AS A POLITICAL FORCE 8$ 



tion of candidates for the judicial positions in the various 

 districts. 1 



This advice was followed by the farmers of the second district, 

 the only other one in which a supreme court vacancy occurred 

 at this time, and in eight or nine of the twenty-six circuits of 

 the state, in each of which a judge was to be elected; while in 

 many of the other districts one or more of the candidates openly 

 declared themselves in sympathy with the farmers' views. 2 

 The election which followed first displayed to the astonished 

 politicians of the country the political possibilities of the move- 

 ment; for in nearly every instance the candidate nominated or 

 favored by the farmers was elected, even Chief- Justice Lawrence 

 being defeated by a large majority in spite of a vigorous cam- 

 paign waged in his behalf. These victories provoked a storm 

 of criticism from the conservative press, especially in the East, 

 and the movement was denounced as an attempt to pack the 

 judiciary in the interests of a class. 3 Given an elective judiciary, 

 however, it is difficult to see how the voters can justly be blamed 

 for casting their ballots for candidates who were expected to 

 uphold what they believed to be their rights. 4 



Greatly encouraged by the success which had been won and 

 nothing daunted by the adverse criticism incurred, the farmers 

 of Illinois threw themselves with vigor into the campaign for 

 the election of county officers in the fall. Even before the 

 judicial elections had taken place, a movement was started in 

 Livingston County to put a farmers' ticket in the field for the 



1 Prairie Farmer, xliv. 153 (May 17, 1873); Periam, The Groundswell, 312-316. 

 Many of the local clubs and granges ratified the nomination of Craig, but in one 

 or two cases they indorsed Lawrence. See Prairie Farmer, xliv. 266 (May 31, 

 1873); Chicago Tribune, May 15, 1873, P- *> Paine, Granger Movement in Illinois, 

 35, note. 



2 Prairie Farmer, xliv. 153 (May 17, 1873); Chicago Tribune, May, 1873, 

 passim; Periam, The Grounds-well, 312-316. 



8 Nation, xvi. 393, 397 (June 12, 1873); Prairie Farmer, xliv. 185 (June 14, 

 1873); Chicago Tribune, 1873, June 6, p. 4, June 21, p. 8; Periam, The Groundswell, 

 312-316. 



4 Lawrence was later attorney for the Chicago and Northwestern Railroad in 

 litigation over the Granger law of Wisconsin. Industrial Age (Chicago), June 6, 

 1875, p. 4. 



