regardless of the rights of others. The sole object of the directors is to wring money from those who are forced to use the line, and the public, for whose convenience the road is supposed to have been built, are denied the simplest privileges. Scarcely a day passes that some individual's rights are not violated by these companies, and if the injured party is bold enough to carry the matter before the courts, he has a hard task before him to obtain the simplest justice. He has to encounter the immense power of the road, backed by its wealth, and the chances are ten to one against him. He will either be beaten by the money of the corporation, or he will be forced to drag his case along, at ruinous expense, until he abandons it in despair. A fair specimen of the disregard of the railroads for individual rights was afforded a few years ago in the case of Mr. John A. Coleman, of Providence, Ehode Island. This gentleman was shamefully maltreated and thrown from a train on the New York and New Haven Railroad, and thereby injured for life, merely for demanding to ride over the road with a ticket for which he had already paid, instead of buying a new one. The case is so characteristic that we shall let Mr. Coleman tell the story in his own words : "About four years ago" (the matter occurred in 1868), says Mr. Coleman, "I purchased a ticket from Providence to New York via Hartford and New Haven. At New Haven my business detained me until too late in the evening to resume my journey by rail. I there- THE FARMER'S WAR AGAINST MONOPOLIES. 101 fore took the eleven o'clock boat, in order to pass a comfortable night and to be able to meet my engage- ments the next day. That left the railway coupon ticket from New Haven to New York on my hands. I afterwards had no opportunity to use the ticket in the direction in which it was marked — always happening thereafter to travel with through tickets from Boston to New York. In returning to Boston from New York, June 11, 1868, I applied at the office of the New York and New Haven Railroad, in Twenty-seventh street, New York, for a ticket to Boston via Springfield ;, the ticket master refused to sell me one unless I would wait three hours for the train, which left at three o'clock, p. M., going through to Boston. He said he would sell me a local ticket to Springfield, and I could buy another from there to Boston. This would cost me more than seven dollars to Boston, instead of six dol- lars, the regular through fare, which of course I did not want to pay. I told him expressly that I wished to stop over at a way station one train to do some tele- graphing, but without avail ; he would not sell the ticket. As I could not wait three hours, I thought it would be a good time to use my old coupon, as I was accustomed to do upon other roads under similar cir- cumstances. Accordingly I presented the coupon to the guard stationed at the entrance to the cars. He rudely and imperiously refused me admittance, stating that the ticket was 'good for nothing.' Some warm words passed between us, and he finally called the con- ductor, who stood near. The conductor was, if possible, more imperious than the guard. He said the ticket was ' good for nothing,' and peremptorily ordered me not to go on board the cars. I told him I thought the 102 HISTORY OF THE GRANGE MOVEMENT; OR, ticket was good, and that I was accustomed to use coupons in that way upon all other roads over which I travelled. He replied that ' it was no such thing ; he travelled more than I did and knew all about it; ' and concluded by saying that if I ' attempted to get upon the cars ' he ' would put me off.' Severe remarks were made by several gentlemen standing near to the con- ductor during this time, to the effect that this was an- other manifestation of the general spirit of insolence and meanness towards passengers for which that road was noted. I then purchased a ticket to Providence via New Haven and Hartford, and got on board the train. I felt irritated at the treatment I had received, and having a constitutional objection to being brow- beaten, I determined to ascertain why the practice with regard to tickets on this road was so unlike that upon other roads. Having had time to recover my equan- imity somewhat after the cars had started, and suppos- ing the conductor might be still angry and unreasonable, I determined to put the case to him, as one gentleman would to another, and to exercise self-control, that my manner should be quiet and give him no cause for offence. Accordingly, as he approached me in taking up his tickets, I said, ' Mr. Conductor, there is no use for you and me to quarrel about this ticket. This is a plain business matter, an affair of dollars and cents only. The case stands like this : I am travelling nearly all the time ; and being frequently compelled to diverge from the route that I intended to take in starting, I am left with unused coupons. These coupons all cost me money ; and by the end of the year they would accu- mulate to such an extent that they would represent too large a sum for me to lose.' THE FARMER'S WAR AGAINST MONOPOLIES. 103 " The conductor replied, ' That coupon is good from New Haven to New York, but it is not good from New York to New Haven. My directors ordered me, three years ago, not to take such tickets, and I shall not do it.' I then said, ' My position is this ; I have paid this road a certain amount of money for a certain amount of service, and I think I am entitled to that amount of service, whether my face is turned east or west. You say this ticket is good from New Haven to New York, which is seventy-four miles j I think it is good from New York to New Haven, which is also seventy-four miles ; and I cannot understand the distinction which you make.' A gentleman who sat before me remarked at this moment, ( If there is any meanness which has ever been discovered upon a railroad, it is sure to be found upon this one, for it is the meanest railroad ever laid out of doors.' I replied, ' If this is so, I hope they will make an exception in my case, as all I require are the common courtesies of the road and an equivalent for my money.' The conductor said, ' I see you are all linked together to make me trouble.' And he went along. " The gentleman who had spoken to me requested to see my coupon, and remarked that he had never heard the question raised before, and certainly had never heard the case put in that way. He further re- marked that, ' Whether it was law or not, it was com- mon sense.' A part of the Board of Trade delegation of Boston was in the car, returning from the Philadel- phia Convention. Among these were Mr. Curtis Guild, Mr. Eugene H. Sampson, and a prominent railroad di- rector of Boston, Mr. B. B. Knight, a cotton manufao turer of Providence, and other gentlemen from both 104 HISTORY OF THE GRANGE MOVEMENT; OR, cities. Several of these gentlemen, who had become interested in the discussion, requested to see the coupon, and they took the same view of the matter that I did. " As we were approaching Stamford, the conductor again came to me, and said in a very abrupt manner, 1 Well, sir ! how shall we settle this matter ? ' I said, * Just as before ; there is the ticket, and I wish to go to New Haven ; the circumstances have not altered in the least.' I had determined to take the matter quietly; the conductor saw that it was useless to attempt to frighten me by his imperious manner, and then began to remonstrate, saying, i You have no business to make me disobey my directors, and lose my place upon the road ; I have to get my living in this way, and it is mean for you to do so.' This was a new aspect of the case, and I replied, ' That is the only embarrassing question which has arisen in this discussion. I have no quarrel with you, and I would not do you a personal injury upon any consideration ; but you and I both have travelled long enough to know that this matter is wholly within your discretion. You can take this coupon and turn it in at New York where you turn in your other tickets, and no one will know whether it is taken going east or going west, and no one will care.' My meaning was, that, as no injury was done, no injury could be known. He took the remark the other way; and said, in a sneering tone, evidently for the benefit of the other passengers, * You might just as well ask me to steal ten dollars from the company, because they would not know it.' I replied, ' Theoretically, that may be true ; but, practically, it is nonsense ; you very well know that I have no intention to defraud this road ; but in order to relieve you of all embarrassment about your position, I THE FARMER'S WAR AGAINST MONOPOLIES. 105 will make you a proposition : Here is my address, and these gentlemen know that I am responsible ; you take the ticket and turn it in, and if you are even repri- manded for it by your directors, write to me, and I will send you the money for the ticket, upon your promise as a gentleman that you will send the ticket to me again ; for I shall want the ticket.' " The passengers said, l That was very fair and would avoid all trouble.' The conductor said, l It is very fair, but I sha'n't do it, that's all; I want another ticket out of you, sir.' I said, ' I shall not give you one.' He said, ' Then I shall request you to get off this train at Stamford.' I replied, ' I shall just as politely decline to do so.' He said, ' Then I will put you off.' I replied in general terms, and with some natural heat, that I did not believe he was able to do it. He said, ' I guess I can put you off if I get help enough.' I told him that was undoubtedly true, but warned him that I would pursue the matter further, if he brought his roughs into the car and laid hands upon me. " At this moment the elderly gentleman who sat in front of me rose and said, ' Mr. Conductor, I am a " rail- road man" anci in my judgment this gentleman's position is correct. If he brings it to an issue, I think he will beat you ; but if you think he is not correct, but trying to evade his fare, the proper way is to telegraph to New Haven, and have a policeman come aboard and quietly arrest him ; that is business-like ; but don't you take the law into your own hands and throw him off the train, for that is not done nowadays upon any respect- able railroad.' I said, ' Certainly, I will submit to a policeman, but I will not be thrown off by him.' The conductor sneeringly replied, ' We don't do business in 106 HISTORY OP THE GRANGE MOVEMENT ; OR, that style on this road.' I said, ' I have been aware of that for ten years past ; and I propose to see if you can- not be compelled to do business in that style upon this road.' He said we were all against him, and lie would leave it to the superintendent. " The train had stopped in the mean time at Stam- ford. I paid no further attention to the conductor, but commenced reading. Very soon some one shouted, ' They are coming for you.' The conductor came in at the head of five or six rough brakemen and baggage- men, and said, pointing to me, ' This is the man ; pull him out, and put him out on the platform.' They seized my coat and tried to roll me out of the seat. My coat tore, and they did not move me. This seemed to enrage them, and they sprang upon me like so many tigers. Two of them seized me by the legs, and as many as could got in back of the seat and seized me by the shoulders and commenced violently wrenching me from the seat. I instinctively grasped the arms of the seat, and they took the cushion and frame up with me. When they got me into the aisle, and had me completely at their mercy, three heavy blows with the clinched fist were struck upon the back of my head. Every individual in the car jumped to his feet the instant the blows were struck. The ladies screamed, and some of the gentlemen rushed to stop the conductor and his roughs from striking me. Fearing for my life, I struck one of the ruffians under the chin, and planted a blow square in the face of another. We had a hard struggle until they overpowered me. They carried me horizontally until they reached the car door, when they dropped my feet a little to pass through singly. I struck another away from me, and he went over be- THE FARMER'S WAR AGAINST MONOPOLIES. 107 tween the cars. They fiercely grasped me again and threw me broadside from the platform of the car down upon the platform of the depot. I struck heavily on my side, my whole length. In this struggle they tore the flesh upon my arm and legs, and they ruptured me for life. The passengers swarmed out of the cars, and gave me their addresses. The superintendent came up, and I told him I would give him a dose of common law, and see if I could not teach him something. He said he would give me all the law I wanted, if I wished to test the case. I then ran and jumped on the train as it was in motion. The superintendent and his son and another man ran after and seized me around the body, stripped me off the car, and held me by main strength until the train was clear of the depot. As soon as they released me, I drew my through ticket from my pocket, and asked them why they held me. The superintendent started as though I had struck him, and said, ' Why didn't you show that ticket before, sir ? ' I said, ' Because it is not customary to show tickets in getting on at the way-stations, and you did not give me a chance.' He said, t If you had been a gentleman, you would have shown that ticket.' I replied, ' I do not ask your opinion as to who is a gentleman, for you are no judge.' He said, ' You tried to steal your ride to New Haven and sell your ticket; and now we will give you all the law you want ; and we'll show you that the laws in Connecticut are different from where you came from.' " I took that for granted, and returned to New York. When I reached Boston again, I attached the New York and Boston express-train, partly owned by the New Haven road, in the Boston and Albany depot, 108 HISTORY OF THE GRANGE MOVEMENT; OR, and brought suit against them in the Superior Court of Massachusetts for ten thousand dollars damages. The first trial of the case occurred in April, 1869. The judge charged directly against passengers upon every point. He ruled that the ticket was a contract. That the road had a right to make any rule it pleased for its own government; and if a passenger broke a rule, he was a trespasser ; and, being a trespasser, the road had the same right to eject him from its cars that one of the jurymen had to eject a man from his private house if he did not want him there. The only question for the jury to consider was, whether an excess of violence had been used by the road in the maintenance of a right. The jury, after being out only one hour, awarded me thirty-three hundred dollars damages. The judge, at the request of the road, after several weeks' delay, set the verdict aside on the exclusive ground that the amount was excessive. " The second trial occurred in the same court in Jan- uary, 1870, and resulted in a disagreement of the jury. They stood eleven to one for me, arid it was afterwards understood that the man who disagreed had been con- nected in some capacity with the road. The third trial took place in May, 1870, and resulted in an award of thirty-four hundred and fifty dollars damages. Again the road demanded a new trial, which the judge refused to grant. The road then appealed to the Supreme Court upon points of law. The judge in charging the jury had happened to say, that if the resistance of the plaintiff to ejectment from the car consisted in simply refusing to walk out when he was told to go by the conductor, of course blows on the head, such as had been testified to, were unnecessary ; and if the jury were THE FARMER'S WAR AGAINST MONOPOLIES. 109 satisfied that such blows had been given, a verdict should be rendered accordingly. This bit of common sense gave a new opportunity for the exhibition of that wonderful subtlety called ' law/ The Supreme Court, after the usual tedious delay of several months, in which plaintiff and witnesses had abundant time to die, gave the New York and New Haven Railway Corpora- tion another opportunity to fulfil their threat of making it ' terrible for the public to fight it, right or wrong.' It decreed that the judge had no right to give an opinion as above, but should have left the question for the jury. Accordingly a new trial was granted, which took place in June, 1871. Up to this time three people connected with the suit had died, and one witness for the plaintiff had moved to Kansas ; while young girls who were on the train when the outrage was committed had passed from girlhood through long courtships and were already matrons. However, with the impetuosity of a youthful temperament and the knowledge of a just cause, I made another onslaught upon the corporation after only thirteen months' delay since the last trial, and eventually obtained a verdict of thirty-five hun- dred dollars damages, after one hour's deliberation by the jury. " For the fifth time the road demanded another trial, which being refused by the judge, they again appealed from his ruling to the Supreme Court. They asked the judge to charge the jury, that if the plaintiff had a tendency to hernia, or any physical disability that was liable to be increased by violence, the plaintiff ought to have so informed the employe's of the road ; and failing in that, he, and not the road, was responsible for tha consequences. According to the railroad theory, there- 110 HISTORY OF THE GRANGE MOVEMENT. fore, if a gentleman is attacked by a scoundrel, unless the victim gives a complete diagnosis of his condition to the ruffian, he, and not the villian who struck him, is responsible for consequences when his skull is broken. To obtain the opinion of the Supreme Court of Massa- chusetts upon this important point has taken twelve months more, but I am happy to be able to state, that at last one point is established by the Massachusetts courts in favor of the rights of railroad passengers, namely, that it is not necessary for a man to inform a ruffianly aggressor what h^s. grandmother died of, nor to describe his hereditary symptoms, even though it is the employe* of a railroad corporation who comes to strike him. " The case was of simple brutal assault in a public railroad car. The witnesses for the plaintiff were well-known merchants of Boston, who were members of the Board of Trade, railroad directors, and steamboat men, as well as others, including ladies. Their testi- mony was clear and consistent throughout every trial. Pitted against their testimony was that of the brake- men, the baggage-men and the conductor, every one of whom was in the employment of the road and a party to the assault. Not a passenger who saw the outrage committed in the car was brought forward by the road. The testimony of the employe's was so absurd upon the first trial, that the court was repeatedly interrupted by laughter. No testimony of theirs upon any after trial has been like that of the first, but was manufac- tured to suit the theory of the railroad. It has been privately admitted by the road that 'the facts were with me, but the law/ meaning, I suppose, the judge's rulings, '.was with them.' So simple a case would 112 HISTORY OF THE GEANGE MOVEMENT; OR, have been disposed of at a single hearing in a minor court, had it occurred between two poor men. But I have been compelled to pass through four weary trials, lasting four years, gaining quick verdicts from juries, and being defeated only by the first judge, who granted a new trial to this railroad corporation, because thirty- three hundred dollars were excessive damages for the beating and rupturing of a man by their servants. Being the chief justice, his rulings, of course, were taken as the law by. the associate judges who presided at the subsequent trials, and from whom I received great courtesy and fairness. * "But the contest is finished after the exhaustion of every legal advice, and there is something to be said about it in the interest of the public. I have been re- peatedly told by parties interested in the road that the company had too much money to be beaten by me, and they would spend enough to defeat me. The paragraph at the head of this article is quoted from a statement made to me by an influential person connected with the corporation. These threats were of no consequence as applied to me, for their object was intimidation. They did not succeed. The corporation is beaten. I have received the money for damages which they said they would never pay, and my personal contest is ended. But these threats were not directed against myself alone, but against the public. If a limb is crushed by the negligence of the railroad men, fight instead of pay the victim, is their theory of dealing with the public ; and they will remove all opposition by the power of wealth, influence with courts, and sheer terrorism. 'They may make any rules they please' for the public, and may carry out their arbitrary TUB FARMER'S WAR AGAINST MONOPOLIES. 113 designs against the people, in spite of decency or com- mon sense." * During the progress of the trials of this case, one of the officials of the road, in a conversation with Mr. Coleman, arrogantly announced the policy of his cor- poration in such matters, and in doing so revealed the policy of the entire system of which his road forms a part. " The Road" he said, " has no personal ani- mosity against you, Mr. Coleman, but you represent the public ; and the Road is determined to make it so ter- rible to the public to fight it, right or wrong, that they will stop it. We are not going to be attacked in this way" Let it be remembered. This is the policy of the numerous roads that traverse our country. Each cor- poration represents a large amount of wealth and power. It claims the right to do as it pleases, to vio- late the rights of the public whenever they come in conflict with its own selfish ends, and when the public undertakes to assert its rights in the courts, the road, using its wealth and power for this purpose, "will make it so terrible for the public to fight it, right or wrong, that they will stop it." In plain English, the road assumes to be the master instead of the servant of the public, and it is rapidly making good this assumption. " Every year the power of the railroad corporations to trample upon the rights of the public is becoming greater, notwithstanding its proportions are already frightful. The corporations are centralizing power, making themselves a unit against the public. They * The reader will find the whole of Mr. Coleman's able and interest- ing article in The Atlantic Monthly for December, 1872. 8 114 HISTORY OF THE GRANGE MOVEMENT; OR, overawe and control the entire business of the country. This is no mere figure of speech. Two men equal in intelligence and means own mills situated upon roads converging at a certain point and equidistant from that point. Their conditions may be precisely alike, and both compete for the same market. By the ruling of the judge (in the Coleman case) the 'railroad has a right to make any rule it pleases for its own govern- ment/ and one of the roads makes a rule that its freight tariff shall be double the rates upon the other road. The profit is swept from the manufacturer, and the field given to his competitor upon that other road, his business is ruined, his mill is idle, and becomes worthless ; he is shut up by the railroad. The freights may afford the road an exorbitant profit, but the ' road has a right to make any rule it pleases.' Does the public charter railroad corporations as pecuniary specu- lations against itself? Does the public take away private property and give it to a company of private individuals called a railway corporation, so that it may make any rule it pleases, and though it can carry the public at a handsome profit at two cents a mile, it may charge three, five, or ten cents per mile, at its pleasure ? Does the public intend to furnish a set of men a weapon to cut its own throat? Does it intend deliberately to tax itself through them for a common service, so that a few favored individuals may become inordinately arrogant and rich ? " Mr. Coleman was very fortunate in securing sub- stantial justice at the end of his long fight with the railroad. The company fought him persistently, re- sorting to every artifice, and it would seem that it did not hesitate to introduce manufactured testimony for THE FARMER'S WAR AGAINST MONOPOLIES. 115 the purpose of defeating him. In the Atlantic, for May, 1873, in describing some of the incidents of the trial, Mr. Coleman says : " The first witness was as prompt as a well-drilled recruit. He described the incidents of my ejection: the conductor called upon him and some of the other * boys ' to take a man out of the car ; they attempted to carry out his order quietly, but the man refused to go; therefore they laid gentle hands on him, where- upon the man kicked and struck and bit, and he (the witness) had to take hold of the man's hands to re- strain his violence. He swore positively that it took six men to move the man. In answer to an inviting question, he eagerly testified that he saw Mr. Coleman bite one of the boys on the arm, — right through the woollen garment that the man wore. The story was clear, concise, and told with an air of confidence that was quite impressive. * Mr. Witness/ said my lawyer, beginning the cross-examination, 'you said just now that you saw Mr. Coleman bite one of the men?' * Yes, sir; on the arm.' ' Which arm?' The witness hesitated; he was well prepared in generalities, but not in details. Presently he answered, ' The left arm/ * How many men had hold of Mr. Coleman at this time?' * One man was on his left side and another on his right, others had him by his legs, and I was in front.' ' These men were abreast of Mr. Coleman, taking him out squarely through the car, were they?' * Yes, sir.' ' Will you swear to that positively ?' ' Yes, sir,' said the witness, resolutely. 'Careful, now; are you sure of that?' 'Yes, sir ; I am sure of it.' 'On which side of Mr. Coleman was the man who was bitten?' Again the witness hesitated, and his face, 116 HISTORY OP THE GRANGE MOVEMENT ; OR, hitherto calm, grew flushed and anxious. But he answered at last, ' The left side, sir.' ' Will you swear positively to that also?' ' Yes, sir; I swear positively to it.' ' Now, sir,' resumed the lawyer, ( do you not know that a man of Mr. Coleman's breadth in that narrow car-aisle would completely fill it, so that neither two men nor one could stand at his side, as you swear they did?' Flustered, but not daunted, the witness explained, ' The men were a little back of Mr. Cole- man;' and witness quitted the stand, leaving the court to meditate on the strange spectacle of a man curving his giraffe-like neck, and fastening his teeth in the left arm of a man who stood on his left side, and a ' little back of him ! ' " Several other honest witnesses gave similar testi- mony as to the biting, and as to the violent behavior of the plaintiff, and the gentle but firm deportment of the railroad men ; these latter struck no blows, but several were delivered by the plaintiff. The harmony of the witnesses was beautiful. They seemed to have beheld the scenes which they described with a single eye : as to the biting, the arm bitten, and the position of the biter, their agreement was perfect. At this stage of the proceedings a recess was taken. On the reassembling of the court, other witnesses for the railroad were ex- amined ; but, strange to say, not one of them could give any particular information as to the biting; they swore that Mr. Coleman did bite, but though they had en- joyed the same opportunities for observation with their predecessors on the stand, they 'couldn't exactly remem- ber the details.' Such is the effect of lunch. "The conductor told a plausible story, modelled carefully on my own statement, but differing in certain THE FARMER'S WAR AGAINST MONOPOLIES. 117 points that could be turned against me. It will be re- membered that he told me in the cars that the directors had made a * rule ' forbidding him to take tickets back- ward. On cross-examination, my counsel asked' him where he was accustomed to turn in his tickets to the company. He attempted to evade the question again and again, but finally answered, with painful reluctance, ' in New York.' It was further extorted from him that the tickets were turned in at New York whether taken in going to or from that city ; that it made no difference which way my coupon was used ; and, finally, that the directors of the road had never given him (as he as- serted to me) a rule against taking coupons l backward,' but that the superintendent had verbally ordered him not to take them, about three years before ! This superintendent, who, with his son, wrenched me from the train at Stamford when I attempted to re-enter it after my ejection, was obliged to swear that it was the exclusive right of the directors to make 'rules,' and, further, that they never had made a ' rule ' touching the ticket question; he himself having verbally in- structed the conductors not to take tickets ' backward,' which he had no shadow of authority to do. Thus it seems that the l rule ' for the violation of which I had been mildly rebuked by the servants of the railroad — a violation which was the soul of the defence, its single excuse and answer to my allegations — was not a ' rule' at all, but a mere verbal order given by an unauthorized person. Yet, in the face of the declaration, by one of the highest officers of the road, that there was no * rule,' the judge charged the jury that a 'rule' had been broken, that I was a trespasser, and that the railroad company had a right to eject me from the train, em- 118 HISTORY OF THE GRANGE MOVEMENT; OR, ploying the necessary force and no more ! Such a charge concerns every person in the community ; for it seems that any of us, for disobedience to a, non-existent rule, may be brutally dragged from a railway car, and, seeking redress, shall be informed by the court that the railway company is responsible only for ' excess of vio- lence.' " The examination of the superintendent having been concluded, the counsel for the railroad stated to the court that the victim of Mr Coleman's carnivorous ferocity had been discharged from the road immediately after his mifortune ; that diligent search had been made for him, but in vain. By one of those dramatic felici- ties, so frequent in fiction and so rare in real life, just at this juncture a telegram was brought in announcing that the bitten man had been found, and would arrive on a train due in ten minutes. The judge granted the delay asked for, and the spectators brightened up in anticipation of new and measurably tragic revelations. The delay was brief. In a few minutes the door of the court room was thrust open, and in rushed the witness, breathless with haste. A brisk, bronzed person he was, self-contained and self-satisfied, with locomotive gait, and a habit of gesture suggestive of brake-rods. He mounted the witness stand, was sworn, and delivered his direct testimony with easy indifference, coupling his sentences as he would couple cars, with a jerk. This is his story in brief: ' The conductor c'm out the car 'n' said, " 'S man in there want ye t' take out." Went in the car, and he said, " That's th' man : put 'yn out ! " I jes' took 'im up and carried him out through the car out on t' th' platform th' dep6t, an' took 'n' set 'im.down, an' never hurt him a mite.' 'Did Mr. Coleman bite THE FARMER'S WAR AGAINST MONOPOLIES. 119 you ? ' inquired the counsel for the railroad. * Yes, sir.' ' Did he bite you on the arm ? ' ' Yes, sir.' The law- yer asked him no more questions, evidently satisfied with the effect of his evidence thus far, and possibly remembering that, unlike the other witnesses for the road, he had not enjoyed the benefit of lunch. Re- mitted to my counsel for cross-examination, the witness, well pleased with his success, and confident in his own powers, met the inquisitorial onset with calm dignity. " ' Mr. Witness,' said the lawyer, ' you were in the car on the day when Mr. Coleman was taken out, were you ? ' ' Yes, sir ; I took him out myself.' ' Ah ! you assisted the men to take him out, did you ? ' ' No, sir ; didn't have no men ; took him out myself.' ' Oh ! you took him out alone, then ? ' ' Yes, sir ; took him out alone.' ' You swear to that ? ' ' Yes, sir ; swear to it.' 4 Nobody helped you ? ' l No, sir ; took him out myself.' f Well, sir,' pursued the lawyer, ' you must be a stout fellow to handle a man like that. Won't you please describe just how you took him out?' 'Well, I jes' went up to th' man, reached one arm 'round his neck, so fashion, had his head right up here on my arm, 'n* I jes' took 'im right through the car out on t' the plat- form th' depot, an' set 'im down and never hurt 'im a mite.' " Every face was intent upon the witness, and not a sound was heard save his voice, though there were premonitory symptoms of laughter. With a suavity delightful to see, the lawyer said, while he scanned the compact frame of the witness, ' Why, you must be a powerful fellow ! ' ' Yes, sir ; I'm big enough for him.' * Well, now, will you be kind enough to tell the jury, did Mr. Coleman strike anybody ? ' ' No, sir ; I didn't 120 HISTORY OF THE GRANGE MOVEMENT; OR, give 'im no chance ; I had 'im.' ' You swear to that positively ? ' ' Yes, sir.' A look of dismay and disgust settled upon the faces of the earlier witnesses for the road, who had graphically and minutely described my violent resistance, my kicks and blows. The spectators giggled, and even the judge relaxed the solemnity of his visage. ' Did anybody strike Mr. Coleman ? ' con- tinued the lawyer. 'No, sir; I had 'im and didn't give 'em no chance.' ' You swear to that, too ? ' ' Yes, sir/ ' Well, Mr. Witness, when you had Mr. Coleman's head upon your arm, as you described, I suppose you had his face turned a little toward your breast ? ' The witness, eagerly following this description of the situation and the gestures which illustrated it, his face now flushed and beaded with perspiration (for the work was harder than he had thought it), nodded assent. ' Mr. Cole- man's mouth, then, would come about there ? ' inquired the lawyer, pointing to the inside of the arm, next to the body. 'Yes, sir; that's just the place where he bit me.' * You swear to that positively ? ' l Yes, sir, posi- tively.' All the witnesses for the road, except the con- ductor, who did not commit himself as to the biting, swore emphatically that the bite was on the outside of the left arm, some of them placing the bitten man upon the left of the biter; and now comes a third untutored witness, who claimed to be the sufferer, and who of course ought to know the place of the bite, testifying with equal positiveness that the bite was on the inside of his arm. Even the counsel for the road could not refuse to join in the universal merriment which ensued. " On subsequent trials all this testimony as to the biting was rearranged. The victim of my ferocity was obliged to share the honor of taking me out with five THE FARMER'S WAR AGAINST MONOPOLIES. 121 auxiliaries, and the bite was transferred to his right arm. Being a draughtsman, I had measured the car, and was ready with a drawing to show that the new theories of the defence as to the method of taking me out left just three inches for the movement of each stalwart brakeman as he walked at my side. " I suppose that I need give no extended report of the argument of the road's counsel. He took the high- est ground — the ground that the public had no right to question the management of the road ; that the company owned it, and had the right to manage it as any other property is managed by a private corporation ; that is, he denied the fact that the public is virtually a partner in railroad companies, which it creates and lifts into power by grants of franchises and land. Indeed, this distinction between public and private corporations has been carefully ignored by the judiciary of the country; and to this the present alarming domination of railroad corporations is mainly traceable. "I may say, for the encouragement of those who look to the courts for deliverance from a railroad tyr- anny, whose bonds the judiciary seems willing enough to rivet, that, in every trial, my counsel • carried the jury with him, one single juror of the forty-eight ex- cepted. This juror was said to have been formerly an employe* of the New York and New Haven Railroad. The action of the several juries, so far as the public is concerned in it, is satisfactory and cheering ; for it indi- cates unmistakably that the spring of railroad power in our courts is not in the deliberate judgment of intelli- gent men ; but the judges' charges were in effect re- statements of the arguments of the counsel for the railroad touching the general question of the rights and 122 HISTORY OF THE GRANGE MOVEMENT; OR, powers of railroads. The juries were instructed that the public has no voice in the affairs of railroads ; that contracts with passengers were to be made on condi- tions fixed by one party, the railroad ; that if a passen- ger violated its regulations, an assault upon him by the agents of the corporation was justifiable, though these latter must be careful to avoid excess of violence. The juries were also instructed that if they found that, in this case, the defendants had employed an excess of violence, they must not allow punitive damages, but only such as would compensate the plaintiff for his in- juries. Despite these instructions the four juries promptly brought in verdicts in my favor, each one giving heavier damages than its immediate predecessor. On the second trial the jury disagreed, owing to one of its members ; I am informed that many of his associates desired to award me $15,000. The first jury agreed upon a verdict of $10,000 ; but one of their number, versed in the ways of courts, suggested that it would probably be set aside, and that I would consequently be subjected to great trouble and expense ; so they re- duced the figures to $3300, which was increased to $3500 on the last trial." All persons are not so lucky as Mr. Coleman. Very few of those who mive the courage to seek redress for injuries sustained, succeed in obtaining justice. They must be possessed of either the patience of Job or the wealth of Croesus to maintain their cases against the roads. Instances will occur to every reader of these pages of acts of railroad tyranny. He may himself have been the victim of some outrage of this kind. A few years previous to the war, the writer chanced to be travelling on the Washington Branch of the THE FARMER'S WAR AGAINST MONOPOLIES. 