BUSINESS COOPERATION 247 



less, in making a similar arrangement with another Chicago firm, 

 which was placed under bond for one hundred and fifty thousand 

 dollars, and in the course of time commercial firms at Peoria and 

 St. Louis were also given official recognition as state agents. 1 



Another feature of the cooperative movement in Illinois 

 is of interest. There was considerable talk among the farmers 

 to the effect that prices were fixed by rings and monopolies, 

 and it was quite common for the agitators to advise the farmers 

 to retaliate by forming organizations to control the prices of 

 farm products. One of the first attempts in this direction 

 was made by the Northwestern Farmers' Convention which 

 met in Chicago in October, 1873. Among the resolutions 

 adopted was one recommending to the farmers of the North- 

 west that they withhold their hog products from the market 

 until the price should reach five dollars per hundred pounds. 2 

 What was the result of this attempt to raise prices by regulating 

 the supply does not appear, but it may be assumed that it was 

 a failure. Many farmers were so situated that it was not feasible 

 for them to withhold their hogs from market. The organiza- 

 tion, moreover, was too incomplete to give such a movement 

 a chance of success. 3 Later on various county and subordinate 

 granges in Illinois and other western states attempted to control 

 prices by agreeing to " hold their hogs," and in January, 1878, 

 the state grange recommended that hogs be withheld from 

 market for thirty days, unless certain specific prices should be 

 previously offered. 4 No evidence has been found which would 

 indicate that any of these attempts were successful. 5 



1 Illinois State Grange, Proceedings, iv. 12, v. 52 (1875, 1876). 



2 Prairie Farmer, xliv. 347 (November i, 1873). The proceedings are also to 

 be found in Windom Committee, Report, ii. 646-688. There were a few delegates 

 present from other states, but the convention was mainly a gathering of Illinois 

 farmers. 



3 See Prairie Farmer, xliv. 353 (November 8, 1873). 



4 Paine, Granger Movement in Illinois, 44. See also Prairie Farmer, xlvi. 372 

 (1875); Wisconsin Statesman, July 31, 1875, P- 3- 



6 These experiments are of interest in view of the recent attempts of the Ameri- 

 can Society of Equity to control the price of grain in the same way. For Granger 

 propositions for controlling the price of grain, see Prairie Farmer, xliv. 249, 265 

 (August 9, 23, 1873); Chicago Tribune, August 18, 1873, p. 3. 



