W. B. Bizzell - The Green Rising

T HE G R EEN RISING
A n H is t o ri c a l S u rvey o f A gra rianris m, Wi t h S pec ial

R efe ren c e to t he Orga niz ed E ffo rt s o f t he
F a rme rs o f t he Uni t ed S t a t es t o I mprov e

T he ir E c o nomic a nd S o c ial S t a t us
W . B B I Z Z EL L , P H D
. . .
,
LL D .
PR E SI D E N T or TH E U N I V RSIE TY OF OK L A H OM A
A U T H OR or
“
FA R M T E N A N TR Y IN T HE U N I T ED
“
RU R A L TE X A S ”
, ET C .
, ET C .
mmmm
TH E MA C MIL L AN C O MP A N Y
1 9 26
A ll rig h t: res erved

CO PYRI GH T , 1 9 2 6 .
BY THE MA C MI LLA N CO MPAN Y .
Se t up an d pri nt e d .
Pub l is h ed Dec e mb er, 1926 .
P ri nt e d in t he U ni t e d S t at es of A meric a by
J .
J . LI TTLE AN D w as C O M PAN Y , N EW Y OR K
The w e ll-b eing o f a l is lik e a tre e agri cul ture is its ro o t
peop e , ,
manufa cturi ng an d c o mmerc e are i t b ranc hes an d i ts life ; if t he

s
ro o t is injure d the l av e fall the b ran c hes b reak away and the
e s ,
tree dies .
”
- A C H I N ES E PH I LOSOPH ER .
Our reme dies o ft in o urse l v es d o lie,

Whic h we as cri b e to heav en ”
.
—S H S
AK E PEARE .
Mg o wn c o n vi ction has lo ng b een that t he land ques tio n f r o
trans c n d any res trict ed fiel d o f e c o nomic and t hat i t is fund

e s s a
men tal t o na tion al su r v iv al and natio na l we lfar I t is trul y a e .
pr o b l em c a llin g fo r s t at e mans hip o f t he b r o a de t t ype

”
s s .
—PROFESSOR FRA N K A FETTER

. .
Un de r is t he l an d
all Up o n i t s wis e u tiliz atio n an d wi d e l y
.
a ll o c at e do w ne rs hip dep en d t h e sur v i v a l and gr o w t h o f fr e e ins ti
and o f o ur c i v i li z a t io n
”
tu tio n s .
PREA M BLE
-
, C ODE OF ETH I CS ,
N A TI O N A L A SSOCI ATI O N
OF R EAL ES TATE) BOA RDS .
P R EFA CE
I n the spri n g o f 19 24 the writer visi t ed E urop e

,
for th e purpos e of studyin g rural life co n ditions It .
b e cam e appar e nt that pro f ou n d cha n ges wer e tak

ing plac e throughout the rural sectio n s of all E uro
pean coun tri e s . Th e traditio n s a n d customs o f
centuries were being greatly affect e d The equilib.
rium b e tw e en p o pulat i on e l e m e nts had b ee n ap
p re c iab l y d i sturb e d by th e war. Th e f arm labor

probl e m pr e s e nt e d n e w asp e cts Th e p e as ant farm e r
.
was e xp e ri e ncing financ i al distr e ss as a r e sult o f fall

i ng pric e s and financial d e pr e ssi o n He had b e com e
.
thoroughly d i ssati sfi e d and disc o urage d and was,
uniti n g his e ff o rts w i th i ndustri al lab o r to comp e l

l eg i slat iv e bod ie s to prov i d e r e l ie f from e xi sting
cond i tio n s
.
It becam e incr e asin gly apparent that the farm

populations from the Balkan S t at e s to th e N orth
,
Sea and westward to the A tlantic O c e an were d e ,
t ermined to improv e th e ir e co n omic and social con

ditions . They were thin kin g much o f economic
i ne qualities A d v ersity had aroused their co n scious
.
ness o f social solidarity an d h ad caus e d them to

r e al i ze th e ir political stre n gth I n most countri e s
.
the farmers had be come socialistic a n d h ad turn ed

v ii
v iii PR EFAC E
to the most radical elem e nts of industrial labor for

sympathy and support . Th e labor gov e rnmen ts
i n most o f th e countr ie s o f E urop e at th e time wer e
strongly soc i alist i c and had b ee n sw e pt into pow er
through the combin e d influ e n ce s o f th e rural and
industr i al e l e m e nts i n th e p o pulation .
It was quit e obv i ous that the unr e st in th e rural

s e ctions o f E urope was th e r e sult o f about th e same
conditions that had caused w i d e spr e ad dissat isf ac
tion i n th i s country It was appar e nt that almost a
.
world wid e agrarian revolution was in progr ess

- .
Th e fact that it was largely bl o odl e ss in no wis e

mad e i t less a r e ality Farm e rs e v e rywh e r e had not
.
only b ecom e thoroughly arous e d to th e ir e con o mic

d i fficult ie s but h ad b e com e d e finit e ly committed to
,
a program o f relie f N aturally th e e l e m e nts in this

.
program var i ed in detail but the motiv e s that actu

,
at e d them w e re the sam e .
Th e writ e r became v e ry much impr e ss e d with th e

profound s i gn ificanc e o f this agrar i an mov e m e nt .
It w as e asy to real i z e that o ur e conomic and soc i al

i nstitut i o n s as w e ll as our gov e rnm e ntal pol i c ie s
, ,
w e r e to b e profoundly influ e nc e d by th i s world w i d e -
mov e m en t o f agricultural pr o duc e rs .
It se e med that a surv e y o f this s i tuat i on might

be desirabl e Much has b een written in rec e nt y e ars
.
o n var i ous asp e cts o f this subj e ct . A r e v ie w in

d e tail o f a n y particular agrar i an m o v em e nt h as not
b ee n attempt e d in th i s volum e . This s e rvic e has
b e e n satis factor i ly p e r f orm e d by c o mp e t e nt auth ori
P RE F A C E ix
ties w ho
ar e thoroughly in formed about the par
tic ul ar m o v e m e nt th e y hav e d i scuss e d . The r e ader
will find much h e lp f ul i nfo rmat i on in such volumes
as Wiest s A gricul tural Organization in t he Uni ted
’
’
S tat es ; Buck s The A grarian Crus ade ; H oward s
’
The Farm Bureau M o v emen t ; Bruce s The N on

’
part is an Leagu e ; H ayn e s Third Part y M o v emen ts ;

’
’
Capp e r s The A gricu l tural B l o c ; Warr e n and P e ar
son s The Agricu l tural S itua tio n ; and nume rous
’
oth e r publications .
It i s hoped that at l e ast this book may poss e ss

the merit of t i m e l i n e ss Th e r e is nothing t o i ndi
.
cat e that th e issu e o f agrarianism i s passing R e .
c en t l y th e R ural R ep o rt of t he Li b eral Lan d

C o mmitt ee in Grea t B ri tain h as b ee n publ i sh e d .
This r e port r e comm e nds rad i cal change s in th e land

tenur e pol i cy o f E ngland The f act that it has th e
.
support o f at l e ast o n e o f th e pr e dominant part ie s

i n G r e at Br i tai n gi v e s w ei ght to i ts c o nclus i ons The
.
Cons e rvativ e Party w i ll not l i k e ly b e abl e to ignor e

th e issu e rais e d by l e ad e rs o f th e Lib e ral Party in
this r e port In o ur own country agrari an influ e nce
.
comp e ll e d th e Sixty ninth Congress to giv e s erious

-
consid e rat i on to farm r el i e f proposals Th e fa ilur e

.
o f Congr e ss to pass th e k i nd o f l e gislat i on d e mand e d
by gr e at farm organ i zati o ns w i ll c e rtainly mak e this

subj e ct a maj or i ssu e in th e n e xt nat i onal campa i gn .
Th e r e is a pr e vail i ng o p i n i on that rural d i scont e nt

only occurs during bri ef p e riods o f financ i al depres
s i on Th e h i story o f agrarianism suppli e s some evi
.
x P RE F A C E
dence to sup p ort this O p in ion But it should be
.
obs e rv e d that th e re h as be e n increas ing coh e sion

between farmers a n d a persistent t e ndency o n th ei r
part t o seek some solut i on to their probl ems It is .
quite obvious that conscious solidar i ty on th e part

o f farmers h as greatly in creased sin c e th e World
War .
The writer prep ared most of th e manuscr i pt for

this volume while serving as pr e sid ent of th e A gr i
cultural a n d M e chan ical Co l l e g e o f T ex as R ural
.
e co nomists an d rural sociologists conn e ct e d w i th

that institutio n have mad e many h e lp ful sugges
tions an d sup p lied much information that has b ee n
i nc o rporat e d in th i s b o o k Farm o rgan i zat i o n o fli
.
c ial s in various parts o f the cou n try hav e ch ee r fully
answered man y in quiri e s a n d suppli e d imp ortant

data with refere n c e to their ow n organ i zations .
A cknowledgme n t o f this assistance h as b ee n mad e

by correspo n de n c e or oth e rwis e and this ge n e ral
,
ack n owledgment o f appr e ciation is r e fe rr e d to h e r e

in co n formity with custom Th e writ e r as sum e s
.
en tire res po n s i bility for any e rrors o f a s t atisti cal

natur e or o f facts that may app e ar and all th e
, , ,
o pin i o ns e xpr e ss e d and conclus i ons r e ach e d are h is
ow n .
W B B
. . .
CO N T E N T S
A
P GES
PRE FAC E v ii x
-
CH APTER
I N TRO DUCT IO N 1-13
A G R R N REVO LUTIO N S O F
A IA TH E PA S T 14 4 1
-
RE C E NT A G RARIAN T EN DE NC IES I N E U RO PE . 42 74
-
A GRARI AN IS M I N M EX I C O 75 8 9
-
G E N ESIS OF A GRARIAN IS M IN TH E U N ITED

S TAT ES 9 0 1 11
-
TH E I N F LU E NC E OF L AN D P O L I C IES ON
A G RARIAN IS M 1 12 13 0
-
TH E I N F LU E NC E O F TH E T ARI FF O N A G RAR
I AN I S M 13 1-15 5
VIII . F A R M ER S O RGAN I Z E F O R P OL I TI CAL A C TI O N

156 -169
A G RARI A N P A R TI ES AN D T H EI R P OLI C IES 17 0 -19 7
TH E E C O N O M I C PR OTES T AN D TH E Co
O PE RAT I VE M OVE M E NT 19 8 2 3 0
-
TH E PR ES E NT S TATU S OF A GRI CULTURAL

E NTERPRIS E 2 3 1 24 7
-
X II . R ES ULT S O F A G RARIAN IS M
I N DEX 2 65 2 71
-
T H E G R EEN R I SI N G
CHA PTER I
I NT R O DUCTI O N
I t is n ot a n eas y matter to apprai se a great social

mov e m e nt during its p rogress Time is usually re
.
quired to give p ersp ective to the various aspects o f

a situatio n u n der review This is certain ly true o f
.
the world wid e agrarian moveme n t n ow in p rogress

-
throughout most o f th e civilized cou n tries o f the

world and more p articularly i n the cou n tries o f
,
w e st e rn E urop e a n d the Un it e d States .
It is d i fficult f or man y in tell i gen t citi z en s t o appre

ciat e what is actually happe n in g or has hap pen ed
in o ur midst in the las t few years There are many
.
peopl e who do n ot r e ali z e that o ne o f the mo st

pro f ound agraria n mov emen ts o f history has o c
curred A f ew years ago a m ee t in g o f f arm repre
.
,
s en t atives was h eld in Chicago . A n e w farm

organizat i on w as brough t into ex isten ce at this
m ee ti ng B e for e the e n d of th e first year th is or
.
g a n iz at i o n claim e d a m e m b ership of a millio n farm

ers I ts i nflue n ce was soo n cl e arly f e lt in almost
.
e v e ry stat e in th e Union It co n tributed t o the or

.
g an iz at io n o f a farm bloc i n Co n gress ; it caused the

2 TH E GREEN R ISI NG
Pr e sident o f th e Unit e d States to call a national
agricultural con f erence ; it propos e d a program o f
co bperat iv e mark e t i ng as a solution o f th e farmer s
’
e conom i c probl e ms and in fo ur years tw e lv e thou

,
sand c o Operat iv e assoc i at i ons w e r e organ i z e d with

a m e mb e rsh i p o f two m illi o n farmers The busi.
n e ss activ i t ie s of this organization in 19 2 3 were re

ported to hav e e xc e ed e d This m erely
i llustrat e s o ne of th e s i gnifi cant aspects o f th e move
m e nt that i s n o t o nly nat i on w i d e but world -w i de
,
-
,
.
N othin g lik e th i s has ever happen e d b e f ore in the

’
world s history N o oth e r group of any n atio n s
’
.
populat i on h as ev e r influenced so pro foundly th e

e conomic a n d pol i t i cal li fe o f th e p e opl e i n so many
ways in th e sam e p e riod o f t i m e as this farm
, ,
movem e nt .
It is not an e xagg e ration t o d e s i gn ate such a

movem e nt as th i s as an agrarian re v o lu tion The .
“
O x f ord d i cti o nary d e fin e s agrarian i sm as a pol i t i cal
agitat i on or civil diss e nsion ar i s i ng from dissat is
”
faction with the existi n g tenur e o f land . E xpressed
in other words agrarianis m signifies an organized
,
efi o rt o n t he p art of t he farm p op ula tion o r a s o c i

,
al l y c ons ci ous group oi farmers t o s ecure a re dis tr

,
i
bu tion of l an d o r t he es tab l is hmen t b y l aw of co n
di tions more fa v o rab le t o t he us e and occupa tion of
lan d A n agrar i an r e volut i on i s c o ncert e d action on
.
th e part o f farm e rs t o br i ng ab o ut e co nom i c or social

chang e s that promi s e to i mprov e farm li fe conditio n s .
I N T R O DUCTI O N 3
The agrarian rev ol ut l on I n easter n and south east

ern E urop e has result e d in a redistributio n o f land .
Larg e e states have bee n bro k e n up an d redistribut e d

t o peasant ow ne rs sometimes on a basis o f in dividual
,
e nt e rpr i s e or on some form o f socialistic or com

munist ic plan Fortunately agraria n activ i ties in
.
th i s country hav e n ever b een p romoted w ith this

e nd in v i ew A ll farm movemen ts in this country
.
“
have had f or their motive th e e stablishme n t by
law o f cond i tions mor e favorable to th e use a n d
”
occupatio n of land This distin ctio n betwee n a gra
.
rianism in this country and in certain parts o f
Europ e i s i mportant It should be o bs e rved that in

.
th e countri e s o f west e r n E urope the motives of

agrar i an movem en ts have been somewhat similar t o
th o s e o f th e mor e r e cent farm movements in th e
Un i t e d Stat e s .
Th e outstandin g social movem en t o f the post

war p e riod has been the ris e o f agraria n ism in al
most ev ery civili z ed cou n try o f th e world G K . . .
Ch e st e rt o n th e w ell known E n gl ish writ er has

, ,
m
“ “
call e d th i s th e G re e n R ising The Green R is in g
.
” “
is a p e asant ov e ment says he wh e r e the R ed i s
, ,
”
a pr o l e tarian mov e m e nt The agrarian r e volut i o n
.
start e d in R ussia w i th th e overthrow o f the R oman

o fl dyn asty an d s i nce th e clos e o f th e G reat War i t
,
has sw e pt ov e r all th e c o untri es o f E uro p e an d in,
som e i nstanc e s h as influ e n ced condit i ons i n man y

“
parts o f the Unit e d Stat e s The s o called G ree n
.
-
”
R i sing h as
bee n in p rogress i n this cou n try for
s everal years an d today im p ortan t e co n omic an d
soc i al chan ges are bein g brough t about through its
influen ce .
I n a sort of awful silen ce says Chesterto n the

, ,
p e as an tries have fough t one vast a n d v oiceless

pitched battle with Bolshevism a n d it s twin brother ,
Big Busin ess an d th e peasan tries hav e w on

,
.
A ll sorts o f recen t eve n ts hav e show n the w ay the

tide i s drivin g ; the payin g Off o f mortgag es in Fran ce
-
and B e lgium ; the p redomi n a n ce o f the agricultural

plain s in America ; the rise o f the po p ular party in
”
I taly ; a n d th e sudde n co n cessions in Irelan d .
While it is in correct to r ef er to A m e rican f arm e rs

as p e asants Chesterto n s descript i o n o f what i s
,
’
happ e nin g is not a n overstat e ment o f th e facts .
A grarianism is not a n ew thin g in the world .
Most cou n tries o f E urop e have exp eri en ced from

t ime to time up risin gs of th e p eas an t farmers when
-
social an d economic co n dit i o n s became in tol e rabl e .
Most Of the agraria n revolutio n s o f former centuri e s

grew o ut o f land ten ure The ev olutio n an d mo difi
.
catio n o f la n d t e nur e po lici e s produced four n umer

o us a n d p o werful classes — lan dlords f arm ma n a
,
gers p e as a n t proprietors and agricultural laborers

, , .
Most of the agrarian r evolutio n s of th e Middl e A ge s

and early mod er n period r e sulted from conflicts b e
tw een th e e co n omic and social i n terests o f these
clas s e s It is im p ossible to u n derstand the e co n o mi c
.
as pects o f the agrari an mov eme n t in E uro p e today

I N T R O DU C TI O N 5
without recallin g some of the h istorical facts about

th e f e udal syst e m and the social organ i zation fos
,
t ere d by it duri n g the Middl e A ges a n d th e early ,
modern period .
Under t he feud al syst em e ach state w as in the

te n ure of a lan dl ord wh o ackn owledged his obedie n ce
to the sovereign of the cou n try Th e landlord cul .
t iv at ed p art o f his estate himself an d rented the

balan ce out t o ten an ts who p aid their re n ts in serv
ices in kin d or in mo n ey E ach estate co n sisted
.
o f arable land m e adow woodl and and was te

, ,
The
, .
pe asa n t u n der the feudal system lab ored under many

handicaps He was not p ermitted t o migrate freely
. .
The services an d custom dues expected o f him were

Ofte n i n determin ate Th e lan dlord had j udicial
.
p ow e rs over h is ten a n ts an d often exercised these

powers in a v ery arb itrary way I t w as possible for
.
’
a lan dlord t o reduce a te n an t s tillable l an d to such
an ext en t as t o p rovide o n l y a p recarious existe n ce .
The i n tolerable co n ditio n s growin g out o f this

system hav e r e sult e d in p e as an t uprisings in man y
cou n tries of E uro p e p rev ious to the seven teenth
/ ’
ce n tury Du rin g the Hu n dred Years War there
.
occurred the great p easant reb ell io n i n Fran ce called

th e Jac qu erie . Important uprisings o f peasants
occurred in Hu n gary G e rmany and Polan d during
, ,
th e sixteen th cen tury b ut in central E uropean cou n

,
tries the peasa n t farmers lost grou n d throughout th e

sev e nteenth an d eighteenth centuries an d their fr ee ,
dom o f actio n an d stan dards o f li vin g w ere lower

than they had bee n able to main tai n in the late
Middle A g e s .
A grarian revolutio n s occurr ed in France and E ng

land from time to time durin g the sev e nte e nth an d
eighteen th centuri es Th e French p e asants w e re
.
reliev e d Of servile t en ur e in 1789 By th e middle o f

.
the n in eteenth ce ntury servile tenur e had als o b ee n

abolished i n the small er cou n tries of w e st e r n E urope ,
in cluding Portugal Sw i tz e rland B elgium Holla n d

, , ,
-
,
an d th e Sca n din avia n countri e s The small farmers

.
o f E n gland opposed stre n uously th e E nglish policy
o f e n closures and while they were unable to pr e

, ,
vent this mov e m e nt they succ ee d e d in gain i ng im

,
portant con ce ssions in the way of a better e conomic

status and mor e l ib e ral contract al rights with their
landlords .
Th e se eds of agrarian ism w e r e sown early in

American soil .A gr i cultur e in England had b ee n
built secur e ly upon its feudal trad i tions A t the .
tim e o f th e settl e ment of Am e rica farming w as a

w e ll establish ed capitali stic i n dustry In contras t .
with the E nglish situation i n all oth e r countr i es of

,
western E urope agricultural e n terpris e was organ

ized o n the basis o f small proprietorships I t is .
probable that Amer i can agricultural h i story would

have been quite di ffere n t had Fran c e Spain or Italy , ,
domin ated in th e settleme n t o f the ne w cou n try .
But the fac t that E nglan d soon gaine d supr emacy

in the colo n ial policies o f America made it in ev i
table that an eff ort would b e made t o tra n splan t
IN TRODU CT I ON 7
feudalis m to American soil and build the agricultur e

o f the country upo n a ca p it alistic basis This is
.
a fundam e ntally i mportan t fact in the survey o f

agrar i an history in th e Uni ted States .
Th e cultivation o f the so i l as a m e an s o f produc

i n g food was an immed iate n e cess i ty for the colo
n is t s who cam e to Ame rica . Variety o f soil an d
climate soon revealed to these colon i s t s t he agricul
tural poss ib i liti e s of the country The early settlers
.
profit e d by the observat i ons they made o f Indian

agr i cultur e Th e y cultivat e d th e nat i v e crops ut i l
.
,
i z ing s o m e o f th e crud e m e thods o f th e nativ e s .
N aturally they also applied some o f the methods

o f cultivation th e y had f ollowed in the old countries .
Wh i le the difli cul t ies and hardsh i ps w e r e v e ry great ,
gradually th e supply o f food pr o ducts in cr eased .
Comm e rce in agricultural products gradually dev e l

op e d and the surplus was transport e d an d sold
abroad .
Comm e rce in agricultural products n atural ly pre

c e d e d comm e rc e in manufactur e d products bu t in ,
dust rial enterprise dev e lop ed slowly through th e

years o f colo ni al expansion Di ff erentiatio n in V 0
.
cat ional lif e a n d comm e rcial e n terprise brough t

about conflict i ng purpos e s Th e i nterests o f the
.
p i on ee r f armer in creas i ngly cam e in c on flict with

thos e o f th e r o yal go v ernors th e m e rchan ts and
, ,
many o f th e profess ional cl ass e s It was quite n atu