123 Baltimore & Ohio Railroad, coming from the Capital to Baltimore. Among the passengers was a negro man, who had no ticket. When the conductor demanded of him his ticket, he was unable to produce it, and the official at once and very properly told him he must pay his fare. The poor fellow was terribly confused, and began a stammering explanation of his position. The conductor lost patience, and pulled the bell cord to stop the train. Then, summoning a brakesman to his aid, he seized the poor negro, who made no resist- ance, and pushed him out upon the platform. There the unfortunate wretch was seized by the two "offi- cials." and, before the train had fairly stopped, was literally thrown from the platform to the ground beyond the track. He fell heavily, and was doubtless injured, but it was impossible to tell, for the train shot forward again, and the unfortunate victim of railroad brutality was left behind. Now, suppose this man had been killed by the fall, when thrown from the train, does any one suppose the conductor would have suffered for his crime? The whole power of this very powerful road would have been exerted to shield him. The victim was but a negro, and in those days a poor African had no right — not even the right to his life. In case he had been killed, his master might have demanded his value in money from the road ; it would have been refused, and a suit would have been necessary to recover it. Even then the chances would have been in favor of the road. Some three years ago — perhaps not so long — a train on the New Jersey Railroad was crossing the Hack- ensack Meadows, which lie between Newark and 124 HISTORY OF THE GRANGE MOVEMENT; OR, Jersey City. It was night, and a very dark night at that. One of the passengers was found to have lost his ticket. The conductor refused to accept his ex- planation. He must pay his fare a second time or leave the train. He refused to submit to the outrage. He was hustled to the platform; but no effort was made to stop the train, which at this moment swept on to .the open bridge which crosses the Hackensack river on the outskirts of Jersey City. Another push from the ruffians in charge of the train, and the man was thrown to the floor of the bridge. The momentum of the train made it impossible for him to secure a foot- hold upon the bridge. He rolled helplessly over the side and into the river, where he was drowned. There was no one to blame, in the opinion of the officials of the road, and every effort was made to prevent an in- vestigation and " keep the matter quiet." No one was punished. The murdered man had dared to refuse to pay twice for his ride, and his life was forfeit to the company. Another instance is that of a man who embarked upon a train in a neighboring State, and was too drunk either to pay his fare or to answer the questions of the conductor. The train was stopped, and he was thrust from it, at a considerable distance from any station. In his helpless condition he staggered on to the track and fell upon it in a drunken stupor. An hour later, a train, following that from which he had been ejected, ran over him as he lay on the rails, and killed him. In the State of Vermont, not long since, an old lady and her daughter, believing that railroad tickets are " good until used," took passage on one of the night trains on a certain road, and, securing berths in the THE FARMER'S WAR AGAINST MONOPOLIES. 125 INTERIOR OF PALACE CAR. sleeping car, proceeded to make themselves comfortable for the night. About midnight they were aroused by the conductor, who had discovered that their tickets were two or three days old, or, in other words, had been purchased two or three days before. He pro- nounced the tickets worthless, and demanded that they .should pay their fares in money. This they declined to do. In spite of the lateness of the hour, and the fact that a heavy rain was falling at the time, the con- ductor compelled them to leave the train at a little wayside station, where they could procure only shelter from the storm in the cold and dirty waiting-room of the dep6t. 126 HISTORY OF THE GRANGE MOVEMENT. In the city of New York, the Fourth avenue, from Forty-second street to the Harlem river, is used by the trains of the New York Central & Hudson River, the New York, Harlem & Albany, and the New York, New Haven & Hartford railroads. Along this thor- oughfare, which is intersected by some ninety odd of the " cross streets " of the city, about eighty trains pass up and down every day. Although in the heart of the city, a dangerously high rate of speed is maintained. Within a single month, as many as three persons have been cut down and killed by the railroad trains, and others have been more or less injured. No one has been punished. The roads using the track hold their officials blameless, and exert their power — the power of the Vanderbilt Mo- nopoly— to prevent investigation and screen the offen- ders from punishment. The truth is, that railroads, having learned to dis- regard individual rights, have come to disregard human life. They kill and maim with utter recklessness, and insolently deny the right of the victims to seek redress for their injuries. Descending to minor points, we find the roads intent upon making money and careless of the comfort of their passengers. A traveller purchasing a ticket is promised by the road a seat in the car in which he is to travel. Frequently the train is crowded, and there are no seats left to the late-comers, who must stand during the entire journey. Should the injured party in this case complain to the company of a breach of contract on their part, he would simply be laughed at. Very many lines are now using Palace and Drawing- THE PARLOR CAB — EXTRA CHARGE FOR ITS USE. 127 128 HISTORY OP THE GRANGE MOVEMENT; OR, room cars, for admission to* which passengers are required to pay a sum in excess of the regular fare. These cars are luxurious and comfortable, and few, who are able to afford it, neglect to use them. There is no reason why they should not be attached to every train. The roads using them, however, do not leave their occupancy to the discretion of the passenger. They compel him to use them by providing an insuffi- cient number of ordinary cars, or cars which are so filthy and uncomfortable that men gladly pay the extra charge to escape from them. Who is there that has travelled but could tell an eloquent tale of loss in the matter of baggage ? It is safe to say, that thousands of dollars are lost annually by the travelling public in the way of trunks and port- manteaus, broken or injured by the carelessness of railroad employe's. But travellers are not the only victims of the " Com- pany's" disregard of private rights. The vast army of shippers of freight throughout the Union represent another class of sufferers; and each man of this class could tell his tale of individual wrong. We could multiply instances ; but to do so, would simply fatigue the reader. One characteristic case shall serve to illustrate this feature of railroad tyranny. It is told in the circular of a Boston firm addressed to its West- ern correspondents, and it shows in" a vigorous light the utter helplessness of the individual in his struggle with the great corporations : "BOSTON, October 31, 1872. "GENTLEMEN: On account of the unusual and un- warranted action of the Boston & Albany Railroad THE FARMER'S WAR AGAINST MONOPOLIES. 129 Co., in sending broadcast through the West public notice that no property consigned us would be received by them at Albany for transportation to us, unless freight and charges on such were prepaid, we are forced to take this course to set us right with our friends and shippers throughout the West. During the past two years we have received considerable grain over the Red, White, and Blue Transit Lines, such coming to this city over the B. & A. R. R., one of the co-partners to such lines. This grain has been largely short in weight, the losses in transit on cars being many times large and often excessive. We have repeatedly called attention of the R. R. Co. to such shortages, but they have invariably, and usually in an arrogant arid arbi- trary way (a way peculiar to this corporation, as our merchants all can testify to), refused to pay any atten- tion to our demands. We have submitted to this species of robbery as long as we feel inclined to, and now, having been thus forced to it, take the stand, that, as common carriers, the railroads are liable, and should be held responsible, for failure to deliver property in- trusted to them, in like good order and quantity as received by them; that, when we can prove a certain quantity shipped in a car at the West, we are entitled to a like quantity delivered us here, or payment for the shortage. We therefore declined paying the B. & A. R. R. Co. a lot of their freight bills unless they would allow our shortages, which we were desirous of having them look into, to satisfy themselves as to the justice of. They, however, most positively refused to notice our claims against them, but said we must pay their bills as presented, right or wrong, and, if wrong, trust to their refunding them when they see fit; and as 9 130 HISTORY OF THE GRANGE MOVEMENT; OR, we have not submitted to their arbitrary demands, but have decided to hold out, and let our courts settle the question, they have taken the course — as it seems to us out of sheer malice, to injure us — of notifying all their Western connections to refuse all property con- signed us unless freight was prepaid. This is not through fear that they shall lose by us on freight their due, as they have commenced suit against us for amount of their bills, and we have given them a bond to cover the same, so they are secure on that score; but it is done simply so to annoy us as to make us surren- der unconditionally to them. We propose to see, how- ever, if we have any rights at all in the matter, or whether the railroad corporations are the supreme law in themselves, and everything must yield to them. The B. & A. R. R. Co. have even gone so far as to refuse to receive at Albany grain for which we hold through bills of lading, contracting to deliver such at East Boston; and through their influence flour and bran in transit to us, and for which we also hold through bills of lading, contracting to deliver such at East Boston, have been stopped at Toledo and Cleve- land. We are also daily in receipt of advices from our friends, that cars for shipments intended for us are being refused by them at all points throughout the West. " SCUDDER, BARTLETT & Co." The instances given are enough to sustain our position — that the railroads recognize no such thing as individual rights. Neither do they recognize nor respect the rights of the public as represented by the State. They are humble enough, plausible enough THE FARMER'S WAR AGAINST MONOPOLIES. 131 until the charter is granted and the road built. Then they do not hesitate to defy even the power of the State. They have little to fear from the courts ; and they understand the art of managing State Legisla- tures. Nay, even the National Congress is regarded as subject to them. 132 HISTORY 07 THE GRANGE MOVEMENT; OR, CHAPTER VII. THE CAPTURE OF THE COURTS. Sources of Redress for the People against Railroad Tyranny — Failure of the Courts to afford Protection — Efforts of the Railroads to debauch the Courts of Justice — The Free Pass System — Judicial Stockholders — Designs of the Railroads upon the Law — A Caso in Pgint — How the Erie Road managed the Courts — A New System of Railroad Jurisprudence — Curious Details — How Boss Tweed became a Director of Erie — Efforts of Fisk & Co. to lock up Money — Daniel Drew beaten — The Government intervenes — The War in the Courts — The Value of an Injunction — How the Law was made to aid Sharp Practice — Mr. Jas. Fisk's llttlo Journey — Tho Country Judge vx. The City Judge — The Railroad makes V/ar on the Press — Arrest of Mr. Samuel Bowles — Justice turned against the People. WHEN the individual, or the community, is aggrieved by the railroad, redress may be sought from two sources — the legislature and the courts. These august bodies are popularly supposed to be the very centres and fountains of justice; but are they? People are beginning to lose their faith in the courts — in judges and juries. Recent developments have shown that men who should be spotless are not fit to sit in judgment upon a case involving such issues as are presented in a matter between an individual and a great corporation. Judges, attorneys, and jurors are often directly or indirectly interested in the cause of the corporation, because they are holders of stock or bonds of some similar enterprise. Or, if the judge be not a stock or bond holder, he has no doubt received at vari- ous times courtesies from the road, or some road, in the shape of free passes and the like, which incline him THE FARMER'S WAR AGAINST MONOPOLIES. 133 toward the side of the corporation. Railroad men are keen judges of human nature. They understand the use and effect of a free pass. They never give the use of them and its facilities from mere friendship or admiration for a man, be he never BO famous. They grant the favor with the distinct expectation of some day asking and receiving an equivalent. It has been charged in the public press that a judge of one of the Western Supreme Courts permits a railroad corporation, which is a party to several suits pending before him, to transport, free of charge, building material for his new house, thereby saving him from five hundred to one thousand dollars in freight money. Railroad companies are always glad to number judges of the State courts, and Members of Congress among their stockholders, and it is common to make very great concessions to these gentlemen in their purchases. As the late Mr. Oakes Ames expressed it, they are "let in on the ground floor." Appreciating the fact that their interests and those of the public are antagonistic, the railroads of this country have deliberately undertaken to beat the people, and to cht2at them out of their rights. In order to ac- complish this they have set to work to corrupt and capture both the legislative and the judiciary powers of the States. The history of the Erie Railroad is very instructive of the daring of railroad corporations, and the lengths to which they are willing to go in their outrages upon the public. It is also suggestive as showing just what can be done in the courts when " properly managed." The following account of one of the "Erie fights," will show how easily the courts can be manipulated by the great corporations. 134 HISTORY OF THE GRANGE MOVEMENT ; OR, WTLLIAM M. TWEED, FORMERLY A DIRECTOR IK THE ERIE RAILROAD COMPANY. The Erie road had, at the time of the occurrences related below, settled its first quarrel with Mr. Vander- bilt, and had passed into the hands of Messrs. James Fisk, Jr., and Jay Gould, Mr. Drew having retired from the treasurership of the corporation. The first *tep of Messrs. Gould and Fisk, upon obtaining posses- sion of the road, had been to dismiss the old Board of Auditors, and to concentrate all the power in their own hands as president, treasurer, and controller. Fortu- THE FARMER'S WAR AGAINST MONOPOLIES. 135 nately for them, it being summer, the receipts of the road were very heavy at that time, and the stock had suddenly come into great favor in the English market, and was selling rapidly in London. A new feature was now introduced into the road, and Peter B. Sweeney and William M. Tweed were admitted to the Board of Directors. Erie had formed an alliance with Tammany. The infamous Ring of New York, then in the height of its power, had bound itself to sustain the road in any of its outrages. The annual election of the Board of Directors was at hand, and the only fear felt by Messrs. Fisk, Gould & Co. was, that their powerful rival, Commodore Vanderbilt, who was supposed to cherish still his designs upon the road, might obtain possession of a sufficient amount of stock to give him control of the election. In order to prevent this, the trane^" books of the company were closed about thirty days ahead of the usual time previous to an election. The device was successful; the election passed off quietly, with no opposition. Fisk and Gould succeeded in reelecting themselves and their friends, and Tweed and Sweeney were included in the board, and the alliance with Tammany formed as above stated. The month of October, 1868, witnessed the formation of this new combination. The same month witnessed the beginning of one of their most determined efforts to rob the community and enrich themselves. Their plan was to take advantage of the stringency existing in the money market, in consequence of the demand for ready money from the rural districts for the purpose of moving the year's harvest, and by suddenly throw- ing a new issue of stock into Wall street, produce such a depression in the stock of their road as would 13G HISTORY OF THE GRANGE MOVEMENT. enable them, subsequently, to buy up the stock of the road at their own figures, and by producing a greater stringency, compel the dealers to pay them a usurious rate of interest for the use of money and the carrying of stocks. " Towards the end of October it had become perfectly notorious in Wall street that large new issues of Erie had been made, and that these new issues were inti- mately connected with the sharp stringency then exist- ing in the money market." On the 27th of October, the Stock Exchange appointed a committee to wait upon the officers of the road for the purpose of procuring such information respecting these new issues as they might be willing to afford. The committee waited upon Mr. Gould, but received only vague assurances. " Mr. Gould informed them that Erie convertible bonds for ten millions of dollars had been issued, half of which had already been, and the rest of which would be, con- verted intc stock ; that the money had been devoted to the purchase of Boston, Hartford & Erie bonds for five millions, and also — of course — to payments for steel rails." The committee endeavored to ascertain if any further issue of stock was contemplated, but were told by Mr. Gould that no new issue was contemplated at that time, except " in certain contingencies ; " which mysteri- ous phrase the acute financier declined to explain. The committee went back to the Exchange with the convic- tion that Erie meant mischief and was not to be depended on. Meanwhile, vague rumors concerning the new is- sue began to pervade the street, and to alarm the brokers. " It was not until months afterwards that a sworn state- ment of the secretary of the Erie Railway revealed the fact that the stock of the corporation had been in- creased from $34.265,300 on the 1st of July, 1868, the JAY GOULD. 137 138 HISTORY OF THE GRANGE MOVEMENT; OR, date when Drew and his associates had left it, to 766,300 on the 24th of October of the same year, or by two hundred and thirty-five thousand shares in four months. This, too, had been done without consultation with the Board of Directors, and with no other authority than that conferred by the ambiguous resolution of February 19th. Under that resolution the stock of the company had now been increased one hundred and thirty-eight per cent, in eight months." The suspicions of the committee of the Stock Ex- change were soon verified, for the Erie managers at once threw off all reserve, and by forcing new issues of stock upon the market, gradually forced the price of Erie down to 35. The banks, taking the alarm, and knowing what a terrible disaster to them a general panic in the stock market foreboded, held on to their greenbacks, until the enormous sum of twelve millions of dollars was locked up and withdrawn from circula- tion. The effect upon the money market was terrible, and the business of the whole country suffered in sym- pathy with it. Prices of all kinds declined, and trade in every branch began to drop off. The movement of the crops of the year was brought to a sudden stop, it was almost impossible to negotiate a loan ; and as much as one and a half per cent, a day was paid for carrying stocks. Wall street and its gamblers were lost sight of in the general distress of the country, and it was evi- dent that unless some relief was speedily found, the reckless men who had brought about the trouble would drive the entire mercantile community into one of the most terrible convulsions it had ever experienced. When matters had reached this alarming point, the General Government intervened in the interests of le- THE FARMER'S WAR AGAINST MONOPOLIES. 139 gitimate business, and the Erie managers were informed that fifty millions of additional currency would be issued if necessary to relieve the community. This threat — and only this — brought the conspirators to a halt. They had calculated their movements well, however, and they now wheeled about and began to run up the stock, and instantly sent it from 40 up to 50. " At this point Mr. Daniel Drew once more made his appearance on the stage. ... At first he had combined with his old friends, the present directors, in their ' lock- ing-up ' conspiracy. He had agreed to assist them to the extent of four millions. The vacillating, timid nature of the man, however, could not keep pace with his more daring and determined associates, and after embarking a million, becoming alarmed at the success of the joint operations and the remonstrances of those who were threatened with ruin, he withdrew his funds from the operators' control, and himself from their coun- cils. But though he did not care to run the risk or to incur the odium, he had no sort of objection to sharing the spoils. Knowing, therefore, or supposing that he knew, the plan of campaign, and that plan jumping with his own bearish inclinations, he continued, on his own account, operations looking for a fall. One may easily conceive the wrath of the Erie operators at such a treacherous policy ; and it is not difficult to imagine their vows of vengeance. Meanwhile all went well with Daniel Drew. Erie looked worse and worse, and the golden harvest seemed drawing near. By the mid- dle of November he had contracted for the delivery of some seventy thousand shares at current prices, averag^ ing, perhaps, 38, and probably was counting his gains. He did not appreciate the full power and resources of 140 HISTORY OF THE GRANGE MOVEMENT; OR, MR. DREW CALLS ON MR. FISK. his old associates. On the 14th of November their tac- tics changed, and he found himself involved in terrible entanglements, — hopelessly cornered. His position dis- closed itself on Saturday. Naturally the first impulse was to have recourse to the courts. An injunction — a dozen injunctions — could be had for the asking, but, un- fortunately, could be had by both parties. Drew's own recent experience, and his intimate acquaintance with the characters of Fisk and Gould, were not calculated to inspire him with much confidence in the efficacy of the law. But nothing else remained, and, after hurried THE FARMEB'S WAR AGAINST MONOPOLIES. 141 consultations among the victims, the lawyers were ap- plied to, the affidavits were prepared, and it was decided to repair on the following Monday to the so-called courts of justice. " Nature, however, had not bestowed on Daniel Drew the steady nerve and sturdy gambler's pride of either Vanderbilt or of his old companions at Jersey City. His mind wavered and hesitated between different courses of action. His only care was for himself, his only thought was of his own position. He Avas willing to be- tray one party or the other, as the case might be. He had given his affidavit to those who were to bring the suit on the Monday, but he stood perfectly ready to employ Sunday in betraying their counsels to the de- fendants in the suit. A position more contemptible, a state of mind more pitiable, can hardly be conceived. After passing the night in this abject condition, on the morning of Sunday he sought out Mr. Fisk for purposes of self-humiliation and treachery.* He then partially revealed the difficulties of his situation, only to have his confidant prove to him how entirely he was caught, by completing to him the revelation. He betrayed the secrets of his new allies, and bemoaned his own hard fate; he was thereupon comforted by Mr. Fisk with the cheery remark that " he (Drew) was the last man who ought to whine over any position in which he placed himself in regard to Erie." The poor man begged to see Mr. Gould, and would take no denial. Finally Mr. Gould was brought in, and the scene was repeated for his edification. The two must have been satiated * It ought perhaps to be stated that this portion of the narrative has no stronger foundation than an affidavit of Mr. Fisk, which has not, however, been publicly contradicted. 142 HISTORY OF THE GRANGE MOVEMENT; OR, with revenge. At last they sent him away, promising to see him again that evening. At the hour named he again appeared, and, after waiting their convenience, — for they spared hi in no humiliation, — he again appealed to them, offering them great sums if they would issue new stock or lend him of their stock. He implored, he argued, he threatened. At the end of two hours of humiliation, persuaded that it was all in vain, that he was wholly in the power of antagonists without mercy, he took his hat, said, ' I will bid you good night,' and went his way. " With the lords of Erie forewarned was forearmed. They knew something of the method of procedure in New York courts of law. At this particular juncture Mr. Justice Sutherland, a magistrate of such pure char- acter and unsullied reputation that it is inexplicable how he ever came to be elevated to the bench on which he sits, was holding chambers, according to assignment, for the four weeks between the first Monday in Novem- ber and the first Monday in December. By a rule of the court, all applications for orders during that time were to be made before him, and he only, according to the courtesy of the Bench, took cognizance of such proceedings. Some general arrangement of this nature is manifestly necessary to avoid continual conflicts of jurisdiction. The details of the assault on the Erie directors having been settled, counsel appeared before Judge Sutherland on Monday morning, and petitioned for an injunction restraining the Erie directors from any new issue of stock or the removal of the funds of the company beyond the jurisdiction of the court, and also asking that the road be placed in the hands of a receiver. The suit was brought in the name of Mr. THE FARMER'S WAR AGAINST MONOPOLIES. 143 August Belmont, who was supposed to represent large foreign holders. The petition set forth at length the alleged facts in the case, and was supported by the affi- davits of Mr. Drew and others. Mr. Drew apparently did not inform the counsel of the manner in which he had passed his leisure hours on the previous day ; had he done so, Mr. Belmont's counsel probably would have expedited their movements. The injunction was, how- ever, duly signed, and, doubtless, immediately served. " Meanwhile Messrs. Gould and Fisk had not been idle. Applications for injunctions and receiverships were a game which two could play at ; arid long expe- rience had taught these close observers the very great value of the initiative in law. Accordingly, some two hours before the Belmont application was made, they had sought no less a person than Mr. Justice Barnard, caught him, as it were, either in his bed or at his break- fast, whereupon he had held a lit de justice, and made divers astonishing orders. A petition was presented in the name of one Mclntosh, a salaried officer of the Erie road, who claimed also to be a shareholder. It set forth the danger of injunctions and of the appointment of a receiver, the great injury likely to result there- from, etc. After due consideration on the part of Judge Barnard, an injunction was issued, staying and restrain- ing all suits, and actually appointing Jay Gould re- ceiver, to hold and disburse the funds of the company in accordance with the resolutions of the Board of Directors and the Executive Committee. This certainly was a very brilliant flank movement, and testified not less emphatically to Gould's genius than to Barnard's law ; but most of all did it testify to the efficacy of the new combination between Tammany Hall and the Erie 144 HISTORY OF THE GRANGE MOVEMENT; OR, Railway. Since the passage of the bill 'to legalize counterfeit money,' in April, and the present November, new IHit had burst upon the judicial mind; and as the news of one injunction and a vague rumor of the other crept through Wall street that day, it was no wonder that operators stood aghast and that Erie fluctuated wildly from 50 to 61 and back to 48. " The Erie directors, however, did not rest satisfied with the position which they had won through Judge Barnard's order. That simply placed them, as it were, in a strong defensive attitude. They were not the men to stop there : they aspired to nothing less than a vigor- ous offensive. With a superb audacity, which excites admiration, the new trustee immediately filed a supple- mentary petition. Therein it was duly set forth that doubts had been raised as to the legality of the recent issue of some two hundred thousand shares of stock, and that only about this amount was to be had in America; the trustee therefore petitioned for authority to use the funds of the corporation to purchase and cancel the whole of this amount at any price less than the par value, without regard to the rate at which it had been issued. The desired authority was conferred by Mr. Justice Barnard as soon as asked. Human assurance could go no further. The petitioners had issued these shares in the bear interest at 40, and had run down the value of Erie to 35; they had then turned around, and were now empowered to buy back that very stock in the bull interest, and in the name and with the funds of the corporation, at par. A law of the State distinctly forbade corporations from oper- ating in their own stock ; but this law was disregarded as if it had been only an injunction. An injunction THE FARMER'S WAR AGAINST MONOPOLIES. 145 forbade the treasurer from making any disposition of the funds of the company, and this injunction was respected no more than the law. These trustees had sold the property of their wards at 40 ; they were now prepared to use the money of their wards to buy back the same property at 80, and a judge had been found to confer an them the power to do so." The resul": of the fight in the stock market was that Drew was beaten. He made good his contracts at 57, and lost, as was generally supposed at the time, a million and a half of dollars. From the Stock Board the battle was shifted to the Courts. "On Monday, November 23d, Judge Sutherland vacated Judge Barnard's order appointing Jay Gould receiver, and, after seven hours' argument and some exhibitions of vulgarity and indecency on the part of . counsel, which vied with those of the previous April, he appointed Mr. Davies, an ex-chief justice of the Court of Appeals, receiver of the road and its franchise, leaving the special terms of the order to be settled at a future day. The seven hours' struggle had not been without an object; that day Judge Barnard had been peculiarly active. The morning hours he had beguiled by the delivery to the grand jury of one of the most astounding charges ever recorded; and now, as the shades of evening were falling, he closed the labors of the day by issuing a stay of the proceedings then pend- ing before his associate. Tuesday had been named by Judge Sutherland, at the time he appointed his receiver, as the day upon which he would settle the details of the order. His first proceeding upon that day, on find- ing his action stayed by Judge Barnard, was to grant a, 10 146 HISTORY OF THE GRANGE MOVEMENT; OR, motion to show cause, on the next day, why Barnard's order should not be vacated. This style of warfare, however, savored too much of the tame defensive to meet successfully the bold strategy of Messrs. Gould and Fisk. They carried the war into Africa. In the twenty-four hours during which Judge Sutherland's order to show cause was pending, three new actions were commenced by them. In the first place, they sued the suers. Alleging the immense injury likely to result to the Erie road from actions commenced, as they alleged, solely with a view of extorting money in settlement, Mr. Belmont was sued for a million of dol- lars in damages. Their second suit was against Messrs. Work, Schell, and others, concerned in the litigations of the previous spring, to recover the $429,250 then vpaid them, as was alleged, in a fraudulent settlement. These actions were, however, commonplace, and might have been brought by ordinary men. Messrs. Gould and Fisk were always displaying the invention of genius. The same day they carried their quarrels into the United States courts. The whole press, both of New York and of the country, disgusted with the parody of justice enacted in the State courts, had cried aloud to have the whole matter transferred to the United States tribunals, the decisions of which might have some weight, and where, at least, no partisans upon the bench would shower each other with stays, injunctions, vacatings of orders, and other such pellets of the law. The Erie ring, as usual, took time by the forelock. While their slower antagonists were deliber- ating, they acted. On this Monday, the 23d, one Henry B. Whelpley, who had been a clerk of Gould's, and who claimed to be a stockholder in the Erie and a THE FARMER'S WAR AGAINST MONOPOLIES. 147 citizen of New Jersey, instituted a suit against the Erie Railway before Judge Blatchford, of the United States District Court. Alleging the doubts which hung over the validity of the recently issued stock, he peti- tioned that a receiver might be appointed, and the company directed to transfer into his hands enough property to secure from loss the plaintiff as well as all other holders of the new issues. The Erie counsel were on the ground, and, as soon as the petition was read, waived all further notice as to the matters con- tained in it; whereupon the court at once appointed Jay Gould receiver, and directed the Erie Company to place eight millions of dollars in his hands to protect the rights represented by the plaintiff. Of course the receiver was required to give bonds with sufficient sureties. Among the sureties was James Fisk, Jr. The brilliancy of this move was only surpassed by its success. It fell like a bombshell in the enemy's camp, and scattered dismay among those who still preserved a lingering faith in the virtue of law as administered by any known courts. The interference of the court was in this case asked for on the ground of fraud. If any fraud had been committed, the officers of the com- pany alone could be the delinquents. To guard against the consequences of that fraud, a receivership was prayed for, and the court appointed as receiver the very officer in whom the alleged frauds, on which its action was based, must have originated. It is true, as was afterwards observed by Judge Nelson in setting it aside, that a prima facie case, for the appointment of a receiver, ' was supposed to have been made out/ that no objection to tHe person suggested was made, and that the right was expressly reserved to other parties to 148 HISTORY OF THE GRANGE MOVEMENT ; OR, come into court, with any allegations they saw fit against Receiver Gould. The collusion in the case was, nevertheless, so evident, the facts were so notori- ous and so apparent from the very papers before the court, and the character of Judge Blatchford is so far above suspicion, that it is hard to believe that this order was not procured from him by surprise, or through the agency of some, counsel in whom he reposed a mis- placed confidence. The Erie ring, at least, had no occasion to be dissatisfied with this day's proceedings. " The next day Judge Sutherland made short work of his brother Barnard's stay of proceedings in regard to the Da vies receivership. He vacated it at once, and incontinently proceeded, wholly ignoring the action of Judge Blatchford on the day before, to settle the terms of the order, which, covering as it did the whole of the Erie property and franchise, excepting only the opera- ting of the road, bade fair to lead to a conflict of juris- diction between the State and Federal courts. "And now a new judicial combatant appears in the arena. It is difficult to say why Judge Barnard, at this time, disappears from the narrative. Perhaps the notorious judicial violence of the man, which must have made his eagerness as dangerous to the cause he espoused as the eagerness of a too swift witness, had alarmed the Erie counsel. Perhaps the fact that Judge Sutherland's term in chambers would expire in a few days had made them wish to intrust their cause to the magistrate who was to succeed him. At any rate, the new order stay- ing proceedings under Judge Sutherland's order was obtained from Judge Cardozo, — it is said, somewhat before the terms of the receivership had been finally settled. The change spoke well for the discrimination THE FARMER'S WAR AGAINST MONOPOLIES. 149 of those who made it, for Judge Cardozo is a very dif- ferent man from Judge Barnard. Courteous but inflex- ible, subtle, clear-headed, and unscrupulous, this magis- trate conceals the iron hand beneath the silken glove. Equally versed in the laws of New York and in the mysteries of Tammany, he had earned his place by a partisan decision on the excise law, and was nominated for the bench by Mr. Fernando Wood, in a few remarks concluding as follows : * Judges were often called on to decide on political questions, and he was sorry to say the majority of them decided according to their political bias. It was therefore absolutely necessary to look to their candidate's political principles. He would nomi- nate, as a fit man for the office of Judge of the Supreme Court, Albert Cardozo.' Nominated as a partisan, a partisan Cardozo has always been, when the occasion demanded. Such was the new and far more formidable champion who now Confronted Sutherland, in place of the vulgar Barnard. His first order in the matter — to show cause why the order of his brother judge should not be set aside — was not returnable until the 30th, and in the intervening five days many events were to happen. " Immediately after the settlement by Judge Suther- land of the order appointing Judge Da vies receiver, that gentleman had proceeded to take possession of his trust. Upon arriving at the Erie building, he found it converted into a fortress, with a sentry patrolling be- hind the bolts and bars, to whom was confided the duty of scrutinizing all comers, and of admitting none but the faithful allies of the garrison. It so happened that Mr. Davies, himself unknown to the custodian, was accompanied by Mr. Eaton, the former attorney of the 150 HISTORY OF THE GRANGE MOVEMENT; OR, Erie corporation. This gentleman was recognized by the sentry, and forthwith the gates flew open for him- self and his companion. In a few moments more the new receiver astonished Messrs. Gould and Fisk, and certain legal gentlemen with whom they happened to be in conference, by suddenly appearing in the midst of them. The apparition was not agreeable. Mr. Fisk, however, with a fair appearance of cordiality, welcomed the strangers, and shortly after left the room. Speedily returning, his manner underwent a change, and he requested the new-comers to go the way they came. As they did not comply at once, he opened the door, and directed their attention to some dozen men of forbidding aspect who stood outside, and who, he intimated, were prepared to eject them forcibly if they sought to prolong their unwelcome stay. As an indi- cation of the lengths to wThich Mr. Fisk was prepared to go, this was sufficiently significant. The movement, however, was a little too rapid for his companions ; the lawyers protested, Mr. Gould apologized, Mr. Fisk cooled down, and his familiars retired. The receiver then proceeded to give written notice of his appointment, and the fact that he had taken possession ; disregarding, in so doing, an order of Judge Cardozo, staying pro- ceedings under Judge Sutherland's order, which one of the opposing counsel drew from his pocket, but which Mr. Davies not inaptly characterized as a l very singular order,' seeing that it was signed before the terms of the order'it sought to affect were finally settled. At length, however, at the earnest request of some of the subor- dinate officials, and satisfied with the formal possession he had taken, the new receiver delayed further action until Friday. He little knew the resources of his oppo- THE FARMER'S WAR AGAINST MONOPOLIES. 