Los Angeles herald., 1909-11-15
Incorporating the Farmer
Bv Frederic j. Haskin

TT;ESESSSlFFORTS to organize the farm
| IIW ENkAI ers of the country into offen-
| IM E sive and defensive Industrial
IM EaS4l alliances have not met with
lEA V9t9l the success which has at
lsSsMs2l tended similar efforts in
manufacture and commerce.
| Strangely enough the impulse toward
organization became manifest at about
the same time-just after the CiVll
War-but the subsequent history of
the two movements has been entirely
disslmllar Just now there is re-
crudescenee of the spirit of co-opera-
tive organization among the farmers
of the country, and 1t Is resulting In
movement which may affect the Whole
future of the country.
During this week the American So
ciety of Equity will hold its national
convention in Indianapolis; the Ma
tional Grange, Patrons of Husbandry,
will meet In Des Moines and the Ma
tlonal Farm Land congress will be
held in Chicago. The Farmers union
held it's national convention the hrst
week in November at Raleigh, y @.
These meetings represent some of the
larger organizations of farmers, each
differing from the others in detail, but
each aiming at the principal business
of Incorporating the farmer
The Patrons of Husbandry was the
name of the first farmers organiza-
tion. 1t was planned on secret society
models, and each lodge was known as
a "Grange." Thus the name or
"Grangers" came TO be applied to the
members of the order and to the order
itself The meeting of the National
Grange at Des Moines this week VIII
celebrate the forty-firs anniversary OF
the foundation of the first grange AT
Fredonia, N. Y. The father of the
movement was o. II. Kelly Of Minne-
sofa He became clerk in what was
then the bureau of agriculture IN
Washington, lust after the close OF the
war. In 1866 he was sent south 10
make some statistical inquiries, ana II
was the sad estate of southern FARMERS
i'm those troubled days which impressed
upon him the need of farmers or
ganization.
The Granger movement spread over
the country like wildhre, and soon
became of national Importance. Grans-
es were established in every commun-
ity, cooperative stores were opened,
and some effort was made to control
prices of farm products. At the same
time the social side of the Grange was
developed. The invasion and capture
of the machinery of the Grange by
politicians resulted in its eclipse, but
its social features and its recognition
of the equality of woman on the arm,
saved the order from extinction, inc
Grange is no longer great national
factor. as an organization, but ii must
be credited with some excellent work.
Monuments to the Grange are the
numbers of cooperative farmers IN
surance societies over the country. The
Grange initiated the movement which
resulted in the efforts to regulate rail-
road rates and abolish rebates and DIS
criminatory freight charges. Rural
free delivery of mail had its origin in
and Grange, and its successor the
Farmers Alliance. Pure food laws owe
much to the support and early cham
pionship of the Changers.
After the occultation of the Grange,
the next considerable movement was
the Farmers Alliance. This organi-
cation became very powerful in the
west and south Although II aimed
at control of crop prices and eo-opera-
ton in business, it's chief mission and
purpose was political. 1t arose to su
preme power in many western states,
Kansas and Nebraska. 1t
the balance Of power in
such states as Illinois and Indiana.
The Farmers Alliance is the only po-
itical organization which has been able
to unhorse the Democratic party In the
south since the war. IT carried openly |
North Carolina, Georgia and Tennes-
see, and in every southern state IL
changed absolutely the current of po- |
itical thought. The Farmers Alliance |
rose during the late eighties, flourished |
N the early nineties, dissolved into |
he Populist party and was swallowed |
up in the campaign of 1896.
Since that time there has been no
national organization of farmers which |
las invited the attention of politicians.
The organizations now building are
making the business of controlling
prices their first consideration, leaving
politics and kindred questions to sec.
ondary consideration.
The American Society of Equity is
IN example of this kind of organiZa-
ion, being similar to the Farmers
lnlon of the cotton states and other
new organizations. The Society of
Equity avows the purpose of control
ing prices of farm products as its chief
Tim. Declaring that the farmer must
,uy his supplies from a highly organ
zed market representing trust con-
rolled manufactures and union con-
rolled labor declaring that the far
ner must sell his products to highly
organized market which is able large
y to regulate the demand, the So
iety of Equity proposes to meet or
,anization with organization. 1t is its
purpose to organize the farmers, in
titute a system of crop control, fix
,rices and regulate the supply as the
,uying market regulates the demand.
( the ultimate consumer desires to