444 HISTORY OF THE GRANGE MOVEMENT; OR, 



It has been charged that the Order is hostile to the 

 railroads of the country, and is bent upon their destruc- 

 tion. This charge is absurd ; but as it has been made, 

 we may as well meet it. The Grange is not hostile to 

 the railroads as a means of transportation, for it recog- 

 nizes the necessity of this establishment to our system 

 of society, but it is bitterly hostile to the corrupt man- 

 agement of this great industry. It is entirely opposed 

 to the system of building railroads at the cost of the 

 nation for the benefit of a few stockholders. It is op- 

 posed to the system of watering the stocks of railroad 

 corporations, and of over-charging the people who are 

 compelled to use the roads, in order to extort from them 

 the means of paying large dividends on this fictitious 

 increase of stock. It is opposed to the tyranny and cor- 

 ruption of the railroads, to their disregard of the rights 

 of individuals and communities ; and it is in favor of 

 subjecting them to a series of laws which shall place 

 them on a footing with other industries, and compel 

 them to respect the rights of others. 



These things it proposes to change, and w r e have 

 shown that it has the power to accomplish its object. 

 It is an object which appeals to the sympathy and de- 

 ^mands the co-operation of the people at large, and there 

 cannot be a doubt that the Order will receive all the 

 outside aid that it needs. 



The Order seeks no affiliation with either or any of 

 the political parties of the present day. It has nothing 

 to do with what men usually call politics. It is devoted 

 to the interests of the farmers, and leaves political 

 questions to its individual members, respecting every 

 man's right of opinion and action in these matters. 



Its views upon the political questions of the day 