151 nents, if he vainly supposed that a formal possession signified anything. The succeeding Friday found the directors again fortified within, and himself a much enjoined wanderer without. The vigilant guards were now np longer to be beguiled. Within the building, constant discussions and consultations were taking place ; without, relays of detectives incessantly watched the premises. No rumor was too wild for public cre- dence. It was confidently stated that the directors were about to fly the State and the country — that the treasury had already been conveyed to Canada. At last, late on Sunday night, Mr. Fisk with certain of his associates left the building, and made for the Jersey Ferry ; but on the way he was stopped by a vigilant lawyer, and many papers were served upon him. His plans were then changed. He returned to the office of the company, and presently the detectives saw a car- riage leave the Erie portals, and heard a loud voice order it to be driven to the Fifth Avenue Hotel. In- stead of going there, hpwever, it drove to the ferry, and presently an engine, with an empty directors' car at- tached, dashed out of the Erie station in Jersey City, and disappeared in the darkness. The detectives met and consulted ; the carriage and the empty car were put together, and the inference, announced in every New York paper the succeeding day, was that Messrs. Fisk and Gould had absconded with millions of money to Canada. i "That such a ridiculous story should have been published, much less believed, simply shows how utterly demoralized the public mind had become, and how pre- pared for any act of high-handed fraud or outrage. The libel did not long remain uncontradicted. The 152 HISTORY OF THE GRANGE MOVEMENT; OR, next day a card from Mr. Fisk was telegraphed to the newspapers, denying the calumny in indignant terms. The eternal steel rails were again made to do duty, and the midnight flitting became a harmless visit to Binghamton on business connected with a rollipg-niill. Judge Balcom, however, of injunction memory in the earlier records of the Erie suits, resides at Binghamton, and a leading New York paper not inaptly made the timid inquiry of Mr. Fisk, ' If he .really thought that Judge Balcom was running a rolling-mill of the Erie Company, what did he think of Judge Barnard ?' Mr. Fisk, however, as became him in his character of the Msecenas of the bar, instituted suits claiming damages in fabulous sums, for defamation of character, against some half-dozen of the leading papers, and nothing further was heard of the matter, nor, indeed, of the suits either. Not so of the trip to Binghamton. On Tuesday, the 1st of December, while one set of law- yer's were arguing an appeal in the Whelpley case before Judge Nelson in the Federal courts, and another set were procuring orders from Judge Cardozo staying proceedings authorized by Judge Sutherland, a third set were aiding Judge Balcom in certain new proceed- ings instituted in the name of the Attorney-General against the Erie road. The result arrived at was, of course, that Judge Balcom declared his to be the only shop where a regular, reliable article in the way of law was retailed, and then proceeded forthwith to restrain and shut up the opposition establishments. The action was brought to terminate the existence of the defend- ant as a corporation, and, by way of preliminary, application was made for an injunction and the ap- pointment of a receiver. His Honor held that, as only THE FARMER'S WAR AGAINST MONOPOLIES. 153 three receivers had. as yet been appointed, he was cer- tainly entitled to appoint another. It was perfectly clear to him that it was his duty to enjoin the defend- ant corporation from delivering the possession of its road, or of any of its assets, to either of the receivers already appointed ; it was equally clear that the cor- poration would be obliged to deliver them to any re- ceiver he might appoint. He was not prepared to name a receiver just then, however, though he inti- mated that he should not hesitate to do so if necessary. So he contented himself with the appointment of a referee to look into matters, and, generally, enjoined the directors from omitting to operate the road them- selves, or from delivering the possession of it to ' any person claiming to be a receiver.' " This raiding upon the agricultural judges was not peculiar to the Erie party. On the contrary, in this proceeding it rather followed than set an example ; for a day or two previous to Mr. Fisk's hurried journey, Judge Peckham, of Albany, had, upon papers identical with those in the Belmont suit, issued divers orders, similar to those of Judge Balcom, but on the other side, tying up the Erie directors in a most astonishing manner, and clearly hinting at the expediency of an additional receiver to be appointed at Albany. The amazing part of these Peckham and Balcom proceed- ings is, that they seem to have been initiated with perfect gravity, and neither to have been looked upon as jests, nor intended by their originators to bring the courts and the laws of New York into ridicule and contempt. Of course the several orders in these cases were of no more importance than sa -much waste paper, unless, indeed, some very cautious counsel may 154 HISTORY OF THE GRANGE MOVEMENT; OR, have considered an extra injunctign or two very con- venient things to have in his house ; and yet, curiously enough, from a legal point of view, those in Judge Balcom's court seem to have been almost the only properly and regularly initiated proceedings in the whole case. " These little rural episodes in no way interfered with a renewal of vigorous hostilities in New York. While Judge Balcom was appointing his referee, Judge Cardozo granted an order for a reargument in the Bel- mont suit, — which brought up again the appointment of Judge Davies as receiver, — and assigned the hearing for the Gth of December. This step on his part bore a curious resemblance to certain of his performances in the notorious case of the Wood leases, and made the plan of operations perfectly clear. The period during wjrich Judge Sutherland was to sit in chambers was to expire on the 4th of December, and Cardozo himself was to succeed him; he now, therefore, proposed to signalize his associate's departure from chambers by reviewing his orders. No sooner had he granted the motion, than the opposing counsel applied to Judge Sutherland, who forthwith issued an order to show cause why the reargument ordered by Judge Cardozo should not take place at once. Upon which the coun- sel of the Erie road instantly ran over to Judge Car- dozo, who vacated Judge Sutherland's order out of hand. The lawyers then left him and ran back to Judge Sutherland with a motion to vacate this last order. The contest was now becoming altogether too ludicrous. Somebody must yield, and when it was re- duced to that, the honest Sutherland was pretty sure to give way to the subtle Cardozo. Accordingly the THE FARMER'S WAR AGAINST MONOPOLIES. 155 hearing on this last motion was postponed until next morning, when Judge Sutherland made a not undigni- fied statement as to his position, and closed by remit- ting the whole subject to the succeeding Monday, at which time Judge Cardozo was to succeed him in chambers. Cardozo, therefore, was now in undisputed possession of the field. In his closing explanation Judge Sutherland did not quote, as he might have done, the following excellent passage from the opinion of the court, of which both he and Cardozo were jus- tices, delivered in the Schell case as recently as the last day of the previous June : ' The idea that a cause, by such manoeuvres as have been resorted to here, can be withdrawn from one judge of this court and taken possession of by another; that thus one judge of the same and no other powers can practically prevent his associate from exercising his judicial functions; that thus a case may be taken from judge to judge when- ever one of the parties fears that an unfavorable de- cision is about to be rendered by the judge who, up to that time, had sat in the cause, and that thus a de- cision of a suit may be constantly indefinitely post- poned at the will of one of the litigants, only deserves to be noticed as being a curiosity in legal tactics, — a remarkable exhibition of inventive genius and fertility of expedient to embarrass a suit which this extraor- dinarily conducted litigation has developed Such a practice as that disclosed by this litigation, sanctioning the attempt to counteract the orders of each other in the progress of the suit, I confess is new ind shocking to me, .... and I trust that we have seen the last in this high tribunal of such practices as this case has exhibited. No apprehension, real or 156 HISTORY OF THE GRANGE MOVEMENT; OR, fancied, that any judge is about, either wilfully or innocently, to do a wrong, can palliate, much less justify it.'* Neither did Judge Sutherland state, as he might have stated, that this admirable expression of the sentiments of the full bench was written and de- livered by Judge Albert Cardozo. Probably also Judge Cardozo and all his brother judges, rural and urban, as they used these bow-strings of the law, right and left, — as their reckless orders and injunctions struck deep into business circles far beyond the limits of their State, — as they degraded themselves in degrading their order, and made the ermine of supreme justice scarcely more imposing than the motley of the clown, — these magistrates may have thought that they had developed at least a novel, if not a respectable, mode of con- ducting litigation. They had not done even this. They had simply, so far as in them lay, turned back the wheels of progress and reduced the America of the nineteenth century to the level of the France of the sixteenth. l The advocates and judges of our times find bias enough in all causes to accommodate them to what they themselves think fit What one court has determined one way another determines quite contrary, and itself contrary to that at another time ; of which we see very frequent examples, owing to that practice admitted among us, and which is a marvellous blemish to the ceremonious authority and lustre of our justice, of not abiding by one sentence, but running from judge to judge, and court to court, to decide one and the same cause.' -\ " It was now very clear that Receiver Davies might * Schell v. Erie Railway Co., 51 Barbour's S. C. 373, 374. t Montaigne's Works, vol. ii. p. 316. THE FARMER'S WAR AGAINST MONOPOLIES. 157 j abandon all hope of operating the Erie Railway, and that Messrs. Gould and Fisk were borne upon the swelling tide of victory. The prosperous aspect of their affairs encouraged these last-named gentlemen to yet more vigorous offensive operations. The next attack was upon Vanderbilt in person. On Saturday, the 5th of December, only two days after Judge Sutherland and Receiver Davies were disposed of, the indefatigable Fisk waited on Commodore Vanderbilt, and, in the name of the Erie Company, tendered him fifty thou- sand shares of Erie common stock at 70.* As the stock was then selling in Wall street at 40, the Com- modore naturally declined to avail himself of this liberal offer. He even went further, and, disregarding * Throughout these proceedings glimpses are from time to time obtained of the more prominent characters in their undress, as it were, which have in them a good many elements both of nature and humor. The following description of the visit in which this tender was made was subsequently given by Fisk on the witness stand : " I went to his ( Vanderbilt 's) house 4sit was a bad, stormy day, and I had the shares in a carpet-bag ; I told the Commodore I had come to tender 50,000 shares of Erie, and wanted back the money which we had paid for them and the bonds, and I made a separate demand for the $1,000,000 which had been paid to cover his losses ; he said he had nothing to do with the Erie now, and must consult his counsel ; . . . . Mr. Shearman was with me ; the date I don't know ; it was about eleven o'clock in the morning ; don't know the day, don't know the month, don't know the year; I rode up with Shearman, holding the carpet-bag tight between my legs ; I told him he was a small man and not much protection ; this was dangerous property, you see, and might blow up ; . . . . besides Mr. Shearman the driver went in with the witnesses, and besides the Commodore I spoke with the servant girl ; the Commodore was sitting on the bed with one shoe off and one shoe on ; .... don't remember what more was said ; I remem- ber the Commodore put on his other shoe ; I remember those shoes on account of the buckles ; you see there were four buckles on that shoe, and I know it passed through my mind that if such men wore that kind of shoe I must get me a pair ; this passed through my mind, but I did not speak of it to the Commodore ; I was very civil to him." 158 HISTORY OF THE GRANGE MOVEMENT; OR, his usual wise policy of silence, wrote to the New York Times a short communication, in which he referred to the alleged terms of settlement of the previous July, so for as they concerned himself, and denied them in the following explicit language : ' I have had no dealings with the Erie Railway Company, nor have I ever sold that company any stock or received from them any bonus. As to the suits instituted by Mr. Schell and others, I had nothing to do with them, nor was I in any way concerned in their settlement.' This was certainly an announcement calculated to confuse the public; but the confusion became confounded, when, upon the 10th, Mr. Fisk followed him in a card, in which he reiterated the alleged terms of settlement, and reproduced two checks of the Erie Company, of July 11, 1868, made payable to the Treasurer and by him endorsed to C. Vanderbilt, upon whose order they had been paid. These two checks were for the sum of a million of dollars. He further said that the company had a paper in Mr. Vanderbilt's own handwriting, stating that he had placed fifty thousand shares of Erie stock in the hands of certain persons, to be delivered on payment of $3,500,000, which sum he declared had been paid. Undoubtedly these apparent discrepancies of statement admitted of an explanation ; and some thin veil of equivocation, such as the transaction of the busi- ness through third parties, justified Vanderbilt's state- ments to his own conscience. Comment, however, is wholly superfluous, except to call attention to the amount of weight which is to be given to the statements and denials, apparently the most general and explicit, which from time to time were made by the parties to these proceedings. This short controversy merely THE FARMER'S WAR AGAINST MONOPOLIES. 159 added a little more discredit to what was already not deficient in that respect. On the 10th of December the Erie Company sued Commodore Yanderbilt for $3,500,- 000, specially alleging in their complaint the particulars of that settlement, all knowledge of or connection with which the defendant had so emphatically denied. " None of the multifarious suits which had been brought as yet were aimed at Mr. Drew. The quon- dam Treasurer had apparently wholly disappeared from the scene on the 19th of November. Mr. Fisk took advantage, however, of a leisure day, to remedy this oversight, and a suit was commenced against Drew, on the ground of certain transactions between him, as Treasurer, and the railway company, in relation to some steamboats concerned in the trade of Lake Erie. The usual allegations of fraud, breach of trust, and other trifling, and, technically, not State prison offences, were made, and damages were set at a million of dollars. " Upon the 8th the argument in Belmont's case had been reopened before Judge Cardozo in New York, and upon the same day, in Oneida county, Judge Boardman, another justice of the Supreme Court, had proceeded to contribute his share to the existing complications. Counsel in behalf of Receiver Davies had appeared be- fore him, and, upon their application, the Cardozo in- junction, which restrained the receiver from taking possession of the Erie Railway, had been dissolved. Why this application was made, or why it was granted, surpasses comprehension. However, the next day, Judge Boardman's order having been read in court before Judge Cardozo, that magistrate suddenly revived to a full appreciation of the views expressed by him in June in regard to judicial interference with judicial 160 HISTORY OF THE GRANGE MOVEMENT; OR, action, and at once stigmatized Judge Boardman's action as ' extremely indecorous.' Neglecting, however, the happy opportunity to express an opinion as to his own conduct during the previous week, he simply stayed all proceedings under this new order, and applied himself to the task of hearing the case before him re- argued. "This hearing lasted many days, was insufferably long and inexpressibly dull. While it was going on, upon the 15th, Judge Nelson, in the United States Court, delivered his opinion in the Whelpley suit, re- versing, on certain technical grounds, the action of Judge Blatchford, and declaring that no case for the appointment of a receiver had been made out ; accord- ingly he set aside that of Gould, and, in conclusion, stacle to the execution of rights guaranteed to the bond- THE FARMER'S WAR AGAINST MONOPOLIES. 235 holders by the general laws of the United States of America, CONCLUSION. " 25. To sum up, I cannot deem it advisable that European capitalists should be encouraged to partici- pate in the enterprize of the Northern Pacific Railway, as, in my opinion, after the completion of the line a period will ensue during which the company will not be able to fulfil the obligation it is under respecting the payment of interest on the bonds. It is certainly pos- sible that this period will not ensue immediately upon the completion of the main line, inasmuch as the branch line, equally provided by the charter, will issue new mortgage bonds, out of which the interest may be paid for a while, but this will only postpone, not avert, the crisis. " That the Northern Pacific Railway may be a good and profitable enterprise after the years of its child- hood and troubles have been survived, will not be enough to commend it to the European money market ; it will have to be proved that the company will be able during the early years of the enterprise to fulfil all the engagements entered into. In the full consciousness of the responsibility incumbent on me as a member of the European Commission of Experts, I cannot consider that this proof is forthcoming. HAAS. « BERLIN, Nov. 8,.r,99 611,469 "*526,OM 21.56 6.39 5.16 "so" ""4)64" 1864 1865 1866 12,703,882 12,988,725 13,834,132 13,723,030 15,849,899 15,113,407 18,929,203 3,051,491 284,843 845,407 2,126,b69 '3,815,856 lil)l02 736)492 31.61 2.24 6.51 15.49 "aii.'aif 1867 1868 1869 1870 1871 1872 " It will be seen by the above that the increase in the production of anthracite coal in Pennsylvania in ten years has been a fraction less than 100 per cent., and that one-third of the entire production of last year has been transported over the roads of this company. The business of the canals has involved a loss of $467,- 755.60, but in view of the annual increase of the pro- duction, it is believed that it will not be long before both road and canals will be taxed to their utmost limits. " During the year various connecting lines heretofore controlled by this company have become merged in it. 266 HISTORY OF THE GRANGE MOVEMENT; OR, The Mount Carbon Railroad, of which this company owned 3202 shares, was absorbed by exchanging share for share, the investment amounting to $178,229.25 ; the Schuylkill & Susquehanna Railroad, of which this company owned 21,702 shares, was merged by the issue of one share for three, representing a cost of $404,388.34 ; and the stock of the Port Kennedy Rail- road, all the stock of which, amounting to $26,893.98, was owned by this company, transferred to the item of railroad in the balance-sheet. Stock of the company to the amount of 536 shares was also issued and exchanged for stock in the following named leased companies: Mount Carbon & Port Carbon Eailroad 195 shares for 163 Schuylkill Valley oSTavigation Kailroad 177 " " 354 MiU Creek & Mine Hill Navigation & Railroad 164 " . " 328 " The basis of the exchange was such as to secure to stockholders the same income as was derived from their stock in the above-named companies. " There were also created and issued 50,190 shares of stock in exchange for a similar amount of convertible bonds, as follows : Loan of 1857-86 $17,500 Loan of 1870-90 2,492,000 Total amount converted $2,509,500 " There remain outstanding only $124,000 of con- vertible bonds, of which $96,000 are of the 6 per cent, loan of 1886, and $28,000 of the 7 per cent, loan of 1890. The sterling loan of 1872, amounting to $110,- 400, was retired, and $110,000 consolidated mortgage bonds of 1911 issued. " The company took the express business of its lines THE FARMER'S WAR AGAINST MONOPOLIES. 267 into its own hands on the 1st of September, 1872, and the results for the three months show that, while in September the receipts were 36.8 per cent, less than the amount received from the express company during the same month of the previous year, in October they were only one-half of 1 per cent, less, and in November 58.87 per cent, more than for the corresponding month of 1871. " The Philadelphia & Reading Coal and Iron Com- pany, of which the Philadelphia & Reading Railroad Company is the sole stockholder, and a full account of whose organization is given in the ' Manual' for 1872- 73, now controls 80,000 acres of land, on which are 98 collieries, 27 of the largest of which will be worked by the company, and the remainder leased. The tonnage of these lands amounted for the year to 3,030,881 tons, and the rents were $946,774.69. Almost the entire issue of $19,000,000 of the consolidated loan was applied to the purchase "and development of these lands, in addition to which the Coal and Iron Company have issued bonds amounting to $11,131,000, guaranteed by the Philadel- phia & Reading Railroad Company. It is believed that the entire production of coal on its estates during the cur- rent year will reach 4,100,000 tons, of which the com- pany will mine over 2,000,000. For the still further development of this industry, a new debenture loan of $10,500,000 has been placed upon the market, consist- ing of 7 per cent, coupon bonds, payable in 1893, con- vertible after July 1, 1876, and before January 1, 1892, each stockholder having the right to subscribe, at par, in proportion to his stock, payments to be made in instalments up to April 15, 1875, with the privilege of anticipating any or all instalments. The subscrip- 268 HISTORY OF THE GRANGE MOVEMENT; OB, VERTICAL SECTION OF A COAL MINE. tions, up to January 13, reached $12,857,400, of which $8,543,000 were pro rata, and $2,305,630 has been paid in. " The company have determined to construct a fleet of additional steam, colliers, some of 600 and some of 1200 tons capacity, the machinery to be built at the company's shops. A contract has been made for the hulls and boilers for two vessels for a trial. If they are successful, a large fleet will at once be completed." Now this is a remarkable history of prosperity, and it is significant as showing the rapidity with which the Coal Monopoly is fastening its yoke upon the people of the United States. In the year 1872, one-third of the total production of anthracite coal in Pennsylvania was carried to market over the roads of the Philadelphia & Reading Company, or, in other words, the people of the Eastern and Middle States were at the mercy of the Philadelphia & Reading Railroad for one-third of their THE FARMER'S WAR AGAINST MONOPOLIES. 269 fuel, and paid to this company a tax amounting to large sums during the year. When we remember this we shall have no difficulty in understanding why the stock of this road is such a favorite in the market. But the Philadelphia & Heading Railroad is not the only corporation engaged in the effort to run up the price of coal. It is only the principal sinner. All the corporations engaged in the coal carrying trade and in mining have a common interest, which is to extort from the public the highest price it will pay for coal. Their profits are large, excessively large, and it is believed by the public that in order to conceal them the companies have watered their stock to a very great extent. The exact point to which the watering process has been car- ried no one but those in charge of the affairs of the com- panies can tell, but the popular belief places it at a very high figure. " Since 1864 the minimum dividend paid in any year by either the Reading & Delaware, Lackawanna & Western, or Lehigh Valley Railroad companies, or the Delaware & Hudson Canal Company, is ten per cent. The Reading has paid as high as fifteen per cent., and each of the others as high as twenty per cent. It can- not be said that the business has not been profitable to them. Ten per cent, per annum is a good return for a railroad investment, and is certainly far above the ave- rage profits of individuals who have embarked in the business of coal mining. " It would be interesting to know how much of the round two hundred million dollars representing the capital and debt of the corporations composing the great coal combination is watered stock. A great deal of it is fictitious capital, in our opinion. It is matter of his- 270 HISTORY OF THE GRANGE MOVEMENT; OR, tory that the Reading & Delaware, Lackawarma & Western railroads, and the best part of the Lehigh Valley, and also the Delaware & Hudson Canal, were completed works in 1864. They were all bringing coal to tide-water in that year, and the quantity they brought was more than half the quantity they are bringing now. The total anthracite production that year exceeded ten million tons, while for the last twelve months it has been about eighteen millions. With completed roads and canals, with the mines in their possession, and about the same terminal facilities in 1864 as they now enjoy, these corporations certainly did not require double the capital to do double the business. We should judge that an increase of capital of one-third would be amply sufficient to double the production. As an instance, the capital stock and debt of the Boston & Albany Railroad were sixteen million dollars in 1861 and twenty-one millions in 1870, and in the interval the business more than doubled, a great deal of double track was laid, and other expensive improvements were made. " The figures of the coal corporations, without further explanations, will speak for themselves. The capital stock of the four companies we have 'named has been increased from $43,000,000 in 1864 to $90,000,- 000 in 1872, or considerably more than doubled, and the debt has grown from $17,000,000 in 1864 to $43.- 000,000 in 1872. Taking the stock and debt together, the increase has been from $60,000,000 in 1864 to $133,000,000 in 1872, or 120 per cent., while the in- crease in the production of coal is only 80 per cent. In making the calculation we have deducted from the debt of the Reading Railroad the bonds of the THE FARMER'S WAR AGAINST MONOPOLIES. 271 Schuylkill Canal, and also $19,000,000 more, being the amount of its recent investment in coal mines. The Delaware & Hudson Canal Company has doubled its stock and debt since 1864, and the Delaware, Lackawanna & Western and Lehigh Valley com- panies have multiplied the nominal amount of their in- vestment by three, the stock of the two companies last named having been raised from $13,500,000 to $41,- 000,000, and the debt from $5,000,000 to $19,000,000. (See Poor's Manual of the Railroads of the United States.] We suspect the managers of these corporations think it looks better to distribute among the share- holders ten per cent, on twenty .millions of nominal capital than twenty per cent, on half the amount. " In those parts of the country where anthracite coal is used, the consumption is reckoned at one ton a year, for each inhabitant. A family of six will burn six tons, and will pay this winter a special tax of from ten to twelve dollars in order that these great coal corporations may do a little better than paying only ten per cent, on their watered stocks. ' The exceptionally low price in America during the past year,' say the managers of the Reading Railroad in their report, ' has introduced coal in competition with wood into districts where it never had been sent before ; and it is well-known that when the appliances for burning anthracite coal are. once in- troduced, and the advantages of that fuel once under- stood, it is never displaced by any other.' We are wedded to the glowing anthracite as the Englishman is wedded to his beer. The corporations have found it out, and have fixed the excise accordingly." At the time these pages are passing through the press, coal is selling in New York for seven dollars a 272 HISTORY OF THE GRANGE MOVEMENT; OR, SCENE IN THE COAL REGIONS. ton, and is rising in price. Probably, wben the mid- winter arrives, the rate will have advanced to ten dol- lars per ton, and this will be the average price through- out the Middle and Eastern States. And yet it costs but from two dollars to two dollars and fifty cents to produce this coal at the mines. The balance is made up by the enormous rates charged for transportation and by the profits of the retail dealers. Mr. Franklin B. Gowen, president of the Philadelphia & Reading Railroad Company, in his report to the stockholders in January, 1871, made an estimate of the natural average price of coal at Port Carbon, a point on the Reading Railroad, about ninety miles from Philadelphia. He declared " that if all the coal fields were producing THE FARMER'S WAR AGAINST MONOPOLIES. 273 largely, the average price of coal at Port Carbon would not exceed from $2.25 to $2.50 per ton." It is the custom of the retail dealers in the East to lay in their supplies of coal for the winter during the .summer and early fall. At this period of the year large quantities of coal are sold by the miners, and the prices then obtained to a great degree govern the retail prices for the remainder of the year. The companies exert themselves to keep the prices at these sales at the highest possible figure, and as they are masters of the situation, they succeed in obtaining whatever they may •choose to ask. Some idea of their high-handed manner of conducting their business may be gained from the following comments of the New York Tribune upon the August (1873) sales of Scranton coal: " The poor, starving coal companies have just given another turn to the screw, just 'to steady the price' of the fuel by which ten millions of people are to cook their food and keep themselves warm the coming win- ter. The Scranton auction sale was held yesterday, and the average price obtained for the 90,000 tons sold was $5.17 per ton, against an average of $3.46 for 100,- 000 tons sold August 28th, 1872, and of $5.03 for 140,000 tons sold August 30th, 1871, the famine year. In the year 1870, the production was also interrupted by strikes, the suspension of mining in the Schuylkill region for four months, terminating August 1st, enabling, as President Gowen tells us, the Wyoming and Lacka- wanna Companies to obtain high prices. Yet the average price for 80,000 tons of Scranton coal, sold by auction, August 31st, 1870, was only $4.83. We bring these prices together in a line in order that the public may compare them • 18 274 HISTORY OF THE GRANGE MOVEMENT; OR, Average price, August 31st, 1870 $4.83 Average price, August 30th, 1871 5.03 •Average price, August 28th, 1872 3.46 Average price, August 27th, 1873 5.17 " We confess our inability to do justice to the facts which the above figures so eloquently proclaim. In 1870 and 1871, the supply of coal was restricted by strikes of the laborers, which for magnitude and obstinate per- sistency are without a parallel in the history of Trades Unions. Last year is the only one of the four when the price of coal was regulated by natural laws, with both supply and demand unimpeded. This year we have a conspiracy of the coal corporations, and as the result of that conspiracy we have prices already far above the point to which strikes and suspensions car- ried them in 1870 and 1871. The State of Pennsyl- vania might have levied a tax on anthracite coal of the difference between this and last year's prices, and paid her entire bonded debt in one year. The annual pro- duct of such a tax would extinguish the whole debt of the State of New York, Canal bonds and all, even with the present deficiencies in the Sinking Funds. Yet people are expected to. pay over these millions to the wealthiest corporations in the world without a murmur. We are told by Mr. Mead, the secretary of the little twenty per cent. Pennsylvania Coal Company, that it 13 * beneficial ' to us to submit to this extortion ; that it is * right and reasonable ' that we should pay this tax. Here have these companies for five years been fighting each other and their private competitors, and distribut- ing all the while ten, fifteen, and twenty per cent, divi- dends ; and now they come forward and extort a coal tax of more than a dollar per ton over and above what THE FARMER'S WAR AGAINST MONOPOLIES. 275 would give them a fair profit, and they claim to be pub- lic benefactors ! What colossal impudence! "Another man, Mr. R. G. Moulton, the general agent of the Delaware & Hudson Canal Company, gives his views : < If the low rates had continued, the result would have been a general stoppage of the busi- ness and a tremendous inflation of prices.' As well talk of a general stoppage of agriculture! In the opinion of these gentlemen, prices have now reached a 1 healthy level.' To the shallow twaddle of these tax- gatherers, to which, four weeks ago, we appropriated a column of our space, we oppose the eminently sound and conservative views of President Gowen. ' High prices and uncertainty of supply,' says Mr. Gowen, 1 will drive away buyers, force manufacturers to turn to other fuels, and prevent the natural increase of demand which would result from low prices, and which would soon supply a certain market for any temporary over- production.' ('Reading Railroad Report,' 1871, page 18.) It is also certain that Mr. Gowen regarded the over- production of last year as only temporary, for he states his belief that the stock on hand at the close of the season was no greater than in the year preceding ; argues that the market will require three million tons more in 1873 than in 1872, and concludes that it is a reasonable supposition ' that it will be difficult to produce this year any quantity so greatly in excess of the demand as to depress the market to any considerable degree.' (' Read- ing Railroad Report,' 1873, pages 20 and 21.) We might quote further from Mr. Gowen, but have we not quoted enough to show that, as a disinterested observer, he would have pronounced the work of this Anthracite Coal Combination to be one of the most inexcusable 276 HISTORY OF THE GRANGE MOVEMENT; OR, WESTERN COAL MINTS. displays of rapacious greed that the world has witnessed since Christianity became the religion of civilized man?" There is no good reason why coal that costs two dollars per ton at the mines should cost seven dollars to the Eastern consumer. The actual cost of transpor- tation could be paid and a fair profit returned to the railroad companies, and yet the price of coal be reduced very much. But a fair profit is not to the taste of the monopolist. He must have an exorbitant return for his capital, or he is not satisfied. He cares nothing for the thousands of suffering poor who are unable to pro- cure fuel at the prices at which he holds it. He is deaf to the voice of humanity ; he thinks only of his gains. So the curse of the railroad monopolist hangs like a black pall over the Republic, growing darker and THE FARMER'S WAR AGAINST MONOPOLIES. 277 darker as the time wears on. His greed and heartless- ness have made bread dear in a land capable of feeding the world, and the same accursed spirit of avarice has put the next great necessity of human life almost beyond the reach of the poor. " The cheapness of food and coal most concerns the comfort of the people ; to lower their price must be the aim of every popular government. Yet both with us have become the sub- jects of monopolies, and are dealt out to the people by the great companies in such quantities as they think will aid them best in paying their dividends. We are threatened with a dearth of coal, because the companies have resolved that there shall be one. There is no complaint of any deficiency in the supply, of any failure of the mines, or any want of labor, but the coal com- panies and the railroads combine to stop the production of coal in order to raise the price, and are willing to starve the miner and the consumer to enlarge their own profits. It is of no consequence to them that the poor must suffer or perish, that every honest working family must be pinched and straitened, that manufactures are impeded and commerce checked, so long as their divi- dends are maintained and their wasteful extravagance supplied. The price of coal has already risen one-third; by December, if the companies choose, it may be doubled. The mines are to be left unworked, the coal retained, and the all-powerful companies' rule un- checked over the helpless people. It has long been their custom to produce these periods of unnecessary dearth ; they scarcely seem conscious of the cruelty of their policy, or of the painful consequences of their avarice." It is an ugly state of affairs, but there is no denying 278 HISTORY OP THE GRANGE MOVEMENT; OR, the facts in the case. The people of the New England and Middle States are utterly at the mercy of the great corporations controlling the Pennsylvania coal fields. They must pay for their fuel just what these companies choose to ask for it, and they have no means of escaping from their dilemma if the companies are left in their present condition. The companies have been steadily increasing their exactions, and unless something is done to check them, they will no doubt increase them to a point at which anthracite coal will become accessi- ble only to the rich. Doubtless these companies have rights, among which is the right to earn a fair return for the labor and capital invested in their business. But the people, the consumers, have a right in the matter, which they will yet be driven to assert. The Almighty did not create the coal beds of Pennsylvania for the sole benefit of the railroads and coal corporations that have secured the control of them. He placed this magnificent gift in a region easily accessible, for the benefit of the millions who people the vast region it is intended to supply. The people have a right to obtain it at moderate rates, and they have a right to compel the great monopoly that is bleeding them so unmercifully to respect this claim ; and the day may come, and ought to come, if there is not a change for the better, when the coal monopolist will find that vested rights, and charters, and stocks and bonds, are powerless to restrain the wrath of a defrauded people bent upon supplying one of the chief necessities of their existence. It has been suggested that a remedy could be found in the introduction of the bituminous coal of the West- ern States into the market of the East. This fuel, THE FARMER'S WAR AGAINST MONOPOLIES. 