THE AGRARIAN CRUSADE 



from the soil, as it were, and, like Topsy, "just 

 growed " instead of being deliberately planned and 

 put into operation by a group of founders. 



A local farmers' club or alliance was organized in 

 1874 or 1875 in the frontier county of Lampasas, 

 Texas, for mutual protection against horse thieves 

 and land sharks and for cooperation in the round- 

 ing up of strayed stock and in the purchase of sup- 

 plies. That it might accomplish its purposes more 

 effectively, the club adopted a secret ritual of three 

 degrees; and it is said that at first this contained 

 a formula for catching horse thieves. Affiliated 

 lodges were soon established in neighboring com- 

 munities, and in 1878 a Grand State Alliance was 

 organized. Some one connected with this move- 

 ment must have been familiar with the Grange, for 

 the Declaration of Purposes adopted by the State 

 Alliance in 1880 is but a crude paraphrase of the 

 declaration adopted by the earlier order at St. Louis 

 in 1874. These promising beginnings were quickly 

 wrecked by political dissension, particularly in con- 

 nection with the Greenback movement, and the 

 first State Alliance held its last meeting in 1879. 

 In that year, however, a member of the order who 

 removed to Poolville in Parker County, Texas, or- 

 ganized there a distinctly non-partisan alliance. 



