70 THE GRANGER MOVEMENT 



all of the other census divisions except the North Atlantic, so 

 that the total number of granges in the United States fell to 

 about fifteen thousand. Two states of the North Atlantic 

 division, Massachusetts and Connecticut, dropped off in number 

 of granges, and in Connecticut a recently organized state grange 

 was unable to keep up its existence. The increase of the order 

 in that section as a whole, however, was maintained at about 

 the same moderate rate which it had experienced since it first 

 got under way there in 1873. 



After 1876, the officials of the National Grange appear to 

 have come to the conclusion that it would be the part of wisdom 

 to refrain from publishing the story of the decline of the order. 

 Consequently no further tables of granges in the different states 

 are available, but it is possible to follow the decrease in actual 

 membership in the country as a whole by means of a never 

 failing index the annual dues paid to the National Grange. 

 In 1875, these amounted to almost forty-three thousand dollars. 

 By 1880, they had fallen to but little over six thousand, repre- 

 senting probably about four thousand subordinate granges and 

 perhaps a hundred and fifty thousand members all told. This 

 marked the lowest point in the position of the order. From 

 1 88 1 on it has increased slowly, with some fluctuation, 

 until now it claims a total membership about equal to what it 

 had in 1874, though quite differently distributed, for the states 

 of the North Atlantic division have a much larger proportion 

 of the granges now than they had in the early days of the order. 1 



Some of the causes of this falling off in size and influence 

 of the order of Patrons of Husbandry during the latter part of 

 the decade 1870-80 have already been indicated and others 

 will be more fully developed in the following chapters, but it 

 may be well to summarize these causes here in order to complete 

 the survey of the order during the decade. Undoubtedly the 

 decline was in large part merely a reaction from the excessive 

 growth in the years 1873 and 1874. The system of organization 

 by deputies, the popularity and novelty of the movement, and 

 often the hopes of political and financial regeneration led many 



1 Darrow, Patrons of Husbandry, 44. 