279 however, would be subject to a heavy transportation tax which would be levied upon it by the railroads over which it would have to pass, and this would go far towards preventing it from becoming a formidable rival to Pennsylvania coal. Another remedy that has been proposed is the con- struction of a freight railroad by the General Govern- ment from New York to Chicago. It is believed by the advocates of this scheme that such a road, on which minimum rates of transportation would be charged, would bring Western coal to the Eastern markets at rates which would effectually break down the anthra- cite monopoly. There can be no doubt that if the Western coal could be laid down in New York and Boston at reasonable rates, it would prove a formidable rival to anthracite ; but the railroad rates, as at present managed, preserve the supremacy of the kindred mo- nopoly. Should the proposed Government road touch the Pennsylvania coal regions on its way to the West, another blow would be struck at the monopoly. By affording cheap transportation to the Eastern markets, it would reduce the price of coal at least one-half. It is the cost of transportation alone that raises the price of fuel, and not the cost of producing it. A recent number of Harper's Weekly, commenting upon the extortions of the coal monopoly, thus speaks of the necessity for such a railroad : "But the future of the coal trade is still more suggestive. Soon the mines of Pennsylvania and the West must supply the fuel of the world. The mines of England, yielding 120,000,000 tons a year, already show signs of exhaustion. Coal has doubled in price in England within three years. English iron manufactu- 280 HISTORY OF THE GRANGE MOVEMENT; OR, rers are turning to the United States as the scene of their future successes. It is rumored in Philadelphia that a prominent English firm engaged in building steamers has resolved to remove with all its capital and labor to the banks of the Delaware. It is not unlikely that Western Virginia and Pennsylvania may soon supply the factories of Europe with fuel, that the great iron- works of the world will follow the line of coal from Pittsburg to the Tennessee; and it seems more than ever the duty of the National Government to prevent this great trade from falling into the hands of monopo- lists. A Government railway penetrating the West from New York to Chicago seems the only means of opening to the world the immense masses of coal that lie every where scattered through the inaccessible country. Our export of fuel and the growth of our iron factories depend upon the cheapness of coal. It seems the duty of the National Government to provide at least economical transportation ; and the best mode of tempt- ing the steam-ship builders from the banks of the Clyde to the Hudson or the Delaware would be to provide a sufficient communication between the mines and the sea. Nor with a Government route would the great monopolies ever be able to prey upon the famishing people." But will Congress build such a road? Will that honorable body condescend to consider the rights of the people against the interests of the railroads ? We con- fess we have little hope of it. The Congress of the United States, so far from showing any disposition to check the extortions of the monopolists, has aided the coal monopoly in its robberies of the people by com- pelling the people of the Eastern States to purchase THE FARMER'S WAR AGAINST MONOPOLIES. 281 Pennsylvania coal. It has, in its eagerness to serve the men who are plundering its masters — the people — levied a prohibitory duty upon coal imported from the British Provinces. The rich coal fields of Nova Scotia lie at the very doors of New England, and a fine quality of coal -could be delivered at the New England ports at prices lower than the Pennsylvania dealers are demand- ing. It is to the interest of New England to purchase this coal. With its markets thus supplied, it would be relieved of its dependence upon Pennsylvania, and the competition thus introduced would result in a scale of moderate prices. The anthracite monopolist would be deprived of his power to rob the people, and would be obliged to sell his coal for its actual value. But Con- gress has joined the coalition against the people, and in order that the Pennsylvania coal ring may rob and plunder the community, by charging unfair prices for its coal, it has levied upon foreign coal a duty which keeps it out of the market. Let the duty be taken off foreign coal ; let there be free trade in this great necessity of life, and a very different state of affairs will ensue. Let the people enjoy the benefit of a free market, and let them be rid of their slavery to an insolent and unscrupulous mon- opoly. Think of this, farmers and workmen of New England, as you sit by your costly coal fires, and reckon the value of each lump of the precious fuel. Demand of your servants in Congress that justice shall be done you, and that you shall be able to buy your coal cheap in a land which is the richest of all lands in that mineral. You have a right to a free market. You have a right to your hard earnings, and it is a shame 282 HISTORY OP THE GRANGB MOVEMENT. to your manhood to submit to such infamous extortion as is being practised upon you with the assistance of your servants in Congress. The remedy lies in your own hands. Members of Congress will do much for the monopolists, but they will not dare to resist the deter- mined expression of your will, for do you not hold their official lives in your hands ? and can you not make or unmake them with a ballot? Organize, combine for the protection of your interests. Join hands with the farmers of the West in their courageous war upon mon- opolies of all kinds. There is not a monopoly in the land but can be broken to atoms by the combined and determined action of an indignant and wronged people. PART III. THE FARMERS' WRONGS. CHAPTER XV. THE AGRICULTURAL CLASSES AND THEIR WRONGS. Detailed Statement of the Agricultural Wealth of the United States, and of the Strength of the Agricultural Class — The American Farmer — His De- fects and Virtues — His Character as a Man and a Citizen — The Superior of the Old World Farmer — He should be the most independent and contented Man on Earth — The actual State of Affairs — Hard Lot of the American Far- mer— Difficulty of making the Farm pay — A real Grievance — Wrongs of the Farmer — The Effect upon the Young Men — Driven from Home — Sad Story of a Farmer's Daughter — Not an isolated Case — Cause for Apprehen- sion— A Remedy needed. IN the Ninth Census of the United States, taken in the year 1870, the number of persons engaged in all classes of occupations was 12,505,923. Of these 5,922,- 471 were persons engaged in agricultural pursuits. The rest of the great army of workers was divided as fol- lows : Persons engaged in personal and professional services, 2,684,793. Persons engaged in trade and transportation, 1,191,238. Persons engaged in manu- factures and mechanical and mining industries, 2,707,- 421. Thus it will be seen that nearly one-half of the industrial class of the United States is engaged in agri- cultural pursuits. Taking the number of inhabitants of the Union of ten years of age and over, which is 283 284 HISTORY OF THE GRANGE MOVEMENT; OK, 28,228,945, we gain a still clearer conception of the strength and importance of the agricultural class of the country. The agricultural workers are thus subdivided, accord- ing to the Census quoted : Total. Males. Females. Agricultural laborers 2,885,996 2,512,664 373,332 Apiarists 136 136 Dairymen and dairywomen 3,550 3,133 417 Farm and plantation overseers 3,609 3,609 Farmers and planters 2,977,711 2,955,030 22,681 Florists . ... 1,085 1,046 39 Gardeners and nurserymen 31,435 31,202 233 Stock-drovers 3,181 3,181 Stock-herders 5,590 5,545 45 Stock-raisers 6,588 6,558 30 Turpentine fanners 361 361 Turpentine laborers 2,117 1,933 184 Vinegrowers 1,112 1,105 7 This being the force employed, let us glance at the field in which its operations are performed, and the re- sults accomplished by it. In 1870, the total area of land in farms amounted to 407,735,041 acres. This was divided as follows : Acres of improved laud 188,921,099 " " woodland 159,310,177 " " other unimproved land 59,503,765 The total number of farms was 2,659,985. These were reported as follows : Under 5 acres 6,875 5 acres and under 10 172,021 10 acres and under 20 294,607 20 acres and under 50 847,614 60 acres and under 100 754,221 100 acres and under 500 565,054 500 acres and under 1000 15,873 1000 acres and over 3,720 Average size of farms 153 acres. THE FARMER'S WAR AGAINST MONOPOLIES 285 The capital invested in the farms and their products was stated as follows : Cash value of farms $9,262,803,861 Cash value of farming implements and machinery 336,878,429 Total amount of wages paid during the year, including the value of board 310,286,285 Total (estimated) value of all farm productions, including betterments and additions to stock 2,447,538,658 Value of orchard products 47,335,189 Value of market-garden products 20,719,229 Value of forest products 36,808,277 Value of homemade manufactures 23,423,332 Value of animals slaughtered, or sold for slaughter 398,956,376 Value of all live stock 1,525,276,457 The live stock was stated as follows : Number of horses 7,145,370 Number of mules and asses 1,125,415 Number of milch cows 8,935,332 Number of working oxen 1,319,271 Number of other cattle 13,566,005 Number of sheep 28,477,951 Number of swine 25,134,569 The farm products were as follows : Bushels of Spring wheat 112,549,733 Bushels of Winter wheat 175,195,893 Bushels of sweet potatoes 21,709,824 Bushels of Irish potatoes 143,337,473 Pounds of butter 514,092,683 Pounds of cheese 53,492,153 •Gallons of milk sold 235,500,599 Bushels of clover seed 639,657 Bushels of grass seed 583,188 Hogsheads of cane sugar 87,043 Hogsheads of sorghum sugar 24 Pounds of maple sugar 28,443,645 Gallons of cane molasses 66,593,323 Gallons of sorghum molasses 10,050,089 Gallons of maple molasses 921,057 Pounds of beeswax 631,129 Pounds of honey 14,702,815 Bushels of rye 19,918,795 Bushels of Indian corn 769,944,549 Bushels of oats 282,107,157 Bushels of barley 29,761,306 28G HISTORY OF THE GRANGE MOVEMENT; OR, Bushels of buck-wheat. 9,821,721 Pounds of tobacco 262,735,341 Bales of cotton 3,011,996 Pounds of rice 73,635,021 Pounds of wool 100,102,386 Bushels of peas and beans 5 745 027 Gallons of wine 3,092,330 Tons of hay 27,316,048 Pounds of hops 25,456,669 Tons of hemp „ 12 746 Pounds of flax 27,133,034 Bushels of flaxseed 1,730,444 Pounds of silk cocoons _ 3,937 These figures present to the reader a fair average of the condition of the farming interest of the country. They show that nearly one-half of the whole toiling class, the men and women who use hands and brain to procure their daily bread, are engaged in the labors of the farm and in pursuits kindred to it. These consti- tute the real backbone and sinew of the country, and are its mainstay in times of trial and danger. Whatever may be the merits of other classes, it can- not be denied that our agricultural community com- prises a population of which any country may be proud. The American farmer is, as a rule, an intelli- gent, clear-headed, practical man. He is the possessor of, at least, a common school education. A reader of the newspapers and a lover of books, he manages to keep himself abreast of the questions of the day, and has definite and intelligent opinions concerning them, which he is able to express vigorously when occasion demands. He is strong-armed as well as strong-minded, and his out-door life keeps him in robust health. He is industrious, ambitious to improve his temporal condi- tion, and attentive to his duties. As a citizen he is faithful to the obligations imposed upon him by the THE FARMER'S WAR AGAINST MONOPOLIES. 287 WAGONING GRAIN TO MARKET. laws of the land, and deeply interested in the welfare of his country. As the head of a family he is kind, affectionate, earnestly striving to advance the welfare of those dependent on him. In short, his ambition ex- tends to two things chiefly — to provide for his family in such a way that his children may have a comfortable and happy home, and enter upon life prepared for its struggles, possessing vigorous bodies and well-trained minds ; and to make his farm the best in the county. No one who has travelled through agricultural dis- tricts of the Old World, can withhold from the Ameri- can farmer his meed of praise. The farmer of England is, at the best, the inferior of the American. He is coarser, worse in morals and general habits, and inferior in education ; while on the continent, the farmer is little better than a slave. 288 HISTORY OP THE GRANGE MOVEMENT; OR, Now, in the natural order of things, and especially in this happy land of freedom, the farmer should be the most fortunate man in the community. Owning his land, with good health, dependent only upon the bounty of the Giver of all Good, his should be a life of abso- lute independence. Not that this should free him from the great necessity of earning these blessings by the sweat of his brow, but that his hard labor should be blessed with a fair reward, and that he should be able •to look forward with confidence to a comfortable pro- vision for his old age, and a fair start in life for his chil- dren. Y i —i [Sec'y WM. PAIST St. Paul. SUB. GR'S, 516 c _. . (. °* f W. L. WILLIAMS ................. Kienzi. Missouri ......... fj/os THE FARMER'S WAR AGAINST MONOPOLIES. 4 i 3 municates them to its respective subordinate or local Granges. The local Granges, through their individual members, carry these measures into effect, and thus we have the whole Order working for the accomplishment of one object. It is easy to see that when the Order shall embrace the entire agricultural class, as it now bids fair to do, its power to accomplish its objects will be irresistible. The Grange then constitutes itself the protector of the farmers and their interests, and thus at the outset appeals to their sympathy and secures their co-operation. Its acts being the results of the combined wisdom of its members, it is clear that the protection it offers will be enlightened and efficient. Its deliberations ensure the avoidance of rash and hot-headed action. Nothing is done until all means are discussed, and the best and most suitable secured. The farmer is conscious that he has powerful and unscrupulous enemies, and that he urgently needs protection against them ; as a member of the Order he can secure the accomplishment of the object nearest his heart, and self-interest prompts him to be a Patron of Husbandry. The Order has, as we have said, clear and well-de- fined views of the evils from which the farmers are suffering, and its chief object is to remedy them. It claims to be the best judge of the wisdom and efficiency of these measures, and declines to allow the farmer's enemies to decide the question for him. Such opposition as it has met, has come from the monopolies and their supporters ; but as one of the objects of the Order is the destruction of these gigantic frauds upon the people, this opposition is natural, and was to have been ex- pected. 444 HISTORY OF THE GRANGE MOVEMENT; OR, It has been charged that the Order is hostile to the railroads of the country, and is bent upon their destruc- tion. This charge is absurd ; but as it has been made, we may as well meet it. The Grange is not hostile to the railroads as a means of transportation, for it recog- nizes the necessity of this establishment to our system of society, but it is bitterly hostile to the corrupt man- agement of this great industry. It is entirely opposed to the system of building railroads at the cost of the nation for the benefit of a few stockholders. It is op- posed to the system of watering the stocks of railroad corporations, and of over-charging the people who are compelled to use the roads, in order to extort from them the means of paying large dividends on this fictitious increase of stock. It is opposed to the tyranny and cor- ruption of the railroads, to their disregard of the rights of individuals and communities ; and it is in favor of subjecting them to a series of laws which shall place them on a footing with other industries, and compel them to respect the rights of others. These things it proposes to change, and wre have shown that it has the power to accomplish its object. It is an object which appeals to the sympathy and de- ^mands the co-operation of the people at large, and there cannot be a doubt that the Order will receive all the outside aid that it needs. The Order seeks no affiliation with either or any of the political parties of the present day. It has nothing to do with what men usually call politics. It is devoted to the interests of the farmers, and leaves political questions to its individual members, respecting every man's right of opinion and action in these matters. Its views upon the political questions of the day THE FARMER'S WAR AGAINST MONOPOLIES. 445 differ in different States. Attempts have been made by politicians to ally it with one or the other of the great parties that divide the nation, but they have not been successful. The Order has kept aloof from all such parties, and aims only at protecting the farming classes from the wrongs from which they are suffering, arid de- vising and carrying out measures for their relief. It does not seek to interfere with or supersede either party, but, undertaking a different work from that of either, draws its recruits from both. The work with which it is charged is enough for it ; and will occupy its attention and engage its energies to the exclusion of all other questions. Nor has the Grange yet perfected its system of operations. The evils it seeks to combat are so old and great that there can be no difference respecting them ; but the remedies are yet under discussion, and no definite plan of action will be resolved upon until a thorough investigation of its merits and a free inter- change of opinions can be had. Says a writer who has spent much time among the farmers of the West for the especial purpose of learning their views : " The Grange makes no war upon railroads as such. Its members generally recognize the fact that without railroads their rich farms would soon be deserted except along the rivers, and become once more the "homes of wolves and wild fowl, and they are willing that men who put their money into railroads shall receive fair returns on the capital they invest. But they believe that the people have some rights which even railroad corporations are bound to respect, and they are not will- ing that railroad charges shall be put so high as to pay 446 HISTORY OF THE GRANGE MOVEMENT; OR, ten per cent, on stock which the present owners never paid anything for, nor on stock that has been issued as a dividend. Many of the roads have been partially built with money subscribed by the farmers themselves, or by the towns and counties through which they ex- tend, and the people are unwilling that men who have since got possession of these roads, often by the pay- ment of comparatively little money, shall make large dividends until they have low rates. Above all, they are unwilling that the price of their crops shall be fixed by a ring of railroad men. " The remedy proposed is different in almost every State. Some propose a pro rata law; some desire a fixed rate of maximum tariffs for freight and passengers ; some desire that the question shall be regulated by the State, and some by the United States. In some States the present controversy is over the power of the Legis- latures to control the railroads ; in others that power is conceded either in the charters of the companies or the constitutions of the States, and then the question is, how shall the power be exercised? Some hold that the right of eminent domain exercised by a State in con- demning private property for the use of railroads is a right pertaining only to the State in its sovereign capacity, and one of which it cannot in any way divest itself. Railroad property, they say, is no more sacred or exempt from the exercise of this right, when the interests of the people demand it, than any other. Should a railroad company now existing, therefore, become so oppressive in its charges as to make it for the public interest that a new company should be formed under greater restrictions, the State has the power to charter a new company to operate a road THE FARMER'S WAR AGAINST MONOPOLIES. 447 over the same line, and. in its exercise of the right of eminent domain, to appoint a commission to appraise and condemn the property belonging to the old com- pany. Nowhere are violent or illegal measures pro- posed. No tracks have' been torn up, no buildings burned; the motto of the Grange is, equal Justice to all; and as the farmers have the power, by united action, to carry any measure they propose, they feel confident of ultimate success. " The Grange is not a political organization ; politics and religion are forbidden topics of discussion in the Grange-room. But it strives to educate men to think for themselves and not to follow the dictates of party leaders and packed caucuses unless their own judgment approves. A majority of the people in the West, as is well known, have been Republicans, and a majority of the Grangers voted for General Grant last year. The Democracy has been their bete noir, and though the faith of many of them may have been shaken in the infallibility of the Republican party, they would never go into any other of which the Democrats formed an influential part. But the Grange makes the farmers a power within themselves and outside of any political party, and now, in the States where they are strongest, should they step out of the ranks of the party with which they have hertofore acted, it would not be neces- sary for them to seek shelter in the camp of their long time political enemy. They might leave the old ship that served them so long and bore them safely through so many a glorious fight, but which is now strained and worm-eaten, not to go on board the Democratic ship, but to launch a new one of their own. How wisely they may build remains yet to be seen. Just now, the 448 HISTORY OF THE GRANGE MOVEMENT; OR, influence of the Grange is little more than to loosen the bands that bind men to old parties and to make them free to choose their future places. " The Grange, although organized several years ago, did not become a formidable body until within the past twelvemonth. Immense crops of corn which had to be sold for less than the cost of production ; short crops of wheat, with no corresponding increase of price ; railroad combinations to prevent competition and reasonable rates of freight ; wheat and corn rings, formed to con- trol the price along many of the great railroad lines, and to prevent the farmers from receiving any advan- tage from favorable markets ; the insatiable greed of some implement makers and agents ; the accumulating mortgages on farms — these and many other circumstan- ces have at length aroused the long-suffering farmers, and the Grange, already instituted, gave them the means to make their demands effective. This ex- plains the astonishing growth of the Order since October, 1872. " I have said that none but farmers and their fam- ilies may be members of the Grange. I see it reported that a number of grain-dealers and others in Boston, not practical agriculturists, have obtained a charter and organized a Grange. I don't know by what authority Mr. Abbott, the State Deputy of Massachusetts, has initiated men who were not farmers into the Order, but every prominent Patron with whom I have spoken on the subject disapproves of this extension of the Order, and the matter will probably come before the National Grange at its next session. Hundreds of men in every State I have visited have, for personal ends, attempted to obtain admission to the Grange. Some have been THE FARMER'S WAR AGAINST MONOPOLIES. 449 politicians, who have desired to promote their political prospects ; some have been commercial agents, who have had an eye to business ; and some have been editors, who have desired to make the Order their con- stituents. Grangers are ready to clasp hands with any one for the purpose of promoting reform, but they do it outside of the Grange room." 29 450 HISTORY OF THE GRANGE MOVEMENT; OK, CHAPTER XXVII. SOCIAL ASPECTS OF THE GRANGE. Dull and Monotonous Life of Farmers and their Families — The need of the Farmer for Social Intercourse — Hard lot -of Farmers' Wives and Daughters — Scarcity of Amusements — "All Work and no Play" — Demand for a Change — The Work of the Grange — The Grange a Means of Social Enjoy- ment— Advantages of the Social System of the Grange — Farmers' Wives and Daughters in the Grange — The Lesson of Innocent Enjoyment taught— Festivals and Pleasures of the Grange — How the Order promotes Sociability and Friendship among the Farmers — Interesting Details — Barbecues — Sociables — Public Meetings — The Lesson of Courtesy — What the Grange has done for the Happiness of the Agricultural Class — A Great and Good Work. THERE is another feature of the Grange that, alone, would make it invaluable to the farmers of America. It is the best means that has yet been devised of culti- vating social relations among them, and in its social aspects, it is a perfect success. Few who have not been residents of the country, can rightly understand the monotony of a farmer's life. Day after day the farmer and his family pursue the same appointed round of toil. There is no change save the regular recurrence of the Sabbath, and attend- ance upon religious services where such privileges are accessible. During the busy season constant toil leaves little leisure on the hands of any member of the house- hold ; but when the long winters set in, and several months of forced inactivity are upon them, the mo- notony is often very hard to bear. It is always felt, even by the dullest. THE FARMER'S WAR AGAINST MONOPOLIES. 451 Visiting is rare, and as a rule is not encouraged. Strange to say, the farmer does not value social inter- course, and yet no one needs it more. He lives a lonely and secluded life, rarely caring to go beyond the limits of his farm, except to visit the village or the country store on business. Occasionally a circus, or some travelling show, or some political meeting would draw the farmers out of their seclusion, but with this excep- tion, the monotony was unbroken. No wonder, then, that with constant toil and unbroken solitude as his only companions, the farmer should be a careworn, pre- maturely old man. No human being can exist without a certain amount of recreation and change. If these be denied, the whole mental and moral nature must suffer. The indifference of the farmer to social pleas- ures and relaxations was, perhaps, the worst feature of the case. Now, if this was the condition of the farmers, what shall we say of their wives and daughters ? Women are much more dependent upon society than men. Monotony affects them quicker and more powerfully, and they need relaxation and amusement to a greater degree than men. Yet how inexpressibly dreary is the lot of the farmer's wife and daughter. Theirs is a life of constant toil — the same routine day after day, week after week — with scarcely a break in it. A funeral or a wedding, or a county fair, are great events in their existence, as they bring them together with their neighbors and afford them some little society. But as i rule the loneliness of their lives is unbroken. They are confined to the limits of the farm, and there they must remain. "Who that has attended a country fair has failed to 452 HISTORY OF THE GRANGE MOVEMENT; OR, mark the noisy and, at the first glance, unnecessary mirth of the farmers' wives and daughters? To city people, with scores of pleasures and amusements within reach, these outbursts may seem ridiculous ; but they are natural. They are the assertion of the protest of nature against the long and dreary restraint that has been put upon them, and the mirth of these women is as natural and irresistible as the song of the long im- prisoned bird escaping from its cage. They laugh and are boisterous because they have been silent and sub- dued so long. Such occasions, such opportunities for enjoyment come rarely to them, and they are quick to take advantage of them. Their time for pleasure is brief, and they make the most of it. Then they go back to their dreary monotony at home ; for no matter how comfortable the home, how liberal the- provision of the husband and father, there is a monotony and a loneliness about it which the most loving wife and dutiful daughter feels most keenly. " Time was when young American women born and bred in the country were glad to ' go out to do house- work,' and a woman's i help' in the house was intel- ligent and capable. That time has passed ; intelligent American girls, if their services are not needed at home, and they are obliged wholly or partially to earn their own living, become teachers or seek employment in the cities and villages, while the only household 'help' that can be obtained is of the raw Irish or German variety, which requires a generation in which to be educated, and which when educated ceases to be obtain- able. The farmer's wife, therefore, though she may be able and willing to pay for good assistance, cannot get it, and is obliged to make a slave of herself, working THE FARMER'S TTAR AGAINST MONOPOLIES. 453 from sunrise to sunset through the long Summer days until nature itself fairly gives way. I do not exag- gerate ; I have seen the haggard looks and heard the weary sighs of overworked farmers' wives in the East and in the West. I have seen broad acres of highly cultivated land groaning under the abundant crops, good houses and barns, fine stock and money to the farmer's credit in the bank, but the order and cleanli- ness that reigned in-doors in harvest time, when twenty hungry men sat around the farmer's board, as well as when the family only were there, were too often pur- chased at the price of the premature old age of the wife. Anything that will break in upon this tread-mill life which, though not quite universal, is altogether too common, should be hailed with joy by the farmer and his family." Now the Grange proposes to change this state of affairs, and render to the farmers and their families one of the greatest services that can possibly be done for them. It offers them the means of improving their social intercourse, of adding to their pleasures, and of improving their condition mentally as well as socially. " The social feature of the Order," says J. C. Abbott, Deputy of the National Grange, "consists in being associated with ladies who are admitted as members of the Order, and upon whom the four degrees of a sub- ordinate Grange are conferred. Other Orders close their doors against women, and shut her out from their councils. But believing that she is the help-meet of man, and that we need her counsel, as well as her aid, we open the doors of the Grange and bid her welcome. " At the regular monthly meetings of the Grange a feast is held, the ladies supplying a bountiful repast of 454 HISTORY OF THE GRANGE MOVEMENT; OK, the good things of this life, and this is made the happy medium whereby introductions are made and many pleasing and lasting acquaintances are formed. " Mankind, in their natures, are social beings, and when in solitude all pine for social and friendly inter- course. This being an organization designed especially for farmers, we say that its social features are particu- larly pleasing, and well adapted to meet the necessity which exists for some method to bring them and their wives and families together, so that they may know each other better, and be brought into a closer connec- tion and sympathy than now exists. " In fact, the aid already rendered to our Order by woman is invaluable, and her services could not well be dispensed with. To divest the Order of this feature would be to go far toward despoiling it, and detract greatly from the enjoyment now felt in all our meet- ings. We say, then, that woman's presence is indis- pensable in all places where good conduct and moral and religious principles are sought to be inculcated." " Socially," says Captain E. L. Hovey, in an address delivered at St. Johnsbury, Vermont, February 22d, 1872, " it is the right thing in the right place, for it is a Farmers' Society. If there is anything that tends to break up the humdrum life they have been living, and are living, it should be fostered with every possible means. Of all the evils that fetter and hamper this class of our people, there is nothing so destructive of that happiness human beings were permanently des- tined to enjoy as the seclusion in which they drag out their lives. Isolated from the arena of business life, with nothing to stimulate thought, they too often live and die strangers to any of those finer and ennobling THE FARMER'S WAR AGAINST MONOPOLIES. 455 feelings that are so readily nurtured by commingling of society. They are becoming more and more un- social, and have been tending in this direction since the first settling in this country. A half century ago and more, when general poverty and insecurity rendered mutual protection a necessity, there was a more genial feeling among the inhabitants. They went long dis- tances on foot for an evening's enjoyment of social intercourse ; but since those good old days a competence has come to the majority of farmers, and they stick to the homestead with a tenacity that fosters every social evil. They go through with about the same routine of duties from sunrise to sundown, from one year's end to another, through the whole active part of life, never unloosing the mind from the drudgery of farm life. The human being alone was created with the faculty of social intercourse, and he who fails to improve it scarcely rises above the level of the brute creation. " One of the principal objects of this Society is to en- large this God-given faculty. It calls the laborious worker of the soil from his duties and places him side by side with those engaged in the same occupation. A thousand questions are discussed that interest and bene- fit its members. " Place a person in solitary confinement before -any indications of intelligence are manifest, and actual experiment proves that the appearance, the shape of head, the features, suffer from such treatment, and the actual knowledge is excluded. Since these things are so, farmers who enslave themselves, who are semi-im- prisoned, cannot expect to wear a very prepossessing personal appearance. " You all know the value of a social home ; you 456 HISTORY OF THE GRANGE MOVEMENT; OR, \ know the difference between it and one continuously darkened with silence, wrangling, or brutal violence, it may be. What tends more to enlighten the mind and fill it with principles that will shed their lustre down through the whole course of life than a family gathered after the work of the day is completed, engaged in healthy, mind-invigorating, social intercourse? Any one who has paid any attention to the positions of families reared in these different ways cannot fail to bid God-speed to one institution that will improve the social condition of the farmer. " Some who are inclined to see a humbug in every new move assert that this is a ' woman's rights ' move- ment ; others that it is a cover for political intrigues. Nothing could be further from the truth. The fact that women are admitted to full membership in the Order I regard as one of its most worthy features. I do not believe in woman suffrage, nor never can. I do not believe in making a plow-point of a gold watch ; but the condition of a people, its customs, its manners, its morals, its social standing, its educational status, depend more upon its women than upon man. Is there not as wide a field for improvement in woman's sphere as in man's? Besides, when men are assembled for mental culture or social chat, what more stimulates them to high-minded action than the presence of woman? But there is no need of my dilating upon this important theme. The solution of a mathematical problem decides the matter. If great good comes from a meeting of only two — provided that both sexes are represented — how much advantage will result from a gathering of a hundred ? " It may be a slight thing to the ordinary reader of a THE FARMER'S WAR AGAINST MONOPOLIES. 457 newspaper to see .such paragraphs as the following, which we clip from an exchange : " Delegates of the several Granges of Dubuque county, Iowa, met at Rockdale on the 8th, and arranged for a monster basket pic-nic at Ebworth on the 17th." " The Granges of Eandolph county, Ind., held a pic-nic at the fair grounds at Winchester on the 9th." These items, which are now very frequent in the newspapers of the day, may mean nothing at all to the ordinary reader, but to the farmer, or to one who is familiar with the old regime of country life, they are eloquent indeed, for they tell of a different era that has dawned upon the agricultural community, and to the " Granger " they are apparent as the work of his Order. Who ever heard of farmers taking the trouble to or- ganize themselves for enjoyment until the Grange taught them that pleasure is a duty as well as labor ? In the monthly meetings of the subordinate Grange, the farmers of a community are brought together twelve times a year if no oftener, and are accompanied by their wives and daughters. The ordinary proceed- ings of each meeting are such as to interest them, and to place them in a happy frame of mind for the cultiva- tion and promotion of social relations. Acquaintances, are made, new friendships are formed, and old ones strengthened. The farmer is taught that the world does not end for him at the boundaries of his farm ; that there are hopes, fears, joys and sorrows beyond his domain in which it is his duty to take an interest. The entire farming community is bound together by the bonds which unite men working for a common cause. A few hours are spent in pleasant intercourse. 