A DECLINE 295 



sidy, the Union Pacific Railroad had been completed across a 

 thousand miles of desert to the Pacific coast; the Northern Pacific, 

 aided by a land grant the size of a small kingdom, had pushed on 

 over the trackless prairies, across the Missouri river in Dakota. 

 This wholesale bribery of railroads to build where they were not 

 needed was matched by giving to each new settler who was bold 

 enough to pioneer a farm of virgin soil as rich as the world has ever 

 known. So the roads brought in settlers and the settlers brought 

 in new roads. Then came the spectacle of overproduction of food, 

 or, more correctly stated, more food was produced than existing 

 marketing machinery could distribute widely, and the settlers 

 began to sell food below the cost of production. Cheap food, 

 cheap land, but dear money was the settler's lot. Much capital 

 was needed to open up the new country. Interest rates were high. 

 Mortgages were hard to pay off. Cheap food from the west was 

 a blow to eastern agriculture also. The whole experiment in 

 promoted development collapsed. The railroads went bankrupt. 

 The farmers had their mortgages foreclosed. Many of them left 

 the country. In 1872 corn reached the low price of twenty-seven 

 cents a bushel on the Chicago Board of Trade. This meant ten 

 cent corn on the farm. Wheat in 1874 reached the low point of 

 seventy-eight cents in Chicago, a point not reached again till ten 

 years later. Many farmers saw in the Grange a chance to bring 

 about economic reforms, not realizing the fundamental nature of 

 their distress. It was at this time that Secretary Kelley reported 

 to the National Grange as follows: 



"The educational and social features of our Order offer inducements to 

 some to join, but the majority desire pecuniary benefits advantages in pur- 

 chase of machinery and sales of produce. To bring all the Granges into direct 

 communication and to devise a system of cooperation, devolves upon the 

 National Grange. But until its membership is much increased, we must wait 

 patiently the appearance of our new Moses, who is to present the coveted plan." 



A Decline. Following 1875 came a rapid decline of the Grange. 

 It had reached and passed the first peak of its power. At a stormy 

 meeting of the National Grange at Charleston a measure was 

 passed for the distribution of the surplus revenue among the sub- 

 ordinate Granges. Thus this large fund was dissipated, an insig- 

 nificant amount going to each local Grange. When the Grange 

 had manifested its strength, politicians and others, seeking only 

 the loaves and fishes, hastened to join. Too many non-farmers 

 had joined. Two Granges were organized in New York City, 

 one the " Manhattan" on Broadway, with a membership of 45 

 wholesale dealers, sewing machine manufacturers, etc., represent- 



