62 ORANGE CULTURE IN CALIFORNIA. 



same man be assailed at home by a ten-fold greater danger, 

 and his water supply be threatened a supply on which depends 

 the value of his property and the life of his family he will be 

 left to grapple alone with a gigantic monopoly, and sometimes 

 with a corporation that boasts of its wealth and the protracted 

 litigation it will inflict on the poor settler unless he do its 

 bidding. 



"The disadvantage under which citizens labor in contending 

 with water companies are of the same nature as those formerly 

 experienced by the individual farmer in contending with rail- 

 road companies. 



"The Grange taught the farmers how to unite and extort jus- 

 tice from the most gigantic corporations. It was a hard strug- 

 gle, and one that required long years of patient toil, but victory 

 came at last. The recent decisions of the Supreme Court of 

 the United States, in the Grange cases, places the humblest 

 farmer and the wealthiest corporation on terms of entire 

 equality before the law. 



"Scotland's great bard has said: 



' Freedom's battle once begun, 

 Bequeathed from bleeding sire to son, 

 Though baffled oft is always won.' 



"The struggle of the farmers was at first a formidable one. 

 Wealth, influence and organization were all against them. The 

 ablest lawyers in the land gave learned opinions sustaining the 

 power of the corporations. Even the writers of law books were 

 borne along by the popular current, and gave no hope to the 

 farmer. But persistent effort for the right never goes unre- 

 warded. Though the Granges of the United States never 

 achieve another victory, they will be entitled to the lasting 

 gratitude of mankind for what they have already done. But the 

 victories they have achieved are going to make it easy to win 

 other victories for the right. The doctrine laid down by the 

 Chief Justice, in his late opinion, does much to simplify the 

 water question. If our law-makers will study it, and let their 

 legislation be guided by it, little more will be needed. 



"The protection of the rights of the humblest citizen, the 

 protection of the labor, the property and the homes of the 