458 HISTORY OF THE GRANGE MOVEMENT; OR, The week or the month has one bright spot in it for those who have taken part in the meeting. The farmer is taught that social relaxation and plea- sure are a necessity of human existence, and the duty of granting these to his family and dependents is made an obligation which he is bound to comply with. Leading members of the Grange arrange for gatherings of pleasure and social intercourse apart from the regular meetings of the Order. Pic-nics, barbecues, sociables, processions, public meetings are arranged and carried out at such times as will not interfere with the work of the farm, and the whole power of the Order is exer- ted to break up the dullness of farm life and enliven it with innocent social pleasures, which shall lighten the cares of the farmers and their families and increase their happiness. In all the meetings of the Order, in all its gatherings for pleasure, the two sexes are brought together, and placed upon an equality, and the farmer is thus quietly and forcibly reminded that his wife and daughters are ladies entitled to all the courtesies and attentions of polite society, and not mere drudges charged with the performance of household work ; something he has been too apt to forget. Courtesy and high-toned feelings and deportment in all things are the lessons taught by the Grange, which thus becomes the instructor and guide of its community. Coarse and improper pleasures, rude and unmanly or unwomanly conduct, are not tolerated by the Order. Its pleasures are innocent and healthful, and it aims at the elevation and improvement of its members in every respect, A letter from Iowa, in which State the Order has THE FARMER'S WAR AGAINST MONOPOLIES. 459 attained its greatest strength, thus refers to the great change which the Grange has already brought about there : " The social condition of a majority of the farmers in this State before the organization of Granges is de- scribed to me by leading members as anything but satis- factory. The country is comparatively new, having been settled only 10 to 25 years, and the people are still very much isolated. The dull monotony of their lives has only been broken in upon by an occasional wedding or funeral, and they have plodded on year after year, work- ing from sunrise to sunset, taking very few holidays, rarely meeting each other except at the cross-roads store, church, or town-meeting, reading very little, and, in fact, transforming themselves into corn and wheat- producing machines. Of business methods they have known almost nothing. It was rare that a farmer was able to tell how much it cost him to make a bushel of corn or of wheat, a pound of beef or of butter, or to bale a ton of hay. The condition of the farmer's wife was even worse/ Her work began earlier and ended later than that of her husband. It was a slavish life, with almost nothing to give it variety or to lift the woman out of the deep rut of her daily drudgery. Perhaps the most of these people have never known any different kind of life ; perhaps they have had better food and a greater abundance of it, more comfortable homes and better clothing than before they became Iowa farmers, but their enjoyment of life has been of a low order, and any one who will give them broader ideas will be hailed as a benefactor. I have not been de- scribing the average farmer of this State from personal observation ; that would be impossible for a stranger 460 HISTORY OF THE GRANGE MOVEMENT; OR, spending only a few days, or at most weeks, in the State to obtain. I am obliged to take the picture as it is painted for me by those who have beem familiar with it for years, and who have often sat at the farmer's table and slept in his l spare room.' At the same time no one can ride across this State without observing even from the window of a railway car a painful con- trast between the richness of the fields and the poverty of many of the homes. I don't believe there is a better farming country in the world than the Des Moines Val- ley, with its beautiful rolling prairie lands, and it every where shows evidence of good culture. And yet the owners of those farms live too often in little cramped- up houses, unattractive, in many cases uncomfortable. If there are good houses, they are generally owned not by the men who get their living from the farms, but by the men who buy wheat and ship it, or who have other means of support, and farm for pleasure, not for profit. " Such a state of affairs as I have described cannot be corrected in a month or a year, and yet, I am assured, the influence of the Grange in elevating the farmers socially is already very apparent. In the first place, it brings together the farmers of a neighborhood, old and young, men and women, and if it did nothing more it would not have been established in vain ; for the peo- ple of a town cannot spend an hour a week in informal conversation, even, without gaining new ideas and carrying away something to think about during the days that follow. But the meetings of the Grange are not entirely informal. A portion of the time is spent in the discussion of topics that are of especial interest to the farmers. The best crops for particular lands, THE FARMER'S WAR AGAINST MONOPOLIES. 461 the best methods of cultivation, the experience of the different members, the cost of different kinds of crops — any questions the solution or discussion of which tend to make better farmers are considered. The women read essays on the various duties of their departments, and thus learn to be better housewives. Sometimes the Grange considers social and moral questions, and sometimes its exercises are of a literary character. The discussion of political and religious questions is strictly forbidden by the constitution of the Order. " Another custom which originated in the Grange is that of holding festivals at short intervals during the season. It is impossible for the farmer to leave his business for a month in the Summer and spend the time in recreation, and, if his work could be left, his purse is rarely long enough to pay the expense of such a vacation. But he can spend a day between planting and cultivating, another before harvest, and a third when the grain is stacked ; and the Grange taking advantage of this, either invites those of neighboring townships to a basket pic-nic, or accepts an invitation itself. A day is spent in some pleasant grove ; there is speaking and music, and perhaps a little dancing, and the farmer goes back to his field better prepared for his work, some of the marks of care are smoothed out of his wife's face, and the business of both field and house go on with less of fret and worry for the day's innocent recreation. I was once a farmer's boy myself, and know from experience that those who till the soil work too many hours and have too few holidays. There is nothing that makes the work on a farm go easy like a holiday, and if it is rightly spent it puts new life into the work for a long time after." HISTORY OF THE GRANGE MOVEMENT; OR, CHAPTER XXVIII. , THE LESSONS OF THE GRANGE. The Grange as a Means of disseminating Agricultural Information — Grangs Tracts — How they are circulated — Efforts of the Order to improve the Far- mer's Condition — The Grange as a School of Reform — It makes Better Far- mers— How it spreads Information — Advice as to Improvements — The Grange the Enemy of Careless and Improvident Farming — It encourages Good and Careful Work — The Stacks of Wheat — Only Virtuous and Indus- trious Members admitted into the Order — The Grange making Intelligent Farmers — Beneficial Effects of the Discussions of the Grange — The Grange teaches Habits of Thrift and Economy — Discountenances Debt — The Grange the Enemy of Selfishness — Encourages Education — The Friend of the Schools — The Grange making Better Men as well as Better Farmers — Claims of the Order upon the Sympathy of the Country. SAYS a recent number of Frank Leslies Illustrated Newspaper, "Over 500,000 tracts were issued to far- mers by the National Grange last year." This little paragaph, in an out of the way corner of the journal from which it is taken, is full of meaning to the members of the Grange. It shows that the Order is honestly and efficiently performing one of the principal portions of its work, for one of its main objects is the collection and dissemination of information relating to agricultural interests and of value to the farmer. Half a million little tracts sanctioned and sent out from the Central Grange find their way to millions of readers. They are couched in plain and simple language, and abound in practical information. TJiey are read, also. The farmer receiving such a tract reads it with confi- dence, as he knows that it has come from men who are THE FARMER'S WAR AGAINST MONOPOLIES. 463 earnestly seeking his good as a member of the great in- terest for which they are working. Being small and convenient in form, and, above all, not too long, he can carry it about with him. He can read it by his own fireside " when all the house is asleep," and he is keep- ing watch with his own thoughts ; or as he sits under the shade of some wide-spreading tree to rest from the heat and the toil of the day. The little tract deals with .questions which are of vital importance to him, and it sets him to thinking, and to thinking in the right direction, too. The Grange does not regard the farmer as a mere machine, a mere drudge. It looks upon him as a rea- sonable, responsible being, and seeks to elevate and im- prove him. It stretches over him the shield of its pro- tection against the enemies that assail him and seek to rob him of the rewards of his industry ; it offers him the means of social enjoyment and teaches him the duty of healthful recreation and pleasure ; it recognizes the right of woman to share the pleasures as well as the cares of man, and secures her pure and ennobling in- fluence and co-operation in its work; and it teaches and enforces the lesson that the most intelligent and thoughtful farmer is sure to be the most successful. In short, the Grange seeks to make better farmers of the agricultural class. It claims no authority to coerce them into any course of action, no right to com- mand. It is merely an advisory body, and it seeks the improvement of its members only by its moral power. It is to the farmer a wise and judicious friend, and it advises only that which his own good sense tells him is the best course for him. Its mode of operation is very simple. Reports are 464 HISTORY OF THE GRANGE MOVEMENT; OR, sent in to the National Grange by the State and subordinate Granges of the condition and prospects of the agricultural interests in their respective localities. The authorities of the National Grange are in this way enabled to exercise an intelligent supervision of the farming interest of the whole country. Reports are regularly sent to the State Granges, and by them dis- tributed to the subordinate Granges. The National Grange is thus a National Intelligence Office for the benefit of its members, and the humblest farmer can, through the system thus adopted, keep himself informed as to the actual condition of the interest to which he is attached. The state of the crops, the probable amount of the harvest, upon which anticipations of value are based, can be thus ascertained. The farmer can be kept advised of the ruling prices in the various markets of the country, and freed from his dependence upon the grain dealers and their organs for this information. In this way he is better prepared to go into the market and dispose of his wares. But not only does the Grange keep the farmer ad- vised upon these points. It recognizes that agriculture is susceptible of great improvement, and it makes it its business to ascertain and make known the best means of attaining a high state of excellence in this pursuit. From the National and State Granges information is sent out concerning the latest improvements, and the needs of the system. Nothing is ordered. The subordinate Grange is informed that such and such improvements have been used with profit in certain parts of the country, and is invited to discuss the question whether they are needed, and may not be advantageously introduced into its own community. The local organization is free to adopt or THE FARMER'S WAR AGAINST MONOPOLIES. 465 reject them ; but the discussion is of infinite value to all concerned in it. It brings out the opinions of the entire farming community, and many useful and admir- able suggestions, which are often carried into practice by the members, spring from it. The Grange is the uncompromising enemy of care- lessness and disorder. Its golden rule is, u What is worth doing at all, is worth doing well," and it enforces this law by every means in its power. Careless and untidy farming are discountenanced. The farmer is taught that he must keep his place in order, and make it look its best every day in the week. " While riding over the country the other day with a leading Granger," says a letter from Minnesota, " he called my attention to the wheat stacks that we saw. ( There,' he said, pointing to a row of stacks that stood up straight and trim, were well capped, and in every way calculated to allow the grain to dry while it was protected from the weather, ' there are the stacks of a Granger. Those over yonder, in which the bundles are thrown together haphazard, belong to a man who is not a Patron. He thinks that he will thresh out his grain soon, and that it is therefore unnecessary to take pains in stacking. But something may happen to prevent this, and the stacks may remain for months, and the grain be injured. The Grange teaches the farmers that it always pays to do their work well, and it is making better farmers than we ever had before.' " This is important testimony in favor of the Grange, and if the organization did no more than make " better farmers than we ever had before," it would still be do- ing a great and beneficent work, and a work which would lay the whole country under obligations to it. 30 466 HISTORY OF THE GRANGE MOVEMENT; OR, An Order which can thus improve and elevate over five millions of human beings is certainly deserving of the encouragement of the nation. The Grange is the bitter and uncompromising foe of idleness. It has no room for a lazy man. While it recog- nizes the fact that frequent relaxation and indulgence in innocent pleasures are a necessity of mankind, it teaches that industry is the only sure foundation of success, and that the idle or lazy man can be neither prosperous, virtuous, nor useful. The Order aims to accomplish a great work in the community, and it ac- cepts only workingmen and women. Each one has a part to play in the execution of its great designs, and it will tolerate no idlers, no mere lookers-on. A power- ful stimulus is thus given to its members, and it will not be long before it will be as easy to recognize a Granger by his prosperity as it is now by his habits of neatness and order. As it is the enemy of idleness, so it is of vice. The Grange will have no dealings with drunkards, swind- lers, or immoral men and women. It demands a good moral character as the first requisite for membership. A drunken or dissolute farmer can have no sympathy with an Order which teaches that all men should be temperate and pure minded. A swindler can have no fellowship with men who believe in honesty as the basis of every relation in life, and who act upon this belief. And so the Grange keeps unworthy men and women at a distance, and its influence in and upon the community is entirely in favor of virtue. Says a letter from Ohio : " This is what the Grange aims to do. Once in two weeks (sometimes every week) its members meet in THE FARMER'S TTAR AGAINST MONOPOLIES. 467 some convenient hall which they either hire or own, each family bringing its basket of food. Many hands make light work ; cooking utensils, dishes and tables are owned by the Grange ; a bountiful feast is soon pre- pared, and the afternoon is spent in social pleasures or in discussions upon subjects in which they are mutually interested. Who can doubt that an occasional breaking away from work by the farmer and his family, even though he should get no new ideas, will improve them all in health and make them better able to perform their routine of duties ? " But the Grange strives directly to make better far- mers, and of this there is certainly need. Many of the agriculturists of the West and North- West left Eastern farms where high cultivation and intelligent manage- ment were necessary to insure a living ; and if they were fair farmers there, they have generally been abundantly successful in the West. But there is a large class of men who have gone upon the wild lands of the West — Irish, German, Scandinavian immigrants gathered in Europe by railroad and emigration agents — whose know- ledge of agriculture is of the most limited kind, and who have everything against them but the strength of their arms, their ability to endure privation, and the wonderful fertility of the soil when its tough sod has once been broken. They put lots of muscle into their business, but very little brains. Nor are all of the bad farmers of the West of foreign birth. Thousands of men reared in cities have been induced, by the promise of cheap land and rich crops, to forsake the life in which they were reared, for the reaper and the plow. Some of these men have done well ; others have natu- rally failed. Another fact I have noticed is that the 4G8 HISTORY OF THE GRANGE MOVEMENT; OR, very men who are most in need of advice such as a good agricultural journal would give them, are the ones who don't take it — probably their failure to read such a paper explains their need of it. To all farmers, good or bad, the Grange offers opportunities of improvement never before within the reach of the country people ex- cept in Farmers' Clubs, and in them only to a limited extent. Experienced, successful men tell in the Grange room how they have made good crops, or why they failed to do so; agricultural newspapers are taken, read and exchanged; important advice is given to young and inexperienced farmers, and each member, no matter how well he> understands his business, is sure to obtain some item of useful information. te The Grange teaches the farmer to contract habits of thrift and economy. The man who buys on credit always buys in the highest market, and of no class in the community is this remark more strikingly true than of the farmers. It is no uncommon thing for a bill at the village store to make a, veritable slave of a farmer. A partial failure of his crops, sickness in his family, or other unforeseen occurrence, makes it impossible for him to settle when pay-day comes around, and a mortgage on his farm, at fifteen per cent, interest, is the result. Other men may offer to sell goods to him cheaper, but it may be impossible for him to transfer his trade when such transfer might involve a foreclosure of a mort- gage. The Grange advises all of its members to buy and sell for cash, and to demand such favors as cash purchasers are justly entitled to. If ten per cent, of a man's sales on credit become bad debts, the increase in prices to make up for such loss ought to be charged against those who buy on credit, and not against those THE FARMER'S WAR AGAINST MONOPOLIES. 469 who buy for cash, and on whose purchases there is, therefore, no risk. The Grange also assists its mem- bers to get down to a cash basis, by making contracts with local dealers to allow a discount to Grangers who pay on the spot for their purchases, by making exten- sive contracts to purchase agricultural implements, sewing-machines, etc., at wholesale from the manufac- turers, and in a few cases by lending money at low rates of interest to enable the farmers to take advantage of these arrangements. I have spoken of this feature of the Grange movement at considerable length in one of my letters from Iowa : the Grange in that State has thus far been the model which those of other States are imitating with greater or less success. " The Grange, I have said, teaches its members to be thrifty and economical. By this I do not mean that it teaches them to pinch and starve themselves, or to deny themselves the comforts or even the luxuries of life. On the other hand, it shows them how to acquire the means to gratify their finer tastes. , Instead of leaving his plow in the last furrow, to rust and rot through the long season and wear out in four years, when it ought to last six, the Grange teaches the farmer to put it under cover, and so save enough to pay for the subscrip- tion to a good newspaper or magazine, or to purchase a good book. Instead of allowing his wheat to lie in the shock and sprout before it is threshed, the Grange tells the farmer that its value will be increased several cents on a bushel if he carefully stacks it. It shows the careless, thriftless farmer the secret of his more success- ful neighbor's success, and gives him a helping hand to make that secret of practical value to him." The Grange is the foe to selfishness. It is too much 470 HISTORY OF THE GRANGE MOVEMENT; OR, the habit of the fanner to regard himself and his own family only, and to be careless of the welfare or interests of others. The Grange teaches him that he is only a single member of the vast community of men who till the ground, and that his interests are identical with theirs, and that he must consider others as well as him- self. He is thus drawn out of himself and made to en- tertain larger and more liberal views of life and its duties. The material interests of the farmer are not the only ones which receive the fostering care of the Order. His intellectual improvement is also aimed at. The Grange teaches its members that education and intel- lectual culture are necessary to the farmer as well as to other men. It impresses upon him the duty of encour- aging the growth and prosperity of the public schools, and reminds him that money saved at the cost of his children's education is saved at too high a price. It en- courages the farmer to purchase and read good and use- ful books, and the best periodicals of the day. At its meetings discussions are encouraged which serve to keep its members informed upon the leading questions of the times, and to accustom them to express their views in an intelligent manner. In one respect the Grange may be considered as an educational club, with the very positive and definite object of achieving the intellectual improvement of its members. Certainly this is a noble work, and should win for the Order the best wishes and cordial sympathy of every citizen of the Republic. The work of the Order is just commencing. It is still in its infancy, but it gives promise of glorious results. THE FARMER'S WAR AGAINST MONOPOLIES. 47] CHAPTER XXIX. THE COOPERATIVE FEATURE. Cooperative Feature of the Grange — How the Grange saves the Farmers the Middle-man's Profit — Circular of the Secretary of the National Grange —A Means of Practical Economy — The System of Purchases adopted by the Grange — The System on Trial in Iowa — The System productive of Economy — How the Iowa Grange conducts its Operations — Bringing the Manufac- turers to Terms — The Plow Trade — A Saving of Fifty Thousand Dollars on Plows — A Liberal System of Discounts — Work of the State Agent — Joint Stock Stores established — Method of Cooperative Selling — Elevators estab- lished by the Granges — Direct Shipments — Magnificent Success of the Grange in Iowa — The Granges saving more Money than they cost — Efforts to embarrass the Grange — Warning of the National Grange — Opposition of the Middle-men — A Successful Effort at Cooperation abroad — The History of the Civil Service Supply Association of London — A Lesson and an En- couragement to the Grange. "THE Order of Patrons of Husbandry," says the Secretary of the National Grange, in a circular addres- sed to Manufacturers of Agricultural and Domestic Im- plements and Machinery, " is an organization of farmers and horticulturalists, one object of which is to secure to its members the advantages of cooperation in all things affecting their interests. ... To enable the members of the Order to purchase implements and machinery at as low cost as possible, by saving the commission usually paid to agents, and the profits of the long line of dealers standing between the manufacturers and the farmers, the Executive Committee of the National Grange desire to publish a list of all the establishments that will deal directly with State and subordinate 472 HISTORY OF THE GRANGE MOVEMENT; OR, Granges. This list will be regarded as strictly con- fidential, and one copy only will be furnished to each Grange. " Large orders can thus be made up by the consolida- tion of the orders from Granges in the same State or vicinity, and special terms for freight, etc., arranged with transportation lines, thereby effecting another large saving to the purchaser. " Manufacturers of all articles used by farmers, who desire to avail themselves of this means of disposing of their products directly to the consumer for cash, thereby avoiding the losses incident to the credit sys- tem, or the storing of goods in the hands of commis- sion merchants or agents, are invited to send their cata- logues and wholesale price lists to, and to correspond with 0. H. KELLEY, " Sec'y of the National Grange, "Washington, D. C." This circular embodies one of the principal features of the Grange movement, and one which will render it indispensable to the farmers. The Grange recognizes the fact that the farmers have been charged too much for the majority of the articles they purchase, and it undertakes to save them from this loss. The method of cooperative buying adopted by the Grange for this purpose, is very simple. A State agent is appointed, whose duty it is to correspond with manu- facturers and wholesale merchants, and ascertain the most favorable terms upon which they will sell their wares to members of the Grange. If these terms are satisfactory, they are communicated to the subordinate Granges, the members of which make up^their orders, and accompany them with the amount of the purchase THE FARMER'S WAR AGAINST MONOPOLIES. 473 money of the articles desired in cash. These are sent to the State agent, who forwards them to the manufac- turer, with instructions for the shipment of the pur- chases direct to the purchasers. The Grange thus makes it to the interest of the dealer to sell to its members direct. A large cash order is given, and the manufacturer or dealer is relieved of the ordinary risks of business, while the farmer is enabled to purchase his goods for much less than he could formerly buy them. A single farmer, or a single local organization of farmers, could effect nothing in this respect, for they would be powerless to compete with the middle-men or local dealers; but the trade of a county or State is a valuable consideration, and the manufacturer will make advantageous concessions to secure it. Perhaps we cannot better illustrate this feature of the Grange than by presenting here an account of the successful inauguration of the cooperative system in Iowa, where it has been tried with admirable results. " One of the first lessons which the Grange of this State seeks to teach its members is to buy for cash, to avoid as far as possible the purchase .of agricultural machinery not absolutely needed, and when in rare in- stances the farmer must buy implements for which he cannot pay, to borrow the money outright, furnishing the required security on his place, rather than to pur- chase on three, four, or five years' credit, giving ' iron- clad ' notes, and paying the enormous prices which are always charged under such circumstances. This has been no holiday job ; machinery-bankrupt as thousands of the farmers have been, with their notes, given for implements, in the hands of every sheriff of the State 474 HISTORY OF THE GRANGE MOVEMENT; OR, for collection, and, by official figures, constituting almost half the delinquent debts, they have doubted and hesitated when relief through cooperation has been offered, and have been far more ready to advocate re- forms with which they personally have nothing par- ticular to do than to begin at home and help them- selves. Happily, the Grange of the State has had among its members a few men of good business ability and sterling integrity, who have felt interest enough in the welfare and prosperity of the farmers and the success of the order of which they were members, to give much of their time and in some cases to risk their money in this much-needed home reform. While at Des Moines, and since I came here, I have found out some of these men, and, in their desire to spread a knowledge of their success, and to encourage farmers elsewhere to imitate their example or improve 011 it, they have given me every facility to learn the inside workings of the system of cooperative purchases and sales they have adopted, and to see what its results have thus far been. " It is but little more than a year since prominent Grangers of Iowa were first successful in making large cooperative purchases, although previous to that, I think, they had appointed a State agent and a few county agents. They then found the manufacturers almost wholly in the power of the agents. Not only had they made their contracts with these agents for the year, giving to each a monopoly of the sales for his par- ticular district, but, had they been disposed to disregard those contracts and sell to the ascents of the Granges at c^ o wholesale rates, they did not dare to do it, because to lose the trade of the agents, who would have nothing THE FARMER'S WAR AGAINST MONOPOLIES. 475 to do with manufacturers selling at wholesale prices to other customers within their districts, would, while the present methods of. doing business are adhered to, be nothing short of ruin. The farmers who were moving in the matter understood this ; they knew that it was unreasonable to ask a plow maker, a sewing-machine dealer, or any other manufacturer or wholesale mer- chant, to abandon a business system by which he was supported, unless the Grange could offer him in ex- change an equally profitable and extensive patronage. And just here may be explained the failure of all local attempts at cooperative machinery buying. When the farmers of a county have united to purchase their plows, and have sent their agent to the manufacturer, they have found that they could get no material reduc- tion of price. The manufacturer has said : ' My trade in your county belongs to Mr. A, and I have agreed not to sell goods to persons living there below his prices, or at any rate to pay him his customary commission on all such sales that we do make. You want twenty plows ; if we sell them to you at our wholesale price we shall either have to lose the agent's commission on them or lose his trade, and he takes a thousand plows a year.' No local cooperative association could command trade enough to make it an object for the manufacturers to show them any important favors. " But the wide spread of the Grange in this State gave to the farmers the means of holding out to any manufacturer whom its members should generally patronize, an inducement to give up the trade of the agents and sell directly to them, and the managers of the Grange were not slow to avail themselves of the power they thus acquired. Having agreed to buy 476 HISTORY OF THE GRANGE MOVEMENT; OR, nothing on credit but to pay cash for all their pur- chases, and having received assurances from a sufficient number of Granges that their members would purchase through their own agent, application was made to three manufacturers of plows in Des Moines for wholesale rates. Two of them refused to make any terms with the Grange, but the third agreed to make a deduction of twenty percent, on the retail price of each of his plows and twenty-five per cent, on cultivators. The result was that this man, although he made up a large stock in advance, was unable to supply the demand of the Grange, and the freight agent of one of the rail- roads at Des Moines remarked the other day that the paint had not been dry on a single plow that had been shipped from that man's shop this year. One of the other manufacturers very soon discovered his mistake, and got some of the orders that the first could not fill, and the third is now ready to trade with the Granges. Plows have also been bought of other manufacturers, both in this State and those adjoining. How many plows the Granges have purchased within a year at these reduced prices cannot be ascertained, as, after the contract had been made by the State agent, the orders did not necessarily come through him, and no complete record has, therefore, been kept; the county agents have forwarded many of them directly to the manu- facturers, the only condition being that the cash accom- pany the order and that the purchaser be a Granger. It is safe to say, however, that the purchases have amounted to many thousands, and that not less than $50,000 have been saved to the farmers of the State, within a year, in the purchase of plows and cultivators alone. THE FARMER'S WAR AGAINST MONOPOLIES. 477 " In the purchase of sewing machines the saving has been still greater and the sales very large. The retail price of sewing machines in this State has been from $50 to $95, according to variety; they are now sold to the Grangers at 40 per cent, discount from these prices, or for from $30 to $57. The demand has been so great that 1500 machines have been ordered to be delivered during the coming year. Supposing all of these to be of the cheapest variety, the saving will be $30,000. The number purchased will probably far exceed 1500. On parlor organs the discount to the Granges is from 20 to 25 per cent.; on scales, from 25 to 33 J per cent.; on shellers, 15 per cent.; on wagons, 20 per cent; on hay-forks, 33i per cent.; on miscellaneous implements, like feed-grinders, stalk-cutters, harrows, field-rollers, hay-rakes, grain separators, etc., 25 per cent. On mowers the discount is 25 per cent. ; that is, a machine which retails at $120 is sold to the Grangers for $90. A lot of reapers which a manufacturer who was going out of the business had on hand were offered to the Grangers for $75 each, provided they would take the whole of them. They were carefully examined and tested by the State agent and others, who reported that they would be cheap at $150. A circular con- veying this information was sent to the Granges of the State, and the whole lot was disposed of at once. They have given universal satisfaction. I might go on at great length quoting prices, but those I have given are sufficient to show that by intelligent cooperation the farmers of the West can save a great amount of money. General Wilson, Secretary of the State Grange, thinks that $2,000,000 has already been saved in this wny. Mr. Whitman, the State agent, to whose well-directed 478 HISTORY OF THE GRANGE MOVEMENT ; OR, and untiring efforts the success that has so far crowned this experiment is, in very great measure, due, thinks this figure too high, though he has no data from which to make an estimate. The Grange has not only bene- fited its own members by its cooperative purchases, but has caused a reduction in the prices of all kinds of farming implements, sewing machines, etc., in the stores and when sold by agents. A single example will illustrate this fact. A year ago, when the agents for the sale of a certain cultivator supposed that they had the entire control of the market, they charged $35, and threatened to raise the price. Since the Grange has been purchasing similar cultivators for $26.25, the agents have reduced their prices to $30. " The manner of conducting this cooperative buying is very simple, although to insure success it is necessary to place it in the hands of competent and honest men. Mr. J. D. Whitman, the State agent, has his office at Des Moines, and is the principal manager. He gives a bond of $50,000 for the honest and faithful perform- ance of his duties, and receives a small salary. In each county of the State there is a County agent, who may also be placed under bonds, if the Granges of the county think it necessary. The State agent places himself in communication with manufacturers and wholesale merchants, learns the terms on which they will sell their goods to the Granges, makes contracts with them when it is desirable, and informs the Granges by circular of the prices, etc. Orders may then be given through either the State or County agents. All orders must be accompanied by the cash to pay for the article desired, and a certificate from the Master of the Grange that the purchaser is a member of the Order. THE FARMER'S WAR AGAINST MONOPOLIES. 479 The State agent on receiving money credits the re- mitter with the amount on his books, specifying the article to be purchased and sending him a receipt. He at once forwards the cash to the manufacturer or mer- chant, and then debits the purchaser with the amount remitted. The goods are shipped directly from the manufacturer to the purchaser, but the receipted bill is sent to the State agent, who files it away as his voucher. If the goods are imperfect, or not as good as have been contracted for, and the seller refuses to give the purchaser satisfaction, then the Grange transfers its entire trade to some other firm. A man who was furnishing the Grange with plows, last Spring, sent a few that were much inferior to the sample. A circular was sent to all the Granges informing them of this fact, and in less than a week orders for that plow stopped, and the man has not sold one to a Grange in the State since. " The State agent always gives preference to home manufacturers. Wherever an Iowa plow-maker or manufacturer of any kind can furnish first-class goods as cheaply as they can be purchased at Chicago, St. Louis, or New York, the Grange gives him its trade, but its motto is to buy in the cheapest market which ready cash will command. In some sections of the State the members of the Grange have established joint-stock stores, and have thus been able to purchase their groceries and dry goods much cheaper than before. This has not been generally encouraged by the leading Grangers, except in cases where the local traders have refused to deal with them on what they considered fair terms. The great bulk of the home trade in this State has been done on credit, and the farmers who 480 HISTORY OF THE GRANGE MOVEMENT; OR, have remained solvent have had to pay not only a fair profit on the goods they have purchased, but something in addition for the time that has been given them, and to make up for the losses of the traders by bad debts. Now the members of the Grange who propose to pay cash for what they buy, think that they ought to have their goods cheaper than before. Some of the traders have admitted the justice of this claim, and have made satisfactory terms, but others have refused. Where no terms could be made, the Grangers have been forced to establish their own stores. Their plan has been to divide the stock into shares of $10 or $15, so that each member of the Order can afford to own one or more shares. The goods are then all bought and sold for cash, an advance of eight per cent, on the cost being charged. At Waterloo, where a store of this kind has been established, the farmers find that they obtain better articles at less prices, and that their stock pays them a good «profit. The average sales in that store, since its establishment, have been $112 a day, a con- siderable portion of' it coming from .the railroad shops situated there. " But it is not alone by cooperative purchases that the Grangers hope to save money. They have not only bought their goods on credit, and therefore in the highest market, but tlfey have sold their crops at home to middle-men for cash, and therefore in the lowest market. They now hope, by cooperative selling, to get better prices for what they raise than they have hitherto received. Until quite recently such a thing as shipping his own grain to Chicago, or any eastern mar- ket, has been almost unknown among the farmers. Whenever any of them have attempted it they have THE FARMER'S WAE AGAINST MONOPOLIES. 