.
ral f or colon i al s e ttl e rs from th e ol d coun tri e s t o

build a n ew civilizatio n on the o l d an d decayin g
8 TH E G REEN R ISIN G
fou n datio n s of feudal ism But the risin g tide o f .
capita l ism a n d the v as t are as o f fertile lan d made

this a n impossible tas k I t is not surp risin g how .
,
ever that the early exten sio n o f agraria n ism in th i s

,
cou n try Should gro w out o f the co n flict b etwee n a

feudal an d a democratic organ izatio n o f society .
Th e co n flict b etw e e n e co n omic groups became so

pronou n ced by the time of the R evolutio n that th e
d e man d for in dependen ce w as far from u n an imous .
Simons i n commentin g o n the state o f public opin

,
io n at the b egin nin g of the R evolutionary War says ,

“
that it was no t so much a split between the C0 10
n ies an d the E ngl ish govern me n t as it w as b e tw e en
d i fferen t div isions of the E ngl ish people on both
” “
sides o f the A tlan tic and in r e ality but a b attl e in
a gr e at world wide struggle b etwee n conte n d in g so
-
” 1
cial classes .
Th e study o f patriotic utteran ces such as those ,
o f Patrick H e nry shows cl e arly that th e issu e

2
,
o f independe n c e from E n gla n d w as esse n ti ally a
conflict b et we e n the agrarian in t e rests of th e in teri or

regio n s an d th e in dustrial an d p rofessional in terests
“
o f the coast to wn s Th e warm support o f th e
.
”
R evolution by a great maj ority of th e frontiersm e n ,
“
say s H U Faulkn er w as t o some ex ten t a chal
. .
,
lenge by an agrarian a n d fro n ti e r people to both a

w an in g feudalism a n d a risin g cap italism a n d th e ,
‘
S ci
o al F o rc es in A meri can His t o ry p
, . 7 .
’
Se e W W . . Henry ’
s P tri c k
a H en ry
I N T R O DU CTI O N 9
influence of the more radical wes ter n ideals was one

o f th e most pote n t o f the i n ter n al forc e s which
” 3
brought the separatio n .
While the war for in depe n de n ce was led by Wash

in gt o n a n aristocratic p lan ter fin a n ced by ban k e rs
, ,
like Morris and supported by rich merchan t s like

,
H an cock the fighting forc e o f the R e volutio n came

,
from th e middl e class of farm produ cers an d i n dus

tri al worke rs I t may be said therefor e that th e
.
, ,
R e volut i on was the culmin atio n of conflicting forc e s

i n wh i ch the farm populatio n u n ited their e ff orts
with others who shared their views against their
n e ighbors who found it more p rofitable or desirabl e
to maintai n all e gian ce to the mother cou n try .
From th e establishment o f the natio n al gov e rn

m en t in 1789 to th e be ginning o f th e Civil War in
,
18 6 1 agriculture experienced a steady growth an d

,
develo p me n t Th e n atio n was peculiarly free from

.
agraria n agitatio n durin g this period The vast un .
develo p ed public do main o fl ered u n u sual opport u

n ity for agricultural expan sio n While the n atio n
.
w as no t u n iformly prosperous throughout this lo n g

period on t he whole the farmers were reaso n ably
,
successful But pu blic policies w ere be in g formu

.
lated and eco n omic an d s oc ial chan ges were tak ing
place th at were desti n ed t o a ff ect agricultural en
deav o r very profoundly at a later time Thes e infl u .
en c es may be summarized as f ollows : ( 1 The vast

)
A meric an E c o no mic His t o ry Chap 8 p 16 1
‘
.
.
, .
10 TH E G REEN RISI N G
public domain of virgin tillable la n d an d the lib eral
,
land polici es of the gov e rnm e n t that rapidly trans

formed th e undevelop e d ar e as from publ i c to privat e
own e rsh i p ; ( 2 ) th e rapid incr e as e i n populat i o n re ,
sul t ing f rom th e liberal immigration policy ; (3 )

th e i ncr e as i ng us e o f i mpr o v e d mac h i nery and f arm
implements ; ( 4 ) the importation of an in cr e asi n g
n umb er o f br ee ds o f live stock ; ( 5 ) the dev e lopm e nt
a n d extension of transportation facilities ; ( 6 ) th e
e xt e ns i on o f mark e ts f or farm pr oducts wh i ch was ,
mad e p o ssibl e by th e growth o f citi es and th e e x ,
p a n s io n o f industrial enterpris e ; a n d ( ) th e acqu i

7
sit io n o f scie n t ific knowl e dg e r e lating to agriculture .
Pr e vious to th e Civil War m o st o f th e land b e

,
tw een th e Allegh e nies an d th e Mississippi was set

t l e d and th e advanc e t i d e o f immigrat i o n w as
,
ext end e d ov e r T e xas and Missouri and was rapidly

p enetratin g into the vast ar e as of the far West .
Th e invent i on o f th e co tton g i n and th e larg e r

d emands f or cotton had incr e as ed th e product i on o f
this stapl e fr o m bal e s in 17 9 0 to ,
bal es
i n 18 00 and to
,
bal e s in 18 60 Th e pro .
ducti on of t o bacco sugar ric e and other crops had

, , ,
also mad e e n ormous gain s .
This rapid incr e ase in product i on was due to

s e veral causes Th e in v e ntion for instan ce o f f arm
.
, ,
machinery w as an important fact o r Th e first cas t

.
i r o n plow w as pat e nt e d by Charl e s N e wb old i n 17 9 7 .
Th e M c C ormick r e ap e r cam e into us e b etw ee n 18 33

and 18 44 d i splac in g the gra i n cradle From 182 0
,
.
I N T R O DU CTI O N 11
to 1860 improv e ments were made i n farm machin

,
e ry v e ry rap i dly .
N o l e ss important w as the in troductio n o f better

grades o f liv e stock Washingto n was th e fou n der
.
o f th e mule raising business in this country The .
fin e K e ntucky br e ed o f mul e s cam e from stock

s e n t from E urop e as pre s e nts to Wash i ngton from
LaFay e t t e and th e K i ng o f Spain . G ood types
o f M e r i no sheep had b e e n smuggled o ut o f Spain
b e for e th e N apol e on i c Wars and in t i m e vast flocks

,
w e re d e veloped from th i s origi nal stock Durham .
cattl e w e r e import e d from E ngland to K e ntucky in

18 17 . In th e sam e year He nry Clay in troduced the
first H e r efords i nto this country Th e first thor
.
o ughb red s t allion was brough t from E nglan d to
N ew J e rs e y i n 1788 Th e se ar e sign ificant facts with

.
r efe r e nc e t o l i v e st o ck farm i ng in th i s country and ,
th e y i nd i cat e th e poss i bil i t ie s th at w e r e ah e ad o f

agri cultural e nt e rpr i s e i n th e vast und e v e lop e d areas
o f th e M i ddl e W e st .
Increasi ng att e ntion w as b e ing giv en to the scien
m
t ifi c aspects o f farmin g through o ut this period .
S ci e ntifi c far in g had its d e velopm e n t i n E n gl an d

in the eight ee nth century due to th e work o f Arthur
,
Young J e thro Tull Viscoun t To wn shen d R obe rt

, , ,
B akew e ll and oth e rs A merican farmers showed

,
.
l i ttl e i nt e r e st in i mprov ed method s o f prod uctio n

during the Colonial period but a f ter the R evolutio n
,
a knowledge o f E nglish m e thods w as d i ss e mi nat e d

w i d e ly By the b e g inning o f the Civil War agri
.
12 TH E GREEN R ISI N G
cultural education had had a b e gin n ing and i n terest ,
in the sci e n tifi c asp e cts o f agricultur e had incre as e d

gr e atly .
Five imp ortan t agen cies develo p ed for the dis

seminatio n of agricultural informatio n as follows ,
( )
1 The organ i zatio n o f agricultural soci e ties ; ( )
2
i n terest in rural and commu n it y fairs ; ( 3 ) th e estab
lishment o f the agricultural p ress ; ( 4 ) th e o p eni n g
o f agricultural schools ; ( 5 ) a n d th e establi s hme n t
o f state a n d federal age n ci es for the promotio n o f
agriculture The fi rst agricultural society was The

.
Philadelphia Soci e ty f ounded i n 178 5 S imilar soci

,
.
e t ies were fou n ded previous to 1800 i n South Car
olina Mai n e N ew York and Massachus e tts Th e

, , ,
.
fi rst rural fair w as held i n Washi n gto n in 1804 Th e .
first live stock show was held in Pit t sfi el d Mas sa ,
ch uset t s i n 18 10
,
A gricultural j ourn alism had its
.
b eginn in g in 18 19 w he n Joh n S Skinn er fou n ded

.
The Ameri can Farmer in Baltimore Later in th e

.
same year The Pl ow B oy prin t ed at Alban y N ew

, ,
York appear e d The N ew England Farmer and

, .
The N ew Y o rk Farmer appeared soon aft e rw ard .
The agricultural po p ulatio n had bee n gai n in g

stren gth a n d mean s of self-expres sio n for n early a
ce n tury whe n the Civil War began The eco n omic .
status o f th e farm populatio n and th e isolatio n of

,
the farmer produced a feelin g of in de p e n den ce on

the part o f those e n gaged in agriculture Impro v ed .
mean s o f tran sportatio n an d in t ercommun ication

rap idl y developed a sen se o f social solidarity The .
I N T R O DUCTI O N 13
actio n after the Civil War whe n fin a n cial dis tre ss

f ollowed the rap id declin e in p rices an d the eco n omic
e ff e ct o f deflatio n.
The p eriod sin ce the Civil War has bee n o ne of

great agricultural expan sion but agriculture has n ot
,
exp erienced u n in terru p ted prospe rity I n fact the .

,
farm e r has r e peatedly p assed th rough p eriods o f

unc e rta i nty great anxi e ty and financial d i stress
, , .
Bankruptcy has b efal le n man y farmers a n d repeat

e dl y threaten e d ma n y others This situation has
.
produc e d great disco n t e nt The numerous periods

.
o f finan cial d e pr e ssion have in every case aroused
th e f arm ers to act i on They have resort e d to vari

.
o us e xp e d i ents at d i ffe r e nt times as n ew situations
have con fro n ted them .
I n su bs equen t chap ters of this book a n e ffort will

b e made to sk e tch the methods the farmers have
adopted in an e ff ort to overcome their eco n omic
difficult i es . A s a backgrou n d to the later farm
mov e m e nts th e r e ad e r s att e nt i on will b e d ir e c t e d
,
’
bri e fly to th e h i story of agrar i an agi tations o f the

past It will be observed that while th e s o cial situ
.
ation has chan g e d from age to age the co n ditions ,
that hav e cr e at e d discont e nt and the probl ems that

,
have aro us e d farm groups t o act i on hav e all been o f,
an e conomi c natur e Th ere is th erefore a thr e ad

.
, ,
o f continu i ty running throughout agrarian history .
Th e stud e nt of agricultural economics and s oc io l o g

i cal problems may profitably sp e nd some time in a
r e v i ew o f e arly agraria n h i story as a backgrou n d t o
1 h sen me
ti
CH APTER II
AGRARI AN REV O LUTI O N S OF TH E P A ST
A grar i anism is no t a n e w phe n omen o n in the

world It may be said almost t o b e i nciden t t o
.
private own e rship o f l and Th e history o f l an d

.
t e nure is characterized by th e evolutio n and di ffer en

t iat ion o f the n umerous class e s ide n tified with agri
cultural productio n Individ ual self in ter e sts en
.
-
t ered into competitio n for th e private own e rship o f

land at a v e ry e arly dat e and in one way or an oth er
, ,
by forc e strat e gy or favorable co n dit i ons great

, , ,
landlords e merg e d who cultivated t h e ir lands wi th

slaves r en t paying t e nants o r h i red labor e rs Th e
,
-
,
.
class e s o f th e rural populatio n have be e n largely

i nt e rd e p e nd e nt Th e f ac t that th e y have b e e n r e
.
spons i bl e f or th e f ood supply has give n them a place

o f in flue n ce and power in ev e ry society But th e
.
po w er ex e rcis e d an d th e i n fluence exerted hav e not

be e n equal b e tw e e n them by any m e ans O ut o f .
these in e qualities has come a s en s e of soc i al i njust i ce

that has from time to time resulted in r e volts and
wid e spr e ad disconte n t Th e h i story o f almost every
.
natio n records at some per i od a r e volutionary

, ,
movem e n t that tr aces i ts caus e to social in justice

and privatio n in the use o f lan d .
14
A G RARI AN REV O LUTI O N S O F TH E P A ST 15
Th e history of agrarian prot e st vari e s b e twee n

wid e lim i ts Som e tim e s i t reveals i ts e l f i n th e em
.
bitt e r e d appeal o f som e social r e fo rm e r and th en ,
agai n i t may man i fe st its e lf in a wid e spr e ad social

uph e aval o n th e part of an entir e discontented class .
The r e cital of conscious wron gs by som e moral or

S p i ritual l e ader has had th e e ffe ct o f arousing the
d i scontent e d class to act i on and causing a r e volutio n .
Th i s h as happ e n e d from t i m e to tim e throughout

th e cours e o f human association .
The prophets Micah and Isai ah are good exam

, ,
pl e s o f gr e at soci al r e form e rs who r e fl e ct th e senti

men ts o f discont e nt o f the p e asants o f their respe c
“ ” “
tiv e ages .Woe unto th e m says Isa i ah that j oin
, ,
house to hous e that lay fi e ld to field till there be n o

, ,
place that th e y may b e plac e d alo ne in th e midst of

,
” 1
th e e arth This was un doubtedly a striking stat e
.
me nt of th e agrarian s i tuation that was causing wid e

S pread discont en t That this situation was Of long
.
Stan ding i s indicated by a similar prote st o f Micah ,
who lived i n a much earli e r age “

Wo e unto them .
that covet fi e lds and tak e th e m by viol e nc e ;

,
and houses and take th e m away ; s o they oppr e ss a

,
” 2
man and his house ev e n a man and his h e rds ,
.
Th e se agrarian protests run through th e Jewish

prophetic l i teratur e a n d i n dicate that ine qualities
in land t e nure d e velop e d v e ry early i n th e e volutio n
1
I s aiah, 5 : 8 .
’
M i c ah, 2 : 3 .
16 TH E GREEN RISI N G
of private prop erty rights and c reat e d in justi ces that
w e re cl e arly felt by th e l e ss fortu n ate classes 1 .
Plato in his Laws re f erred to th e ten ure o f la n d

an d prescribed very sp e ci fically th e method o f lan d
distributio n as a means of main ta in in g equal i ty o f
the rights o f o wn ership Plato was s o impress e d
.
with the dange r of in e qualiti e s growing out o f land

ten ure that he w as constrained to advocate mai n
tain ing co n ti n uously a d e fi n ite n umb er o f fa mili e s
to w hom the total la n d ar e a should be distribut e d .
Class co n flicts aros e v e ry e arly i n R ome ov e r lan d

policies an d in equaliti e s resulti ng from th em A s .
R ome extend e d h er pow e r ov e r surrou n din g trib e s

a n d n ations large la n d ar e as were appropriat e d by
,
the state I n tim e th e se public lands be cam e th e

.
private property o f the patrician families The vast .
estates thus acquired w e r e cul tiva ted by slave labor .
The dema n ds o f th e plebeians t o share i n th e dis

t rib ut io n o f th e agri pu b licii b rought o u th e first
,
agrarian co n flict In th e y e ar 486 BC th e consul

. .
,
Spurius Cassius proposed the first agrarian m easur e

,
for the redi stributio n Of public la n ds His proposal

.
w as vigorously o pp osed and he f e ll a victim to the

vengeance of the patrician landown e rs In 3 67 B C . .
the pleb e ian tribu n es pro p osed a law limiting the

size o f private estates a cquir e d from th e public agri
cultural lands For a t i m e th is law had a ben e ficial
.
e ff ect b ut in later years its provisions w e r e disre

,
garded .
See the write r s S o cial Teac hings o f t he J ewis h P r o phe ts

‘ ’
.
AGRARI AN REV O LUTI O N S O F TH E P A ST 17
R ome e xp erie n ced a policy o f la n d e n closures

similar t o that adop ted i n E n gla n d at a much later
time The cultivatio n of grain on the vast estates
.
was aban do n ed in favor of the less toilsome task o f

breedi n g cattle A few herdsmen replaced the more
.
n umerous grai n farmers on th e latifundia This .
change i n policy res ulted in great distres s a n d dis

satisfactio n I n 13 3 BC the agraria n law o f 3 67
. .
BC w as revived
. .Through the e fforts of G racchus
much o f the p ublic lan d w as recovered an d redis
tribute d to the dispossessed ow n ers or their desce n d
an ts .
The co n flict b etwee n p atrician s and plebeians

throughout R oma n history w as largely th e r e sul t o f
i ne qualiti e s growin g o ut o f land d i stributio n N u .
mero us agrarian laws w e re passed from time t o time

for the purp ose o f correct in g the evils or abuses Of
“ ”
la n d polici e s Th e n am e agrar i an laws in R ome
.
cam e to b e assoc i at e d with the id e a o f interfe r e n ce

with pr i vat e p roperty in land and with th e appli
cat i on o f these laws to commu ni st i c pract i ces .
Whe n we tur n from an cie n t history to the history

o f m o d e rn n at iOns w e find that lan d problems devel
,
op e d v e ry e arly and have p e rs i sted almost co n

t inuo usl y to th e pr e s e nt tim e
. Th e voic e o f th e land
r efo rm e r was rai s e d in England dur i ng th e Middl e
Ag e s aga i nst e conom i c i n just i c e and social in equali
ties.
John Ball and Will iam Lan glan d were reform ers
o f th e ty p e o f th e early Jewish prophets .
John Ball
w as a pri e st who attacked agrarian problems follow
in g th e great p estilen ces wh i ch spre ad ov e r E n glan d
durin g the fourte en th c en tury O n e is r e m i nded o f
.
’
Isai ah s prot est in the often quot ed sent e nce o f Ball
“
Th e y ( the la n dlords ) hav e pleasure and fine houses ;
w e ( th e peas a n t farm e rs ) have p ain and labor the ,
wind and rain in the fi e lds ; and yet it is o f us a n d

”
o ur to i l that th e se men hold the i r stat e .
Will iam Langla n d s poet i c wr i tin gs refl e c t gr e at

’
sympathy with th e peasan t classes Langlan d nu .

,
like Joh n Ball pro ffers much advice to m e mb e rs o f

,
the various class e s o f soc ie ty to whom he d irects his

“
poems For e xampl e h e addr e sses laborers land
.
, ,
”
less that live by th e ir hands as follows :
I warn you ye work me n to win wh ile y ou may ;
, ,
”
For hunge r now hitherw ard hastens full fast .
H e i s e qually app e aling in h i s admo ni tion to

th e lan dlords to be j ust to their tenants i n th e ,
following :
“
O ert ax
’
thou n o ten an t save truth w ill as se n t "
,
”
A n d t hough thou am e rc e th em l e t mercy b e taxer l
,
Th e agrar i an prot e st however h as n ot always

, ,
b ee n r e stri ct e d to a sin gl e i ndividual or a fe w socially

mind e d pe rsons Soci al injustice has at tim e s be e n
.
so gr e atly f e lt an d s o prolonged as to produce wid e

spr e ad upris in gs that hav e r e sulted i n importan t
soc i al re f orms and brought abou t importan t eco
n omi c an d political changes .
AGRARI AN REV O LUTI O N S O F TH E P A ST 19
A grarian R ev o lutions in Englan d
The P e asant R e volt in E ngland in the latter part

o f th e fourt ee nth c e ntu ry and th e peasant u p ris in gs
o f a lat e r p e riod r e sultin g from enclosures are typical
e xampl e s o f th e se more sign ifica n t agrarian rev ol u

ti o n s Most of the agraria n revolutio n s of the Mid
.
dle A ges a n d early modern period result ed from

co n flicts be tween the eco n omic an d soc i al in terests
o f the r e nt receiving an d the re n t pay in g classes
- -
. It
is well to r e call that agriculture did n ot become a
p ro fi t -mak i ng busi n ess u n til modern t imes
. Pre
v io usl y it had been o n ly a self supportin g i n dustry
-
.
The fe udal syst e m was an agraria n organizat i on and

the social system fostered b y it was esse n tially
p aternalistic .
It is no t surprisin g that the early agrarian rev ol u

tio n s in E ngland w e re i n sp i r e d by a d e sire for mor e
fre edom o f actio n . Wh ile th e eco n omic motiv e
slowly e merge d i t was a long t ime b e for e it b e
,
cam e th e predom i nant one i n E ngl i sh agricultural

enterpris e .
O ne o f the earl ie st and most significan t agrarian

r evoluti o ns i n E ngland was that o f 13 8 1 I t was
.
the culminati o n o f a s e r ie s Of disast e rs that sw e pt

over E ngland almost continuously throughout the
fourte e nth c e ntury Pestil e nc e s appeared in 13 15
.
,
13 16 and agai n in 13 4 0 R oge rs th e gr e at eco n omic

,
.
,
historian and e conomist tells us that dearth was

,
wides pread from 13 08 to 13 2 2 with the exceptio n

,
20 THE G REEN RISIN G
of th e years from 13 18 to But the s e di sasters
w ere relatively i n sign ifi can t in comp ariso n w ith the
ravages of the B lack Death which ap peared in E ng
lan d in 1348 Before this scourg e had sp en t its force
.
in 13 4 9 app roxima t ely half the p o p ulatio n had been

,
claim e d by death An oth er outbreak of p l ague o c

.
curred in 13 6 1 and 13 62 a n d many o f the remain der

,
o f the population were tak e n as a result o f its rav
ages To add t o the p rivatio n an d su ff erin g o f the

