ORGANISATION. i6i 



grown to be a veritable economic power in the land. There 

 was no other resource to turn to. For there would have 

 been no use in crying out for Protection, the grida di 

 dolores of our farmers in England : because the United 

 States had Protection already ; and, like the Germans, had 

 found that it did not help Agriculture a bit, however 

 magnificent had been its promises. So, in their need, they 

 must turn to Co-operation. Here is what one of the officers 

 of that Union reported on the subject to the Marketing and 

 Farm Credits Congress of 1915 : 



" Before the Farmers' Union came into existence, as an 

 organisation, the average farmer of the South was very much 

 dissatisfied with his condition in life. He realised that he had 

 not been getting the value of what he produced. He felt that 

 he was not responsible for this condition and was much inclined 

 to lay the blame at some one else's door. He realised that he 

 and his family would have to labour the entire year to grow a 

 crop of cotton, and that he would have to sell this cotton crop 

 immediately upon gathering, and often at a very low price. In 

 fact this type of man was unable to supply himself and family 

 with their necessary wants and comforts. His children were not 

 being educated as they should be, and their prospects in life were 

 none too good. Such a condition led to a deep-seated discontent. 

 The great majority of the farmers realised, however, that they 

 needed some form of co-operation, and they began to realise 

 that in order to do what they would have to do, they must 

 organise themselves. This led to the birth of the Farmers' 

 Union. After this organisation came into existence we began 

 to study the real condition of the farmer. We found that the 

 farmer himself is perhaps as much to blame as any other indivi- 

 dual. So the organisation of the farmers was begun, to protect 

 them. We have undertaken not only to conduct ourselves as 

 members of that organisation along the better lines of using 

 better methods in preparing our products for market, but we 

 have undertaken to do something that would affect the market 

 itself." 



And they have done it. Under the spell of Co-operation 

 the face of things has become materially changed. In 

 truth, the movement began before then. For it was in 1867, 

 when depression was great and rival interests were press- 

 ing Agriculture sorely, that the society of " The Patrons 

 of Husbandry," better known as " The Grange," was 



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