481 often been swindled so badly that they have lost all confidence in commission merchants. One of the first steps that the Grange took was to select a commission house of the highest character in Chicago, and another in New York, and make them its agents. Each of these houses has given bonds to the amount of $100,000, and agrees to receive everything that is consigned to it by the Grange or any of its members, and dispose of it to the best possible advantage, taking only one per cent, for commission. Since this arrangement has been made, many of the farmers have shipped their own grain, and the Chicago agent has been able to sell it for them on the cars upon which it was originally loaded, thus avoiding altogether elevator charges and the cost of trans-shipment. The prices thus realized by the farmers have generally been several cents a bushel better for grain than those offered at home, although the railroad companies have given them no special rates. " In order to take advantage of favorable markets, the Granges have established at several points in the State elevators and warehouses of their own. In some places these warehouses have been built by two or three prominent members of the Order; in others the stock has been divided into small shares and is owned by great numbers of the farmers. The plan of con- ducting the business is the same in both cases. If the farmer prefers to sell his grain outright and get the money for it when it is delivered, the managers will pay him the highest price the state of the market warrants ; if he is willing to take the risk of the mar- ket, they handle his grain for him, sell it, and return him the proceeds for a commission of a cent and a half 31 4:82 'HISTORY OP THE GRANGE MOVEMENT; OR, a bushel. This makes the farmers almost independent of middle-men between them and Chicago or New York markets. If the price offered for their grain is not in their judgment enough, they are not obliged to sell it at home, but can ship it themselves, feeling perfectly sure that they will be honestly dealt with, will have to pay no exorbitant commissions, and will get the best market price. At Waterloo, about 100 miles west of this city, an elevator was established by the Grange about nine months ago, the stock being held by a great number of farmers. Grain that has been shipped from that point both to New York and Chicago has brought the farmers considerably better prices than the local traders would pay, and beside this, recently a dividend of fifty per cent, was made on the stock. The Grangers' elevators now do all the work at that and other stations where they have been established, the local middle-men1 having gone entirely out of the business. If a Granger who does not live near one of these Grange elevators desires to make a shipment on his own ac- count, he applies for cars at his local station, loads them, directs them to the Grange agent in Chicago or New York, and sends the receipts which the railroad company gives him to the State agent at Des Moines. By him the proper papers are forwarded to the Chicago or New York agent, and to him the returns are made. The State agent then returns to the shipper all the papers showing the charges and receipts on his ship- ment, with a check for the balance due. " The farmers of this State raise every year a great number of hogs, that have always passed through the hands of at least one middle-man before they have reached the packers. The Granges in some parts of THE FARMER'S WAR AGAINST MONOPOLIES. 483 the State concluded, last year, that they might as well sell directly to the packers themselves, and appointed one of their number to collect the hogs and deliver them. A considerable saving was made in this way, and the experiment will be much more extensively tried this Fall. In some parts of the State the Grangers are already talking of establishing their own packing- houses, so that, instead of selling the hogs alive, they can sell them in the shape of bacon, hams, arid lard, packed and ready for shipment. They hope to realize much larger prices than by the old system. "Another experiment, which was tried to a limited extent last Spring, and was attended with a gratifying degree of success, was the direct shipment, by members of the Grange in this State, of provisions to planters in the South, who are members of the Grange there. This business was managed by Mr. Shankland of this city, a member of the National Executive Committee of the Grange. He received orders from Grangers in South Carolina, accompanied by the cash, and pur- chased flour and bacon, which he shipped directly to the consumer. The purchases were made of the far- mers when it was possible to do so, and when not, of the packers and millers in this city. The shipments were made by rail, by way of Cairo, Hickman, Ken- tucky, Nashville, Chattanooga, and Atlanta, to Colum- bia, two trans-shipments being made on the route. The railroad companies made special rates at from $1.08 to $1.T5 per hundred pounds. Bacon was thus laid down al Columbia, South Carolina, at less than eight cents a pound, while its market value there was from 12 to 14 cents a pound. One planter informed Mr. Shankland that he saved by this plan $400 on a 484 , HISTORY OF THE GRANGE MOVEMENT; OR, single car-load of flour and bacon. Only twenty-three or twenty-four car-loads of provisions were shipped in this way last Spring, for the reason that these transac- tions are all between members of the Order, and the Grange had not at that time become much of an institu- tion in the Southern States. There are now in the South 597 Granges, outside of Missouri, and it is ex- pected that the number will be increased to at least 1000 by Spring. By that time it is also hoped that the Grangers of this State will have established a number of packing-houses and perhaps a few mills, so that they will be able to ship provisions directly to Southern consumers without their passing through the hands of any middle-men. There is no doubt that a large business of this kind will be done next year. " Cooperative buying and selling by the Granges is as yet but an experiment, but the facts which I have set forth in this letter, all of which I have gathered from official sources, show it to be a very promising one. Of course there. have been, and will be, difficul- ties to overcome. The farmers are often timid ; a sudden decline in the market causing them to lose money on a single shipment of grain sometimes alarms them, and they are prone to go back to the old grain- buyers, forgetting, perhaps, that their gains on other shipments compensate many times for the loss on one. Dishonest men may secure appointments as agents and swindle them, and a hundred other things may occur to retard the success of the system. But the leaders of it, most of whom have been life-long disciples of Mr. Greeley, believe that the principle is right, and that the Grange organization furnishes the machinery by which it can be put into practical operation. THE FARMER'S WAR AGAINST MONOPOLIES. 485 " Several "Western journals have contained articles purporting to give an estimate of the immense sums of money that the Grange is taking from the farmers in the shape of fees, dues, etc., and have hinted that it was a foolish waste of money, which should be stopped before the people could be made to believe the farmers' cry of ' hard times.' They have ' also criticised the Grange for its secrecy. In justice to the Order, as I have observed it, I wish to repeat what I said in a former letter — that all attempts to organize the farmers for any purpose previous to the establishment of the Grange were failures ; that its constitution and by-laws are public ; that, as at present organized, it cannot be converted into a secret caucus to further the ends of any men or party, though it teaches certain principles which its members will probably demand shall be re- cognized by the parties or the men they support ; and finally, that, though the Grange does collect from its members, in the aggregate, a considerable sum of money, it has already returned to them in this State alone, through cooperation, which is yet only an experiment, more money than has been paid into it throughout the country, to say nothing of the intellectual and social benefits it has conferred upon its members. The Granger who has bought a plow only through the agent of the Grange has saved more than enough to pay his fees for a year, while those who have purchased sewing machines or other expensive machinery have saved enough to pay their fees for several years." As was to have teen supposed, reckless and irrespon- sible men have sought to take advantage of the busi- ness feature of the Grange, to increase their sales to farmers, and it is a common thing to find dealers claim- 486 HISTORY OP THE GRANGE MOVEMENT; OR, ing that their wares have received the endorsement of the Order. Farmers should beware of all such persons, and bear in mind the following letter of warning issued to the Order in general by the Secretary of the National Grange : " To PATRONS : — All members of the Order are here- by cautioned against noticing any circulars that may be sent them purporting to be issued on the recommenda- tion of the National Grange, or its Officers, as no certificate in favor of any article, seed, or implement will be furnished to any individual, under any circum- stances whatsoever, until the merits of such article is endorsed and properly certified by at least ten Granges, (whose endorsement will appear on the. circular,) and not in any case to those who are not members of the Order; and when any such endorsement is issued by the National Grange, all and every subordinate Grange will be duly notified by the Secretary of the National Grange." . No feature of the Order has had to encounter more opposition than the cooperative system we have de- scribed. The middle-men early took the alarm, and assailed it as a mere chimera, as utterly impracticable, and ridiculed unmercifully the claims of its advocates. Even that portion of the press most favorable to the Order expressed grave doubts of the possibility of carry- ing out this part of the programme. The repeated and numerous failures of cooperative ' systems were brought forward and urged with great force in opposi- tion to the claims of the Grangers^and for a long time the farmers themselves held aloof irom this feature of the Order. But time and experience have demon- strated both the practicability and the excellence of the THE FARMER'S WAR AGAINST MONOPOLIES. 487 system. The magnificent -success of the scheme in Iowa shows that it is not chimerical, but that it is based upon sound business principles, and only needs the cordial cooperation of members of the Order else- where to make it equally successful in other States. In Minnesota, where no organized system of coopera- tive buying and selling has been adopted, a number of separate Granges have made purchases at wholesale, but they have not been able to make as favorable terms as the State agent of the Iowa Grange ; but even these efforts, it was stated at the last meeting of the Minne- sota State Grange, had resulted in the saving of three- quarters of a million of dollars to the farmers of the State. The advantage of this feature of the Grange to the farmer is incalculable. Millions of dollars can and will be thus saved to the agriculturalists of the country, and the beneficial effects of this saving will soon be apparent. One of the good results of the system came under the observation of the writer while these pages were being written. In a certain large city of the Eastern States, there is a mercantile house largely engaged in the purchase and exportation of Southern cotton. Among the debtors of this firm was a certain planter in a Southern State, whose indebtedness amounted to several thousand dollars. Wishing to close the ac- count, and being in need of money, the firm applied to the planter for a remittance. He having business in their city, replied in person. He told them that, owing to the great stringency of the money market, he found himself unable to obtain ready money, and would be obliged to ask their indulgence for a little 488 HISTORY OP THE GRANGE MOVEMENT; OR, while longer. " I expect to pay you very soon/' he said, " and to pay interest on the debt. I can only raise money now by selling my cotton at a sacrifice, and I cannot consent to do that. Cotton is worth more than the price I should get for it now." " What would it bring you?" asked the head of the house. The planter named a price below the market rates in New York. "What do you think it is worth?" asked the mer- chant. "A cent and a half a pound more," said the planter. This last price was still below the market rate, and the merchant said to the planter that if he would deliver to the Southern correspondent, of the firm enough cotton to cover the amount of the debt, at the rate he had named, it would be as acceptable as the money. " I should like to do so," said the planter, hesitatingly ^ "but I cannot. I am a member of the Grange, and we have recently established an agency of our own for the sale of our cotton, and have pledged ourselves to sell through no other sourcfe. I must stand by my agreement, or I would accept your offer." But for the Grange the planter would have sold his cotton at a sacrifice, even at the higher price he had named. The Order, however, gave him the means of obtaining the worth of his crop. It prevented him from acting in haste, and, although he was but poorly informed as to the state of the market, the agency through which his business was transacted possessed the necessary information and saved him from the effects of his ignorance. THE FARMER'S WAR AGAINST MONPOLIES. 489 The cooperative system of the Grange is yet in its infancy. That it will be generally adopted, we cannot doubt, and that the greater portion of the Granges will enjoy the benefits seems clear. That it will have to encounter much opposition is to be expected. The middle-men will oppose it wherever it is introduced, as it will free the farmers from the tax hitherto paid to this class of merchants ; but we have good reason to believe that it will be ultimately carried out by the entire Order in all parts of the country. That successful cooperation is possible, and may be carried to a very great extent, is proved not only by the experience of the Iowa Grange, but by the opera- tions of the " Civil Service Supply Association," of London. The following account of the establishment and growth of this remarkable association, perhaps the most successful of its kind in existence, was prepared by one of the original members. It is full of encour- agement and suggestion to those who are working in the Grange for a similar object, and we commend it to them. It is as follows : " The Civil Service Supply Association is the oldest Cooperative Society in the Service, and it has been the model upon which all London Cooperative Societies have been formed. Although barely eight years old, and in its commencement most humble, it is now selling goods at the enormous rate of £780,000 a year, and is fast revolutionizing the retail trade, not only of Lon- don, but of the whole country. Surely the story of its rise and progress is worth the telling. " The Association originated in the Post-Office. The Winter of 1864-5 (like many other Winters, and for that matter Summers too) found a good many of us 490 HISTORY OF THE GRANGE MOVEMENT; OR, Post-Office men engaged in a rather hard struggle to make both ends meet. Some of us had ventured to ask for higher pay, and had been favored with the usual sympathetic but depressing reply, that it was regretted that the circumstances of the case would not justify any addition to our salaries, etc., etc. "Feeling as we did sharply, the general rise in the cost of living, especially in the price of all articles of clothing consequent on the American War, one or two of us had already bethought ourselves of cooperation as a means of lessening our difficulties. I, for one, being a Liberal in politics (for there are some few Liberals in the Civil Service) had watched with interest the doings of the Rochdale Pioneers, but could not at all see how to apply their experience to our own case. " One day, however, two office friends came to me — it was, as I well remember, a foggy, gloomy day in November, enough to make one more than usually des- pondent— and declared once for all that they must either have more to spend or manage to spend less. They had given up all hope of more pay, and as a last resource they proposed that we should try to spend less by means of cooperation. Their idea was that we should induce a number of Post-Office men to procure their supplies of coal from some one coal merchant, in the expectation that by the largeness of the united order, and by the payment of ready money, we should obtain a considerable abatement in price. Talking the matter over, we resolved to try buying on this plan ; but we soon agreed that coal was not a good article for the experiment, and in the end we decided to make a beginning with tea. That very afternoon one of us on his way home called at a celebrated wholesale house THE FARMER'S WAR AGAINST MONOPOLIES. 491 (I even now withhold names for fear of the wrath of retail traders) and learnt that by buying half a chest at a time, and paying for it in ready money, we should save from 6d. to 9d. a pound. We therefore invited a few other office friends to join us. Each wrote down on a list the quantity he would take, at the same time handing in the money to pay for it. Some of the most cautious limited themselves to a single pound : others boldly cooperated to the extent of two pounds, a few rash men pledged themselves to three pounds, and we promoters had to take enough to make up the full order. The tea was bought, and after office hours we weighed and divided it among the purchasers. It pro- ved to be excellent, and soon a demand arose for more. Other men in the office, who had heard of our success- ful venture, wished to join, and this time there was no need for us promoters to take more than we wanted. Some one now luckily discovered an empty cupboard in the office, and here we locked up our second half chest of tea till we could divide it among ourselves. " This cupboard was the original store of the Civil Service Supply Association. " More tea being very shortly needed, we prepared for a third purchase, and now so many joined us that we had to buy a whole chest. It was no joke to make up 100 pounds of tea into parcels of two or three pounds apiece, but we were lucky enough to find one who, like old Trapbois, was willing, nay eager, to un- dertake the task for a consideration. This was a funny little fellow, since dead, whose duties were very humble, and salary yet more so. Though nominally a clerk, he was regarded as a kind of cross between a clerk and a messenger. Poor fellow ! while his small salary had no 492 HISTORY OP THE GRANGE MOVEMENT; OR, prospect of increase, his large family increased but too fast. His remuneration for this piece of extra service was the ourplus tea (some three or four pounds) con- tained in each chest, beyond the nominal amount. " Our success in tea led us on to buy coffee ; and each time that our list went round the office more and more men asked leave to join. Our poor cupboard soon became too small for our ever-increasing stocks, to which moreover we thought of adding sugar and other groceries. With no small anxiety we found ourselves constrained to hire a store-room outside the building, a step that we felt could not be safely taken .unless we formed ourselves into a regular association. Hence arose the Post-Office Supply Association, which, being afterwards extended to the whole of the Civil Service, in the end took the title of the ' Civil Service Supply Association.' Our first impulse was to call ourselves the ' Post-Office Cooperative Society," but even the boldest of us shrank from so hazardous an avowal — so strong only eight short years ago was the prejudice against cooperation, regarded as it was by many as identical with socialism. In a word, we took the thing, but not the name. " A small committee of Post-Office men was formed ; and after much anxious deliberation they resolved, and a daring step they thought it, to take a little room at a rent of twelve shillings a week, in the perhaps not over-fashionable neighborhood of Bridgewater-square, Barbican. " The following is an extract from the original pros- pectus of the Association, now a very scarce and highly- prized document : " l This Association has been formed for the purpose THE FARMER'S WAR AGAINST MONOPOLIES. 493 of supplying officers of the Post-Office and their friends with articles of all kinds, both for domestic consump- tion and general use, at the lowest wholesale prices. " ' The advantages of the scheme are obvious, but its full benefits can best be secured by a general combi- nation in support of it on the part of the officers of the various departments. " l It is intended that the articles mentioned in the accompanying price-list shall be purchased by the com- mittee and distributed among the members. Arrange- ments for the supply of all other articles have been entered into with the firms named in the accompanying list.' " Even when the Association was fairly started, and carrying on its business on its own premises, the com- mittee did not venture to order any goods without ascertaining from the members what quantity of each article was needed. The business soon outgrew the room in Bridgewater-square, and the committee in a fit of extraordinary daring, engaged from a printer the upper floor of a small house in Bath street, on the ground floor of which the worthy typographer carried on his own business. The memorable house wherein the third store (counting the original cupboard) was carried on, has long since been pulled down to make way for the new Post-Office buildings, but those who went there to cooperate in those early days must have a vivid recollection of the narrow staircase, where one was elbowed by printer's devils, and of the dark little rooms crowded with purchasers. Here, however, we stayed but a short time, the business growing so rapidly that within a very few months the committee had ^.gain to seek larger premises, and this time, after mak- 494 HISTORY OF THE GRANGE MOVEMENT; OR, ing temporary use of some premises in Wood street, they took a really desperate leap. After many a hunt for a house big enough to meet any probable increase of business, two of our committee discovered a suitable one in Monk well street, a very narrow, out of the way thoroughfare near Cripplegate Church, and filled with confidence by past success, they took it on their own responsibility at a rent of £400 a year. Great was the anxiety of the remainder of the committee at this bold proceeding, though the intention was to sub- let the upper floor or the house to some firm that should undertake to sell goods to the members at whole- sale prices. Tenants were found in certain hosiers, relatives of one of the Post-Office clerks, and the arrangement worked fairly well for a time, but as soon as it could safely do so, the committee regained posses- sion of the floor, and undertook the sale of hosiery on its own account. " From this point the narrative, from being one of small beginnings, becomes the story of a large and rapidly increasing business. • " First the committee obtained part of an adjoining house, then the whole of it, and after a time the other adjoining house, and part of a house on the opposite side of the street. A fresh house was taken in Villiers street, and subsequently a larger one in Long Acre, for the convenience of West End members. Before this time a great pressure had been put upon the committee to open a West End store ; but they would not then make the venture, and this, among other causes, led to the establishment of the sister Association, entitled 1 The Civil Service Cooperative Society,' which has ite fetores in the Haymarket. THE FARMER'S WAR AGAINST MONOPOLIES. 495 " The city business of the Association will, during the present month, be removed to very large and handsome premises, near the Heralds' College, in Queen Victoria street, now building expressly for its use. " I have not mentioned the extreme difficulty which the committee experienced in inducing wholesale houses to deal with the Association, especially when its doings found their way into print. Though ready money was always offered, together with good orders, most of the wholesale houses hung back, declaring that unless the orders were very large indeed, they should not feel warranted in encountering the fierce opposition of the retail traders. And now let us mark the con- sequences of this opposition. Very large orders being out of the question, so long as custom proceeded only from a limited number of persons, each of moderate in- come, and Civil servants generally not yet joining in the movement, 'the cooperators were obliged, in self- defence, to extend admission to quasi-membership beyond Civil Service bounds. Even this extraneous aid barely carried them through the struggle ; the re- tailers having, over and over again, succeeded in deter- ring particular firms from supplying them with goods. These quasi-members, however, called by us ' subscri- bers,' were by no means admitted to any share in management, which indeed during the first year was strictly confined to a Post-Office Committee, though afterwards extended to representatives from the Civil Service generally. The exclusion of the general public from authority we have regarded as one of the chief causes of our success. Subscribers, however, by an annual payment of 5s., obtain all the commercial ad- vantages enjoyed by full members, except that their 496 HISTORY OF THE GRANGE MOVEMENT; OR, purchases are not delivered carriage-free. The full members become so by taking each a £\. share, of which, however, only 10s. has been called up. No one is allowed to hold more than a single share, nor arc shares saleable or transferable in any way. On a member's death, his share is cancelled, and his deposit returned to his family. Until about a month ago any Civil Servant not below the rank of a clerk was eligible as a shareholder ; but actual admission to the share- holding body required the approval of the committee. The number of shareholders, which has largely in- creased during the last three or four years, is now about 4200. " By the rules of the Association, any profits which may be made are to be spent in reducing the prices at which the goods are sold. Even in the outset, prices were not fixed higher than is deemed needful to cover the working expenses, which now amount to only 6 or 7 per cent, on the wholesale purchase price ; but, of course, 'the committee in its calculations has always taken good care to be well on the safe side. It is, perhaps, owing to extreme prudence in this matter, though, probably, still more to the need felt for a con- siderable working capital, that the Association has gradually accumulated the sum of about £75,000. The very magnitude of this capital has, however, pro- ved a source of danger; for, without question, some persons have at different times obtained shares simply in the hope of breaking up the Association and getting a share of the spoil. Happily these unjustifiable attempts have hitherto always met with signal defeat, an overwhelming majority of the shareholders being determined to maintain the Association in honest and THE FARMER'S WAR AGAINST MONOPOLIES. 497 faithful accordance with the principles upon which it was founded. " At the last half-yearly meeting of the Association in April, a proposal was brought forward to limit the shareholding body to the present number. After a pro- longed and animated discussion, it was resolved to submit the proposal to the vote of the whole of the shareholders, which was taken by ballot. Out of the 4200 shareholders only 1200 voted, but of those who did vote there was a majority of 400 in favor of the proposal, which was accordingly carried. Of course, could the accumulated profits be divided, this limitation of the number of shareholders would give the shares a considerable value. Legal opinion, however, is en- tirely against the possibility of thus disposing of any past accumulations, which by the rules can only be spent in reducing the prices of articles sold. It is expected that those who have thus obtained a limitation of the share- holding body, will now endeavor to carry such an alteration in the rules as will allow future profits to.be devoted to a Widow and Orphan Fund, or to some such purpose. Any change in the constitution of the Association, having for its object the benefit of the Civil servants as distinguished from their friends the subscribers, is viewed with much anxiety and disfavor by most of the earlier members of the Society. "The number of subscribers is now limited to 15,000. While this number furnishes a clientele suf- ficiently strong to enable wholesale houses to disregard the retail traders, some check is placed upon the en- largement of the business, and consequent increase in the labor and responsibility of management. " The extraordinary rapidity with which the business 32 498 HISTORY OF THE GRANGE MOVEMENT; OR, has grown, will best be seen from the following table showing the amount of sales at the stores during each year of the Association's existence, viz. : Date. Amount of Sales. 1865 £5000 1866 21,000 1867 83,000 1868 218,000 Date. Amount of Sales. 1869 £345,000 1870 447,000 1871 646,000 1872 723,000 " During the half year ended March 31st last, the sales reached £392,000, being, therefore, at the rate of £784,000 a year, viz. : for grocery and wine, £410,000 : for hosiery and clothing, £192,000; and for fancy goods, stationery, etc., £182,000. At the present time about 8100 pounds of tea and about 15 tons of sugar are sold weekly. " The articles sold at the stores consist principally of groceries, cigars, and tobacco, wine and spirits, hosiery and drapery, stationery, books and music, watches and jewelry. But most of these articles, and, indeed, almost every other article of ordinary demand, can also be obtained by members and subscribers at low rates, though of course -only for ready money, at all such warehouses and shops as have arrangements with us. The latest quarterly Price List, which, from a single small sheet has grown to be a book of more than 200 pages, shows that the covenanting firms are not less than 250, while the reduction promised in prices ranges from 15 to 25 per cent. It is believed that this additional business amounts, at least, to £800,000, and not impro- bably to as much as £1,000,000 a year. Contrary to what might be expected, this part of the system works satisfactorily; for, though purchasers are invited to complain to the committee if they ever have reason to suppose they do not obtain the full discount promised. THE FARMER'S WAR AGAINST MONOPOLIES. 499 few complaints are received. These, however, are all. thoroughly examined, and wherever they prove to be well founded, the offending firm is struck off" the list. Moreover, members soon learn from each other at what shops they are civilly and fairly treated, and act accordingly ; so that some of the firms which have been connected with the Association from its early days, having gradually acquired a high reputation among us, are now doing a very large business with our members. " The members have the advantage of a tailoring de- partment, carried on in Bedford street, Strand, which, however, was for a long time a source of great trouble to the committee. Much difficulty was experienced in getting, and still more in keeping, good workmen, who left in a mysterious manner; and the work was fre- quently so badly done as to convince the committee that the workmen were being bribed to spoil the clothes intrusted to them, and thus to entail loss upon the Association. After a while, and by the exercise of great perserverance, these difficulties have all been overcome, and the tailoring department promises to be a great success. " Notwithstanding that the retail price of the arti- cles sold at the stores is on the average some six or seven per cent, above the wholesale price, it happens every now and then, that, owing to a rise in the mar- ket price between the publication of the quarterly price lists, the market price becomes higher than the retail price at the stores. Unless the article is one of large general consumption, such as tea, the committee adheres to its retail price until the issue of the next Quarterly Price List. This sometimes leads to an attempt by retail traders to buy up — of course through 500 HISTORY OF THE GRANGE MOVEMENT; OR, some subscriber willing to play false to the Associa- tion— all the stock in hand. During the Franco- German war an attempt was thus made to buy up all the champagne, and not many months ago a rapid rise in the market price of white pepper and of anchovies led to similar attempts with these articles. Large orders are never now executed without such inquiry as satisfies the committee of their being made in good faith. " The Association directly employs about 400 people, and pays upward of £48,000 a year in salaries and wages. The stores in Long Acre stand at an annual rental of £600, while for the new stores in Queen Vic- toria street, the mere ground rent is no less than £1400. The premises themselves we are about to purchase for £15,000, while a further rent of £200 a year is paid for a warehouse at Ward's Wharf, where are kept large stocks of every article in the Price List, and where are executed all large orders for goods. Something has been said as to the causes of our well-doing, but it seems desirable to inquire further into the reason of success so unprecedented. The Association is now one of the largest buyers and sellers in England, nay, in the world ; and yet it was commenced and has been carried on by a body of men who in their ordinary employ- ment neither buy nor sell. Moreover, the personnel of the committee so changes that at the present time there is left upon it but one of the original members, while every fresh committee-man, of course, has to learn the very A B C of commercial business. For explanation, I believe we may fairly point first to the high sense of honor which pervades the Government service, and which always renders it easy to find abun- THE FARMER'S WAR AGAINST MONOPOLIES. 501 dance of men whose integrity is above suspicion ; secondly, to the admirable training for business (viz., the adaptation of means to an end, as Mr. Walter Bagehot happily defines it) which the Post-Office ser- vice affords ; and, thirdly, to the corporate nature of the Civil Service. In the establishment of almost every other trading company, as it seems to me, the promoters aim at some advantage for themselves and their friends beyond what is avowed, getting perhaps a larger allotment of shares, or obtaining them on more favorable terms than the general public, or at least secur- ing appointments for their nominees. Indeed, so general is this practice, that it would, I suppose, be impossible to persuade the public that a company had been formed on such a footing as to give equal benefit to every in- dividual shareholder. On the other hand, when the Civil Service Supply Association was formed, not only did not the originators of it obtain any special benefit for themselves, but no one ever imagined that they did. During the eight years that the Association has been in existence, though nearly ,£2,500,000 have passed through the committee's hands, there has arisen, so far as I know, no suspicion whatever of any dishonesty, or even of any questionable dealing. "As I have before stated, the Association originated and was organized in the Post-Office — a department which, under the guidance and control of Sir Rowland Hill, has seen a great rise of able and energetic men. Even in earlier days, Post-Office men had, of course, taken constant part in a vast and complex business ; but the introduction of penny postage had prodigiously enlarged this business in all its branches. Moreover, Sir Rowland's system of management — particularly 502 HISTORY OF THE GRANGE MOVEMENT; OR, his bold application of the principle of promotion by merit instead of by seniority — had not only advanced able men to important posts, but had brought out throughout the service powers previously latent. Mr. Scudamore, in a recent lecture, stated that the indirect results of Sir Rowland's postal reforms have been even greater than the direct. Among these indirect results, as due to the general spirit of activity and enterprise thus engendered, may, I believe, be reckoned the es- tablishment of the Civil Service Supply Association and the kindred societies which this has called into life. "Another main element of success is the corporate nature of the Post-Office and of the Civil Service gener- ally. This provided a large business connection, already linked together and accessible without the aid of ad- vertisements, so soon as the value of the Association was proved. Moreover, there was a special guarantee for integrity. Evefy one in the Post-Office either knows or can easily know something of every brother officer of whatever rank, and this holds good, though perhaps in a lesser degree, of every Government depart- ment. Every committee-man has felt that his reputa- tion as a Civil servant was of far too great a value to be endangered by any unfair dealing in the affairs of the Association ; the motive to rectitude being so strong, that to put men of even moderately good official standing on the committee was to render it certain that the work would be honestly and diligently done. While, however, the Association has thus far succeeded so admirably, it seems to me that its future course is not free from danger. " The shareholding body, composed as it is of upward of 4000 Civil servants from all branches of the Service, THE FARMER'S WAR AGAINST MONOPOLIES. 