CHAPTER X 



> 



THE GRANGE 



The difficulty of uniting the farmers of Amer- 

 ica for any form of co-operative endeavor long 

 ago became proverbial. The business of farm- 

 ing encouraged individualism ; comparative iso- 

 lation bred independence ; and restricted means 

 of communication made union physically diffi- 

 cult, even among those who might be disposed 

 to unite. It was not strange, therefore, that the 

 agricultural masses developed a state of mind 

 unfavorable for organization that they became 

 suspicious of one another, jealous of leadership, 

 unwilling to keep the pledges of union, and 

 unable to sink personal views and prejudices. 



It must not be supposed, however, that the 

 farmers themselves have failed to realize the situ- 

 ation, or that no genuinely progressive steps 

 have been taken to remedy it. During the last 

 four decades at least, the strongest men that the 

 rural classes have produced have labored with 

 their fellows, both in season and out of season, 

 for union of effort; and their efforts have been 

 by no means in vain. It is true that some of the 

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