.
p eo p le s e veral disastrous cattle plague s o ccurred

,
durin g this time which res ulted in great l osses i n

live stoc k .
It w as in evitab le that th e se adv erse co n ditio n s

would a ff ect the e co n omic status of th e rural popul a
tio n a n d p rofou n dly chan ge the p oli cy of ma n orial
“ ”
orga n i z atio n Th e p red ial se rvices says G ar n ier
.
, ,
“
which had effect ed the cultivatio n o f l arge areas
o f the manorial soil ceased and half th e leas e hold
, ,
-
in g husban dme n p erished Th e free labo rers wer e .
e ither e xtortin g ex cessiv e w ages on the man or of

their birth or hirin g themselves to the highest bid
,
der elsewhere Vil lein s in gross a n d V illein s regard

.
ant were turn i n g v agran ts an d go in g off on the

tramp For th e firs t time in E n glan d s history the
.
’
sturdy beggar ap peared on th e scen es Ma n y a la n d .
lord was at h i s wit s e nd to fi n d means of r e fill in g the

’
o fli c es vaca ted by death or desertion Farmers were .
u n able to till their ow n l an ds much less p erform ,
‘
Agricultur e and P rice s, Vo l . 1, p . 2 90 .
A G RAR I AN REV O LUTI O N S OF TH E P A ST 21
their services on the demesnes The commo n fi elds .
were overrun with the u n herded live stock o ff the

” 5
waste .
This situatio n resulted in a series o f statutes of

la bor that undertoo k to regulate farm lab or co n di
tio n s A s Parliamen t could not m eet in 134 9 the
.
,
fi rst was i n the form o f a royal ordin an ce that or

“ ”
dered th at e very man or woman free or b o n d , ,
who w as no t otherwise employed an d had n o I n come

from lan d must serve whe n required at w ages no
higher than heretofore received I n 13 5 1 Parlia .
me n t passed the famous S tatute of Lab ourers U n .
der the p rovisio n s o f th is statut e lab o rers w er e

ord e red t o ap p ear too l s in ha n d in the mark et
, ,
to wn s wh ere they w ould b e available for work .
W ages were fi xed by the statute an d laborers were

required to tak e a n oath t o o bs erv e the ordina n ce .
This remark able statute w as followed by other S imi

lar ac t s all o f which w ere rather ine ff ective in ao
,
complishin g the desired purpose b ut the n et result ,
of all statutory requiremen ts t o e n force labor to

work at fix ed wages w as i n creasin g disco n t e nt and
an imo sity toward la n dlords .
G re en in his His t or
, y f
o t he Englis h Pe op l e s ays ,
with refere n ce t o th e e ffect of these statutes that

“
the lan dlords were claimin g n ew services or forcin g ,
m en who looked on thems e lves as free t o p rove they

w e r e not V i ll e in s by law The free laborer was
.
“
Annal s o f the British P t
easan ry Ch ap te r V , p . 57
strugglin g against the attempt to exact wor k from
h i m at low wages Th e wanderin g work ma n w as
.
”
being s e iz e d and branded as a vagrant .
The results w e r e ine vitable Fin ally in 13 8 1 the .
great r e volt cam e The immed i at e cause o f th e

.
peas ant risin g was th e imp o sition by Parliame n t o f

a poll tax but this s i ngl e act o f i nj ustice would not
,
“
have p roduc e d th e revolt Th e p e asantry w e re n ot
.
” “
s o much discontent e d says G arni e r with th e hard
, ,
ships of o ur n ation al fiscal syst e m as with the slav

ery o f our ma n orial re n tal system The rece n t .
labour laws had ti e d a man dow n to starv e on a

’
particular spot at a day s wage fi xed lower tha n th e
’
curre n t price o f h is day s br e ad I t w as this circum .
sta n ce which from the coast o f Ke n t to that o f York

,
shire fomented the labour e leme n t in to ope n

,
reb ellio n ; which caused th e sack o f N orwich by a

host o f p easan t s under Joh n the Litster ; which
,
drove to arms th e rust i cs o f count ie s as w i d e asu n d e r

as Devo n shire and La n cashire which sent a flood o f
in surg e n t yok e ls under Tyl e r up o ne bank o f
, ,
th e Thames towards Lo n don while a seco n d flood , ,
u n der H al es went pari p assu up th e other ban k ;

,
and which promp t e d the in trusio n by anoth e r wave

o f serfs under Grin d ecob b e o n the san ctifi ed clois t er
, ,
o f S t A lbans
. The fact that the h e ad o f th e rebel
.
lio n ce n t e red in Kent where slavery w as pract ically

,
unkn ow n cannot weigh against the evide n ce af

,
ford ed by the demands o f th e peasan ts d urin g the

’
first blush o f a temporary su ccess a n d before me n s ,
AGRARI AN REV O LUTI O N S OF TH E P A ST 23
imagin ations h ad b ecome in flamed b y blo o dsh ed .
These co n s i st e d o f the abolitio n o f market tolls the ,
commutation of all manorial service s in to a fix ed

max imum rent p er acr e th e cessatio n o f all me n ial
,
o fli ces and th e s ei gniorial surr en der o f game rights

,
.
I n their anx i ety to annul their bargai n with th e land

lords they d e stroy e d the man or rolls whenever they
,
could ge t hold o f th e m and on their march t o Black

, ,
heath killed all th e land stewards who f e ll in their

,
-
” 6
way .
The revolt started in the e ast e rn a n d midlan d

counti e s and rapidly spread to all E nglan d south o f
“ ”
the Thames . But th e growth o f d isconte n t says ,
“ ”
G reen vari e d with every dis t rict
,
H ume in h is
.
“
His tory of England says : Befor e the gover n me n t
had the l e as t war n in g of the dange r the d i sorder had
,
grown b e yond control o r o pposi t i on ; th e populac e

had sh ake n o ff all r e gard t o their f ormer masters ;
and b e ing head e d by t he most audacious and crimi
nal o f their associ ates wh o assum e d th e f e ign ed
,
n am e s o f Wat Tyler Jack Straw Hob Carter and

, , ,
Tom M ill e r by which they w ere fond o f den otin g

,
the ir mean o rigin th ey comm i tted everywhere th e

,
most outrag e ous violen ce on such o f the ge n try or

n obility as had the misfortu n e to fall in to their
”
han ds .
The young King R ichard II was co mpelled t o

, ,
retreat b e fore his r e b ellious subj e cts We are told .
Annals of t he Bri tis h P eas antry Chap t e r V pp 59

“
, .
an d 60 .
24 TH E GREEN RISI NG
h e a pp eared before th em an d as k ed : What w il l
”
ye " With one v oice th ey answ e r ed : Freedom o f
”
p erso n a n d lan ds .
Th e Kin g gave his p romises which i n e ffe ct would

,
have a b o l ished serfdom substitut e d a fix e d a nn ual

,
r en tal in stead o f services and in d e finite obl i gations

for the use o f l an d R elyin g on the promis e s o f
.
their Kin g the peasant forces disband e d an d many

,
o f them ret urn ed t o th e ir homes hap p y a n d sat isfi ed

,
with th eir p rospects for fre e dom o f a ction How .
ever a small disorderly eleme n t r e main ed i n Lo n

,
don a n d co n tin ued to b reak in to houses and to kill

innoce n t p eople Wat Tyler w as killed whil e inter
.
viewin g th e Ki n g at Smithfi el d where h e had gone ,
to submit n ew deman ds a n d his lawless followers

,
’
were dis p ersed b y th e Kin g s soldiers .
While th e y ou n g Kin g h ad made solem n p romises

in r e sp o n se to th e peasa n t dema n ds h e was n ot able
,
to fulfi ll them The lan ded gen try w ould n ot agree

.
to dispossess themselves o f th eir propri e torships .
’
The Kin g s cou n sellors p oin ted o ut that th e co n sen t
o f Parli ame n t w as req uired to fulfi ll such a far
r e achin g request as h ad b ee n made by the p easa n ts .
Th e l an dlords remind e d th e Kin g that the V illei n s

were th eir own private p ro p erty a n d they would
r e s en t their confiscatio n to a bitter e n d .
H is torian s diff er as to the actual res ults o f the

“
great r e volt Has bach says : So far as an y a n swer
.
’
ca n b e give n to th e qu e st i on whether the Peasants
R evolt did e ffect the p erso n al eman cip atio n o f th e
A GRAR IAN REV O LUTI O N S OF TH E P A ST 25
vi l lei ns ,it seems that with in limits it must be in

, ,
the afli rmat iv e Man y vi ll eins fled could no t be

.
,
traced an d retur n ed n o more ; and so acquired their

,
freedom O thers bought their man umi ssio n from

.
their lord b y a sum o f mo n ey But three hu n dred .
y e ars later Vill eins s till e xisted in E n glan d though ,
their n umber gradually grew small er an d smaller ,
u n til villein age itsel f died out with the death o f

the last V illein s ” 7
.
Montagu e Fordham i n commen ti n g on th e re

,
“
s ul t s says : ,
The Peasan t R evolt was a remark able
movement ; n ev er b efore or si n c e has the E nglish
p e as an try combi n ed on so larg e a scale or bee n so
well an d successfully led They were defeated by .
—
a politi cal ruse promises of freedom an d reform ,
only made to b e repudiat ed at the fi rst co n ven ie n t
momen t The results w ere therefore slight in pro

.
” 8
portio n to th e character o f the risin g .
S eve n ty years later ( 1450 ) an other p easa n t risin g

’
occurred This is kn o wn i n history as Cade s R e bel
.
lio n The cause is usually attributed t o the perso n al

.
“
and misguided amb itio n of Jack Cade The fact
that th e ostensib le cause of this seco n d outbreak ”
,
“
says G arn ier w as a self-aggran dizeme n t o f Cade
,
must n ot in duce us to co n clude that it was less agra

” 9
rian in its n ature than that of Ball The Bill o f
.
Petition s that r es ulted in the reb ellio n w as a p e as

A His to ry o f t he Englis h Agricultural Lab o ure r C hap t e r I
‘
, ,
p . 28 .
G
S
A hort His tory o f Englis h R ural Life, C h ap t e r IV p, . 62 .
'
P
Anna ls of the Bri tis h eas antry , Chap V , p 62 . . .
a n t indictmen t of agrarian p ractices The repeal .
“
o f the S tatut e o f Labourers was demanded I t is .
” “
op enly noysed o ne section reads that K en t should
, ,
be d e stroy e d with royall pow e r and mad e a wild

for e st that divers poor peopl e th ei r titl e s being
, ,
p e rf e ct had n e vertheless been iI npe ached and in

,
dict ed so that gran ts m i gh t be obta ine d of th e ir

,
lands and thems e lves preve n ted from utilizing

,
”
them ; and that false indictmen ts h ad been brough t
“
again st poor and simpl e folk that used not hunt
”
in g . It was complai n ts such as these that fanned
th e flames o f in surrection and gave Jack Cade a
followin g .
This insurr e ctio n did n ot last so long n or was it ,
so widely exte n ded as th e G reat R e volt of 13 8 1 .
But th e discont e nt o f the peasa n ts continued and

ne w caus e s of agitation w e r e desti n ed to disturb the
pe ac e o f th e realm in future years .
It was i n th e fi f teenth century that th e policy o f

en closur e s develo p ed and supplied a n e w caus e o f
agitati o n E nclosures r e sulted from the gradual
.
d e v e lopm en t o f manufacturing o f cloth in home in

dus t ries an d small factories Sh ee p raising b e came
.
a prosperous in dustry E nt e rprising lords of the

.
manors fenced th e ir la n ds and utilized th em for

sh ee p pasture s Th e days o f s e lf suffi c ing hus
.
-
bandry wer e rapidly p ass in g and mon ey mak ing

,
-
became th e pr e dominant motive in agricultural

en terprise .
A n ew typ e o f lan dlord app eared Pr o sp erous .

A G RAR IAN REVO LUTI O N S OF TH E P A ST 27
merchan ts an d pro fe ssional me n came from the

towns to th e country in large numb e rs and pur
chased lan d Th e s e men united th ei r e ffo rts with
.
the more en t e rpris i ng lords o f the manors in d e v e l

“
Opin g pro fitabl e she e p farms . Th e old -fash i oned
” “
farm e r says Montagu e Fordham with h i s strips
, ,
in the open arabl e fi e lds h i s common rights and th e

,
manorial customs f or which h e st o od u n der wh i ch ,
th e lord and gr e at landhold e rs w e r e li mit e d in th e

n umb er of sh e e p that they could turn onto the
common must hav e seemed an intolerable obstacl e
,
” 10
to progr e ss .
Th e e ff e ct o f e nclosur e s chan ged compl e tely rural

organizati on and produc e d s o cial and economic
,
consequ en ce s o f great sign ifican ce Sir Thomas .
Moore describ e d th e situation in 15 15 as follows :

“
The farm e rs w e re got rid o f by force or fraud or ,
tired out with r e p e at e d wro n gs in d e parting with

“
their p r operty A gain h e says : Your Sh e e p may
.
b e said now to devour men and u n peopl e n ot only

”
villages b ut tow n s
,
But individual prot e st was
.
u n availing and the syste m of e nclosur e s co n tinu e d

through the fi ft ee nth s ixt eenth and th e first hal f
, ,
o f the s e ve n t een th centuries Probably n o oth e r

.
poli cy in rural life in any cou n try ev e r produced

such grav e cons e quenc e s or r e sulted in so great a
n umber o f social and econo mic probl e ms as th i s on e .
Parliam e nt pass ed num e rous statut e s d e al i ng with

various asp e cts o f th e situation Some we r e tempo .
A S ho rt His t o ry o f Englis h R ura l Life C hap VI p 82

10
. .
, ,
.
raril y b eneficial ; others wer e detrime n tal ; and still
oth e rs w e re practi ca l ly devoid o f r e sults .
Th e p e asan ts as usual were the most seriously

, ,
a ffected by en closures They did no t all react in

.
the same way as a result o f th e effects o f e nclosur e s

“ ”
on th e ir situatio n I n some cas e s says Fordham
.
, ,
“
th e p e asan ts succumbed to the arbitrary encroach
me n ts on their righ ts a n d wand e r e d o ff to other
,
man ors ; i n other cases th ey bargain ed for terms

”
an d got so me com p e n satio n wh e n appropriations

too k p lace ; b ut man y in dep e nd e nt m e n who w e re
no t in clin ed to giv e way decided n o t t o troubl e law
courts or government but to fight the question o ut

,
in their ow n way Some assembled in bands armed

.
,
th e mselv e s an d drove o ff the en closur e s whilst ,
others too k part i n th e l ocal risin gs that occurred

from time to time betw ee n 15 3 0 a n d 11
O n e of the most r e markable of th e se agrarian ris

in gs was that led by R obert Ket and his brother ,
Will iam Th e y gathered

. men togeth er an d
marched i n to the city o f N orwich which th ey domi,
n at ed fo r a while H is fo ll o w e rs hange d a n umb e r

.
o f landlor ds w hom they d ee med guilty of unjust
e nclosures Ket w as domin ated by a d esire to s e

.
cure fixed re n ts a n d a small fine only on transfer o f

lan d His obj ect was to give d e fi n ite te n ur e to
.
peasa n t families which w as the as piratio n o f the

,
farm te n an ts of E n glan d through several gen era

tio n s .
A S ho rt His t o ry of Englis h R ura l Life Chap VI p 84

n
. .
, ,
.
AGRAR I AN REV O LUTI O N S OF TH E PA ST 29
Th e E n glish go v ern m en t at fi rst seemed in clin ed

to n egotiate w i th Ket b ut fi n ally se n t a military ,
force t o crush th e movement This force w as .
stre n gthen ed b y G erman merce n aries Th e .
peasan ts were soo n complet e ly rout e d by the trained

“
soldiers a n d dis p ersed to the ir h omes Th i s was .
” “
the last t ime says Fordh am ,
that the E nglish ,
p e asan try ro s e i n suffi cie n t force to make an eff ec

t iv e d e monstratio n against th e f orces o f th e king ;
bu t local p rotests again st e n closures co n tin ued the ,
most n oticeab le bein g the actio n o f th e Digge rs and

the Levellers durin g the first half of the XVI I th
” 12
ce n tury .
Agrarianis m in Fran ce
A graria n ism in Fra n ce h as a differe n t histor y from

that o f E nglan d The ge n eral conditio n s o f la n d
.
holdings in Fran ce and E n gland did no t d i ffer ma

t eriall y during the Middle A g e s or th e early mod e r n
p e riod The feudal system prevail e d in both cou n
.
tries and rural organ izatio n w as very much the same

,
where ver this system existed Part i cular variations .

,
wh en they o ccurred w ere du e to diff e r e nt social

,
co n ditions rather than t o fu n damen tal differe n ces

,
i n lan d t en ure poli cy .
The French p easa n t exp erienc e d the injusti ces

o f the feudal r é g i me p r e v i ous to th e R e volutio n ,
and he has had his diffi culti es si n c e that time But .
the co n flict s between p easant farmers an d lan d

n
0p . ci t .
, Chap V
. I p ,
. 86 .
30 TH E G REEN R ISI N G
lords were n ot so pronoun ced in Fran ce as in E n g
land Th e Fr e nch p e asan t e xperie n ced his greatest
.
privatio n s as a r e sul t o f w ar and pestile n ce Be .
cause o i this fact fe w agraria n revolutions have

,
occurred on Fr e nch s o i l Th is may b e e xplai ned by

.
th e fact th at the privat i o n s e xperienced w e r e trace

able to th e uncontrollabl e conseque n c e s o f war a n d
th e ravag e s o f dis e as e rath e r than to th e arbitrary
,
e x e rcise o f p ow e r by a p redomin an t class It is also .
true as H elen D o uglas Irvi n e says that those wh o

, ,
hav e b een oppr e ssed th rough long ages do no t rebel ,
not at any rate unt il a p eriod o f comparative mean s

, ,
and l ei sure has st imulat e d th ei r imagin atio n so that

” 13
th e y hav e an i d e al standard o f liv i ng .
That this is tru e i s in d i cated by the fact that th e

Fr e nch p e asants hav e r eb ell ed but a f e w times
again st their landlords Th e thr if t of the French
.
p e asan ts i s w e ll known and wh i l e thr o ugh the ages

, ,
they have exp e r ie nced all o f th e r e strictions inci

d e nt to th e f e udal syst e m th ey have e nj oy e d r e la
,
t iv el y more prosp e rity tha n rural dw e ll e rs o f other

coun tries s i milarly S ituated .
Th e greatest disco n ten t o f the Fr e nch peasan t

came about wh e n a p e riod o f r e asonable pros p erity
w as f ollow e d v e ry un e xp e ct e dly by adv e rse co n di
tio n s A n ill ustratio n o f this occurred in th e thir
.
t e enth c en tury. Th e thirt een th century and the

early part o f th e f ourt ee nth c e ntury h av e b een gen
erall y regard e d as a pe riod o f great prosperity but ,
The M a king of R ural Euro pe C h ap V p 67

.
, . .
A G RARI AN REV O LUTI O N S OF TH E P A ST 31
’
the H u n dred Years War reversed co n ditio n s an d
brough t great su ffe rin g to the peasan t proprietors .
Their fi elds were laid wast e by i n v adi n g armies and

th e rural population b e cam e the pr e y of und e rpaid
soldiers an d lawles s maraud e rs It was during this
.
period that th e great pe asant rising call e d th e ,
Jacquerie occurred
, This was a civil war
b e tween the n obility a n d the p e asan try The s p irit
.
o f rebellio n swep t over a large ar e a of the cou n try
an d became a s e rious me n ace to l i fe and property .
Th e peasantry swore to put the nobles to death

and pro ceeded to carry th e ir threat i n to e xecution .
“
The historian s tell us that e v e rywh e r e at night
th e skies were afl ame with burnin g castles Lords .
and ladies were massacred or tortur e d with brutal

”
barbarity . Th e organ ized armi e s o f th e nobility ,
however w ere able t o overcome the po orly clothed

,
and in adequat e ly equipped peasants and th e insur

,
rectio n w as stamp ed o ut This peasan t risin g is

.
sign ifi can t b ecause it is one Of th e few attempts

o f the French p easa n try t o righ t their wro n gs by
force of arms ,
A s the H undred Y e ars War progr e ss e d th e di ffe r

’
,
ences betwee n p eas an ts and landlords in creas e d .
Ma n y lan dlords became capricious o v erbeari n g an d

,
incr e as in gly u n just This general attitude is p ar

.
t ial l y e xp lain ed by the fact that th e y were experi

encing great privations as a result o f th e lo n g co n
tin ned w ar activities It caus e d th e peasan t pro

.
ri
p et o s t o orga n ize secretly for self protectio n
r - In .
32 THE G REEN RISI NG
protest against th e m ma n y peasant vill ag e commu
,
n it ies w e re able t o force the gra n ti n g of ch arters
from th eir overlor ds Th e fi nal result o f the Hu n

.
’
dred Years War therefore w as the decrease in the
, ,
p owers of the lan dlords an d th e in cr e ase in the in

depen de n ce o f the village co mmu n ities .
War famine a n d diseas e in cr e ased the dep e nde n ce

, ,
o f the ce n tral govern me n tal authorities throughout
the fiftee n th cen tury w hich resulted i n gr e a t er fr ee

,
dom o f ac tio n on the p art o f th e pro ducmg class .
The Fre n ch ki n gs adopted th e p olicy o f ign orin g

the lan dlords an d exte n ding favor to the peasan ts .
This situatio n was i n mark ed co n trast to the situa

tion in E nglan d where the lords and the Crown
,
usually stood together in all matters a ff ectin g the

righ ts o f the peas an ts Henry IV Louis X I I I and
m
.
, ,
Louis X IV were n otab le ex am es o f Fre n ch k in gs

who in terceded in b ehalf of th e p easan ts They .
took a n active i n terest i n securi n g commo n rights for

the peasa n ts i n the forests an d i n more than one
,
in stan ce they forbade la n dlords t o impose arb itrary

aids a n d tolls an d is sued decrees den yin g them the
righ t t o shoot an d hu n t o n s ow n lan d Louis X IV
.
severely p u n i sh ed lan dlords w ho in flicted arbitrary

pu n ishme n t o n some o f their te n an ts .
A fter the clos e o f the Middl e A ges abse n tee lan d

l ordism increas ed in Fran ce A bse n teeism W
. as g en
erall y advantageous to the p easant farmer . Most

o f the la n dlords w ho remain ed o n their esta tes were
“
far t o o p oor t o be a men ace t o their te n an t s . Ab
AGRAR IAN REV O LUTI O N S OF TH E P A ST 33
s ent eeis m say s Hele n Douglas Irv in e