503 who have been admitted to membership without any reference to their fitness for the position, has sometimes proved very unruly. Latterly, however, the introduc- tion of the plan of voting by proxy has greatly re- duced the power of the comparatively small fraction of shareholders who are disposed to be troublesome. " The pay of the committee, too, for duties involving much sacrifice of well-earned leisure, considerable labor, and great responsibility, is very low. So long as salaries are limited to £80 or £90 a year, the com- mittee must remain a too changeable body, since capable men cannot be permanently retained on such terms. Hitherto the Association has been mainly served by men whose chief motives were pride in its success, and a desire to benefit their fellow-officers, but of course this will not last. The time must come when the chief inducement to such service will be the desire of adding to income ; nor should it be expected that the Association will be maintained in full vigor unless the payment to the committee be made sufficient to induce well qualified men to serve mainly as a matter of business. "A reduction in the shareholding body, with a limi- tation of it to suitable persons, is now out of the ques- tion. Many of us Post-Office men thought, and still think, that a great mistake was made in not resolutely retaining the control of the Association in the Post- Office service ; though, of course, we quite approved of admitting the remainder of the Civil Service to all the othei advantages of membership. I feel no doubt that should the present Association ever collapse, the Post- Office men would rapidly and successfully organize a new society on the plan of keeping the control in the 504 HISTORY OF THE GRANGE MOVEMENT; OR, hands of a moderate number of trustworthy and reason- able men of their service. "About two years ago, when our Association limited the number of subscribers to 15,000, a new society en- titled, ' The New Supply Association,' was projected to take in those friends of Civil Servants and others who could not gain admission to the old. Several of the then members of our committee joined the direc- tion of the new Association, which is conducted upon the same general principles as our own. I see by the first annual report that the Association, which has its stores in Long Acre, has during the past twelve months sold £20,000 worth of goods to its members, so that it has made a good commencement. " I must mention, in conclusion, that I have never served, and certainly never intend to serve, on the Committee of Management myself, although I have had the opportunity of watching its work from the commencement to the present time." THE FARMER'S WAR AGAINST MONOPOLIES. 505 CHAPTER XXX. THE FUTURE OF THE GRANGE. Retrospective — Future of the Order — What it will accomplish for {he Farmer ana for the Country — The Grange pledged to a Just and Liberal Course of Action — The Grange not a Destructive Order — Its Stake in the Community —Elements of Opposition — Distrust of Politicians — Political Views of the Granges — Platforms of the Farmers of Illinois, Minnesota, and Iowa — Necessity for the Order to confine itself to its Proper Work. WE have now examined the organization, traced the history and growth, and discussed the prospects of the Order of Patrons of Husbandry. It is a remarkable order, and has a renrarkble history. Its growth is un- precedented. Not even the old Know Nothing party spread with such rapidity. Although organized as far back as 1867, the growth of the Order has been con- fined almost exclusively to the past year, in which it has spread with a swiftness which has exceeded even the wildest hopes of its most sanguine friends. But a mere handful at the beginning of 1873, it is now a vast army, stretching over the entire Republic, with a well arranged and satisfactorily working system of govern- ment, with definite and honestly avowed aims, and ample means of attaining its ends; and it is increasing by many thousands every week. No man can predict its future ; but it seems safe to assert that at no very distant day it will embrace the entire farming community. Certainly those who have the farmers' interests at heart should strive for such an 500 HISTORY OF THE GRANGE MOVEMENT; OR, end, for the Grange has shown itself the farmer's best friend. Its spread means protection to him, encourage- ment to him, a greater degree of prosperity and happi- ness to him, for its only object is to make him a better and more prosperous farmer and man. None but far- mers are admitted to its membership, for it does not concern itself with outside issues ; its work is with and for the farmers only. There is every reason why the farmers of the country should work for its success, and it will be a great mistake to hold aloof from it. When it shall have accomplished its work, the re- sults will be such as will affect the condition of the country for remote generations. It will have broken the power of the railroad monopolies and secured to the farmer a cheap means of reaching a market. It will have rendered the financial demoralization from which we are now suffering impossible, by securing the passage of laws meting out equal justice to all men. It will have given the whole country cheap coal, and cheap bread. It will have secured the farmer a fair return for his industry. It will have relieved him of the necessity of incurring debts, and have enabled him to make cash purchases at reasonable rates. The ac- complishment of all this must exercise a powerful influence upon the country, and change the entire current of its progress and history. That this will be accomplished, we firmly believe. We do not expect to see it done in a day, or a year. It is the work of time, and the Grange must be patient ; but it will be accomplished. We have shown the power of the farmers to make their wishes respected, and it is the work of the Grange to guide this power in channels which shall benefit the entire country. THE FARMER'S WAR AGAINST MONOPOLIES. 507 The Grange is a destructive institution only so far as abuses are concerned. It seeks to eradicate these ; but it also seeks to build up a better system in their place. It is pledged to destroy railroad tyranny, but it is also , pledged to secure the inauguration of a system which shall be just to the roads while destroying their power to do harm. It will do nothing hastily. Its very organization and mode of procedure are guarantees against indiscreet and dangerous action. It is com- posed of men who have the highest stake in the welfare of the community; of honest, temperate, and industrious men and women, a class of which the Republic is especially proud. Its measures will be the result of the combined wisdom of this class, and will be discussed and examined patiently and fairly before being decided upon. The Order has nothing to gain by haste, but everything to compel it to act calmly and judiciously. That its work will be accomplished without opposi- tion, we cannot venture to hope. Several elements of opposition naturally array themselves against it. The railroads, whose corrupt use of power it seeks to check ; the friends of the land grab system ; the coal monopo- lists ; the men who dam up the avenues of approach to a free market — the " protected class ; " the middle- men, whose vast gains are directly endangered by the cooperative feature of the Order — all these are its natural and bitter enemies, and they will seek by every means which their ingenuity can devise to weaken and distract the Order and prevent the achievement of its great work. A portion of the press of the country, in sympathy with them, will take up their cause and endeavor to discredit the Order in the eyes of the 508 HISTORY OF THE GRANGE MOVEMENT; OR, public. The opposition which the Grange must en- counter has, as jet, scarcely begun. The rapid and astonishing growth of the Order has taken its enemies so entirely by surprise that they have not yet recovered sufficiently to organize their opposition; but it will come. But let the farmers remain steadfast in their purpose, and above all, let them confine their Order to their own class. The very life, the very existence of the Order depends upon the oneness of the interests of its members. Such outside support as it needs it will quickly obtain when the people see, as they soon will when the fight is fairly opened, that the Grange is battling for the rights of the whole people as well as those of the farmer. The Grange has the good of the nation at heart, and its aim is to be just and generous in the exercise of its powers. With political parties as such it has no affiliation, and yet it must act as a political party itself in one sense. Many of its ends can be attained only by exer- cising the political rights of its members. It desires to break down abuses and secure the adoption of just laws. To accomplish this it must put men in power who will faithfully carry out its wishes. It proposes to do this ; to see that its individual members entitled to the right of suffrage cast their votes only for men who are pledged to the accomplishment of the objects which it is working for. Patrons under these circum- stances will vote for no man as a Republican or as a Democrat, but as a man pledged to the adoption of a definite reform. Already the politicians, appreciating the power of the Order, have sought to use it for their own purposes; but the Order has declined, and will THE FARMER'S WAR AGAINST MONOPOLIES. 509 continue to decline, all such overtures. What sym- pathy has it with the men who have aided in bring- ing about the very abuses it seeks to correct ? "What bond of union can there be between the Order and the men who have aided and encouraged wild cat railroad speculation; who have fastened the land grab system upon us; who have put it in the power of the monopolist to rob the people; and who are stained with the infamy of the " Credit Mobilier," and the " back pay steal ? " This is well understood by the farmers of the country, and the politicians have under- taken a hopeless task. The day is approaching when better men will be charged with the work of the State, and it is the task of the. Grange to hasten the advent of this period. The Order has not yet committed itself to any definite avowal of its views upon political questions. Various minor issues have been advocated by the various State organizations, but no general platform has yet been presented to the Order. The Farmers' Convention, which met in Chicago towards the last of October of the present year, made the following declaration of principles : Resolved, 1. That Congress be asked to pass a general law fixing a maxi- mum rate for transportation between the States, and the Legislatures laws governing transportation within the States, and that no more subsidies to pri- vate corporations be given. 2. We demand the construction of railroads and the improvement of water communications between the interior and seaboard, the same to be owned and operated by the General Government, for the purpose of affording cheap and ample transportation, and to protect the people from the exactions of monopolies. 3. That people should create and patronize home manufactures in order to do away, in so far as is possible, with the necessity for transportation. 4. That the people should free themselves of debt in order to be better pre- pared for the rtruggle with monopoly whenever it cornea. 510 HISTORY OF THE GRANGE MOVEMENT; OR, 5. That no industry can be protected save at the expense of all other indus- tries, and that all special legislation is wrong. 6. That the farmers should organize throughout the country to secure reform of abuses and equal justice for all. The Minnesota farmers, at their convention, at Owatonna, September 2d, 1873, adopted the following platform : Whereas, The leading issues that have hitherto divided the people of this country in political parties have ceased to exist, and it is unwise to seek to continue the old party organization now that new and momentous questions have arisen ; and Whereas, The principal question now demanding consideration is that in- volving the privileges and powers of corporations as antagonizing with and operating in opposition to the well-b,eing of the people ; and Whereas, We, the farmers, mechanics, and laborers of Minnesota, deem the triumph of the people in this contest with monopolies essential to the perpetua- tion of our free institutions and the promotion of our private and national prosperity; and Whereas, In addition to this, and to the honest and economical administra- tion of the Government, we recognize no party distinctions nor political issues now before the country as worthy of more than minor consideration ; be it therefore Resolved, First: That the purpose of all proper government is the promotion of the welfare of the entire people, and that therefore the conduct of any citizen, association, or copartnership, whether chartered or otherwise, which may operate to the prejudice of this general welfare, is antagonistic to the true objects of our Government, and violative of the fundamental principles upon which all correct law is based. Second : That we recognize no political party nor individual aspirant for office as worthy of our support, unless it or he will unite with us in declaring that the Government cannot alienate its sovereignty either in whole or in part to any person, association, or corporation for any purpose whatever, but such are always and must forever remain subject to the sovereign authority and control of the Government. Third : That we will not aid in elevating any man to any important public position whatever who will either deny or object to the exercise by the Legislature of the power to reverse or annul at any time any chartered privi- lege or so-called vested right or any privilege claimed to be involved in any charter to any corporation, railroad, or otherwise, which experience has shown is or may be exercised by such corporation or by other similar corporations to the detriment of the public welfare ; and that we will demand from every candidate for a high executive, legislative, or judicial position to whom we accord our support that he shall pledge himself to recognize THE FARMER'S WAR AGAINST MONOPOLIES. 511 the maintenance of this right by the Government as a sacred duty assential for the preservation of the liberties of the people and the stability and pros- perity of the Commonwealth. Fourth : That tazes can only be rightfully levied for the purpose of raising revenues to defray the expenses of the Government in the discharges of its legitimate duties, supporting public institutions, and promoting the public welfare ; and that the levying of imposts as inure to the benefit of a class or classes in the community, while being detrimental to other classes, is unjust and oppressive ; and that tariffs levied on imported articles may be and are often so arranged as to become thus discriminative and injurious; and that it is therefore essential that the utmost care should be taken in framing such tariff laws, in order that the objectionable features may be avoided and that they may operate for the well being of the entire community. Fifth: That it is contrary to the spirit and purpose of a Eepublican Govern- ment that its servants should be compensated for their public services to an extent that will make office holding attractive to human cupidity, and that in the late act of Congress, increasing the official and Congressional salaries, notwithstanding the pleas and excuses urged in its palliation, we recognize only a corrupt and reprehensible avarice and reckless disregard of the public weal, which deserves the severest censure ; and we demand the repeal of the law at the earliest practicable moment, and declare every man who supported and approved, or aided and abetted in procuring its passage, or received benefit through its enactment, whether in the shape of back or future pay, as un- worthy the confidence of his fellow-citizens and unfit for the further occupancy of any position of public trust. Sixth : That all participants in the Cr6dit Mobilier and the corrupt trans- actions exposed by its investigation of the late Congress and by the late Treasury investigation of the State, deserve to have been punished as criminals, and that those who aided in screening them from complete exposure and con- sequent punishment, should likewise become objects of public scorn and contumely. Seventh : That every public officer is amenable to the people for his conduct, and that public sentiment should demand and compel the resignation of all those who are guilty of misrepresenting their constituents, of malfeasance in office, and of neglecting to execute faithfully the duties intrusted 'to them. Eighth : That the fees and salaries at present allowed to county and other officials within this State are frequently excessive, and that these should never be greater than is paid by private individuals to their employes engaged in similar duties and bearing similar responsibilities, and that we demand that the State Legislature shall at its next session remedy this evil, and reduce such salaries and fees to what will be no more than a just and reasonable compensa- tion, and thus, by removing the inducements for holding, lessen the desire for seeking office, and obviate to a considerable extent one of the most patent causes of local political corruption. Ninth : That our experience proves that persons elected by parties are sub- servient to the leaders and wire-pullers of the parties electing them in the 512 HISTORY OF THE GRANGE MOVEMENT; OR, performance of their public duties, to the neglect partially or wholly of the opinions and wishes of the mass of the people ; and that therefore we, as farmers and laborers, despair of ever having our wishes complied with or our interests subserved in the administration of public affairs until we shall take upon ourselves the discharge of the duties we owe to ourselves and to each other of choosing and electing our own candidates independently of the action of all other political organizations, and we therefore earnestly recommend to the farmers and laborers of the State that we shall do all in our power to pro- cure the nomination and election of full and complete county, district, and State tickets, embracing candidates elected in the interests of the masses of the people for all the positions in the Executive, Legislative, and Judicial branches of the Government to be elected this Fall, and that, to the end that this policy may generally obtain, we solicit the cooperation of the industrial masses of the other States in order that the influence of the movement may be extended to the administration of our national affairs. Tenth : That we receive with satisfaction the decision of the Supreme Court of this State in the case of Blake agt. The Winona & St. Peter Kailroad Company, in which the Court holds, in effect, that the railroads are simply improved highways, public roads, and that as such the right to prescribe a rate of tolls and charges is an attribute of the sovereignty of the people of which no legislation can divest them, and that the thanks of all the people of this State are due to W. P. Clough, the attorney for the plaintiff, whose skill, ability, and devotion to the cause of the people secured this judicial triumph. Eleventh : That we have seen with alarm the startling revelations in refer- ence to the condition of our State Treasury, the undoubted defalcation of our Treasurer of over $100,000, and the reported defalcation of his successor of nearly $40,000 ; the loan of the public funds to merchants and lumber dealers ; the making of accounts with bogus certificates of deposit ; the fact that nearly half a million of the school fund, the precious heritage of our children, was left unindorsed as required by law, and completely at the mercy of these dis- honest officials ; the perjuries of the State Treasurer before the Commission, and finally, the desperate efforts that were successfully made to hide the King of guilty parties who had used the State Treasurer as their tool. Twelfth : That we claim that the law requiring these companies to fence the lines of their roads should be strictly enforced, and that the said companies should be compelled to pay for all loss and damage to stock caused by the absence of such fences. Thirteenth : That we are opposed to the monopoly of wood and coal in oui great cities by the Rings, as a shameful tax on the industry of the people. Fourteenth : We ar-? in favor of free water communication with the ocean by- means of the improvement of the Mississippi and other great rivers of the State, and the improvement of the great lakes ; that we are in favor of an examination by ilie National Government of the region between the St. Croix and Lake Superior, to ascertain whether canal communication can be made to connect the tributaries of the Mississippi with the waters of Lake Superior. Fifteenth : We are in favor of «uch reasonable limitation of the hours of THE FARMER'S WAR AGAINST MONOPOLIES. 513 labor in the shops and factories of the State as will give the laboring people opportunity for moral and mental improvement. Sixteenth : That we demand a State law that will pay out of the public funds the costs and charges of all suits brought by individuals to enforce the laws of the State against railroad corporations. Seventeenth : That we can sympathize with all attempts for the moral im- provement of the people, and that we regard the temperance societies of the land which are working by moral suasion for the advancement of the cause as deserving of the consideration of good men everywhere. Eighteenth : That the honor of our State demands that the delegation in Congress from this State call for a thorough investigation into the equitable settlement, so-called, of the transfer of the Fort Snelling property. Nineteenth : That the subserving of the present candidate for Governor on the Republican State ticket to the interest of railroads, shows him to be an enemy to the rights of farmers and laborers, and a friend of monopoly. The Farmers' Anti-Monopoly Convention, which met at Des Moines, Iowa, on the 13th of August, 1873, adopted the following platform : Whereas, Both political parties have discharged the obligations assumed at their organization, and being no longer potent as instruments for the reform of abuses which have grown up in them, we deem it inconsistent to attempt to accomplish a political reform by acting with and in such organizations; therefore, Resolved, That we, in free Convention, do declare as a basis of our future political action, that all corporations are subject to legislative control ; that those created by Congress should be restricted and controlled by Congress, and that those under State laws should be subject to the control respectively of the States creating them ; that such legislative control should be an express abro- gation of the theory of the inalienable nature of chartered rights, and that it should be at all times so used as to prevent moneyed corporations from becom- ing engines of oppression. Resolved, That the Legislature of Iowa should by law fix the maximum rates of freight to be charged by the railroads of the State, leaving them free to compete below the rates. Resolved, That we demand a general revision of the present Tariff law that should give us free salt, iron, lumber, and cotton and woollen fabrics, and reduce the whole system to a revenue basis only. Resolved, That we demand the repeal of the back salary act, and the return to the United States Treasury of all money drawn therefrom by members of the last Congress, and of the members of the present Congress we demand the repeal of the law increasing salaries and the passage of a law fixing a lower and more reasonable compensation for public officers, believing that until the 33 514 HISTORY OF THE GRANGE MOVEMENT; OR, public debt is paid and the public burden lightened, the salaries of our public servants should be more in proportion to the rewards of labor in private life. Resolved, That we are opposed to all future grants of land to railroad or other corporations, and believe that the public domain should be held sacred to actual settlers, and we are in favor of a law by which each honorably dis- eharged soldier, or his heirs, may use such discharge in any Government land office in full payment for a quarter section of unappropriated public land. Resolved, That in the corrupt Tammany steal, Credit Mobilier frauds, Con- gress salary swindle, and official embezzlements, and the hundreds of other combination steals, frauds, and swindles by which Democratic and Republican legislators, Congressmen, and office-holders have enriched themselves, de- frauded the country, and impoverished the people, we find the necessity of independent action and the importance of united efforts, and cordially invite all men, of whatever calling or trade, regardless of political views, to join us in removing the evils that so seriously affect us all. From these resolutions, embracing three of the prin- cipal agricultural States of the Union, the reader can easily gain a clear conception of the views of the mem- bers of the Order upon the topics of the day. By remaining true to itself, then ; by resisting out- side influences, and especially by avoiding political complications, the Grange can safely and successfully accomplish its great mission. It is a noble work that it has taken upon itself, and its success must result in benefit to the whole country. Its objects are pure and lofty, and its success can be attained only by high and ennobling means. An Order which seeks the individual elevation and material prosperity of nearly one-half of the whole nation, merits, and will receive the warm and hearty sympathy of our entire population. THE FARMER'S WAR AGAINST MONOPOLIES. 515 CHAPTER XXXI. « LEADING GRANGERS. DUDLEY W. ADAMS, Master of the National Grange. THE Master of the National Grange is the presiding officer of the Order. His duties are thus defined by the By-laws of the Organization : It shall be the duty of the Master to preside at meetings of the National Grange ; to see that all officers and members of com- mittees properly perform their respective duties; to see that the Constitution, By-laws, and Resolutions of the National Grange and the usages of the Order are observed and obeyed ; to sign all drafts drawn upon the treasury, and generally to perform all duties per- taining to such office. He is chosen by the National Grange, by ballot, and his term of office is limited to three years. He exer- cises a general supervision over the Order, and his duties are by no means as light as some persons seem to think. The position is one of very great responsi- bility, and calls forth the exercise of executive abilities of a very high class. The Master must be a man of great firmness and force of character, fertile in resource, pos- sessing great tact, and, above all, must be a practical farmer and thoroughly devoted to the interests of the class for whose benefit the Order is working. These qualities are happily united in the present 516 HISTORY OF THE GRANGE MOVEMENT; OR, Master of the National Grange, Dudley W. Adams, Esq., of Iowa. Like most men of his calling, Mr. Adams' life has been quiet and uneventful. " My life," he says, in a letter which we have been permitted to use, " has been a rather uneventful one, and not such as will make a stirring narrative." " I was born," he continues, " in the pine woods of Massachusetts, in the town of .Win-v chendon, in the year 1831." He is consequently forty- two years of age at present. His father was at this time " running a small saw-mill," by means of which he managed to make a modest provision for his family. When the subject of this sketch was four years of age the family moved to a small rocky farm, which the father had purchased, and on which the childhood and youth of Dudley Adams were spent. His was the life of the ordinary New England farm lad — working on the farm in the milder weather, and attending the district school in the winter. He was a bright, quick lad, and manifested a strong desire to excel in his studies, so that when but a mere youth, we find him in possession of all the erudition the district school could afford him. Then the pupil became the teacher, and for several years the young pedagogue presided over the school in which his own education had been gained. At length the critical period in his life arrived. He was twenty-one years of age, and a free man. He was also the owner of a modest little sum that he had saved from his earnings as a teacher. He must* now make a decision which would affect his whole future ; he must choose the vocation of his life. New England offered few inducements to an energetic and ambitious young THE FARMER'S WAR AGAINST MONOPOLIES. 517 man, but the great "West was a field in which the opportunities for advancement were without limit. Westward his heart led him, and Westward he went. "At the age of twenty-one," he writes, "I turned my face West, and took up a piece of wild Government land at Waukon, Iowa, of which I made a farm, and on which I still reside." The young New Englander proved no drone in the new community. He set to work with a will, and from the first was recognized as one of the most ener- getic and intelligent farmers of the county or State. His neighbors testified their appreciation of him by electing him President of the Allamakee County Agri- cultural Society within a year after his settlement in the county. He was only twenty-two years of age at the time, and it was no small compliment to be chosen over the heads of older and more experienced men. He still refers to his election with pride. Under the intelligent and vigorous management of Mr. Adams the " piece of wild Government land " became one of the prettiest and most flourishing farms in the State. Its owner was a reading and a thinking man, and devoted his leisure to an intelligent and sys- tematic course of reading and self-culture. In his own pursuit his attention was directed particu- larly to Horticulture, and he did not confine his efforts to his own farm. Recognizing the needs of the coun- try, his labors embraced the whole Northwest. "My principal energies," he says, in a letter to the writer, " have been directed to the development of Horticul- ture in the Northwest, and now I have perhaps the finest orchard in that section, numbering over 4000 trees." In 1868 he was elected Secretary of the Iowa 518 HISTORY OF THE GRANGE MOVEMENT; OR, State Horticultural Society, and has been annually re- elected since then. He has during the present year re- linquished the position in consequence of his time being occupied by other and more important duties. " The achievement of my life," he says, " in which I take most pride, is the little I have done to improve the horticulture of my adopted State." A very modest way of viewing a good arid useful work, and one that will keep Mr. Adams' name in grateful remembrance in Iowa long after he has been gathered to his fathers. A man of Mr. Adams' mental capacity and activity could not help recognizing and investigating the evils from which the farming class has suffered, and upon the organization of the Order of Patrons of Husbandry, he at once identified himself with it as the best means of remedying the defects complained of. He took an active part in promoting its growth, and upon the or- ganization of the Iowa State Grange, on the 12th of January, 1871, was elected Master of that body. In December, 1871, he was reflected for a full term of two years. In January, 1872, he was chosen Master of the National Grange, and resigned his position in the Iowa State Grange. Upon the adoption of the Consti- tution of the Order, in January 1873, at the sixth annual session of the National Grange, Mr. Adams was reflected Master for the full term of three years. The following address, delivered by Mr. Adams before the Granges of Muscatine and Union counties, Iowa, in October, 1872, presents him in a favorable light as a speaker and thinker. We commend his vigorous and well-timed remarks to the careful conside- ration of the readers of these pages. He said : " When physicians meet in convention, as they often THE FARMER'S WAR AGAINST MONOPOLIES. 519 do, it is customary for members of the medical profes- sion to read papers for the entertainment and instruc- tion of the assembled M. D.'s. " When railroad men have a convention, such per- sons as have had active experience in railroad business do the talking and have charge of the meeting. " Editorial conventions are attended by editors, and they, as firmly as any other class of people, are of the opinion that they are capable of managing their own business, and they are not in the habit of imploring the members of other callings to furnish the brains to amuse or instruct them. "Shoemakers have organized themselves into the order of St. Crispins, and consider themselves able to paddle their own canoe. " Lawyers not only feel competent to address and properly edify conventions of their own profession, but their modesty does not forbid them from rendering valuable assistance to less favored classes by a free use of their surplus talent. " But, when the tillers of the soil have met in an agricultural society of any kind, it has been usually customary to select a lawyer, doctor, editor, or poli- tician to tell us what he knows about farming. The idea has very rarely occurred to the managers of such institutions that it might be possible for a farmer to have anything to say on such occasions which should be either appropriate, interesting, or instructive. When these professional oracles of our professional managers' selection open their mouths, we are edified with a rehash of such ideas as may be prevalent in the com- munity, served up in a great variety of forms, and presented in a great many different and beautiful lights, 520 HISTORY OF THE GRANGE MOVEMENT; OR, depending for its coloring upon the business of the orator, as this is the stand-point from which we are viewed, and, of course, this view determines the nature of the picture. Lawyers and doctors in beautiful colors paint the nobleness and independence of the farmer's life. They tell us we are the most intelligent, moral, healthy, and industrious class in all the land, and all our present is calm and our future happy. Merchants tell us that no business is so sure and free from care as farming, and that in no other calling do so few men end in bankruptcy. Politicians laud in sten- torian tones the f honest yeomanry,' ' the sinews of the land,' the ' bulwarks of our nation's liberties,' ' the coarse blouse of homespun which covers the true and honest heart,' and deluges more of equally fulsome and nauseating stuff. " Soft-handed agricultural editors give long disserta- tions on the necessity of saving all the spare moments, and converting them into some useful purpose. They tell us how rainy days may be laboriously used in mending old rake-handles, and winter evenings utilized by pounding oak logs into basket stuff, while our wives and daughters can nobly assist in averting bank- ruptcy by weaving the baskets or ingeniously making one new lamp-wick out of the remains of three old ones. " It has never occured to these very wise instructors that farmers and farmers' families are human beings, with human feelings, human hopes and ambitions, and human desires. It will doubtless be a matter of sur- prise for them to learn that farmers may possibly enter- tain some wish to enjoy life, and have some other object in life besides everlasting hard work and ac~ THE FARMER'S WAR AGAINST MONOPOLIES. 521 cumulating a few paltry dollars by coining them from their own life-blood, and stamping them with the sighs of weary children and worn wives. " What we want in agriculture is a new Declaration of Independence. We must do something to dispel old prejudices, and break down these old notions. That the farmer is a mere animal, to labor from morn till eve, and into the night, is an ancient but abominable heresy. We have heard enough, ten times enough, about the ' hardened hand of honest toil.' The su- preme ' glory of the sweating brow,' and how magni- ficent the suit of coarse homespun which covers a form bent with overwork, and which has incorporated in its every thread moments of painful labor which the over-worked wife had stolen from her needed rest. "I tell you, my brother tillers of the soil, there is something in this world worth living for besides hard work. We have heard enough of this professional blarney. Toil is not in itself necessarily glorious. To toil like a slave, raise fat steers, cultivate broad acres, pile up treasures of bonds and lands and herds, and at the same time bow and starve the godlike form, harden the hands, dwarf the immortal mind, and alienate the children from the homestead, is a damning disgrace to any man, and should stamp him as worse than a brute. " It is not honorable to sacrifice the mind and body to gain. It is not a trait of true nobility to bring up children to thankless, unrequited labor. It is not just or good or noble to wear out the wife of your bosom in the drudgery of the farm without a just return. You have no right to make agriculture so disagreeable as to 522 HISTORY OF THE GRANGE MOVEMENT; OR, drive all young men of spirit and enterprise into other branches of business. " I will be met right here with the thousand time repeated rejoinder, ' Oh, we farmers have to work hard. We can't get along as mechanics in town do with ten hours' work. "We can't afford to hire help. We can't afford to have holidays. We can't get time to make a vegetable, flower, and fruit garden, and supply our wants with vegetables, flowers, and fruits. We can't get time to make a lawn and plant trees around the house.' You can't ? You can't ? Then what are you farming for ? As men, as citizens, as fathers, as hus- bands, you have no right to engage in a business which will comdemn yourself and your dependents to a life of unrewarded toil. If the calling of agriculture will not enable you and yours to escape physical degradation, and mental and social starvation ; if it does not enable you to enjoy the amenities, pleasures, comforts, and necessities of life as well as other branches of business, it is your duty to abandon it at once, and not drag down in misery your dependent family. But I do not believe we need be driven to this alternative. I do believe that agriculture, followed as a business, with a reasonable regard to business principles, can be made a business success. I believe that by keeping steadily in view the primary end of life— our happiness, our comfort, our bodily health, our mental improvement and growth — they can be as well attained or better than in any other calling. Eight here is the great difficulty ; right here with ourselves is the remedy : We work too much and think too little. We make our hands too hard, while our brains are too soft. The day is long past when muscle ruled the world. Brain is THE FARMER'S WAR AGAINST MONOPOLIES. 