THE FIRST VICTORY 



and some of the members, becoming panic- 

 stricken, wrote in to withdraw their sub- 

 scriptions. I was in the state at this time 

 and could not well fail to observe two facts. 

 The attempt to stampede those already signed 

 fell short, although it was well planned and 

 zealously carried out. When sifted down, the 

 number of the frightened compared with the 

 number that stood steadfast was so small that 

 everybody laughed at it. And next, the cam- 

 paign of the opposition was not really injuring 

 the League, but in a way helping it. I saw, 

 for instance, scores of letters from new mem- 

 bers ironically exulting in the fact that they 

 were "Six-dollar Suckers," and expressing the 

 belief that the supply of such suckers would 

 not run out so long as the present conditions 

 existed, or some comment to the like effect. 



To any one that knew the state fairly well 

 this had much meaning. It had always been, 

 as Doctor \Yorst said, the jocular assumption 

 of the old-school politician that the farmers 

 would never unite. Perhaps rosy-lined hope 

 had much to do with this bright thought: 

 if the farmers ever should unite, of course the 

 old-school politicians would be without em- 

 ployment, since 80 per cent, of the state's 

 population was engaged in farming. In truth 

 the existing control of the state was a most 

 absurd and illogical thing, and every intelli- 

 gent man knew that it was so. The govern- 



05 