,
stren gth ,
“
ened n ot o n ly the in depende n ce o f th e p easan ts but

also the clas s feeli n g b oth o f them an d o f their su
-
p er io rs .I n th e l a ter eighteenth ce n tury there w as

a te n de n cy o n the p art o f some n eedy lords t o
, ,
greater strictn ess A ccum ulated arrears of re n ts

.
were collected ; re n ts in k in d w ere fraudule n tly

meas ured ; there w ere e n croachme n ts on th e com
mo n s an d attemp ts t o exact forced labour on the
scale of a past age But the p easan ts were far
.
removed from the mee kn ess which accep ts oppres

sio n dumbly a n d dow n to the very eve of the R evo
,
l ution there were lan dlords esp ecially i n Brittan y ,
and V e nd e e who mai n tain ed even aff ectio n ate re

,
” 15
l at ions w ith th em .
The agrarian asp ects o f the Fre n ch R evolutio n

were due t o t w o causes—the existen ce o f p rivileges
an d th e fi n an cial p olicy o f the ce n tral govern ment .
We are told that at the time o f th e R evolutio n

Fren chme n possessed these privileges 16
.
These n obles held feudal rights which co n sisted o f ,
mo n ey or pro duce in kin d Th ey were themselves .
exem p ted fromtaxatio n as a reward for some p ublic

serv ice an d had assumed authority as proprietors of
great agricultural e n terp rises These privileges con .
sist e d of mo n opolies t o sell farm p roducts i n local

mark ets to charge tolls and to appro p riate a por
,
tio n o f the p roduct as a re n tal for lan d This situ .
‘5
The M aking of R ural Eur o pe, C hap . V pp,
. 74 an d 75 .
“
Lo uis Madel in s ’
The French R e v o lu tion C h ap . I p
, . 6 .
at i on caused gr e at di ssatis f actio n and as most o f th e , ,
lan dlords h ad mo v ed aw ay n o satisfactory under ,
stand i ng could be r e ached o n th e part of th e te n an t .
Th e p e as ants were i n a state o f m is e ry and whe n , ,
th e nat i on rose in prot e st again st th e Crown it w as ,
e asy to i n flue n ce them t o j oin th e rebellio n .
The fall o f th e B astille on July 14 178 9 an d the , , ,
i nsurr e ct i on i n Paris w e r e f oll owed by simil ar up

“ ”
r i sin gs in the rural districts I n most provin c es .
,
“
says H ayes the oppressed peasan ts formed b an ds
,
wh i ch st ormed a n d bur n ed the cha t eaurc o f the hated

n obles takin g particular pain s to destroy feudal or
,
servile title d ee ds
- Monas teries were ofte n ran .
sac k ed an d p il laged A few o f the u n lucky lords .
were murdered and many others were drive n in to

,
” 17
the to wn s or acro ss th e frontier .
Th e first great act of th e N ational A ss e mbly when ,
it conv ene d in O ctober 1789 was to destroy feudal , ,
ism a n d abolish serfdom The obj ect o f the decree .
was to calm the p easan t revolt i n the provin ces .
“
Bu t it should be o bs e rved that th e p e asan ts h ad
already tak en forcibl e possessi on o f n early every
thin g which the decree had a c ord e d th e m I n fact c
.
the decr ee o f th e A ssembly constituted m e rely a .
legal an d u n iform recogn itio n o f accomp lish ed

” 18
fact .
A P liti
o c al an d S o cia l H is t o r y o f M o dern E ur o p e, Vo l . I ,
C hap 14 ,
. p . 479 .
1"
Hay es , 0p . ci t .
, Vo l . I ,
C hap 14,. p . 48 1 .
AGRARI AN REV O LUTI O N S OF TH E P A ST 35
Lat e r th e N at i onal A ss e mbly order ed th e larg e

e stat e s brok e n up and o ffe r e d for sal e to th e p e asan ts
i n blocks o f 2 or 3 acres on very reas onabl e t e rms
,
.
All farm r e nts w e re abolish e d without compensat i on

“ ” “
t o th e landl o rds . Th e rich sai d Marat have
, ,
s o l o ng suck e d o ut th e marrow o f th e peopl e th at

”
th e y ar e now visit e d with a crushing r e tributio n .
The abol i t i on o f f eudalism with i ts archai c sys

t e m o f priv il e ge s w as th e most important ach i eve
m e nt o f the Fr en ch R e volution The year 1789 .
is th e r e for e a notable o ne i n agrarian h i story b e

caus e it mark e d th e end o f serv il e t e nure in Fran ce .
Agrarianis m in Germany
Wh e n w e turn from Fran ce to G e rmany we find ,
a d i ffe r e nc e in th e history of agrarianism Land .
t e nur e pol i ci e s in G e rmany wer e f ar from uni fo rm .
East o f th e E lb e th e land was s e ttl e d r e lativ e ly lat e .
Th e e stat e s w e r e larg e i n this s e ction and th e land

lords compl e t e ly ov e rwhelmed the p e asan t class .
But w e st e rn c entral and south e rn G e rmany d e

, , “
v e l op ed a d e ns e populatio n by th e e arly Middl e
Ag e s and small scal e farm i ng b e cam e th e s e ttl e d

,
-
policy o f th e country A s man y towns d e velop ed

.
i n th i s r e gion good mark e ts w e r e avai labl e for the

,
sal e o f f arm products an d th e peasant class pros

p e r e d and b e came a w e ll content e d and thr if ty ele
m e nt in th e populatio n .
C o nd i t i o ns gradually changed for th e wors e an d ,

by th e e nd of th e fifteen th ce n tury the G erm an
peasan t was e xp e ri e ncin g hardships similar to those
e ndur e d by the farmi n g clas ses in other E uropean
countries .
Th e r e w as gr e at diff er enc e i n th e status o f the

G e rman p eas ant at th e time o f the Prot e stant R e
formation under Luth er Some of the G erman p e as
.
an ts w e r e complet e ly free ; some were slaves But .
betw e e n these e xtr e mes there w as a great mass of

th e rural population who were bound by e v e ry
gradation o f s e rvitude The t e n den cy of the t imes
.
w as to r e strict more an d more th e fr eedom a n d

privileges o f the peasan t class The b l ame for
.
” “
th i s state of a ffairs says E rn est F He n derso n is
, .
,
to b e throw n ch i efly u p o n two great caus e s : the in

cr e as e in luxury of the upp e r classes cons e qu e nt in , ,
part at l e ast on the improved f acility for int ercours e

w i th oth e r nations ; and seco n dly the in troduct i on
, ,
o f th e old R oman sy stem o f legal p rocedure in to

” 19
th e law courts o f G ermany .
Th e burd e n of providing funds to meet th e land

lords in cr e as i ng d e ma n ds fell upo n th e peasan ts
’
.
“ ”
Th e most hated impositions says H e n d e rso n
, ,
w e r e th e Fro hndie ns te o r men i al services an d th e

, ,
To dfal l or i nh er i tance tax that took from e ach

, ,
prop e rty s o oft e n as it chan ged hands th e best h e ad

o f cattle o r the best piec e o f raime n t A mong th e .
s e rvic e s required were some of the most triv i al an d

—
gallin g charact e r to frighte n o ff the wild beasts
A S ho rt H is t o r y o f G ermany C hap X p 2 46
1”
.
,
.
, .
AGRAR I AN REV O LUTI O N S OF TH E P A ST 37
from the gard en by co n tin uous shouting or to quiet ,
th e fro gs in the pool while th e master slept .
A t th e sam e t i m e th e y w e re goad e d to madn e ss by

n umberless p etty Oppressions Their childre n were .
’
required to do service in the mast e r s household ;
they themselves were cal led U po n for extra labor
without payme n t ; wate r was withdrawn from their
m i lls ; th e ir fi e lds were hunt e d ov e r ; and th ei r crops
ruined with no p ossibility o f obtain in g compen sa
tion Their ge neral co n ditio n at th e b e gi nning o f
.
th e sixteenth ce n tury was one o f extrem e wretched

ness ; th e ir farms were mortgaged at a high rate o f
in terest and it was a commo n thin g to pl e dge th e
,
” 20
coming harv e st i n retur n for an immed i at e loan .
Th e se co n ditions caused peasant r e b ellions i n vari

o us local i ti e s dur i ng th e sixt ee nth century Th e .
gr e at P e asant R e volt b e gan i n 15 24 Th e landlords .
stubborn ly resist ed the attack s of the pe as an ts and

were fi n ally completely victorious A s a p un ish .
m e nt f or this rebell i on th e landlords e x e rc i s e d

,
gr e at e r tyran ny and i njustic e toward th e t enants

and brough t th e m into compl e t e subj e ct i on .
’
I n the s e ve nt ee n th century th e Thirty Years War
contributed furth er t o th e sad co n ditions of the
p e asan ts Th e cou n try was r e p e ate dly devastat e d
.
,
and as th e armi e s w e r e c o mpos e d large ly o f pro fes

,
sional a n d adve n turous soldiers w h o did not respect
private pro perty rights the rural populatio n suf ,
fered great hard shi p s at their han ds Much culti .
Op . ci t .
, Chap X ,
. pp . 2 48 an d 24 9 .
v at e d land was caused to lie was te The flocks and
.
h e rds o n th e farms w e re gr e atly r e duc ed and th e re

w as littl e mark e t f or agr i cultural produ ce .
Th e P e ac e o f W e stphal i a brought s o m e r e li e f to
this s i tuation I n Alsac e Lorra ine Bad e n Suab ia
.
, , , ,
Francon i a Thurin gia He ss e and th e Palatin e

, , ,
wh e r e th e peasantry had b een so compl e t ely op

press e d by the landlords in previous ce nturies com ,
p a r a t iv e fr ee dom w as n ow s e cur e d and a f ai

‘
r d e gree
‘
of prosp e rity w as restor e d Lands that h ad b ee n

.
le f t fallow because o f war conditions wer e n ow

brought back in to cultivation and yi e ld e d abundant
crops War cond i tions h ad compl e tely chang e d the
.
financial status o f th e landlords .
Th e situation was e ntirely diffe re n t from that of

Franc e during the sevent ee nth and e i ght e en t h c en
turic e as ther e w as n o abs e ntee landlord situation
,
.
It w as more like th e E ngl i sh lan dlord situatio n dur

ing th i s p e ri o d i n wh i ch the larg e landown e r w as
in t e r e sted in farming a n d w as endeavoring to regain
his power and influence by monopoliz ing and dis
tributing the produ ce o f the farm The s i tuatio n
.
diff er e d from that o f E ngla n d in that no e ff ort was

mad e to adopt the policy o f e nclosures an d deprive
the landl e ss man of th e pr i vil e ge o f tilling the soil .
A grarianis m in Ot he r Parts o f Europ e
Practically no country o f w e st e r n E urope was free

from i ts agrarian probl e ms La n d te n ure polici es
.
develop e d class consciousn e ss on th e part o f the

p e as an t population and a sp i rit Of protes t again st

various f orms o f s ervic e t e nur e Peasan t emanci
.
p a t i o n was gradually brought abou t in o ne way o r
anoth e r A s a rule the immediate results o f p e as

.
,
an t r e volut i ons and organized r e sistan c e again s t

e x i sting cond i t i ons had the effe ct o f decreasin g the
fr e edom o f act i on o f th e p e asant but the ultimate
,
results w e r e lib e ral i zing and h e lp f ul to their cause .
I n som e countri es the e mancipat i o n of the pe as

a n t p o pulat i on cam e r elativ e ly late For example
.
,
i n Boh em i a Moravia and S i l e sia in Poland an d i n

, , ,
H ungary f r ee dom from s e r fdom d i d n o t com e until

,
w e ll o n in th e nin e tee nth century I n all the central

.
and south e rn E urop e an countri e s fr e edom of action

o f th e p e as ants was more r e strict ed in the seven
t een t h and ei ght ee nth centuries tha n it had b e e n

during m o st of the late Middle A ges This is ex .
pla i n e d by He l e n D o uglas Irv i n e as follows

,
“
Partly th i s was due to th e stre n gth e ning power
and the gr o wing arroganc e and exclusive n ess of the
aristocracy Partly i t was a r e sult of the new knowl
.
e dge o f agri cultur e which made landlordsh ip poten

t ially v e ry profita ble . All over Cen tral E urope th e re
cam e to b e two k inds o f la n dlords Th e r e w as fi rst
.
th e landlord of th e mediaeval typ e who on his

d e m e sne produc e d only f or th e n ee ds o f his house
hold and who d e rived h i s furth e r in come from the
,
customary r e nts pai d t o h im in kin d an d i n mo ne y .
Secondly there was the landlord whose chief de

,
p den ce was on his home farm whose obj ect it

e n ,
ther e fore w as to enlarge its area w hen ever p ossib le ,
and to e xact from his te n an ts forced labour t o th e

” 21
utmost limit .
In th e Balkan P en in sula th e custo mary t e nants

of the land l ived in abj ect poverty through most
o f th e M i ddl e A g e s and the early modern p eriod .
In R o uman i a th e landlords gaine d incr e asin g pow e r ,
and th e ind e p e nd en ce o f the p easa n ts corr espond

ingl y d e creas e d after th e wars o f the late sixt ee nth
ce ntury I n the e ighteenth ce n tury both th e land
.
lords and th e peasa n ts were o p pressed by th e gov

ern men t . Th e agrarian revolutions o f 1763 17 6 5 , ,
and 18 2 1 w e r e stri k i ngly di ffe r e nt from revolut i ons

i n oth e r countr i es in that both lan dlords and p e as
,
ants un i t e d th e ir f or ce s to r e sist th e arbitrary power

o f th e rul i ng class . R ouman i a li k e Fran c e w e nt
, ,
through a p e ri od o f abs e nte e lan dlord i sm i n t he

n i n e t ee nth c e ntury and th e p e asants w e r e l e ft on
th e e states t o l iv e in wre tch e dn e s s and m i s e ry .
Agricultural practices w ere unusually crud e a n d

th e i gnorance o f th e peasan t farmer b ecame prover
b i al
. The more enterprisin g p e asan ts emi grated
to th e mor e prosperous cou n tries of Transylvania ,
Bulgaria and S e rbi a S e rvil e t e nur e o f land re

,
.
ma i n e d th e pr e dominant lan d t enure policy until

v e ry r e c e nt t i m e s But gradually in e v e ry cou n try
.
o f wes t e rn E urope the peasant class acquired free
dom o f actio n and a better social status .
Th e fe udal system serv e d a great purpose in its

The M ak in g o f R ur a l Eur o p e Chap V p 83
,
.
, . .
relation t o the organization o f moder n states in

laying th e foundatio n for the wealth an d pow e r o f
mod e rn n ations But the effici ency of th e f eudal
.
organ i zat i o n involv e d the stratificatio n of th e social

order and resulted in great hardships and privati ons .
Th e struggles of the submerged class e s on the feudal

estates for free dom and social justic e constitute an
importan t chapter in the history of human actio n .
It is no t too much to say that t h e aspirations of

the E n glish peasan t for freedom and e quality o f
opportunities hav e constitut e d th e basic motives for
the Declaratio n Of Am e rican Indep e nd e nce and th e
bill of rights in th e fe d e ral constitut i o n and in th e
,
organic laws of m o st o f o ur A m e r i can stat e s.

CHAPTER III
RE C EN T AGRARI AN T EN D EN CI E S I N E U R O P E
Wh e n w e turn fr o m agarianism o f th e past to
agrarian mov e ments o f r e ce n t t i mes in E uro p e we,
find that both th e methods and m o tiv es o f th e rural

populat i on have chang e d Th e p e asan t r i si n gs o f
.
th e past gr e w ou t of r e strict i ons incid e nt to land

t e nur e and prot e sts w e r e agai nst landlords whos e
,
pow e r d e priv e d the till e rs of th e soil o f fr ee dom of

act i on and a rightful Share of th e farm produce .
A grar i an agitations i n E urope i n r e c e nt t i m e s hav e

result e d ma i nly from dissat i sfaction with farm labor
condit i ons costs o f transportation and u ne cono mi c
,
syst ems o f distributi o n .
A grarianism as a n e xpr e ssion o f concerted action

o n th e part o f farm produc e rs may b e said to hav e
disapp e ar e d almost dur i ng th e n i n e t ee nth cen tury .
With th e pas si ng o f s e rv i l e t e nur e farm e rs ev ery

,
wh e re s ee m e d t o have los t their consc i ousn e ss o f

solidar i ty I f any feelin g o f in justice existed in
.
th e first hal f Of th i s ce ntury at l e ast i t was sub

,
m e rged in th e risin g tide o f in dustr i alism Both.
th e m e chan i cal and i ndustri al revolut i ons began in

th e ei ght ee nth century but th ei r full e ffe cts were
,
n ot attained u n til far in to the n ine t ee nth ce n tury .
42
AGRARI AN T EN D EN CI E S I N E U R O P E 43
H G W e lls t e lls us : Th e re is a t e ndency in many

. .
histori e s to con fus e toge th e r what we hav e her e

call e d th e mec hanic al re v o lu tion which w as an eh,
t irel y n e w th ing i n human experi e nc e ar i s i ng o ut

o f th e d e v e lopm e nt o f organiz e d sc ie nc e a n ew st e p ,
l ike th e inv e ntion o f agr i culture o r th e discov e ry

o f m e tals with som e th i ng e ls e quite d i ff er e nt in
, ,
i ts origi ns som e th i ng f or which th e re was alr e ady

,
an h i st o rical pr e ce d ent th e soc i al and financ i al d e

,
v el o pment which is call e d the in dus tria l rev o l u tio n .
Th e two proc e ss e s w e r e go ing o n tog e ther th e y w e r e ,
co nstan tly r e act i ng upon each oth e r but th e y w e re ,
in ro o t an d e ss e nce di ff e r e nt Th e r e would hav e

.
b ee n an i ndustr i al r e volut i on o f s o rts i f th e r e had

b ee n no coal n o st e am no machin e ry ; but in that
, ,
cas e i t would probably hav e follow e d far mor e

cl o s e ly upon th e l i n e s o f th e soc i al and financial
d e v e lopm e nts o f th e lat e r y e ars o f th e R oman re
publ i c I t would hav e r e peat e d th e story o f d i s
.
poss e ss e d fr ee cultivators gang labour gr e at e stat e s

, , ,
gr e at financial f o rtun e s and a soc i ally d e structiv e

,
fi n ancial process E v e n th e factory m e thod came

.
” 1
"
b efor e power and machinery .
Th es e revolut i onary influe n ces produc e d gr e at

change s in agri cultural ent erprise A gri cultural
.
pract i c e s b e cam e i ncr e as i ngly scie nt i fic and th e ,
farm populati o n pr o fit e d by m e chan i cal inv ent i on

and th e adaptat i on o f mach i n e ry to farm us e s Bu t .
th e pr e dom i nan t e ffe cts o f industrial i sm w e r e busi

Out lin e f Hi t o ry
o s Vo l I I C h ap XX XI X p 393
.
, .
, . .
ne ss organization on a large scale and the compel
r fi
ling motive o f p o t shar ing on the part of the capi
-
t al is t class
. Thes e in flu enc e s produc ed a cleavage
between industrial labor and the capital i st class
which gain e d mom en tum almost continuously
throughout the nine t e enth century H G W e lls . . .
,
“
in d e scrib i ng this mov e m e nt says : Property so
, ,
f ar as it was pow e r w as being gath e red togeth e r

,
into r e latively few h ands the hands of th e b i g rich

,
m e n the capitalist clas s ; while th e r e w as a gr e at

,
min gli n g o f work e rs with l i ttl e or n o prop e rty

who w e re bound to dev elop a common class con
sc io usnes s o f th e conflict o f th e ir int e r e sts with thos e
” 2
o f rich m e n . This confl i ct o f inter e sts produ ced
profou n d e ff e cts bu t in E urop e an countries th e s e
,
influ e nc e s w e re not su ffi ci e nt to d i sturb greatly the

peace o f mi n d o f th e rural dweller .
Up to th e last quart e r o f th e n i n e te e nth cent ury ,
th e pe asant farmer and th e in dustrial laborer d i d

n o t recogni z e that th e y h ad anything in c o mm o n .
But expropriatio n s and economic handicaps gradu

ally caused th e s e cl ass es to bec om e m o r e f ully
aware that s o cial in justice as it applied to th em
, ,
resulted from similar caus es Social i stic li terature

.
i n creas e d v e ry rapidly aft e r the middl e of th e n in e

t eenth c e ntury . The writ ings o f Karl Marx ( 18 18
a part of wh i ch w e r e don e i n th e Br i t i sh
Mus e um Library i n Lond o n attr act e d th e e arly
,
atten ti on of th e industrial populat i on and gradually

O ut line of H is t ory Vo l I I C hap XXX I X p 3 98
.
,
.
,
. .
AGRAR I AN T E N DEN C I ES I N E UROPE 45
fou n d their way i n to th e homes o f th e f arm popul a

tion Slowly the p e asan t farmer b e gan to r e alize
.
that th e methods of th e in dustrial worker w e r e

“
brin ging about results Throughout th e ages says
.
,
H G Wells we fi n d th e b e l ief grow i ng i n men s

