COLLAPSE OF THE GRANGER MOVEMENT 67 



Frequently these men would combine to lower their 

 prices and, by a process familiar in the history of 

 business competition, "freeze out" the cooperative 

 store, after which they might restore their prices to 

 the old levels. The farmers seldom had sufficient 

 spirit to buy at the Grange store if they found better 

 bargains elsewhere; so the store was assured of its 

 clientele only so long as it sold at the lowest pos- 

 sible prices. Farmers' agencies for the disposal of 

 produce met with greater success. Cooperative 

 creameries and elevators in several States are said 

 to have saved Grange members thousands of dol- 

 lars. Sometimes the state Grange, instead of set- 

 ting up in the business of selling produce, chose 

 certain firms as Grange agents and advised Patrons 

 to sell through these firms. Where the choice was 

 wisely made, this system seems to have saved the 

 farmers about as much money without involving 

 them in the risks of business. 



By 1876 the members of the National Grange 

 had begun to study the problem of cooperation 

 in retailing goods and had come to the conclu- 

 sion that the so-called "Rochdale plan," a system 

 worked out by an English association, was the most 

 practicable for the cooperative store. The Nation- 

 al Grange therefore recommended this type of 



