164 THE GREEN RISING 



the states where railroad commissions had been es- 

 tablished, their power over intra-state transporta- 

 tion was either held or restored. The final result of 

 the Wabash case was the passage of the Interstate 

 Commerce Act, which had the effect of supplement- 

 ing the work of the state railroad commissions. 

 While in very recent times the Interstate Commerce 

 Commission has absorbed some of the powers of the 

 state railroad commissions, both governmental agen- 

 cies have continued to function in the interest of 

 public welfare. 



Agrarianism had won its first great victory in this 

 country. The Patrons of Husbandry are entitled 

 to the credit for the accomplishment of this task. 



Middlemen's Profits and Interest Rates 



The farmers had other grievances besides the rail- 

 road situation during the decade from 1877-87, that 

 stimulated class consciousness and developed a spirit 

 of organized protest. One of these grievances grew 

 out of the profits of those who purchased farm prod- 

 ucts for resale to consumers. The farmer had come 

 to feel that he was not getting his share of the profits 

 from the sale of his products. The complaint 

 against the middleman is not new, and the protest 

 of the farmers in the seventies was not the first 

 time it had been expressed. Every period of eco- 

 nomic depression has given emphasis to inequalities 

 in the distributive system. At this time it seemed 

 that the middlemen had carried their system to un- 



