POLITICAL ORGANIZATIONS OF FARMERS 301 



increasing number of farmers' organizations that are purely 

 cooperative marketing associations. Some typical examples of 

 this have already been described in the chapter on Cooperation. 

 Others lay stress on the general protection coming from being 

 banded together. As an example of this may be cited the Farmers' 

 Grain Elevator movement. As the movement stands at the 

 present writing (the year 1919), it may be graphically repre- 

 sented as follows: 



Farmers' Grain Elevators in the United States. 



400,000 farmers own stock in grain elevators 

 4,000 country elevators owned by farmers 



12 State Associations of Farmer Grain Dealers 7 

 1 National Council representing these 12 Associations 

 1 Journal as the official organ of this Council. 8 



Among the accomplishments claimed by the above organiza- 

 tion of farmers are the following: sulphured oats permitted in 

 interstate commerce; federal grain grades; federal supervision of 

 grain inspection; patronage dividends exempt from income tax. 

 On the program of things to do are the following: handle freight 

 and traffic matters, particularly increase in freight rates on grain, 

 or regulations pertaining to loss and damage claims, or bill of 

 lading matters; car shortage problems; in short, protect the 

 interest of farmers in production, transportation, and marketing 

 of grain. 



4. Political Organizations of Farmers. In agriculture as in 

 labor the idea has often gained temporary sway in local areas that 

 a class party was needed. This has occurred in spite of the fact 

 that the trend of our political evolution has been against either 

 class or sectional divisions of our voters. A class party was 

 started in 1915 among the wheat farmers of North Dakota, under 

 the name of "Nonpartisan League." 



The Farmers' Nonpartisan Political League, as this party came 

 to be called, came into full control of the North Dakota State 

 government in 1919, in all three branches legislative, executive, 

 and judicial. It had chosen a governor in 1916, and secured com- 

 plete control of the executive and judicial branches of the State 

 government. The League vote for governor in 1916 was 87,665; 

 in 1918, 54,917. This movement began both as a union (on the 

 labor union principle), charging a membership of six dollars a 

 year, and as a political party, nominating candidates and adopting 



7 The 12 States are : Texas, Oklahoma, Kansas, Nebraska, South Dakota, 

 North Dakota, Minnesota, Iowa, Illinois, Indiana, Ohio, and Michigan. 



8 This Journal is the American Cooperative Journal, Chicago, 



