FARMERS ORGANIZE FOR ACTION 159 



now, they thought, it would have to succor them. 

 Government and legislation would bring in the mil- 

 lennium." 2 



There was no element in our population who be- 

 lieved this more firmly than the farmers. They 

 had come to feel a deep sense of economic injustice. 

 They organized for political action. While the 

 methods they adopted to accomplish their ends 

 have changed from time to time throughout the 

 past fifty years, they have been active in politics. 

 Part of the time they have exerted their influence 

 through the two old party organizations, and other 

 times they have rebelled and attempted to accom- 

 plish their ends through parties of their own. 



The Beginning of Political Protest 



In 1858 a conference of farmers was held at Cen- 

 tralia, Illinois, for the purpose of protesting against 

 excessively high freight rates. This was nine years 

 before the organization of the Grange. But the 

 Civil War was near at hand and the interest and 

 energies of the people soon were absorbed com- 

 pletely in the changing aspects of national life and 

 the conditions created by the great world conflict. 

 High prices incident to the disturbed conditions also 

 had their effect on farmer opinion. But a decline in 

 prices after the war again focused attention on 

 freight rates. The farmers had not forgotten their 

 experiences with transportation companies previous 



*The Progressive Movement (1915), Chap. I, p. 15. 