523 the great motive power of this age, and muscle but a feeble instrument. The locomotive, tearing along, jarring the earth below, outstripping the wind above, and bearing in its train the beauty, honor, and treasure of a State, represents brains. The dusty, sweaty foot- man, wearily plodding along, carrying a pack on his back, symbolizes muscle. The self-raking reaper, driven with gloved and unsoiled hands, sweeping down like a fable the golden grain, represents brains. The bowed husbandman, painfully gathering handfuls of straw and cutting them with a sickle, represents muscle. The steamboat, plowing its way with ease against the strongest current of our swift and noble rivers, is brains. The dug-out, slowly creeping along, the willow-margined shore, propelled by the Indian's paddle, is muscle. The sewing-machine, which stitches faster than the eye can follow and never eats or tires, is brains. The weary, pale, and worn wife, painfully toiling over the midnight task, is muscle. How futile the attempt, then, for muscle to compete against mind in the great battle of life! A wise man once wrote, 1 The wisdom of a learned man cometh with oppor- tunity of leisure;' and in that sentence is food for reflection and thought sufficient for an entire sermon. Unless farmers devote more time to the use of the brain and the improvement of the mind, and less to wearying and exhausting muscular labor, how can they hope to successfully compete against the vigorous minds of the present age ? It is not the skilful hand, the strong arm, or the watchful eye alone that will in these days bring success to the farmer. These are needful, but a culti- vated, intelligent, active brain to direct them is of ten times more importance. 524 HISTORY OF THE GRANGE MOVEMENT; OR, " Again I say, we work too much and think too little. A farmer rises at four o'clock, goes out and does the chores among the stock, chops wood for the day, mends the harness, and is very industrious. By breakfast time, he has got all ready for the day's work. All hands then pitch into severe labor till noon. Dinner is called and dispatched in haste, and labor renewed till supper. This unavoidable but neccessary hindrance to labor is hurriedly performed, work resumed until dark- ness compels a cessation of labor in the field, and then the laborers return to the house. A lantern is pro- cured, by the aid of which the milking and other chores are e done up,' and by nine or ten o'clock at night the day's work is closed, and the family, tired and stupid, retire to bed, only on the following day to repeat the same routine of slavery. And yet such men are called good, thifty, industrious farmers. It is a lie ! a base slander to call such stupid slavery of body, such starvation of mind, good or thifty, or in any wise commendable. " Go into the country, and you will find numberless cases of men with poor health, crushed energies, ruined constitutions, and stunted souls, and women the slaves of habits of excessive labor, more fatal than the per- nicious and much-comdemned customs of fashionable society. You will find children prematurely old, with the bright light of happy childhood extinguished, and everywhere a lack of that life and cheerfulness which gives to life its greatest charms. Most of these evils can be traced directly to overwork. Is such work necessary or even profitable for a famer? Most cer- tainly not. Such work is a losing business, and far- mers who adopt that course of labor will find at the THE FARMER'S WAR AGAINST MONPOLIES. 525 end of the season that themselves, their wives, and children are worn and discouraged, and have not ac- complished as much as had been attempted or expected. Why? Because they have worked like oxen and not like men, and have depended on muscle alone instead of making it an auxiliary of the mind, and they treat themselves to the luxury of a good, long, hearty growl at members of all other industries for combining tc oppress the poor farmer. They growl at the shoe- maker ; they growl at the merchant ; they growl at the railroad; they growl at the commission men; they growl at everybody and everything that lives by using its wits in sponging, cheating, and oppressing the hard- working farmer. This horde of cormorants are growled at, whined at, and snarled at, because they filch from the farmer his hard-earned dollars and live in luxury and ease thereon. Speakers at agricultural and political meetings, and writers in agricultural papers repeat these complaints, and ring the same charges over and over again, in season and out of season, until themselves and most farmers really believe that the tillers of the soil are the most industrious, moral, intelligent, hardwork- ing, abused, persecuted lambs in the world, and every- body else are wolves, seeking whom they may devour. " Now. as one who was born on a farm, reared on a farm, has spent the flower of his days on a farm, and still earns his bread by tilling the soil, I know my brother farmers will forgive me if I do not follow in and repeat this strain, but tell plainly the naked, disa- greeable truth. Many of these complaints are true, and we ought to be ashamed of ourselves that such is the disgraceful fact. Here is a class of people exceed- ing any other in numbers and wealth, and claim- 526 HISTORY OF THE GRANGE MOVEMENT; OR, ing superior industry, intelligence, and morality, com- plaining of being oppressed. We ought to be ashamed of ourselves, and either cease our boasting or our whining. " Let us take a candid look at the situation, and see if we cannot discover what is the matter. Let us try and see if there is any good reason why the great majority should be governed and oppressed by a small minority. " In human affairs effects follow causes ; results are accomplished by action, even when the actors are unseen. Look at our State and national Governments, and who are the men to whom we entrust this great responsibility? Look at our boards of trade, indus- trial expositions, and in fact any great project for the advancement of science, art, liberty, or industry, and you will find at its head and the moving spirit thereof a lawyer, doctor, preacher, student, merchant, or, in fact, almost anything but a farmer. These men rule the nation. They shape the laws ; they make the channels of trade, and place trade in its channels. They build ships, harness steam to their wagons, make lightning carry their messages ; they compel rivers to turn their saws, twirl their spindles, and throw their shuttles. They use their brains, and mind governs the world. "Just think of competing against such men by stupidly hoeing corn fifteen hours a day and selling it at twenty cents a bushel, and then laying awake nights, growling at railroad men and merchants. The dog who barks at the moon comes nearer accomplishing his purpose than such a growler. Why have not farmers taken a position of influence and power in the councils THE FARMER'S WAR AGAINST MONOPOLIES. 527 of the nation and otherwise, in proportion to their num- bers and wealth ? Simply because we have not used our brains. " The world pays homage to intelligence, to intellect, and puts it in places of honor, of trust, of responsibility. The world is not partial to lawyers, ministers, and doc- tors, but the world wants to use brains, and accepts them wherever found, and uses them to promote its wishes ; and if we farmers want to be placed in the fore- most rank in the nation and in the world ; if we wish to be put in positions where we can have power to aid our fellows ; if we wish to have influence and make our mark on the institutions of the land; if we wish to stand where we can do something towards governing the price of our commodities ; if we wish to weigh according to our size in the stale of public opinion ; if we want to have farmers in demand for places of trust and honor and profit, and for husbands for beautiful, refined, an£ intelligent women ; if we want to escape from our pres- ent vassalage, we must furnish some brains, sound in quality, liberal in quantity, polished with constant use, refined by study and thought. Show me such a farmer as that, and I will show you a man whom his fellow- men will want to use in places of trust. " I speak it in sorrow ; I admit it with deep and burning shame, that the farmers can furnish but com- paratively few men whose minds are fitted to organize great enterprises. Look at the farmers in our Legisla- ture. In numbers they are very small in proportion to the population of the State, and smaller yet in the influ- ence they have upon the legislation. When they come in contact with men who are in the habit of close and logical reasoning, they, with a few exceptions, prove 528 HISTORY OF THE GRANGE MOVEMENT; OR, wanting. It may, and probably will be said that head- work will not hoe corn or feed the pigs. Granted. But prove to me that an intelligent man is disqualified from performing the duties of a farmer and you will prove to me that farming is a business which it is dis- graceful to follow, and that it is grossly unjust to say aught to induce any young man of common sense to become a farmer. " It is seen that thought, intelligence, mind, brains, used in other branches of business, lead to success. It is found that men with clear heads, sharp wits, sound judgment, and business habits go straight along and compel success even under adverse circumstances. Now, is it any advantage to have and use brains ? Can a man with brains get, in tilling the soil, a fair com- pensation for their use ? Can brain*work be employed on the farm and return to the owner as much of comfort, wealth, happiness, honor, and general prosperity as in other branches of business at the present time ? This is a knotty question, but it is one we have got to meet, and meet it now. There is no use in attempt- ing to evade or ignore this great alternative. If there is anything in agriculture that necessarily dwarfs the mind and makes it secondary to mere physical exertion, then it is a disgrace to be a farmer, and common hon- esty requires that we cease talking about the honorable- ness of the noble yeomanry. But, on the contrary, if agriculture will give scope to thought and research ; if it will cause a man to think while he works and study while he has leisure ; if his business is such that talent and tact will transform his soil to gold and his house into a beautiful and happy home ; if the same amount of bodily and mental labor on the farm will produce as THE FARMER'S WAR AGAINST MONOPOLIES. 529 much pleasure, wealth, and happiness as in the shops, counting-room, and mines, then we may conscientiously recommend agriculture a,s one of the desirable employ- ments. Can this be done ? " Brother Patrons of Husbandry, our Order has been formed to assist in answering this great question in the affirmative. How shall we proceed ? " I do not underrate the importance of making an effort to buy our reapers a few dollars cheaper and sell our wheat a few cents higher and get our freights a little lower. What is gained in this way is certainly added to the profits of the farm, but I very much fear that many members of the Order place too high a value upon this matter of purchase and sale. This is not what ails us. It does not reach the root of the difficulty at all. It only prunes! away a few slender twigs which grow again in a single night. We can never accom- plish what we want, and make agriculture respectable, remunerative, and desirable; farmers intelligent, con- tented, and honored; farmers' wives envied and re- spected, and farmers' sons and daughters eagerly sought by the wise, good, learned, and beautiful of the land for husbands and wives; we cannot make beautiful homes, fertile farms, and improving flocks by saving five dollars on a plow and five cents a bushel on wheat. No ! Never ! When we build like that we must dig deeper, lay the foundations broader, and use brains as the chief stone of the corner. An ox excels us in strength, a horse in speed. The eagle has keener eight, the hare a quicker ear, the deer a finer sense of smell; but man excels them all in mind and rules above them all. So among men it is not the strong, the swift, the keen-sighted, the quick-eared or fine- 34 530 HISTORY OF THE GRANGE MOVEMENT; OR, scented who rules the world, but the clear-headed. Human beings are like pebbles on the sea shore ; by rubbing against each other they become rounded, smooth, polished, symmetrical : alone, they are rough, uncouth, repulsive. "Farmers are too much alone. We need to meet together to rub off the rough corners and polish down into symmetry. We want to exchange views, and above all we want to learn to think. A man who has performed fourteen hours of severe physical labor is in no condition to think, and we may as well decide at once that any class of men which starts out in life by working at severe labor fourteen hours of the twenty- four, and faithfully adheres to the practice, will fill for- ever the position of hewers of wood and drawers of water for men who use the God-given mind, and nourish the soul with liberal and abundant mental food. " I have already tired your patience, and in closing will only say that in my opinion the coming farmer will not toil with his hands fourteen hours out of the twenty-four and compel wife and children to the same slavery. But he will give a liberal share of his time to thought, study, and recreation. He will know of what his soil is composed, in what it abounds, in what it is deficient. He will know what elements of earth and air are needed to plant growth, and under what con- ditions they can be most readily assimilated. He will understand the laws of plant and animal life, that he may more successfully treat them. His house will be abundantly supplied with books and papers on agricul- tural and matters of general interest. Pictures and abundant amusements will make his home attractive. A beautiful lawn and flower beds, a fruit and vegetable THE FARMER'S WAR AGAINST MONOPOLIES. 531 garden, an orchard, groves, and evergreens and deci- duous trees for ornament, shelter, and use, will make his home so lovely and homelike that his daughters will not be so disgusted with farm life as to marry a village dolt, or the son so worn, weary and dispirited as to leave the farm at the first opportunity and open a barher shop in some country village. Can this be done, and can the farms really be made the happy homes of refined, intelligent, honored men and women, instead of the abodes of overworked slaves ? Yes ! emphatically yes ! But not by neglecting to rust the God-given mind, but by rousing it up and making it the compass, the sail, and the rudder in the voyage of life. The body is but the hulk. Then set your sails, stand by the rudder, steer by the compass, and start out boldly on the great journey, whose passage is pleasure and whose end is success." Mr. Adams is married to an excellent lady, endeared to a wide circle of friends by her many virtues. She holds the post of Ceres in the National Grange. T. A. THOMPSON, Lecturer of the National Grange. T. A. Thompson was born in Vernon, Trumbull county, Ohio, on the 19th of May, 1822. He was the youngest son of eight children, six of whom were boys. His father was a farmer, one of those clear- headed, independent and industrious workers who laid the foundations of the greatness which the West has since achieved ; and, being devoted to his own calling, brought up his sons as fanners. He added to his agricultural pursuits, the business of a dairy farmer and stock raiser ; and his sons had ample opportunities for 532 HISTORY OF THE GRANGE 3IOVEMENT ; OR, learning these important branches of their business under his training. Young Thompson received as good a common-school education as could be obtained in Ohio, forty years ago. When old enough to be of use on the farm, his school- days were confined to the winter months, and the re- mainder of the year was given to farm work. Of a naturally intelligent mind, he learned rapidly, and soon exhausted the store of knowledge the schoolmas- ter had to furnish. He was an indefatigable reader, and eagerly devoured everything in the shape of a book or newspaper, that came within his reach. He has carried this habit of study through life with him ; and even now, might shame many a younger student by his constant and untiring industry in this respect. He is also an excellent example to the farmer-boys of the land, of what may be accomplished in the way of self- culture by a young man determined to keep himself abreast of the age. Upon approaching manhood, Mr. Thompson attended an Acadamy for three terms, and distinguished himself by his close application and good scholarship. At the age of twenty-one he commenced life as a teacher of the common school of his native town, giving such satisfaction to his fellow townsmen that he was continued in his position for seven terms. He was very popular with the people of Vernon, who were proud of his intellectual promise ; and as he took an active part in the political questions of the day, was elected, in succession, to all the various public offices within the gift of his fellow citizens. Had he chosen to continue in political life, there was a clear field be- fore him j but such a life was not to his taste ; and in THE FARMER'S WAR AGAINST MONOPOLIES. 533 October, 1846, he made a final settlement in life, by marrying and embarking in farming on his own ac- count, in the place of his birth. He pursued the calling of a farmer in Vernon with success for about nine yedrs, engaging, also, in the raising of cattle, sheep, and horses. His temporal affairs prospered steadily, and he was regarded as one of the most prominent and influential farmers of Trumbull county. But, to a man of his large views, Ohio soon became "too far East." He saw, at an early day, the great advantages offered by the country farther West ; and, in the winter of 1855—56, he sold his farm in Ohio, and, in June, 1856, removed to Wabasha county, Minnesota, where he took up a quarter-section of fine land, and began farming on a larger scale than in his old home. Minnesota was in its infancy then, and men of large ideas and well-stored minds were sure of prompt recog- nition. Mr. Thompson at once took the place in the community to which his abilities entitled him ; and his neighbors, the next year, 1857, testified their appre- ciation of him, by sending him to represent Wabasha county in the Legislature ; in which body he served two terms. His next step was characteristic of the man. There was no school in Plainview, the township in which his home lay, and one was badly needed. Above all, a schoolmaster was wanted. Mr. Thompson solved the difficult problem of finding a competent in- structor, by at once assuming the duties of that posi- tion ; and, for five years, conducted a capital school in Plainview, for the benefit of his own and his neighbors' children. He retained the charge of the school until he had firmly established it, and another teacher could 534 HISTORY OF THE GRANGE MOVEMENT; OR, be procured competent to carry on his work. Upon relinquishing it his fellow citizens, grateful for what he had done for them, elected him Superintendent of Public Schools for the county; and he retained the position for six years, resigning it only to devote himself entirely to the interests of the Grange. When the Order of Patrons of Husbandry was insti- tuted and offered to the farmers of the country, Mr. Thompson was quick to recognize it as a great boon to the agricultural class, and as the best remedy for their grievances that could be suggested ; and promptly identified himself with it. In February, 1870, he be- came a member of Greenwood Prairie Grange, No. 41, of Minnesota, and thus became one of the pioneers of the movement in that State. The Order was an ex- periment then, and a Granger's position was not alto- gether a pleasant one. The Order had to fight its way to popularity; and, thanks to its early adherents, it did so. Soon after becoming a member of the Order, Mr. Thompson was elected W. Master of his own Grange, which was the first organization of its kind in this part of Minnesota ; and in February, 1871, upon the organi- zation of the State Grange of Minnesota — the first State Grange in the United States — he was unanimously chosen its W. Master. He held this position for two years, laboring actively in the interest of the Order ; and, in 1873, was chosen Lecturer of the National Grange. The choice was a wise one, and gave great satisfac- tion to the Order. The post of Lecturer is one of great importance and responsibility. He is charged with in- troducing it into communities where it is yet a stranger ; and with the delicate task of popularizing it, and over- THE FARMER'S WAR AGAINST MONOPOLIES. 535 coming the opposition of those who are unacquainted with its nature and principles. In this work, Mr. Thompson has been eminently successful. He has travelled through twenty-four States of the Union,, in behalf of the Order, delivering lectures and public speeches nearly every day — sometimes as often as six times a week — and has successfully planted the organization in scores of communities where it is now thriving and growing rapidly. Soon after enter- ing upon the duties of his office he organized the State Granges of Ohio and Michigan, and has per- formed a similar duty for several others since then. His personal popularity has done much to win friends for the Order wherever he has gone ; and his eloquent and unanswerable appeals in its behalf have made its success assured wherever he has spoken. But these labors do not constitute Mr. Thompson's only services to the Order. To him it owes its beautiful and impressive ritual or unwritten work. In January, 1871, Mr. 0. H. Kelley, appreciating Mr. Thompson's peculiar fitness for the task, applied to him to devise an unwritten work for the Order. Mr. Thompson at once applied himself to the matter, and called to his aid an intimate friend, Dr. D. H. Roberts, who assisted him materially in perfecting the work. When com- pleted, Mr. Thompson presented it to Greenwood Prairie Grange, No. 41, where it was tried and found success- ful. On the 20th of May, 1871, the work was exem- plified to the North Star Grange, No. 1, at St. Paul, Minnesota, now the oldest Subordinate Grange in the country, and on the 13th of September, 1871, it was sub- jected to a still more searching test, by an exemplifica- tion to the Iowa State Grange. It was received with 536 HISTORY OF THE GRANGE MOVEMENT; OR, delight by the Patrons ; and, after the tests mentioned, was presented td the Executive Committee of the Order, by which it was formally adopted, on the 9th of August, 1871. Up to the time that Mr. Thompson took it in hand, the work" had been crude and unsatis- factory to the Order; but since 1871, it has remained a perfect and harmonious system, which, by its beauty and impressive grandeur, has been one of the chief causes of the remarkable success of the Grange move- ment. Mr. Thompson is now in his 53d year, but is hale and vigorous, and as enthusiastic as ever. He has won for himself, by his own unaided efforts, an enviable position in his State, and in the Order. He resides at Plainview, Wabasha county, Minnesota, where he pos- sesses one of the most delightful and attractive homes in the West, and where he hopes to enjoy a peaceful and happy old age, surrounded by the love of his family and the admiring esteem of the people "he has served so well. O. H. KELLEY, Secretary of the National Grange. Mr. Kelley is a native of Boston, Massachusetts, and has been for some years a clerk in the Bureau of Agriculture at Washington, D. C. He is about forty- six years of age. In appearance he is a man who would be singled out of a crowd as a thinker. His high bold forehead, large earnest eyes, long white beard, and generally scholarly appearance, would seem to stamp him as a philosopher rather than a man of action. He is eminently fitted for the position he holds in the Order, a position involving an infinite amount of detail, THE FARMER'S WAR AGAINST MONOPOLIES. 537 and requiring ability of a marked and special character. His services in founding the Order have already been related in these pages, and it is useless to repeat them here. COLONEL JOHN COCHRANE, Master of the Wisconsin State Grange, Is one of the most prominent members of the Order. His views upon the questions of the day have been given at length elsewhere. He is one of the old settlers of the State, resides at Waupun, and is known throughout Wisconsin as one of the best practical farmers in the West. He has never been a politician, though he has taken a deep interest in all the political questions of the day ; " and he enters into the farmers' movement at a time of life when men of his habits and pursuits generally find retirement most attractive, from a strong conviction of duty, and a desire to raise the farmers of Wisconsin out of the slough of despond into which they have been fast sinking." Colonel Coch- rane's farm comprises a tract of 1000 acres, which he has brought under the highest state of cultivation. He has had a crop of wheat of 6000 bushels in a single year on this land. S. H. ELLIS, Master of the Ohio State Grange, Is a native of the State, is forty-three years of age, and has been a fanner all his life. His connection with the Order dates back to September, 1872, when, with fifty of his acquaintances, he succeeded in organizing the first Grange in the State. He was elected Master of this Grange, and was subsequently appointed by the National Grange a deputy for Ohio to organize new 538 HISTORY OF THE GRANGE MOVEMENT; OR, Granges. By the 9th of April, 1873, there were in the State thirty Granges. In this month the State Grange was organized, and Mr. Ellis was chosen Master. JOHN WEIR, First Master of the Indiana State Grange, Is a native of East Tennessee, but emigrated to the Wabash, in Indiana, in 1817, being then seventeen years of age. A large majority of the inhabitants were Indians. The settlers were destitute of churches, schools, mills and roads. Comparing that time with the present, he has witnessed perhaps a greater change brought about by civilization than any other man. The State Grange was organized at Terre Haute, February 28th, 1872. On the 15th of January last there were 49 organizations, since which time the number has in- creased nearly six-fold. F. H. DUMBAULD, First Master of the Kansas State Grange, Was born in Pennsylvania, and is now 45 years of age. With his father's family he removed at an early age into Ohio, where he remained 18 years. In 1864 he settled in Kansas. He has " made " three large farms in his life. The State Grange was organized July 30th, 1872, and Mr. Dumbauld elected Master. With the assistance of George Spurgen, the Secretary, he has organized over 400 subordinates in the last nine months. The Patrons have effected quite a revolution in Kansas, having brought dealers to supply agricul- tural implements and other necessaries at prices vary- ing from 30 to 40 per cent, lower than usually charged. THE FARMER'S WAR AGAINST MONOPOLIES. 539 T. R. ALLEN, Master of the Missouri State Grange, Is a practical and prosperous farmer. He resides about thirty miles west of St. Louis on the Missouri Pacific Railroad. In the discharge of his official duties he has travelled through every county of the State during the past year, and under his management the Order has spread rapidly throughout that State. THE ILLINOIS STATE FARMERS' ASSOCIATION, Is often confounded with the Order of Patrons of Hus- bandry, but is entirely distinct from it. It is composed of both Granges and Farmers' Clubs, and has taken a very prominent part in the politics of the State. The Presi- dent of this Associa- tion is Mr. W. C. is Flagg, of Mora, Madi- son county, and the Treasurer is Duncan M'Kay, of Mount Carroll, Carroll county. Stephen M. Smith, whose views and speeches we have given at length, is the Secre- He is also an active member DUNCAN M'KAY, TREASURER OF THE ILLINOIS STATE FARMERS' ASSOCIATION. tary of the Association, of the Grange. DECLARATION OF PURPOSES OP THE ORDER OF PATRONS OF HUSBANDRY. Adopted at the Annual Session of the National Grange, at St. Louis, Mo., February llth, 1874. PROFOUNDLY impressed with the truth that the Na- tional Grange of the United States should definitely proclaim to the world its general objects, we hereby unanimously make this Declaration of Purposes of the Patrons of Husbandry : 1. United by the strong and faithful tie of Agricul- ture, we mutually resolve to labor for the good of our order, our country, and mankind. 2. We heartily indorse the motto, " In essentials, unity ; in non-essentials, liberty ; in all things, charity." We shall endeavor to advance our cause by laboring to accomplish the following objects ; To develop a better and higher manhood and woman- hood among ourselves. To enhance the comforts and attractions of our homes, and strengthen our attach- ments to our pursuits. To foster mutual understanding and cooperation. To maintain inviolate our laws, and to emulate each other in labor. To hasten the good time coming. To reduce our expenses, both individual and corporate. 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 cultivate. To 540 THE FARMER'S WAR AGAINST MONOPOLIES. 541 condense the weight of our exports, selling less in the bushel, and more on hoof and in fleece. To systematize our work and calculate intelligently on probabilities. To discountenance the credit system, the mortgage sys- tem, the fashion system, and every other system tend- ing to prodigality and bankruptcy. We propose meeting together, talking together, work- ing together, buying together, selling together, 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 na- tional prejudices, all unhealthy rivalry, all selfish ambi- tion. Faithful adherence to these principles will insur* our mental, moral, social, and material advancement. 3. For our business interests we desire to bring pro- ducers and consumers, farmers and manufacturers, into the most direct and friendly relations possible. Hence we must dispense with a surplus of middlemen ; not that we are unfriendly to them, but we do not need them. Their surplus and their exactions diminish our profits. We wage no aggressive warfare against any other interests whatever. On the contrary, all our acts and all our efforts, so far as business is concerned, are not only for the benefit of the producer and consumer, but also for all other interests, and tend to bring these two parties into speedy and economical contact. Hence we hold that transportation companies of every kind are necessary to our success j that their interests are in- timately connected with our interests, and harmonious 542 HISTORY OF THE GRANGE MOVEMENT; OR, action is mutually advantageous. Keeping in view the first sentence in our declaration of principles of action, that " individual happiness depends upon general pros- perity," we shall therefore advocate for every State the increase in every practicable way of all facilities for transporting cheaply to the seaboard, or between home producers and consumers, all the productions of our country. We adopt it as our fixed purpose to open out the channels in Nature's great arteries, that the life- blood of commerce may flow freely. We are not ene- mies of railroads, navigation, and irrigating canals, nor of any corporation that will advance our industrial in- terests, nor of any laboring classes. In our noble order there is no communism, no agrarianism. We are op- posed to such spirit and management of any corporation or enterprise as tends to oppress the people and rob them of their just profits. We are not enemies of capital, but we oppose the tyranny of monopolies. We long to see the antagonism between capital and labor removed by common consent and by enlightened statesmanship worthy of the nineteenth century. We are opposed to excessive salaries, high rates of interest, and exorbitant profits in trade. They greatly increase our burdens, and do not bear a proper proportion to the profits of producers. We desire only self-protection and the pro- tection of every interest of our land by legitimate trans- actions, legitimate trade, and legitimate profits. 4. We shall advance the cause of education among ourselves and for our children by all just means within our power. We especially advocate for our agricultural and industrial colleges that practical agriculture, do- mestic science, and all the arts which adorn the home be taught in their courses of study. THE FARMER'S WAR AGAINST MONOPOLIES. 543 • 5. We especially and sincerely assert the oft-repeated truth taught in our organic law, that the Grange, Na- tional, State, or subordinate, is not a political or party organization. No Grange, if true to its obligations, can discuss political or religious questions, nor call political conventions, nor nominate candidates, nor even discuss their merits in its meetings. Yet the principles we teach underlie all true politics, all true statesmanship, and if properly carried out will tend to purify the whole political atmosphere of our country. For we seek the greatest good to the greatest number, but we must always bear, in mind that no one by becoming a Patron of Husbandry gives up that inalienable right and duty which belongs to every American citizen, to take a pro- per interest in the politics of his country. On the con- trary, it is right for every member to do all in his power legitimately to influence for good the action of any political party to which he belongs. It is his duty to do all he can in his own party to put down bribery, corruption and trickery ; to see that none but compe- tent, faithful and honest men, who will unflinchingly stand by our industrial interests, are nominated for all positions. It should always characterize every Patron of Husbandry that the offices should seek the man and not the man the office. We acknowledge the broad principle that difference of opinion is no crime, and hold that progress towards truth is made by differences of opinion, while the fault lies in bitterness of controversy. We desire a proper equality, equity, and fairness, pro- tection for the weak, restraint upon the strong; in short, justly distributed burdens and justly distributed power. These are American ideas, the very essence of American independence, and to advocate the contrary 544 HISTORY OF THE GRANGE MOYEMENT. • is unworthy of the sons and daughters of an American republic. We cherish the belief that sectionalism is, and of right should be, dead and buried with the past. Our work is for the present and the future. In our agricultural brotherhood and its purposes, we shall re- cognize no North, no South, no East, no West. It is reserved by every Patron, as the right of a freeman, to affiliate with any party that will best carry out his principles. 6. Ours being peculiarly a farmers' institution, we cannot admit all to our ranks. Many are excluded by the nature of our organization, not because they are professional men, or artisans, or laborers, but because they have not a sufficient direct interest in tilling or pasturing the soil, or may have some interest in conflict with our purposes. But we appeal to all good citizens for their cordial cooperation to assist in our efforts toward reform, that we may eventually remove from our midst the last vestige of tyranny and corruption. We hail the general desire for fraternal harmony, equi- table compromise, and earnest cooperation, as an omen of our future success. 7. It shall be an abiding principle with us to relieve any of our suffering brotherhood by any means at our command. Last, but not least, we proclaim it among our purposes to inculcate a proper appreciation of the abilities and sphere of woman, as is indicated by admit- ting her to membership and position in our Order. Im- ploring the continued assistance of our Divine Master to guide us in our work, we here pledge ourselves to faithful and harmonious labor for all future time to re- turn by our united efforts to the wisdom, justice, frater- nity, and political purity of our forefathers. DO YOU WANT TO MAKE MONEY ? No business pays so well as an agency for popular IJistories, and Illustrated Bibles and Biblical works, for they are the class of books that every intelligent person wants, and is always ready to buy. The only difficulty in the matter is to secure a Valuable and Popular Series of Books, and such pre-eminently are the works that we are now publishing. No series published will com- pare with them in real value, interest, and popularity. fl^ir* Being the most extensive subscription book Publishers in the United States, and having four houses, we can afford to sell books cheaper and pay Agents more liberal commissions than any other company. 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J3P"* The following pages contain a Catalogue of some of our most valuable and popular Works, a specimen copy of either of which will be sent by mail, postage paid, to any address, on receipt of price. THE LIGHT IN THE EAST, A COMPREHENSIVE RELIGIOUS WORK, • EMBRACING THE LIFE OF OUR LORD AND SAVIOUR JESUS CHRIST, AND THE LIVES OF HIS HOLY APOSTLES AND EVANGELISTS. BY REV. JOHN FJLKETWOOD, D.D. Together with the LIVES of the PATRIARCHS and PROPHETS, and of the Mos Eminent Christian MARTYRS, FATHERS and REFORMERS. To which is added the HISTORY OF THE JEWS, from the Earliest Times to the Present Day, and a HISTORY OF THE RELIGIOUS DENOMINATIONS OF THE WORLD, BOTH A.NOIENT .AJVD MODERN. ILLUSTRATED WITH OVER 200 FINE ENGRAVINGS. The object of this work is to present to the reader a full, comprehensive and intelligent account of the Life, Ministry and Sufferings of our Blessed Redeemer. On all sides there is a growing demand for some plain and forcible illustration of the Life and Teachings of Our Saviour while on earth, which, unmarred by the errors and theories of MODERN PHILOSOPHY, shall serve as an assistance to the faithful student of the Gospel story. Swflh a work is needed in every household to strengthen the faith of the aged, and to keep the feet of the yourvg in the narrow way. The Lives of the Apostles and Evunyclietx are given in full, and to them ara added biographies of the other New Testament characters. It will be found a great assist- ance to an intelligent comprehension of Christ's ministry to be thoroughly instructed in the history of those who were his intimate friends and the agents of his power, The Lioen of the Patriarchs itnd Prophets embrace comprehensive accounts of the most noted Old Testament characters, a knowledge of whose lives is essential to a proper under- standing of that of our Saviour, who was the fulfilment of the Old Dispensation. The work would be incomplete did it fail to trace the spread of Christianity from the days of th« Apostles to the modern era. This is done in a series of biogrnphies of the Early Christian M