. .
,
’
min ds that there can b e such a r earrangem e n t o f

laws an d powers as t o give rul e an d order while still
r e stra inin g the egotism o f any rul er and o f any
rul in g cla ss that may be n e c ess ary and such a defi ni ,
t i on O f pro p erty as will giv e fr ee dom with o ut oppres

s iv e power We b egi n to r e al i z e nowadays that thes e
.
e nds are o nl y t o be attain ed by a comple x co n stru o

t iv e e ff ort ; they arise through th e conflict o f n e w
human needs again st ign oranc e and ol d huma n n a
tur e ; but throughout the n in eteen th century th er e
was a persiste n t dis p ositio n to solv e th e problem
” 3
by some simple formula .
It should be observ e d that agrarl amsm was in

fl uen ced i n t w o ways by th e industrial revolution .
In the first place w e find that th e p e as ant farm e rs

,
o f E nglan d were in clin ed to adopt the meth o ds o f

the industrial w ork ers This was particularly true
/ .
in the e arly stag e s o f agrari an ism i n r e c e nt tim e s .
I n th e seco n d plac e w e find that th e p e asant farm e rs

,
fo und i t des i rabl e to f orm an all i an c e with organ

iz ed i ndustr i al labor This w as th e dir e ct r e sult o f
.
th e w i d e spr e ad feel i ng that th e f orc e s o f th e Op posi

ti o n w er e t o o stro n g an d that it would require t oo
l o ng a p e r i od o f t i m e to g e t r e sults by working alo n e .
“
I b id , Vo l I I ,
. p . 403 :
Th e all i anc e b e twe e n organized labor and agricul
tural labor forc e s is th e most r ecent ma n if e statio n
o f th e agrarian mov e ment .
R ural S yn dica lis m
Syndicalism was o n e o f th e e arliest m e thods o f

i ndustr i al labor to be adopt e d by the p e asantry of
England R ural synd i cal i sm spread from the c i ti e s
.
to th e country rath e r e arly W e h e ar o f the first

.
agr i cultural trad e un i on in E ngland i n 18 3 3 wh e n ,
s ix Dors e tsh i r e agr i cultural lab o r e rs att e mpted to
fo rm a un i o n Th e y w e re sev e r ely condem ne d and

.
n o th i ng cam e o f th eir e ff orts It w as not u n t i l 18 72

.
that th e N at i o nal A gri cultural Lab or e rs U ni o n was ’
f o und e d by Jos e ph A rch a rural mini ster

,
In .
18 7 5 th e N at i onal Farm Labor e rs Un i o n was o r

’
g a n iz e d for th e purpos e o f buyi n g land f o r f arm

labor e rs o ut o f th e subs cr i pti o ns o f m e mbers The .
Land R e st o rat i o n L e agu e in E ngland whos e pol i cy

,
i t i s t o tax landl o rds i n ord e r to abol i sh r e nt is on e ,
o f th e num e rous mani fe stat i ons o f th e rural s yn d i cal
mov e m e nt .
Th e land national i zation mov e men t i s one o f the

int e r e st ing man ife stat i o ns o f agrar i an i sm in E ng
land . Th e f or e runn e rs o f this mov e m e nt wer e
Thom as Sp e nc e ( 17 5 0 W i lli am O g i lvi e ( 173 6
and Thomas Pa ine ( 173 7 .
Thomas
Sp e nc e s l e ctur e on The R ea l R igh ts of M an
’
,
W i ll i am O g i lv ie s e ss ay o n The R ight of Property

’
in Land and Thomas Pa i ne s Agrarian Jus tic e

’
,
pr e s e n t ess e nt i ally the same po in t of view i e that ,

. .
,
e very individual has an in ali enabl e righ t to an equal

shar e in land wh i ch is th e common in h e ritanc e o f
mankind Th e point o f V i e w o f th e s e e arly reform
.
e rs is ind i cat e d by the doctrine laid down in th e

“
e ssay o f O gi lvi e that e v e ry man has a righ t to an
e qual shar e of th e so i l i n it s or i gi nal stat e and
, ,
that e v e ry o n e b y whos e labo r any portion of th e

,
.
soil has b een r e nd e red more f e rtile h as a right to

,
the addit i onal produce o f that fe rti lity or to the ,
valu e o f it and may transmit th i s right to other

,
”
men . In comm ent i ng o n th e s e maxims O gi lvi e
says : O n th e first of th e s e maxims d e p e nd fr e edom
and prosp e rity o f th e low e r ranks O n the second
.
,
th e p e r fe ct i on of th e art o f agriculture a n d the im

prov e m e nt of th e c o mmon stock and wealth o f the
”
community .
Th e lan d re form movemen t did n ot make much

h e adway unt i l th e Land N ationalizatio n Society
w as found e d i n E ngland i n 188 1 as a r e sult o f th e
,
book by A l fr e d R uss e l Wallac e o n Land N ation al

iza tio n : I ts N ec essi t y an d I ts Aims Th i s d i s
.
t inguish e d sci ent i st and soc i al re f ormer a cont e m

'
p o rar y o f both Charl e s Darwi n and H e nry G eorge ,
advocat e d th e c o nfiscat i on o f privat e ly own e d land

by m e ans o f th e taxat i on o f land valu e s The S0 .
cie t y d i d not mak e much h e adway for a time The .
adv o cat e s of land nat i onal i zat i on could n ot agre e

as to m e th o ds .Whil e som e agr ee d with the policy
advocated by Wallac e oth e rs strongly advocat e d
,
th e direct p urchase of land by th e govern me n t The .
only tangible res ult that h as bee n Obtain ed from this

movement up to th e presen t time has b e e n the adop
tion i n E n glan d o f the prin ciples of taxin g lan d
values .
Pr e vious to th e World War th e actual acco m ,
p l ish m en t s o f rural synd i cal i sm in E ngland cann o t

be said to have be e n very great B ad farming sea .
so n s in th e lat e n i n e ti es caus e d a gr e at red uct i o n i n

membership in th e se organizations but unusual ,
activi ti e s o f trad e unions j ust b e for e the War b e gan

in 19 14 r e sulted in a r e vival o f agricultural labor
,
’
unio n s In fact two local agricultural labor e rs
.
,
strik e s occurr e d which was something unusual i n

,
E nglish a grarian lif e Farming became profitabl e

.
wh e n hostiliti e s b e gan and war conditio n s re

,
quired e very possible encourageme n t t o produ ct ion .
Th e N atio n al A gricultural Labore rs U ni on an d the ’
agricultural s e ction of the Work ers Un i o n greatly ’
in cr e as e d in n umbers in 19 2 0 an d 19 2 1 While th e se .
organization s n umbered o n ly members in

19 14 th e num ber h as increas e d to
,
si n ce th e
War I n other words almost half o f th e whole
.
,
numb e r o f agricultural lab orers o f E ngla n d have

become farm u n ion ists Their or gani zatio n s are
.
model e d aft e r the trade u n ions The more ex treme.
e leme n t i n these organ i z ations favors a policy of

lan d natio n aliz ation Their most si gn al acco mplish
.
men t how e ver has b ee n i n securin g b etter terms

, ,
for agricultural an d in dustrial day laborers .

AGRAR I AN T EN D EN CI E S I N E U R O P E 49
A graria n ism has had an i n teresti n g h i story in

Ir e lan d in rec en t times The struggl e Of the Irish
.
“
peasant to secure the Thr e e F s ”
—’
fair re n t fi xit y ,
o f t e nur e a n d free sal e — is familiar to most stude n ts

concern ed with rural welfar e Th e co n flicts betw een
.
al ie n landlords an d the tenan t class and b e tween th e
d i v e rgent interests th e s e clas s e s repr e s e nt e d brough t

,
about more defi n ite r e sults than were obtain ed in

a n y other s e ction or cou n try of E urope .
The Deasy A ct o f 1860 was the first attempt by

legislation to give the te n an t the full advan tages o f
free contract But th is act p roved to be illusory
. .
A more successful eff ort was made through the pro

visio n s o f the Lan d A ct o f 1870 The prin cip al
.
obj e ct o f this law was t o p r e vent the arbitrary

e victio n o f farm ten an ts b y landlords The Lan d .
Lea gu e o f Irelan d a s t ro n g agrar i an organ i z ation

, ,
influe n c e d G ladsto n e to e xtend further aid by legis

“ ”
lative means . It is ess e ntial says one of the
,
“
reports o f this l e ague to r e cogn i z e th e state o f
,
thin gs e xisting in Ir e lan d an d to acknowl edge th e

co own e rship o f th e t e nant with th e landlord in a
-
more co mpl et e I nanner t han would th e law o f

’
A s a result o f th i s r e port th e A ct of 18 8 1 wh i ch ,
h as b e e n call e d Th e M agna Charta o f th e Ir i sh

“
”
P e asant w as pass e d Th i s act s e cur e d fo r th e t e n
,
.
ant a r e gular r e ntal charg e and compl e t e security i n

h i s t e nur e as long as h e l iv e d up to th e cond i t i ons of
h i s contract Th e A shbourn e A ct o f 1885 an d a
.
mor e comprehensive measure passed in 189 1 made it

possibl e for farm t e nants to secur e long-time loan s
at low rat e s o f i nter e st to b e us ed in the purchase
o f farm hom e s .
A grar i an i sm t o ok the f orm Of syndical i sm in

S cotlan d A s early as 1865 an agricultural laborers
.
’
trad e un i on had be e n form e d and in 19 2 1 the Farm

,
S e rvants Union had a membership o f approximately

’
S yn di calis m in I taly and Spain

Italy has accept e d rural syn dicalism with ope n
arms It i s not s o w e ll establish e d as in E nglan d
.
,
but its in flu e nc e has b een ext e nd e d much farther .
All thos e w h o adh e re to th e Parti t o Popo lare or ,
Cathol i c party mak e the winning O f mor e land fo r

,
th e rural prol e tar i at th e ir final a i m Th i s orga n .
iz at io n i s v e ry strong in rural Italy A r i val organ

.
iz at io n i s th e N at i onal Fe d e rat i o n o f th e Land

work e rs o f Italy Th e openly avow e d aim o f th e
.
Fe d e rat i on i s land nat i onal i zat i on I t i s int e r e st

.
ing to obs e rv e that th e s e l e agu e s which f orm the

,
N at i onal F e d e rat i o n o f th e Lan dw ork ers o f Italy ,
d i d not grow up in south e rn Italy th e land o f th e

,
l a tifun d ia wh er e f arm lab o r e rs w e r e Oppr e ss e d but

, ,
in n o rth e rn Italy in Lombardy and V e n e tia wh ere

, ,
agr i cultur e was m o r e prosp e rous and wh e r e th e

a gr i cultural p o pulat i on w as mor e ad e quat e ly sus
t ain ed .
Th e ultimat e w e apo n o f both the Parti t o Popo lare

and t he Land Work e rs Federation like that o f th e
’
,
AGRARI AN T END EN CI E S I N E U R O P E 51
industrial workers is the strike Th e strike has

, .
b e e n used to comp e l th e employ e rs to provide mod

e rn co n t racts for thes e day laborers which are drawn
u p a n d approved by th e unions Th es e contracts .
involve shorter working hours and b ett e r labor co n

dit ions I n 19 19 and 19 2 0 th e un i ons in A pulia ‘
attempted to limit th e us e o f machines operated

by horse or st e am pow e r S i nc e 19 19 the farm
.
laborers hav e forc e d upon e mploying farmers a

contract agreem e nt that ther e shall be a certa in
ratio betwee n the area o f th e farm and the numb e r
o f me n who cultivat e i t A r ef usal o f the lan d
.
ow n er to comply with th e s e conditions res ult e d in

’
the costly agricultural labor e rs str i ke in th e prov
in ce o f Bologn a in the harv e st s e aso n o f 19 2 0 .
R ural syndicalism has man i fe st e d its e lf i n Spain

in about the same way that it has i n Italy The .
land work e rs in Spain are organ i z e d in t w o parties .
O ne party kno wn as the Whit es o r Catholics adv o

, ,
cates an agrarian policy that will mak e it e as ie r

f or the landless man to acquir e a farm home The.
oth e r party k n ow n as the R eds or Socialists is much

, ,
more radical a n d looks t o lan d nationalization as

i ts ultimat e accomplishment The Catholic agra
.
rian organizat i on proposes t o subd ivide th e la ti

f u n dia
,
o r larg e estat es,
and sell th e m o n l i beral
t e rms to p e asan t farmers Th e G en eral Unio n o f
.
Workers o f S pain which i s the nam e Of th e social i st

,
organ i z atio n h as u n dertaken to s e cur e compe n sa

,
tio n from the landlords to t en ants for the improve

m e nts th e y m ak e on th e land th e y cultivat e This .
o rgan i zat i o n also favors e x e mption of farm im p l e
ments from s ei zur e fo r d e bt and adv o cates a mor e

pr o l o ng e d l e as i ng syst e m Wh i le th ese hav e be en th e
.
imm e d i at e Obj e cts th e organ i zat i o n has att e mpted

to accompl i sh its ult imat e a i m as announ ced in i ts
, ,
program o f 19 2 0 i s that th e lan d o f th e cou n try

,
shal l b e n atio n al i z e d and that agricultural ass ocia

t i o n s shall be formed for th e utilizatio n o f th e land
under the advic e o f farm e xp e rts .
Th e Soci alist agricultural labor e rs organ izatio n s ’
o f Spain have not b een abl e to accomplish their
ult imate aim but they hav e brou ght about results
,
in th e way o f s e curing high e r wages an d short e r

work i ng hours for farm labor e rs That th eir pro .
gram h as not always b ee n gu i d e d by good j udgm e nt ,
i s i ndicated by th e f act that in 19 19 they u n d e rtook

to en fo rc e a worki ng day of e igh t hours o r a w ork
in g w ee k o f forty eight hours both for agriculture
-
,
and industry R ural organ i zatio n s of th e le s s r adi

.
c al typ e and s e v e ral provin c i al counc i ls o f agricul
tur e e ntered a strong protest against this d e ma n d ,
as i t prov e d impract i cabl e to provid e un i form work
in g h o urs t hroughou t th e year A s a result o f this

.
prot e st a co mpromi s e w as r e ach e d that e xt e nded

th e day lab orer s maximum day t o t e n hours in busy
’
s e as ons
.
Th e re hav e b e en much unr est a n d gr e at agitatio n

i n the rural s e ctions o f Spain due t o th e conflict in
,
th e polici e s o f rural orga n izatio n s But rural syn .

dical is mis producing profoun d effects with r e fer e n ce

to agricultural p ractices a n d economic pol i cy an d ,
o ut o f the agitation may come a more hop e ful agri
cultural situation in Spain .
Agricul tura l Unions in German y and S candina via

I n G e rmany agricultural lab orers wer e forbidde n
by law to f orm rural unions until 19 19 Sinc e
.
that time a n umber o f local agricultural unio n s hav e

b ee n f orm e d A ccording to G e rman n e wspap e rs
.
,
ther e were n i ne th o usand of th e s e un i ons in 19 2 0 ,
with a total m e mb e rship o f approx i mat e ly

E cono mi c conditions s i nc e th e War hav e giv e n th e
G erman farm e r incr e as e d influ e nc e The d epreci
.
ated curr ency for a t im e almost r e duced e xch ang e

to a stat e o f bart e r A s th e G e rman farm e r con
.
trolled the food supply with wh i ch he negotiat e d

for man ufactured goods h e w as abl e almost to mak e
,
exchan ge on his ow n terms This situation together

.
,
with th e in creased power resultin g from un i onism ,
brough t about bett er work i ng condit i o n s a n d mor e

satisfactory sta n dards o f living I n th e n orth e ast e rn
.
part o f G e rm any wh e r e th e landlords and th e farm

,
p e asan ts represent e d th e leadin g e lement o f rural

soci e ty th e e ffe cts w e r e es p e c i al ly n otic e abl e
,
.
I n rec e nt tim es agricultural union i sm h as not

e x e rted s o great an in fluenc e in th e Scandin avian
cou n tr ie s as in oth e r parts o f E uro pe Th e r e as on
.
i s eas y to u n d e rstan d Th ey ar e cou n tries o f peas

.
an t farmers the farm labor e r co n stitutin g a r ela

,
t iv el y in sign ifi ca n t p ortio n o f th e farm po p ulatio n .
U n io n s o f agricultural workers e xist in all these

cou n t ries but th e ir influen ce o n th e l en gth o f the
,
work in g day a n d other as pe cts o f labor con ditio n s

“
h as n o t be e n very significant Their agreed work
in g day varies reasonably with s e as o n s an d in ,
”
Swede n with districts says Hel en Douglas Irvin e
, ,
“
an d th ey are readier tha n th e Italians and
Spa n iards t o allow overtime paid for at a n extra
,
rate in times o f heavy work This differe n ce b e

,
.
twee n south an d n orth depen ds in the first p l ace , ,
o n th e ab sen ce o f agricultural u n em p lo yme n t i n the
n orth I n Swede n the popula tio n is sparse save in

.
th e so u th ; t imb erfel l in g a n d some other in dustries

rival agriculture as a mark et for labour ; an d on th e
richer soil tillage is inte n sive There is eve n a
.
shortage o f agricultural la bour in some part s o f

S w ede n In De n mar k cultivatio n is so highly in
.
te n siv e that it absorbs the availab le sup p ly of

labour Swede n and De n mark are also di fferen ti
.
ated from Italy and Spai n because their peoples

mak e no e ff e ctive demand for lan d n ation ali z atio n .
They are without the horde o f u n employed an d

la n d hun gry p eas an ts an d la bourers whom a S o
-
c ialist agitator c an regime n t in his army Th e .
Swedish an d Dan ish n atio n s of whom so many are

,
small thriving farmers do n ot des ire to overthro w

,
the p rese n t syst e m o f land te n ur e although some ,
o f them may w ish t o mod ify it here an d there .
Thei trade u n io n s do n ot deman d co n ditio n s in

r -
co n sisten t with good farming and with a high rate

” 4
o f agricultural productio n .
I n 19 2 0 th e re was organized in N orway what w as

know n as the A grarian Party This party is rather .
conservative i n its pol i cy but ne vertheless it is a

,
class party fighti n g for th e in t e r e sts o f farm e rs .
This party brough t o ut a compl e t e ticket in th e

e lectio n in 19 2 1 They Came out stro n gl y again st
.
communism and in favor of a high protectiv e tariff

o n agricultural products . Th e A grarians elected
s e v e nt ee n r e pr e sentativ e s in th e last S torti n g an d ,
there is e v ery reas on to believe this ne w party will

increase its influence i n th e political a ffairs o f N or
way durin g th e n ext few years .
Lan d N atio na lization in Eas t ern and S ou the as tern

Europe
O f all the far -reaching change s wrought by the
World War in th e political and social s t ructur e o f
E urop e an socie ty n o n e ar e mor e s i gn i ficant than
,
th e agraria n reforms which hav e b ee n produc e d in

e aster n and south e ast e rn E urop e Th e ov e rthrow .
Of th e Tsarist r é gi m e i n R uss i a h ad i mp o rtant agra

“
rian co n s e quen ces . Th e Fun dame n tal Law o f the
A ssociation o f Lan d w as adopt e d in R ussia in
S e ptember 19 18 This land law provid e s for a bol
,
.
“ ”
ishin g all property rights Th e righ t to use the
.
land i s ass i gn ed t o thos e w h o till it by the ir ow n

labor Th e apportionment o f land is un d e r the
.
The M ak ing o f R ura l E uro pe C h ap X p 183

,
.
, . .
jurisd i ct i on o f the v i ll age cou n ty provincial re
, , ,
gi o n al and f ederal land departmen ts Th e order

, .
o f ass i gn ment as decre e d u n der Division 1 Article ,
10 o f t h e Land Law is as follows

The land departm e nts o f th e local an d central
Sovi e ts are thus entrust e d with the e qu i table appo r
t io nmen t of th e land among the workin g agricultural
popula tion an d w i th the productiv e utili zation of
,
th e natural resourc e s They al s o h av e the followin g

.
dut i es
1 ) Cr e ating favorabl e conditio n s for th e d e
v el Opmen t o f th e productive f orc es of the country
by in cr e asing the fe rt i lity o f th e land improving ,
agricultural t e chniqu e an d finally raising th e

, , ,
standard o f agri cultural knowl e dge among the labor

ing population .
( )
2 Cr e at i ng a surplus o f la n ds of agricultural
valu e .
D e v e lop i ng various branch e s of agricultural

in dustry such as gard en ing cattle br e edin g dairy
, ,
-
,
in g e tc .
( )
4 A ccel e rati n g th e tra n sition from the old nu
productiv e system Of fie ld cultivatio n to the new

productiv e o ne ( under various cl imates ) by a ,
prop e r distr i but i o n o f th e laboring populatio n in

var i ous parts o f th e cou n try .
D e velop i ng collective homesteads in agri

culture ( in pre f er e nce to in d i vidual hom esteads ) as
th e m o st profitabl e system of savin g labor an d ma
t erial with a vi e w to passing o n t o soci alism
,
.
The law cont e mplates standards o f agr i cultural

production an d consumption on a basis o f an agri
cultural c e nsus and a t o pograph i c surv ey A d e fin i t e
.
plan is outlin e d fo r d e t e rm i ning th e lab o r capac i ty

o f th e arrang e m ents i n th e agr i cultural po pul a
tio n Th e ut ilizat i on o f land is car e fully c o-ord i
.
nat e d w i th th e man pow e r uni t s o f product iv e effort

- .
“ ”
Tw e nty fi v e y e ars ago says Jos e ph N ew b urger
-
, ,
writ ing in Co mmerce an d Finance issue of S e pt e m ,

“
b e r 17 19 2 4 yo u could hav e s ee n gr e at farms
, ,
str e tch in g away somet i m e s to th e horizon w i th a ,
gran d mansion and spac i ous park lik e grounds in

-
the c e nt e r and l e arn that Pr i nc e Th i s or That C o unt

,
own e d all th e s e 10 2 0 5 0 100 or 2 00 thousand acr e s

, , ,
.
You w o uld s ee wom e n bar e h e ad e d and p o orly

,
cloth e d w o rkin g in th e fields with th e m e n N o

,
.
,
the Pri nce or Count was not at hom e H e was .
livin g sumptuously at Paris or some oth e r pl e asant

place or touring the world in his yacht or oth e r
, ,
wis e disporting h i ms el f o n th e w e alth wh i ch th e old

e conom i c syst e m was wr i nging fr o m th e s e p e asants ,
w h o had bar e ly enough to k e ep body and soul to

g e t her .
“
Today th e Princ e and Count ar e still abr o ad ,
but wherever they are or whatever els e th ey ar e do

ing they are n ot l ivin g riotously on the labor o f
,
R ussian pe asan ts .
“
I am n either Socialist nor Communist nor does ,
o ne have t o be in order to s ee that e ighty millions
or more o f the R ussian p eople th e farm e rs are

