44 THE GRANGER MOVEMENT 



and familiarized the organizers with its workings. Another 

 circular setting forth the plan and aims of the order was now 

 printed, 1 and in February, Kelley resigned his position in the 

 post-office department and determined to devote his whole 

 energies to the order. The work of drilling in Potomac Grange 

 went on during February and March; parts of the ritual and 

 constitution were printed; and a beginning was made in the 

 work of advertising the order by means of letters to the news- 

 papers. New ways were constantly suggesting themselves 

 in which the order might make itself useful to the farmers, such 

 as the protection of members from frauds and impositions, 

 and the collection of reliable crop statistics. Finally Kelley 

 determined that everything was ripe for the introduction of 

 the order among the farmers, and decided to start for Minnesota, 

 organizing granges on the way. The National Grange held a 

 meeting, supplied him with a letter authorizing him to establish 

 subordinate granges, and voted him a salary of two thousand 

 dollars a year and traveling expenses, to be collected, however, 

 from the receipts from subordinate granges which he should 

 establish. Thus equipped, Kelley bought a ticket for Harris- 

 burg, and, with two and a half dollars in his pocket, started 

 out to work his way to Minnesota by organizing granges. 



EARLY YEARS OF THE GRANGE 



The center of interest now shifts to the Northwest, which 

 was particularly ripe for the introduction of such an order 

 because of discontent among the agricultural classes and a 

 growing desire for some means of joint action against oppressive 

 railroads and monopolies. Still it took several years of vigorous 

 work on the part of Kelley and his associates to start the ball 

 rolling. When, however, the order had been sufficiently adver- 

 tised by the use of circular letters, personal correspondence, and 

 above all by the cooperation of a number of agricultural papers 

 and by judicious advertisement in local papers, it soon became 

 evident that the farmers had here the weapon which they had 



1 Reprinted in Kelley, Patrons of Husbandry, 67-71, and in part in National 

 Grange, Proceedings, xiv. 10 (1880). 



