ORGANIZATION 71 



into the order who had no permanent interest in its real aims 

 and who began to drop out as soon as the excitement of organiza- 

 tion was over and it was seen that the order would not prove a 

 cure-all for the troubles of the farmers. 1 The laxness of organ- ^ 

 izers, moreover, permitted many to creep into the ranks who were 

 not only not engaged in agricultural pursuits, but whose interests 

 were directly opposed to those of the farmers. 2 The granges of 

 commission men in some of the eastern cities have been noted, 

 but this feature was not confined to these places; throughout 

 the country disgruntled politicians, business and professional 

 men sought entrance into the order during the days of its pros- 

 perity, purely as a means of personal advancement; and when 

 the influence of the Grange began to wane, partly as a result 

 of the discredit which they brought upon it in the eyes of many 

 observing farmers, they hastened to sever their connections 

 with the order. 3 



The rapidity of organization resulted in an unwieldy and ^ 

 undisciplined mass of members, whom the leaders were unable 

 to control, and dissensions soon arose within the ranks. The 

 successful agitation for the distribution of the funds of the 

 National Grange at the Charleston meeting in 1875 is an illus- 

 tration of this situation. The jealousy of those in control, 

 thus manifested, was kept up throughout the decade and resulted 

 in continual agitation against the higher or " fancy " degrees, 

 as they were called, and demands for a revision of the constitution 

 to transform the National Grange into a mere convention of 



1 Wisconsin State Grange, Proceedings, iv. 6 (1876) ; Patrons' Bulletin (Kentucky) , 

 November, 1876; California Patron, June 13, 1877, p. 5; Bulletin (Wisconsin), 

 February, 1877, May, 1878; Pierson, " Outcome of the Granger Movement," in 

 Popular Science Monthly, xxxii. 371-373 (January, 1888); National Grange, Pro- 

 ceedings, x. 38 (1876). 



2 " Everybody wanted to join the Grange then; lawyers, to get clients; doctors, 

 to get patients; merchants, to get customers; Shylocks, to get their pound of 

 flesh; and sharpers, to catch the babes in the woods." Aitken, The Grange, 11-13. 



8 Farmers' Union, June 14, 1873, p. 188; June 28, 1873, P- 2 55 Patrons' Bulle- 

 tin (Kentucky), December, 1876; California Patron, October 17, 1877, P- 2 > Amer- 

 ican Farmer, January, 1881, p. 9; Pierson, in Popular Science Monthly, xxxii. 

 371-373 (January, 1888); Aiken, The Grange, 11-13; Paine, Granger Movement 

 in Illinois, 10; Small, Joining the Grangers or Trying to be a Patron of Husbandry 

 (pamphlet). 