, ,
58 THE GREEN R ISI NG
much b etter o ff n ow than th e y wer e u n der th e old
r é gime I saw no e v i d e nces o f f amin e I lived well
. .
at mod erate cost and e ven had one thing in R ussia

,
that I could n o t g e t anywhere els e in E urop e

watermelo n The land h as al l be en confiscat ed by
.
th e state it is true but did not the B ench do the

, ,
same in their revolutio n and did n ot our o w n gov

,
ernment co n fiscat e n egro slav e s wh e n

‘ ’
in th e Civil War it abo l ish e d slavery " Wh o will

as sert that v ested rights with no other b as is than
centuries of e xpropriation ar e sacrosan ct "
“
Th e p eople now have the land and ar e working
it for themselves Is no t th i s as it should b e "
.
Moreov e r th ey hav e gone to th e Mosaic law for

,
a model for th e ir r e venu e syst e m th e p e asan ts ,
yieldin g up t o th e govern ment for its support th e

ten th part o f th e ir increas e Was th e lawgiv e r of
.
Israel a Bolshevik " This agricultural ind ividualism

is somethin g th e Communists may yet make som e
sort o f compromise with but they never can ov e r
,
come it What cares th e peasan t f or theoretical

.
n atio n al titles to the land while h e h as th e land

”
itself a n d its fruits on such terms "
A ft e r the World War th e Communist government
o f Hungary also took th e plu n ge into land natio n
al iz ati on The feudal Latifundia had long b een

.
acce p te d as a rural land policy o f this country Be .
fore the s o ci al r e v o lut i o n following th e War the ,
former gov e rn ment had p roposed to break up th e

v ast estates a n d partition th e m ou t as small farms
on the bas i s of peasant proprietorship s similar to

those o f Fran c e and Italy But th e Soc i alists Op
.
pos e d i ncr easing th e numb e r o f landown e rs in th i s

way as privat e own e rship would gai n in stre ngth
,
by such a procedure Th e prev en t i on o f this plan

.
partly accounts for th e succ e ss o f th e A grarian R ev

o l ut ion that f ollow e d the World War .
In south e ast e rn E urop e agrarian r ef orms brought

about by war cond i tions have taken th e form o f a n
agrari an r e v o lut i on Th e e stat e s o f th e larg e land
.
own e rs alm o st e v erywh e re hav e b ee n e xprop r i at e d

on t e rms which virtually amount to confiscat i on .
This A graria n R e volution has coincid e d i n n e arly

e v e ry instan c e w i th a vast p o l i t i cal uph e aval wh i ch ,
has result e d i n an almost compl e t e collaps e o f ol d

pol i tical and e c o n o m i c organ i zat i o ns and mad e pos
,
sible radical change s in rural e conomi c and social

inst i tut i o ns .
In R oumania for exampl e agrarian probl e ms

, ,
wer e pr e ssing for solution on th e e v e o f the World

War A p e asan t r i sin g had oc c urr e d in 19 07 which
.
r e sulted in th e cr e at i o n o f the Cas a R urala or lan d ,
ban k But the activiti e s of the bank in provid ing

.
rural cr e d i t h ad prov e d d i sapp o i nt i ng as l e ss than

,
fi fty thousand acres of land had actually com e into

poss e ssio n o f th e p e as antry through i ts aid prior
to R ouman i a s e ntry i nto the War
’
. Ind ee d says ,
“
Ifor L Evans i t was slowly b e com i ng appar e nt
.
,
that recours e would h av e to b e had to very drastic

m e asur e s b e fore th e land hunger o f the rural popu
-
latio n could b e satisfi ed an d as e arly as 19 13 th e
,
Lib e ral Party d e clared its ad heren c e to th e prin

c ipl e o f th e e xpropriation o f th e large landlords to
” 5
this end .
But the l e gal pro ces s o f expropriat ion was n o t

authorized until Jun e 19 17 Wh il e G e rmany was
,
.
actually o ccu py i ng Bucar e st th e R ouman i an Parl ia,
m e nt which s at at Jassy convok e d a Constitu e nt

, ,
A ss e mbly wh i ch am e nd e d th e constitut i onal pro

v i s i ons with r efe ren ce to privat e prop e rty Th e .
r ight t o e xpropr i at e privat e pr o p e rty f or r e asons

o f public utili ty e xisted pr e vious to this t i m e Th e .
Constitutional Amendm e nt o f Jassy as it is now ,
call e d gr e atly e xtend e d th e policy of e xpropr i at i on

,
.
“ ”
In order to e stabl ish p e asant o w ne rsh ip says ,
“
E vans it w as d e cr ee d that all in alienabl e lands
, ,
and all la n ds b e longi ng to for ei gn e rs ab s en t eeist s , ,
corporatio n s a n d in stitutions th e Crown and th e ,
Cas a R ural a should b e compl e t e ly e xpropr i at e d ;

whil e most importan t o f all th e pr i vat e own e rs
, ,
w e r e to b e call e d u p on t o furnish be tw ee n th e m two

milli on h ectar e s ( ne arly fiv e mill ion acr e s ) of cul
” 6
t iv ab l e land as well .
The n e t result o f this legislation according t o ,
E van s has be en that over two and a half m illio n

,
h e ctar e s o r ,
acres o f cultivable lan d has ,
already ( 19 2 4 ) b e e n expropriat e d in th e old kin g

dom o f R ouman ia The mai n obj e ct o f agricultural
.
The A g a ia n R e v o l u io n in R o uma nia

r r t C hap . V p , . 100 .
"
d
I bi , Cha V , p 102
. p . . .
legislatio n in R ouma n ia has be en th e establishm e nt

o f peasant propri e to rsh i ps on a firm basis an d the
final elimi nat i on of the landl es s prol e tari at R o u .
mania h as go ne a lo n g w ay i n th e accompl i shm e nt

o f this task .
S o me o f t he Gen eral Effec ts o f t he Agraria n

M o v emen t in Europ e
Th e A grarian R evolutio n that has b e e n spread in g

ov e r E urop e s i nc e th e World War is at th e pr e sent
time ex e rting an imp ortant influen ce no t only with
r efe r e nc e to land t e nure but als o with re fe renc e
,
t o land ut i l i zat i o n agr i cultural c o tiperat io n and

,
rur al cr e d i t N O att empt will be mad e to trace

.
th e s e influ enc e s i n all countr i es to wh i ch r efe r e nce

has b ee n mad e but this discussion would b e in com
,
p l e t e w i th o ut s o m e comm e nt o n th e influ e nc e t h e
a grar i an m o v e m e nt is havin g upon the farm popu
l at io ns th e ms e lv e s .
In E nglan d th e agraria n m o vem en t h as r e sult e d

in guarante e s t o th e t enant farmer that h e shall r e
c e iv e ad eq uat e /c o m p e n s at io n for the improv e me n ts
mad e dur i ng h i s t e nancy L e gi slat i on d e sign e d to
.
prot e ct t e nants r i ghts was e nac t e d as far back as

’
18 8 3. S i n c e that t im e a numb e r o f ac ts hav e b ee n

passed Th e A gr i cultural H o ld i ngs A ct wh i ch is a
.
,
consol i dati on o f s e v e ral pr e v i ous statut es relat ing t o

th i s matt e r b e cam e a law in 19 08 But th e ult i
,
.
mat e e ffe cts o f th e s e m e as ur e s hav e b ee n m o r e

de fi n it e ly felt i n rece n t years While th e E nglish
.
policy o f protectin g th e rights o f te n an t farmers
in the imp rovem e nt made on the land they culti
vate has had a te n den cy to discourag e farm ow n er
ship it h as r e sult e d i n great e r in ter e st on the p art
,
o f the tenant in main taining soil f ertili ty adoptin g,
a b e tter syst e m o f crOp rotation and th e im p rove

,
ment of f arm life cond i tions in general .
Th e agrarian mov e ment in Fra n ce has liberated

the Fr e nch p e asant from th e thraldom of fe udal
tradit i ons and gr e atly i n cr e as e d h i s d e s ir e to o w n a
small f arm o f his ow n The ext e nt to which this
.
tend en cy has op e rat e d i s in dicated by th e fact that

out o f a total o f landhold i ngs b efor e th e
War ,
or 8 5 p e r ce nt w e r e l e ss than 2 5
,
acr e s an d mor e than

,
w e r e less than t w o
and a hal f acr e s Most o f th e s e small holdin gs are
.
in th e n orth e rn part o f Franc e in th e d e vas tated

territory O ne of th e e ffe cts o f th e fighting in this
.
r e gion was th e obl i t e ration of many o f the origin al

b o undar ie s o f th e small proprietorships . In th e
work o f res torati on it has b e en fou n d l e ss e xp e nsive
and mor e satisfactory to consolidat e many of these
small hold ings thus increasing th e siz e o f the in
,
d ividual farm .
Th e thrif ty l i ttl e country of H olland is confro n ted

w i th th e probl e m o f incr e as ing th e arable land to
supply th e n ee ds of a rap i dly incr e asin g population .
R e cent statist i cs show that there ar e 2 0 5 p eopl e to

the square mile ; wh er e as in Franc e there are only
74 in th e United Sta t es 1 1 i n A rge n ti n a 3 and in
, , ,
A ustralia 1 . Th e populatio n o f H ollan d h as

doubled in th e last forty years There are .
farms in this l i ttl e country at pr e s ent and th e only ,
mean s o f increasing th i s numb e r i s to r e cla i m ad

dit io nal land from th e s e a or furth e r to subdivid e
existin g farms Th e av e rag e acr e ag e o f th e Dutch
.
farms is relativ e ly small consisting o f approximat e ly

,
2 0 hectares o r 50 acres M or e int e ns iv e cultivat i on

.
may m ak e it possible to subdiv i d e thes e f arms I t .
is obvious that th e proc e ss cannot go on ind efi ni tely .
It is ne c e ssary th e r e for e for the farmers o f H ol

, ,
land to ex e rt ev e ry e ff ort to util i ze every sci e ntific

,
truth and to apply e v e ry e conomic pr incipl e as a

,
m e ans o f sustaining th e prosp e rity of the i r country .
In I tal y th e re has be en a te n d e ncy to divide up

th e family holdings in rece n t y e ars I n 19 12 the .
n umb e r o f land own e rs w as e stimat e d at nearly fiv e

millio n O f this numb e r approximat e ly
.
,
possessed less tha n one h e ctare or two an d a half ,
acr e s o f land But th e numb e r o f landowners at

.
th e p rese n t tim e exceeds seve n and a half million .
The te n de n cy to in cre as e th e numb e r o f l andown e rs

an d r e duc e th e si z e o f farms in many parts of E urope
has in t ensifi e d th e system o f cult ivat i on which nu ,
d e r n ormal e co n omic conditions would gr e atly in

crease agricultural production .
The Co op era ti v e M o v emen t ih Agric ul ture
N o influe n ce the agr aria n movemen t has bee n

of
mor e s i gn ifica nt than that o f agr i cultural co Opera

tion . Whil e this movem e nt is not equally well de
v el o ped in the sev e ral countries o f w e st e rn E urope ,
it has manife sted its e lf in many forms and in most ,
cas e s i t is work i ng o ut satis f actori ly Th e c o Oper .
ativ e mov e ment i n E urop e has mani fe st e d itself in

th e organ i zat i on o f c o b perat iv e s o c i et ie s f or rural
credit for the purchase o f equipm e nt includ in g ex
, ,
p e n siv e liv e stock for carrying o ut drainage an d

,
irrigation proj e cts for insuran c e activiti e s fo r agri

, ,
cultural manufacturin g e nterprises and for the co ,
op e rat iv e s e llin g o f farm products G e rmany as .

,
e v e ry w e ll in form e d man k n ows led th e world i n the

,
c o Op erat iv e cr e d i t mov e m e nt O th e r countr ie s o f

.
E urop e hav e i mprov e d gr e atly th e ir cr e d i t facil i ti e s

fo r agr i cultur e sin c e th e War Th e co Operat iv e in
.
suranc e societi e s e ngage in l iv e stock insuran ce fi re ,
insuran ce and crop in suran ce again st hail and other

,
unusual mani festations o f nature Crop in surance .
has n ot b e e n u n iformly successful Th e r e have b een

.
som e fa i lur e s o f co Operativ e i nsuranc e soc ie t ie s .
But th e re is a tendency in E urope to e xte n d the

scope o f i n surance to cover losses i n liv e stock from
e p i d e m i c dis e as e s and som e add i tional aspects o f
,
cro p in sura n ce E uropean farm e rs have gone far

.
th e r than w e hav e i n c o Operat ion i n agricultural

manu f acturing Th e r e ar e numerous co Operat iv e
.
slaught e r hous e s baco n f actories cheesemakin g es

, ,
t ab l ishment s cream e r ie s and S i milar enterprises

, ,
.
Th e se e stablishm en ts have in most cases stan dard

ized their products an d give n them a p refere n tial
position in the markets It should be observ ed that

.
man y soci e ti e s which sell raw p roducts have estab

l ish ed d e finite standards with the same e ff ect .
N o country o f wester n E urop e however h as , ,
mad e as much progr e ss in th e c o Ope rat iv e s e lling

of farm products as th e U n ited S tates There is .
probably n othing to compare in E urope with the

c i trus co o p e rat i v e o rgan i zat i on s i n Cali fo rnia th e ,
c o b perat iv e wh e at and tobacco as sociat i ons or the ,
co b perat iv e cott on and v e g e table associations of
T e xas and oth e r stat e s Th e f act i s th e c o Operat iv e

.
,
s elling mov e m e nt i n E urop e is no t as Old as som e o f

th e oth e r co Operat iv e activ i t ie s th e r e Th e agricul
.
tural mini stries of most o f the countri e s o f w e st e rn

E urop e are dir e cting th e attention o f the farm e rs
o f th ei r r e sp e ct i v e countr ie s t o Ame rican c o b perat iv e
e nt e rpris e s Wh il e v i s i ting th e M i nistry o f Agricul

.
tur e i n L o nd o n r e c ently th e writ e r was told that th e

,
Un i t e d Stat e s w as far ah ead o f G reat Britain in co

o p e rat i v e s e ll i ng o i farm products . D e nmark and
th e Un i t e d Stat e s l e ad th e world in th i s ent e rpris e .
It i s natural that c o untr ie s exp orting a larg e su rplus

,
o f agr i cultural p roducts sh o uld giv e the m o st s e ri ous

cons i d e rati o n t o th i s asp e ct of agricultural e nd e avor .
But i t i s an i mp o rtant mov e m e nt e v e n for thos e

cou n trie s wh e r e th e e xpo rt surplus is n o t gr e at .
B e lgi um and G e rmany ar e cou n tr ie s co m ing und e r

th i s classificat i o n Th e y hav e mad e rath e r r emark
.
abl e pr o gr e ss in agr i cultural co Operat ion .
The R igh t Honorable N oel Buxto n former Min ,

i st e r o f A gricultur e in Great Br i ta i n has d irected,
att e nt i on to anoth e r r e tard ing i nflu e nc e o n th e co

“
operative selli ng o f farm products . Th e British
” “
farmer says Mr Buxton i s a bad seller because
,
.
,
h e has a goo d mark e t I t is too n e ar his doorstep

. .
He h as always b e e n able to g e t rid of his go ods but ,
the slump has convin ced him that a change is n eces

”
sary . In urgi ng c o Operat ion h e d i r e cts att e ntion to
th e n ecessity o f gradin g o f all kin ds o f agricultural
produc e as a m e ans of in suring a larg e r fixed de
“
man d . O n e o f the main difficulties aff ecti n g b aco n
“
factories in this cou n try he says is the sup p ly
, ,
o f the righ t ki n d o f pig . O n ly a uniform stan dard

iz ed bacon ca n succ e ssfully compete with the reli
”
able typ e imp ort ed from Denmark . He makes the
sam e observati o n with referenc e to egg distributio n
and th e sale o f fruits and vege tables .
A gricultural writers in E uro p e hav e b e come some

what alarm e d for f e ar th e agri cultural moveme n t
might be carried t oo far Hel e n Douglas Irvi n e in
.
,
h e r r e c e nt book on The M akin g of R ural Europe ,
d i r e cts att e ntion to th e f act that th e r e ar e thre e

groups of farmers wh o ar e a ffect e d by and who ,
a ff e ct e co n omic we l f ar e through c o iiperat ion Th e

,
.
fi rs t i nclud e s tho s e fa rm e rs who are too poor f or

succ e ss ful c o iiperat ion b e caus e o f inad e quat e leisure
to th i nk through th e d e tails o f the plan Th e .
s e c on d i n cludes th e cap i talist farm e rs whose co iip
erat io n o n a larg e scal e may prov e a dan g e r t o
soci e ty through mon o pol i stic tendenci e s Th e t hird .

AGRAR I AN T END EN CI E S I N E U R O P E 67
class in clud e s th e vas t numb e r o f farmers w h o fall

b e twe e n th e se t w o e xtrem e groups .
A tt en tion is dir e ct e d also t o the dang e r of over

specializat i on which may result in u n balanced pro
,
li
duction and a failure t o uti z e th e b y products o f
-
the farm Wh ile th e s e pr e cautio n s may no t be o ut

.
o f p lace it is not likely that many people w ill feel

,
that this i s an immed i at e dang e r co n fronting the

co Operat iv e mov e m e nt in this country .
The Gro w th fo R ural Credi t
Th e rural credit moveme n t has gain ed co n sider

abl e headway in western E uro p e sin ce th e War A .
gr e at st i mulus t o c oOperat iv e credit h as b e en gi ve n

i n E ngland by th e passing of the A gricultural
Cr e dits A ct in 19 2 3 The p lan con templates th e
.
fo rmat i on o f cr e d i t soc i et ie s w i th th e co b perat ion

o f agricultural orga n iz ations o f G reat Britai n . Co
Op e rativ e cr e d i t al so h as gain ed cons i d e rable head
way ih H olland in rece n t y e ars The two Dutch.
c e ntral c o b perat iv e ba nks o f Utr e ch t and E i ndhove n

report gr e at progress These ba n ks have b e come
.
pow e rful financial in st i tuti ons and have co n tributed

gr e atly to the finan cial r e sources o f the farmers o f
th e country Thes e co Operativ e ag e nc ie s prov e d
.
e sp e cially effe ctive durin g th e crisis that followed

th e clos e o f th e World War .
A gricultur al credit facili ties have bee n av ailable

i n Italy f or man y years . O n e s ee s ce n tral i z e d
agr i cultural b ank s i n all th e larger cities o f that
country Bu t the eff ectiveness of agricultural age n
.
cie s has not b een a ll that could b e d esired in th e

past Far r e ach ing m e asures have b ee n intr oduced
.
-
in th e Chamb e r o f Deputi e s r e c e ntly for th e ben efit

o f agricultural e nterpr i s e .O n e o f th e s e bills p ro
v id ed f or th e e stablishm e nt o f a chamb er o f agri
cultur e s i m i lar to our Farm Bur e au Federatio n in

, ,
ev e ry agr i cultural zon e o f the country ; the other ,
known as th e A gricultural R e pr e s e ntation B ill pro ,
v id e d f o r an e lab o rat e plan o f c o Operat ion in agr i
cultural e nd e av o r U n f ortunat ely n ei th e r o f th e s e

.
,
bills rec e iv e d the approval o f th e D e puti e s But .
th e royal d e cr ee o f D e ce mb e r 3 0 19 2 3 did provide

, ,
fo r th e e stabl i shmen t of provin cial agricultural

c o unc ils Th e d e cr e e cont e mplat e s the co Ordina
.
tion of all local agricultural activities and for de ,
c e ntralizing and adaptin g to local n ee ds th e policy

of th e S tat e so f ar as i t r e lat e s to the agricultural
s e rv i ce and the promo tion and protection of agricul
tural product i on Th e e ffe ct o f this d e cr ee if fai th
.
,
fully carr ie d o ut w i ll be to improv e th e syst e m o f

,
rural cr e dit .
I n t erna tiona l Agencies of Agricul tural Welfare

Som e o f th e se agenci e s or some asp e cts of them
, ,
are d i r e ctly o r in d i r e ctly charge d with the respo n si

b il it y o f promot i ng agricultural prosperity in the
s e v e ral nat i o ns and o f d i ss e m inat ing us eful in f orma
t i o n c o nc e rn ing agri cultur e .
Th e I n ter n atio n al Institute o f Agricul ture at

R ome is an organizatio n rea lly unique in the scope

o f activities a n d th e natur e of i ts work The obj e ct .
o f th e Institut e is to de fe nd an d promote the agri
cultural i n terests o f the world Th e idea of th e I n

.
s t it ut e originated i n th e m i nd of Mr David Lubin .

