13 AGRICULTURAL DISCONTENT 



riot. Teachers are conservative by nature, with courage very like that of Burns' 

 field mouse. . . . [The college] cannot be allied with farm organizations or 

 devote itself to class propagandism; but it can put freely at the service of stu- 

 dents, farmers, farm leaders and their organizations the knowledge that is 

 needed for wise action. 42 



No doubt all this Equity pressure had some effect. For example, the 

 Wisconsin college of agriculture presently took pains to study the history 

 of cheese from producer to consumer, and the state board of control 

 formulated plans for a more efficient system of marketing. 43 



The Equity Society, besides putting pressure on the college of agricul- 

 ture, also exerted influence on the state legislature. The first major legis- 

 lative measure to attract the attention of the organization was a bill seeking 

 additional funds to build and maintain a state-owned binder-twine plant 

 which was expected not only to manufacture twine for the farmers at 

 lower prices but also to net the state a profit. A bill providing the necessary 

 funds for such a plant was introduced in the legislature of 1909, but, much 

 to the disgust of the Equity leadership, it was defeated. This was enough 

 to grind the wheels of discontent, and Theodore Roosevelt's words, "Farm- 

 ers Must Organize," became suddenly popular. A thorough analysis of 

 the strength of Equity influence in the Wisconsin legislature brought out 

 the fact that the assemblymen in and adjoining the organized Equity terri- 

 tory voted for the binder-twine bill, while those in and around the un- 

 organized territory voted against it. 44 



That Equity was also interested in other progressive measures is evident 

 from the demands it made during the state election campaign of 1910. 

 The Wisconsin society favored more stringent education laws; completion 

 of the binder-twine plant; conservation of natural resources; enactment 

 of employers' liability and industrial insurance; establishment of a state 

 commission to study living costs and the difference between the prices re- 

 ceived by the farmers and those paid by the consumers; encouragement 

 of cooperative buying and selling; extension of the scope and authority of 

 the dairy and food commission; improvements in the registration, primary, 



42. Ibid., pp. 947749. 



43. R. \V. Campbell, "Cooperation in Wisconsin," American Review of Reviews, 

 XLVII (April, 1913), p. 470. 



44. Wisconsin State Board of Control, Biennial Report, 1911-12, pp. 10-11; Wis- 

 consin Equity News, July 25, 1909, pp. 4-7; ibid., June 10, 1909, p. 10. 



