THE FARMER'S WAR AGAINST MONPOLIES. 489 



The cooperative system of the Grange is yet in its 

 infancy. That it will be generally adopted, we cannot 

 doubt, and that the greater portion of the Granges will 

 enjoy the benefits seems clear. That it will have to 

 encounter much opposition is to be expected. The 

 middle-men will oppose it wherever it is introduced, as 

 it will free the farmers from the tax hitherto paid to 

 this class of merchants ; but we have good reason to 

 believe that it will be ultimately carried out by the 

 entire Order in all parts of the country. 



That successful cooperation is possible, and may be 

 carried to a very great extent, is proved not only by 

 the experience of the Iowa Grange, but by the opera- 

 tions of the " Civil Service Supply Association," of 

 London. The following account of the establishment 

 and growth of this remarkable association, perhaps the 

 most successful of its kind in existence, was prepared 

 by one of the original members. It is full of encour- 

 agement and suggestion to those who are working in 

 the Grange for a similar object, and we commend it to 

 them. It is as follows : 



" The Civil Service Supply Association is the oldest 

 Cooperative Society in the Service, and it has been the 

 model upon which all London Cooperative Societies 

 have been formed. Although barely eight years old, 

 and in its commencement most humble, it is now selling 

 goods at the enormous rate of 780,000 a year, and is 

 fast revolutionizing the retail trade, not only of Lon- 

 don, but of the whole country. Surely the story of its 

 rise and progress is worth the telling. 



" The Association originated in the Post-Office. The 

 Winter of 1864-5 (like many other Winters, and for 

 that matter Summers too) found a good many of us 