,
a n American J e w H e commu n icat e d his id e a to

.
th e K i ng o f Italy w h o w as s o impr e ss e d w i th th e
,
suggestio n that h e provid e d a commodious buildin g

an d in vited th e nations o f the world t o appoint p e r
mane n t officials to come to R om e and unit e th e ir
e fforts in improving th e quality o f productio n pro ,
mot in g a b e tter econ omi c situation with r efe ren ce

to agr i cultur e and d i ss e m i nating this in f ormat i o n
,
throughout the w orld .
Th e program as outlin e d in th e tr e aty providing

,
for the e stablishme n t o f the International Institut e

o f A griculture i s as f ollows :
,
Coll e ct study and publ i sh as promptly as

, ,
p ossi ble stat i st i cal t e chn i cal o r e c o n o m i c i nfo rma

, ,
tio n co n cern in g f armin g plan t and animal products

, ,
the commerc e in agricultural products and th e pr i c e s

p revaili n g in the various mark e ts ;
m
Com unicat e to part ie s int e r e st e d also as ,
promptly as poss i bl e th e ava i labl e in fo rmat i o n ;

,
Indicate th e wag e s paid for farm work ;

( 4 ) Mak e k nown th e new d i s e as e s o f plan t s
which may ap pe ar in any part o f th e world showin g ,
the territories infe ct e d the progre ss o f the dis e ases

,
an d if possibl e the remedies which ar e e ff e ctiv e ;

, ,
S tudy qu e stio n s co n cernin g agricultural co

70 TH E G REEN RISI N G
operatio n in suran ce an d cr edit in all aspects ; collect
,
a n d publish in formatio n which may be useful i n

th e various cou n tri e s f or the organizatio n o f works
co nn ect e d th e rewith ;
Submit to th e ap proval of the G overn ments ,
if there is occasio n for it measures for th e protection

,
o f t he common in terests o f farmers a n d fo r the im

”
provem e nt o f their co n di tio n s .
Practically all cou n tries without disti n cti o n o f

,
religi on rac e lan guage or political organization

, , ,
have united in the work o f the Institut e and it i s ,
rap idly acquiri n g a plac e Of great importan ce in the

dev e lopm en t o f agricultural resources .
Th e I n tern ational La b or O rgan ization also o ccu

pi e s a u n ique position among th e age nc ie s pro mo t
in g in tern ational welfare Articl e 2 3 of th e cove
.
nan t o f th e League o f N ations pl e dges the c onstit u

“
en t members to e nd e avor t o secure and to main ta i n
fa ir and humane cond i tions of labor throughout th e
”
world . The Intern ational Labor O rgan i z atio n ,
which com es within th e ge n eral scheme o f th e

League o f N ations is based no t on the coven ant
, ,
but on a provision in the Treaty o f Versailles wh i ch ,
lays down a seri e s Of prin ciples governing lab or co n

dit ions The Internatio n al Labor O rganization , al
.
though all th e states that are m e mbers of th e League

are also members o f it a n d although the budget is
subj ect t o th e co n trol of th e Leagu e A ssembly is ,
an auto n omous organ iz atio n with its ow n gov ern in g

body its ow n ge n eral co n feren ce a n d its own secre
,
AGRARI AN T EN D EN CI E S I N E UR O P E 71
tariat O fficial represe n tatio n in the I n t ern atio n al

.
L abor Con fe r e nc e consi sts o f th e follow i ng : ( 1 )

O ffi c i al d e l e gates from th e sev e ral gov e rnm en ts
r e pre s en t e d in th e Leagu e o f N at i ons ; ( 2 ) repre
s ent at iv es from e mployers associat i ons ; and ( 3 )
’
r e pr e s e ntatives from work e rs organ i zat i ons ’

.
O ne importan t aspect o f th e activities o f the I n

t ern at ional La b or O rganizatio n is that o f agricultural
labor In th i s fi e ld th e organ ization c o bperat es with
.
th e Int e rn ation al Institute Of A griculture in ap p ro

p r iat e matters as well as
,
with th e League of N a
t i o ns This in ter e stin g and u n ique organ izatio n has
.
already made a world wide study o f living co n di

-
t i o ns o f agricultural workers hours o f labor u n em

, ,
'
ploym en t in sura n ce protection o f agricultural

, ,
labor e rs again st accid e nt and sickn ess and schemes ,
for stabili zin g e mployme n t .
The Internat i onal Labor O rganization has re

c ent l y occup ie d a gr e at bu i ldin g n e ar th e Palace o f
th e Le agu e o f N at i ons front i ng on Lak e G e n e va in

, ,
the center o f a b e auti ful park Wh i l e th e people o f

.
th e Un i t e d States k n ow v e ry l i ttl e about this or

'
g a n iz at io n i t is
,
destined in t i m e t o e x e rt a remark
able i nflu e nc e o n the e conom i c and soc i al asp ects o f
rural life .
A s on e cont emplates the work o f th e Int ernatio n al

Labor O rgan i zation an d its relation to th e League
o f N ations it is inter esti n g to sp e culat e as to w hy
,
th e V e rsaill es Tr e aty did no t provide for an I n ter

national A gricultural O rgan i zat i on c oOrdinate with ,
th e International Labor O rganizat i on and design ed
to s e rv e th e i nt e r e sts o f agr i cultur e as the labor or
gan iz at io n was d e s i gn e d to s e rv e in dustrial labo r .
It might hav e b ee n poss ibl e for the Versailles

Tr e aty to c o b rd in at e th e work o f th e Int e r n ation al
Institut e of A gricultur e at R ome w i th the Le ague
o f N at i ons i n some such way as the Court o f Inter
nat i onal Justic e at th e H ague which was already

, ,
in ex i st e nc e wh e n th e tr e aty was formulated Th e .
fact is that th e r e co gn i t i o n by th e tr e aty o f indus

,
tri al labor was th e r e sult o f bett e r o rgan i zat i on o f

the f orc e s o f i ndustry through o ut th e world .
Wh i l e th e r e is e v e ry r e ason to b elieve that the

Int e rnat i onal Labor O rganization will serve c e rtain
asp e cts o f agr i cultur e and i s doing s o at th e pres
,
e nt t im e it i s quit e obvious that its i nt e rests ar e

,
pr i mar i ly conc e rn e d w i th th e probl e ms o f industrial

lab o r Th e failur e o f th e V e rsai l l es Treaty to r e cog
.
niz e th e rights o f agri cultur e i s the climax of politi

cal i nd i ffe r e nc e t o ward and n e gl e ct o f th e bas i c
, ,
industry that i s o f un iv e rsal co nc e rn t o all nat i o ns

and to all p e opl es .
The His t orical Perspec tiv e
A s we look back ov e r th e h i story of E urope in

m o d e rn t i m e s w e find that th e Fr e nch R e volut i o n
,
marks a new era i n agrarian history Th i s rev ol u

.
t i on sw e pt away med ie val survival and aroused a

d e s ir e f or f e udal e manc i pat i on throughout E uro p e .
The land r e form in it i ated by Stein in Germa ny

brought e v e n larg e r fre e dom to the rural population

o f easter n Prussi a The r e forms w e re f oll ow e d by
.
the agrarian laws of 1848 .
Th e n e xt gr e at wave o f agrarian r eform in east e rn

E urop e cam e in th e six ti e s It w as in 186 1 that
.
“
Al e xand e r II abol i shed s e rfdom in R uss i a By th e .
” “
s ixtie s o f last c e ntury says Ifor L E van s Agra
,
.
,
rian R eform b e gin n i ng in France had spr e ad righ t

, ,
across the Conti nen t o f E urop e and w i th th e sol e ,
e xce ption o f som e of th e lands und e r Turkish rul e ,
th e e mancipatio n o f the p e asants was practically .
c o mpl e t e Th eir p e rsonal status at law had be e n

.
in e very cas e compl e t e ly changed ; wh i l e i n addition

th e y had a cquired in a great numb e r of cas es full
, ,
propri e tary rights ov e r a v e ry large proport i on o f

the ar e a previously cultivat e d by th e m It is impor .
tant how e v e r to e mphas i z e th e fact that th e land e d

, ,
aristocracy also acquir e d a full legal titl e to th e land

which it had pr e viously cultivated ; and from th e
eco n omic poin t o f V i e w this l e gal re form had b ee n
,
accomplished withou t any parall e l change i n th e

av e rage size o f th e actual un i t of pr oduct i on 7
.
The forty-year p e riod imm e d i ately pr e ceding th e

World War was n o t charact e r i z e d by v e ry much con
structive agrarian l e gislation in E urope But .
E urop e during th i s p e r i o d was und e rgo i ng imp o r

, ,
tant social and e con omic change s that hav e gr e atly

influe n c e d agrarianism sin c e 19 17 The rural p c pu
latio n increas e d rapidly e specially i n e astern E u
,
The Agrarian R ev o lutio n in R o umania p 184

"
. .
74 TH E GREEN R ISIN G
ro p e and mor e lan d was brough t u n der cultivatio n
,
.
The larg e landown e rs profited by th i s s i tuat i on as ,
the n ew land was usually r e claimed from wast e Th e .
increase i n populat i on l e d to a surplus o f agr i cultural

labor e rs which reduc e d the wage scale paid for agri
cultural produ ctio n .
This w as th e g e n e ral situatio n wh e n th e World

War b e gan wh i ch r e sulted in a disorgan i zat i on o f
,
social cl as s es an d eco n omic grou p s unparalleled in

m o d e rn h istory Th e pe asan try o f E urop e w e r e
.
r e ad y to take advantag e o f the oppo rtunitie s that

cam e to th e m a f t e r the war h ad e nd ed A grar i an i sm
.
sw e pt from E ast to West from th e plains o f R uss i a

,
through th e heart o f c e ntral Europ e and on to th e ,
countri es bound ed by th e M e d i t e rran e an S e a an d

th e A tlantic O cean .
A s h as be e n said this A grarian R evolutio n did

,
no t take th e same form in all cou n tries It ranged .
all th e way from lan d nationalization in E ast ern and

South e ast e rn E urop e t o the most obvious econom i c
r e fo rm i n Italy France an d G r e at Britain But as
, ,
.
,
Ifor L E vans h as said in th e volume t o which r ef er

.
“
e nc e h as b ee n mad e : This lat e st phas e o f the ag
rarian qu e stion S hould b e r e garded n o t m e r e ly as a
,
gr e at and revolutionary in n ovation the und e sired

,
o fsprin g of S lavo Marx i an doctrine s but rath e r as

f -
,
th e ou tcom e at onc e l o g i cal an d in e vitable of ce n

, ,
”
t uries o f human history .
CHAPTER IV
AGRAR I AN IS M I N ME XIC O
Th e history o f M e xico is ess e nt i ally a survey o f

“
e th n ic co n fl i cts an d agrar i an revolutio n s O ne can
.
n ot un derstand M exico i t s history its int e rn ational

,
problems its i llit e racy says R amon P D e N e gri

, ,
.
,
“
unless o ne understands that larg e scal e landholdin g
is th e bas e o f all M e xican social organizat i on .
“
H umboldt says : M e x i c o is the country o f inequal i
ties N owhere does ther e e x i st such a fe arful dif
.
fe r e nce in th e distribut i on o f fortune civiliz ation ,
cultivatio n o f th e soil and population There are

.
many lesso n s to be learned from a revi e w o f the

h i story o f M e x i co as it is in t e rpr e t e d in the l i ght o f
,
agrarian in equalities .
R acial B asis f o Agrarianis m
When the Span i sh conqu erors invad e d Mexi co

th e y found that the I n d ian tri b e s had d e veloped a n
iI nperfect social organizat i on bas e d upo n a prim i tive
agrarian civilizatio n Prescott in his Con ques t of
.
M exic o d i r e cts att ent i on t o th e super i or i ty o f Indian

agriculture in Mex i co over the husban dry practiced
“
b y most o f the other trib e s of N orth America It
.
75
was clos e ly in t e rw o ven says h e with th e civil an d
, ,
reli gious in stitutions Of th e nat i on Ther e were .
pec ul i ar d e it ie s t o pr e s i d e ov e r i t ; th e nam e s of th e
mo n ths and of the rel i gious f e st ivals h ad mor e or
” 1
l e ss r e f e r enc e to i t . Cort e z e xpla i ns that th e
Mex i cans empl oy e d som e methods o f s o il man ag e
m e nt pract i c e d a crud e syst e m of i rri gat i on and
,
prov i ded granaries to store their crops The .
s i gn i fican t fact is that th e ir political organizatio n

ce nt ered in the syst e m o f ejidos or agricultural co m
,
mu n es Th e indivi dual was r e sp o n sible to a patri

.
archal cacique who dir e ct e d the agricultural

activiti e s of the village communiti e s This si mple .
and primitiv e agrar i an organ i zation lies b ac k of

much of th e p o li tical uph e aval through which
M e xico has p assed duri ng h e r nat i onal h i story .
The Conquis tadores undertook to graft the Spa n

ish social organization upo n th e n ative traditions
an d practices The Spanish colo n ial poli cy was one
.
o f exploitatio n This p olicy explains tw o sign ifican t

.
facts : ( 1 ) By in terferin g as little as possib le with

n ativ e traditions and customs i t w as comparatively
,
easy for a r e latively few cavali e rs an d priests to

unify div e rge n t ethn ic groups by th e use o f the
Span ish language and institutions ( 2 ) This policy .
al so explain s the fact that th e I n dian race has b ee n

abl e to survive and exert an in fluen ce o n n atio n al
l i fe and policy This race surv ival is almost wit hout
.
parall e l in the history o f an y cou n try .
See Con ques t of M exi c o Vo l I C hap V

1
.
,
.
, .
AGRAR I AN IS M I N ME X IC O 77
The racial b asis of agraria n ism in Mexico is trace

able today to the fact that the mes tizos ( h ybrid
I b erian an d Indian ) constitute about forty three per-
c e nt o f th e p o pulat i on and fi ft ee n o r tw e nty per

,
c e nt of th e s e maintai n th e old Ind i an trad i tions and

social organ iz ation Thirty e i ght per cen t are st ill
.
-
I n dian A larg e n umber ( perhaps t w o millio n ) do

.
n ot know Spanish o r r efus e to sp e ak it In other .
words mor e than eigh ty per cent of the populatio n

,
are I n dia n or par t Ind i an w i th Indian traditio n s

, ,
predomin ating 2
Beals states that at the beginn in g
.
o f th e n i n et een th ce n tury th e p op ulation o f Me x ico
co n sisted of I n dian s mes tizos

,
a n d a milli o n whit e s .
The genesis o f agrarian ism in Me xi co aros e o ut of

the conflict betwee n th e agricultural commu n e sys
tem o f th e Indian trib es a n d th e f e udal syst e m or
en co m ien das o f the Spanish co n querors This c on .
fl ict of i n t e r e sts has p e rsisted u n til the pres e n t time .
I t has been a det e rm i ning cause o f most o f th e

revolutio n s of M e xico throughout the history o f th e
cou n try .
Land Hunger an d R e v olu tion

The war o f Mex i co for in depend e nce from Spain
“
was esse n tially an agrarian revolutio n The war .
”
w as n o t against Spain says R amo n P De N egri
, .
,
“
it was aga in st Sp ani sh influ e n ce Hidalgo and
.
Mor e los leaders o f th e r e volutio n and th eir I n d ia n

, ,
M exi co An I n t e rp r e t atio n b y C arl et o n Beal s

, ,
Chap I .
,
p . 5 .
” 3
foll owers fought again st hacendados The cause
.
o f th e war for M e x i can in d e p e nde n ce is traceable to
th e ex i stin g agrar ian o rgan ization at the time The .
Spanish had e stablish e d a fe udal land system mod

el ed aft e r existin g syst ems o f m e di e v al Euro p e .
Cort ez for e xampl e cla im e d for h imse lf

, ,
square miles of land which included twenty tw o

,
-
towns with their co mm unal labor and p e ople P edro .
d e A lvarado r e ceiv e d th e d i str i ct o f X ochimilco w ith

all th e in habitants numb e rin g mor e than
,
A
favor i te o f th e Span ish king w as award e d the entire
state o f Guanajuato By 15 7 2 th e r e wer e 50 7 eu
.
co m ie ndas . In som e cas e s e ntir e stat e s were h e ld

by o ne fam i ly By this syst e m o f e xplo i tat i o n a
.
fe w Spaniards as sum e d ownersh i p of p ractically all

o f the in habit e d part o f M e x i co .
Th e war for M e x i can ind e p e nd e nce from Spain in

18 10 was f ough t t o r e li e v e th i s situat i o n Inde .
p e n d en c e was achieved a f t e r tw e lv e years o f blood

sh e d an d sacrifice but th e promis e d bene fi ts o f
,
in dep e nd e nce w e r e n ot f o rthcom ing Iturb i d e b e .
came th e first e mperor o f M exico in 18 22 H e was .
h ims e lf a feudal lan dlord H is first ofli cial act w as

.
t o declar e th at ther e would be no chang e in the

lan d syst e m The Indians w e r e nomin ally releas ed
.
from th e land but through a system o f loans had

,
r e main e d slav e s A p e o nage p o li cy w as adopted

.
wh i ch pr e v e nt e d th e m fr o m l e av i ng an estat e until
all ind e bt e dn e ss w as pa i d A s th e Ind i an coul d
.
Se e t h e S ur v ey Graphi c iss ue o f M ay 1924

‘
.
, ,
AGRAR I AN IS M I N MEX IC O 79
rarely ever pay his obligatio n s to his landlord his ,
fre e dom was restricted t o the point o f part i al ly en

slaving him .
The church became a partn e r with th e fe udal lords

in acquiring vast estat e s Th e or i gi nal laws o f th e
.
king o f Spain prohibited e ccl e siast i c corporations

from own in g lan d but th e y w e r e not str i ctly eu
,
fo rc e d and by the m i ddl e o f th e ni n e t ee nth century

, , ,
th e church had acquired ow n ersh i p o f o n e third o f

Me xico .
The revolution o f Juarez w as a la n d war waged

agai nst the feudal lords a n d cl e rical f orc e s Juarez .
was a pure Zapotec I n dian Array e d o n his side .
wer e th e lib e rals and the oppress e d Ind i ans The .
r evolutionary forces wo n The constitution o f 185 7 .
and th e reform laws of 18 5 9 wer e d e signed to secure

social justice a n d equality o f opportun i ty to all
classes Church p roperty was confiscated church
.
,
an d stat e wer e separat e d and land hold ing b y th e ,

-
ch urch was forbidd e n The gr e at e states wer e con

.
fi scat ed s e rfdom oblit e rat e d and provisio n mad e f or

, ,
fre e and n o n s e ctar i an c o mpulsory e ducat i on But

-
.
Juare z ne ver had a n opportu n ity to put th e se re

forms into e ffect Porfi rio Diaz f orced himself in to
.
pow e r before th e reform program could b e promul

gated .
'
D i az was pr o clai m e d prov i s i o nal pr e sid e nt on N o

v em b er 2 1 18 7 6 ,
Th e Mexican Congr e ss in 18 7 7
.
“
d eclar e d h i m pres i d e nt f or f our y e ars This was .
the beginn in g says Mrs E dith O Shaughnessy of

, .
“ ’
,
th e great Porfi rian peace o f Mexico s Augustan ,
’
”
P e ri o d . The ha cendad os soon r e gained th e ir pow e r
and at th e e nd o f D i az s th irty-y e ar re i gn the d i s
’
t rib ut io n o f land w as m o r e unequal than at a n y

pr e vious t im e Th e admi n i strati o n o f Dia z marks
.
th e culminat i on o f large land -hold i ng in M e xi co .
Land and Lib ert y
The fall o f Dia z in 19 11 e n d e d an epoch in Mexi

can history A n e w e ra b e gan w i th th e as c e nde n cy
.
Of Mad e ro which was characterized by revolutio n

,
an d cou n t e r-r e volution most o f which w e r e inspir ed

,
by agrar i an i n equaliti es .
While Madero was n ot a forc eful statesman he ,
w as a ma n o f splendid spirit a n d fine ideals He .
assum e d l ea dership at th e p sychologi cal moment

and with th e slogan o f Tierra y Lib ertad he soo n
acqu ir e d national l e adership His program included .
o bservan c e o f the constitutio n e ff ect ive su ffrage , ,
social justic e f or th e Ind i an populat i on and land ,
r e form Hi s ov e rthrow a n d assassination pr even ted

.
th e r e al i zat i o n o f th e s e plans .
Th e H u e rta dictatorship lasted lo n g enough for

th e agrarian -libertarian rev o lutionary for ces o f
Mexi co to r e organize for e ffe ct i ve r e sistance to the
eleme n ts o f reactio n G over n or Carranza of Co
.
ah uil a
,
assiste d by Villa led th e revolt again st
,
Huerta H e was support e d by th e small f arm in g

.
clas s an d th e middle class busines s man The char

- .
acter o f Carranz a was n o t ful y rev ealed u n t il he

AGRAR I AN IS M I N MEX I C O 81
p ropos e d his constitutio n which w as t o su p ersede

that o f 18 5 7 The origin al documen t w as fou n d to
.
b e quite reactionary but the liberal forces i n the ,
conve n tion w e r e suffici e ntly strong t o force i ts modi

“ ”
fi cat io n Th e constitutio n fin al ly adopted says
.
,
“
Carl e ton B e als though i t proved a hodg e podge of
,
th e ory and practic e clipped from the l e gal systems

,
o f all nations and lacking i n many ways a truly

, , ,
organ ic relatio n to Mexican traditions is id e ally ,
mor e en lighte n ed than a n y similar document in

e xi sten ce Its weakn ess resides in th e very fact
.
that it att e mp ts to correct four hundred years o f

misrule i n o ne b low without cr e at in g an orga n i z ed
” 4
people to make that achievem e nt possible .
It is sign ifican t h owever that this co n stitution

, ,
authorized the r e turn to th e ir original ow n ers o f all

, ,
communal lands enclos e d s ince 18 5 7 It fixed the .
m ax imum numb e r o f acres that one p e rso n or cor

p o ra t io n migh t o w n The section o
. f this co n s t it u
tion that aroused foreign opposition was the one

which d e fi n ed the co nditio n s und e r which alie n s
might acqu i r e ow ne rsh i p o f land wat e rs min es and , , ,
o il fields .
But land re f orm was not push ed ene rgetically by

Carranza Th e agrar i an f o rc e s throughout the nat i o n
.
w e r e gr e atly d i sappo i nt e d Hi s fai lur e t o f ulfill th e

.
prom i s e s o f th e g o v e rnm e nt for s o c i al and e c o n omi c

r e form w as on e o f th e cause s o f his down fal l .
Mexi c o ,
An I n t erpretation ,
b y Ca le r t on Be als Chap V, .
p . 55 .
The Land Po licy f

o Obregon
Th e r e v o luti o n which swep t O brego n in to ofli ce

marks th e high tide o f agrarian ism in Mexi co All .
the reb el f act i ons except the follow e rs o f Felix Dia z

supported O br e go n Th e s e in cluded all the agraria n
.
groups su ch as th e Z apat is t as Vil l istas an d Cedil

, , ,
li stas O br e gon was strongly supported by such o ut

.
stan din g agrarian leaders as V i llar e al w ho led a ,
revolt aga in st D i az in 190 6 Soto y G ama fou n der

, ,
of the Partida A graris ta and many oth e rs

, .
Wh e n O br e go n came in t o pow e r in May 19 2 0 a , ,
program o f soc i al and econom i c r ef orm b e gan almost

imm e d i at e ly The gov e rnm e nt s et about th e t ask o f
.
r e turn i ng t o th e i nd ividu al s their communal e states

from which th e y h ad long b ee n disposs e ssed Th e r e .
wer e villag es that w er e e nt i tl e d to land

gran t s . A pprox imat e ly w e re gran ted pro
v i s i onal poss e ss i on of th e ir lands .
Th e land po li cy o f th e nat i on was admini stered

by a N at i onal A grarian Commi ssion w i th branches ,
in each stat e Th e appl i cat i o n o f the v i llage w as

.
mad e dir e ctly to th e nat i onal o r local comm i ssion .
The acr e ag e as si gn e d t o a v ill ag e approximat e s a

l e agu e acr e s ) but th e quality o f the soil and
,
other cond i t i o ns w e r e c o nsid e r e d i n d e t e rmin in g th e

s iz e o f th e d i str i bution .
Th e e xpropri at i o n o f th e large e stat e s was par

t ial l y carr ie d o ut . Th e land pol i cy w i th r e fe r e nc e t o
th e ha ce ndado s d i d n o t irnpl y a confiscation The .
constitut i on prov i d e d that whe n thes e e stat e s or ,
parts o f th em ar e d i sposed o f for small f arms th e

, ,
own e r is gi v e n land bonds wh i ch mature in tw e nty

y e ars as comp ensation Th e valu e o f the land i s d e
.
t ermined by the tax re n ditio n p lus a n addition o f

t e n p e r ce n t .
Th i s was o nly the b e ginning o f a program of land

d i stri buti o n and utilization wh i ch co n t e mplat e d
many oth e r r e forms “
Wh en the wor k is com
.
” “
p l e t e d ,
says Pro f essor E A R oss it wi ll take rank
. .
,
as o n e o f th e giant agrarian adjustments of histo ry .
In scop e th e land r ed istributio n s in an ci e nt G reece ,
th e work of th e land commissio n o f Tib e rius

G racchus or that o f th e Ir i sh Lan d Commissio n ar e
,
hardly to b e compared with it For parallel o ne .

,
must look to th e achievem en ts o f the R ussian com

mission wh i ch in 18 6 1 provided with land the
, ,
” 5
tw e nty four m illion emancipated serfs
- .
Th e O bregon governmen t mad e d e fi n ite progress

toward soc i al d e mocracy and racial and regio n al
aut o nomy I n th i s r e gard i t mark e d a hopeful d e
.
partur e in Mexican political history .
Carl e ton Be als i n an interestin g review o f th e

,
O br e gon r é gim e i n th e S urv ey Grap hic says : Th e

6
,
bright e st fe atur e i s fou n d in the widenin g o f th e

bas e s o f social control the r e sp e ct for popular ,
organizat i on th e sinc ere understa n din g o f the forces

,
that ar e e m e rging from indigenous M e xico which ,
5
The S ci
o al R e v o lutio n in Mexic o C hap . V II p
, . 86 .
S ee s p e cial edi t io n on M exic o ,

issue Of May ,
192 4 .
must b e giv e n and are bein g given fr ee scope ; which
, ,
hav e b ee n organ i z e d and p e rmitt e d to contribut e to

th e mak i ng o f the n at i o n o f which th e y are th e most
bas i c part N o t so mu ch in construct iv e ach i eve
.
m e nts although th e y are impressiv e but in the

, ,
soc i al pr i nc i pl e s that hav e nourished th e roots of th e

O br e gon admin istrat i ve p ol i cy is to be found th e
great contributio n to M e xi can progress .
“
M e xico has blunder e d through t e n year s o f r e vo
l ut io n count e r r e volution and anarchy
,
-
,
But it i s
.
not too much to say that n o G overn m e nt in Mex i co

can hope t o survi v e for any great len gth o f tim e
which do e s n ot resp e ct popular organiz ation which ,
does no t resp e ct th e patria c hica or regional an d

racial autonomy wh i ch does not c arry o ut agrarian
,
r ef orm to i ts logi cal conclus i ons Th e s e hav e prov e d

.
th e thr ee gr e at handles to the pacifi cat ion of M exico ;

th e se prov i d e the explanation o f the steady su cc e ss
”
o f th e O br e gon r é g i m e .
The Lan d P o lic y o f Cal l es
The peac e ful change i n admin istrat i o n from

Obr e gon to Calles is an indicatio n that M e x i co is
slowly s o lvin g some o f her most difficult probl ems .
Call e s i s w i s e ly follow i ng the political program o f his

pr e d e c e ssor Th i s i s particularly true with r e fe r enc e
.
t o h i s agrarian polic ie s He is att e mptin g to i mprov e

.
rural cr e d i t by th e e stabl i shmen t of a number o f

agr i cultural banks to assist th e small farmers .
Large land o w ne rs an d other fi n ancial int e rests hav e

AGRAR I AN IS M I N MEX IC O 85
b ee n e ncourag e d to b II y some o f the stock in these

'
rur al banks Th e gov e rnm e nt has promised t o e x

.
t e nd adequate fac i lities and guarantees to the

investors .
O ne o f the most advan ced steps take n by th e

Calles ad ministrat i on has bee n the encouragement
o f agr i cultural e ducat i o n Pr e ss r e p o rts stat e that
.
s ix agricultural institutions are to b e e stablished in
sev e ral stat e s wh e r e the governm e n t has acqu i r e d

large tracts o f land Practical instruction in agri
.
cultur e i s t o b e o ff e r e d farm ers r e lat i ng to th e par

,
t ic ul ar probl e ms o f agr i cultur e in th e s e ct i o ns wh e re

th e y ar e to b e locat e d If th i s pr o gram succ ee ds it
.
w ill mark substant i al progr e ss i n th e e ducat i onal

h i story o f M e x i co.
But th e agraria n policy o f the Call e s G ov e rnment

has r e sult e d in d iffi culties due to the excessive own e r
ship o f land by for e ign ers Th e s e difficulties had
.
th ei r orig i n dur i ng th e D i az r ég i m e D i az enco ur .
age d A merica and other outside int e rests to acquire

ownership of land an d mineral rights for the purpose
“
o f br i nging new capital into th e c o untry But th e .
”
process o f co n centratio n of th e land says Le w i s ,
“
S p e n ce
,
which carr ie d with it th e dispossess ing o f
small landh old e rs through th ei r t i tl e s e cur e d by
,
th e C o nstitut i on o f 185 7 ex e rt e d a v e ry pot e nt in

,
” 7
fl uen ce i n th e downfall o f Diaz .
Th e s e r i ousn e ss o f th i s probl e m in M e xico today

is cl e arly stated by J Fr e d R ip p y o f th e University
.
,
7
M exi c o of the M exic ans C hap 13 p 205
, .
, . .
of Chicago an authority o n Mexican history as
, ,
“ ’
f ollows : M e xi co s stability and pr o sperity in the
future may d e pend larg ely upon th e cr e at i on of
numerous small independ e nt landown e rs
,
Sh e .
possess e s arable lan d in limited quant i ty about one ,
fourth of her area b e in g o f this descr i ption Am e ri .
ca n s and other f oreign ers ow n m illions of acr e s o f

th is land If w e i nsist u p on and secure th e ri gh t of
.
p ermanently retai n in g our holdin gs other f oreigners ,
will obtain th e same right u n d e r th e most f avored -
n atio n prin ciple Mexican lan d hold e rs will th e n b e

.
-
le ft i n an in fe ri or position This wil l l e ad e ither to

.
r e volution or t o the de fe at o f th e whol e agrarian

p rogram of th e Me xican G overn ment and possibly ,
” 8
to both . Th i s is a clear statem e nt o f M exico s ’
pr e sen t situatio n .
But opponen ts claim th at the ne w O w ne rship

” “ ”
and Property an d Petrol e um laws of Mex i co
amou n t to co n fiscatio n Of private prop e rty o f foreign
owners o f M e xican lands Th i s content i o n h as been
.
the basis o f an exchange o f several diplomat i c co m

municat ions b etw een the governments o f th e Unit e d
States and M e xico That Secretary o f S ta te K e llogg
.
holds to th e th e ory of confiscatio n is i n dicat e d from

th e follow i ng stat em e nt co n tained in a communica
“
tio n to the Mexican G overnment in Ju n e 19 2 5 : A ,
great deal o f property o f A mericans h as bee n take n

under or i n violatio n o f the agrarian laws for which
no compensatio n h as been made and other prop e rties
S ee Current His t o ry Vo l 2 4 N o 3 f o r Jun e 192 6
‘
, .
, .
, , .
practically ruin e d and in o ne instanc e tak e n by th e

, ,
M e x i can G overnm e nt o n account o f unr e asonable

”
d e mands o f labor . Th i s charg e brought forth from
Pr e s i d e nt Calle s a spirited r e ply He declar e d that
.
M e x i co had promulgated h er agrarian laws in th e

e x e rc i se o f her sov e r ei gn ty H e re fe rred also t o th e
.
Claims Conv e nt i o ns as proof o f M e x i co s will i ngn e ss

’
“
t o comply with h e r int e rnatio n al obligations and to
”
prot e ct th e life and in t e rest o f for e ign ers .
A n analys i s o f th e land laws o f M e x i co by Charles

A Frueauff rather effe ctively refut e s the confiscatio n
.
theory In Curren t H is t ory for Jun e 19 2 6 in answer

.
, ,
t o cr i t i cs o f Mex i co s land policy th i s abl e in t erpre

’
,
t e r of M e xica n laws outlines the protection giv en to

“
al ien owners . A careful analysis o f the e n tire situa
” “
t i on says Frueauff would se e m to co n clusively
, ,
prov e that i nst e ad o f th e M e xican laws r e fe rred t o

work i ng out hardship a n d co n fiscation they are i n
,
r e al i ty th e great e st and most importan t f orward

st e p wh i ch h as b een take n by a n y natio n in the
d i rection o f th e w i se developm e nt and co n trol o f its
n atural r e sources Man y of our ow n States hav e
.
tak e n s o m e st e ps i n dir e ct i ng and contr o lling produc

t i on such as th e co n trol o f gas wells an d th e produc
,
—
ti o n th e r e from th e proh ib i tion o f th e us e o f n atural
—
gas f or th e manu factur e o f lampblack laws agai n st
dri lling r e strict e d z o ne s alo n g railro ad righ ts o f
—
way and oth e r places and we k n ow the recent im
portant meetin gs o f our ow n govern me n tal heads in
att empting to w ork o ut a feasible pla n for the co n trol
of the production o f o il itsel f If any f orward step
.
is to be mad e i t will of n e ce ssity ei th e r have to curb

,
dev e lopm e n t o r i ncr e as e d e v e lopm en t e i ther o f

,
which w i ll c e rtain ly in some way change the com

l
p t e dom i n i on which th e pr e vious own e r had over
e
the prop e rty involv e d bu t such change brough t

, ,
ab o u t by the nec e ssity and pow e r of d irectio n is a ,
n e c e ssary in cident to G overnm en t an d one of which

no one should complain In th e case o f the two
.
particular laws in volv e d i n Mexico it will re ad ily b e

,
s ee n that ev e ry attempt h as bee n made to work out

th e s i tuat i on in a ma n n e r to produce as little hard
sh i p as poss i ble consistent with the control o f d e
v e l o pmen t made necessary for the protection o f the
”
national resources .
It i s not difficult to u n derstand the real purpos e o f

M e x i co s land policy It is quite obvious that the
’
.
Call e s G ov e rnment is undertakin g to correct th e

’
e rrors o f th e p as t by r e stori n g the n atio n s res our ces
in lan d to th e p e ople o f the cou n try Th e serious
.
n e ss o f th e problem becomes apparen t when i t is

r e call e d that citizens o f th e United States ow n
prop erty in M e xico to the exte n t o f a bill i on and a
hal f dollars Th i s in clud e s vast areas O f t i llable an d
.
min e ral land It will r e quire great wis dom to ad

.
mini ster th e agrarian laws o f M e xico in fai rness to

ali e n ow ne rs and at th e same tim e in co n formity
w i th th e laudabl e purposes for wh i ch th e s e laws
w e re promulgat e d But upon the success o f th e
.
und e rtak i ng will d e p e nd i nt e r n atio n al good will ,

AGRARI AN IS M I N ME X IC O 89
e sp e c i ally th e go od w i ll of the Unit e d S tat e s ; the

stabil i ty th e i ndep end e nc e o f th e gov e rnm e nt and
, ,
th e futur e prosperity and happin e ss o f th e peopl e o f

M e xico .
Th ere is no questio n that Mexico has made

pro gr e ss in the solution o f h e r agrarian probl e ms .
The amoun t of discontent on th e part o f th e masses

o f the p e ople h as d e cr e as ed and mor e stable condi
,
t i ons hav e be en brough t about Th er e is increasing

.
o ptimism on the part o f patriotic M e xican c i t i z e ns
w i th r e feren ce to the future of the country R amo n .
P D e N e gri h as giv e n e xpr e ss i on t o this optimism

.
in the followin g words : Social justic e is a slow ,
pa i nful proc e ss but th e pain in th e long run is n o t

,
all o ne— sid e d A n ew Mex i co is be ing built ; and the

.
r e distribution o f land is th e foundat i on ston e of this

n e w M e xico W e are laying it with bl e eding han ds
.
and in gr e at str e ss but w e are laying it and digging

, ,
i t so d e ep i n to th e hearts o f the nat i on that this

”
w o rk o f th e r evelation will e ndure for e ver . A spirit
o f pat ie nc e tol e ranc e and go o d will o n th e part o f
,
o th e r gov e rnmen ts can hel p gre atly in the aspira
t i o ns o f the Mex 1can peopl e t o r e ap th e r ewards o f

th e ir previous priv atio n s and sacr i fices .
CHAPTER V
TH E GENE SIS OF AGRARI AN IS M I N TH E

U N IT E D ST A T E S
Th e history of agrarianism in west e rn E urope an d

th e United States has followed parall el lin e s W e .
sh all s ee als o that agrarian t e nd e nc ie s i n th e Un i t e d

S tates in r e c e nt times are an alogous to thos e of
w e st e rn E urope sin c e th e World War In w e st e rn
.
E urop e and th e United States the s ee d o f agrarian

ismw as sown de e p in the soil o f la n d t e nur e polic i es .
Th e influ e n ces of the I n dustrial R e voluti o n on th e

agricultural populat i on and th e e conom i c probl ems
that this transformatio n produ ced had much the
same e ffe ct in Am e rica i n th e nineteenth c e ntury as
sim i lar influences had on E n glish l i fe in th e latter
hal f o f th e eighteen th c e n tury It is n e ces sary t o
.
revi e w briefly th e history o f some e arly colonial

policies and trace their e ffects for the purpos e of
givin g ad equat e perspective to th e agrarian move
me n ts o f th e n inete en th ce n tury and the early part
o f the pr esen t century .
Co l onial Po lic y
f o Lan d S e t t l emen t
The ge nesis o f agrarian t e ndencies in th e Unit e d
S tates may be tra ced to the methods adopted in the
90
GENE SIS OF A G RARI AN IS M I N TH E U S . . 91
establi shm en t o f n ew colo n ies E ngland France

.
, ,
and Spain were th e countri es that assum e d lead e r

ship in th e settl e me n t o f th e we st e rn world Th e .
colonial pol i cy adopt e d by each o f th e s e countri e s

was based ess e ntially upon the predominat i ng t e n
den cies in th e hom e cou n try Wh ile th e motiv e s o f
.
settlem e nt differ e d n o p ermanent res ults w e r e ob

,
t aine d by any colonial e n t e rpris e until agricultural

endeavor b e cam e the pr e dominant mot i ve of thos e
wh o sought political domination r eligious fr ee dom
, ,
or w e alth in th e western world A griculture was th e

.
only safe basis for a perma n en t colon i al policy and ,
th e gradual supr e macy o f E ngland over h e r rivals

w as du e larg e ly to th e r e cognitio n o f this f act and
the s e l e ction o f settl ers who w e re adapt e d to agri
cultural endeavor Th e Fr ench settl e rs with rar e
.
,
exce ptio n s were e ith e r u n progressiv e p e asants o r

,
daring and r e ckless adv e ntur e rs The Spanish colo

.
ni e s fai l e d for much th e same r e ason For th e.
purpos e s o f th i s d i scuss ion it is sufficien t t o trac e

certai n tendencies in E n glish colon i al polici e s that
have a b e aring u pon agrarian t end e nc i es in th i s
country .
The tas k o f e s t ablishin g an d main taining colonies

“
in th e N ew World w as not an e as y one The gr e at
.
distan ce from th e hom e cou n try says Lippin cott

, ,
the tim e and e xp en s e o f travel a n d th e cost o f

,
tran sport i ng ani mals and provisions were o n ly s o me

,
o f the i nitial difficulti e s

. A dd t o this th e need of a
year or more to fit the soil for the fi rst crop the un ,
c e r tain ti e s o f cultivation in a n e w cou n try and the ,
f urth e r facts that o f t e n for ests had to be cl e ar e d and

d efe ns e s maintain e d again st th e Ind i ans and th e ,
task s ee m e d almost in superabl e Cap i tal was re .
quired th e r ef or e to make th e star t which had to b e

, ,
provid e d in th e f orm o f ships tools a n d provis i ons , ,

.
Wh e th e r th e obj e ct of th e colonizing v e nture was

mining fur trad i ng or som e other ent e rpris e no
, , ,
p e rson could hope to succ ee d without t he indis : -
p ensable cap i tal Usually no ind i vidual o f m e ans

.
car e d t o venture alone owing t o th e many risks con

,
n e c t e d w i th the e nt e rprise He pr e fe rr e d t o asso

.
c i at e others with h i m and thus divide th e risks .
Thus th e founding o f s e ttlem e nts and th e e xploita

ti o n o f th e r e s o urc e s o f th e n e w country cam e to be
a busi nes s e nt e rprise i nd e ed it was o ne of th e
, ,
” 1
gr e at e st e nt e rprises o f th e day It is e stimat ed .
that to e stablish a family in o ne of th e coloni e s cost

som e thousands o f d o llars a n d in th e s e vent een th
,
c e ntury this w as a v e ry larg e sum .
Fortunat e l y the per i od o f A mer i can colon i al de

v el o pmen t came at a time of gr e at busin e ss pros
p erit y in E ngland G old h ad b e com e pl e nt if ul as a

.
,
r e sult o f Spanish co n qu e sts Spanish gold gradu al ly

.
filtered in to the cha n nels o f trade and result e d in a

rise in pric e s Th e profits o f th e trading and indus
.
trial cl asses were greatly increas e d Capital became .
abu n dant and availabl e for colonial e n terpris e I m .
1
Ec o no mic D e v elop men t o f t he Uni ted S ta tes C ha p .
I I I , 13 42
. .
GENE SIS OF AGRARI AN IS M I N TH E U S . . 93
portant improv e m e nts w e re made in methods o f

cr e d i t which stimulated for ei gn tr ad e H ad it n ot
, .
b e en for th e s e importa n t chang e s E nglish colonial

,
d e v e l o pm e nt would hav e b een r e tard e d gr e atly .
Th e m e thod adopt e d t o e stablish colo n ies was

usually that o f s e cur ing a chart e r by m en who were
w i ll i ng to r i sk their fortun e s in th e hazardous enter
pri se o f f or e ign d e v e lopm en t Th e s e charters con
.
v ey e d t i tl e to certa i n territory and b e stowed author
i ty ov e r futur e s e ttlers E nglish coloni e s with a

.
,
few acc i d e ntal exceptions w e re at first proprietary

, .
Th e propri e tor was sometimes an i nd i vidual an d

s o m e t i m e s an E ngl i sh corporation o r a j oi n t stock
company In either case th e propri e tor acquir e d
.
ownersh i p o f the lan d an d certain rights of co n trol

o v e r th e s e ttler .
Th e proprie torship syst e m proved t o b e th e most

sat i s factory method o f lan d s e ttl e m e nt O ne o f th e
.
most successful examples o f this system was that of

P e nnsylvan i a wh i ch w as gran ted to William Pe n n
,
i n 168 0 O th e r e xampl e s w e re N ew Jersey which

.
,
w as granted to B e rkel ey and Carter e t in 1664 an d

, ,
Maryland grant e d to th e first Lord Baltimore in

,
163 2. E xactly on e hundred y e ars later the pro

p r ie t o rs of G e orgia receiv e d their gra n t from th e
K i ng B efor e 17 6 3 s e ttl e m e nts Were w ell estab
.
lish ed along th e A tlantic seaboard G radually thes e

.
s e ttl e rs b e gan to m o v e i nland f o ll o w ing th e r i ver

,
cours e s as far as th e A llegheny range Before 1789 .
E ngl i sh colonists had b e gun conqu e sts w e st of the

A llegheny Mounta i ns By the proclamatio n of 176 7
.
E nglish colo ni sts w e r e forb i dd en to form s e ttlements

b eyo n d th e sources o f streams flowin g into th e At
lantic O cean Fe ar o f the effe cts o f e ncroachments
.
upon th e I n d i ans and th e beli ef that if th e settlers

b e cam e too far remov e d from E ngl i sh contacts they
m i gh t s ee k i nd e p e nd e nc e w e r e th e pr i nci pal causes
,
of this proclamatio n Subs e qu en t h i story reveals

.
that th e latter f ear w as no t u n founded The

.
D e claration o f A meri can Ind e penden ce l ef t th e

s e ttl e rs fr e e to mov e w e stward .
It is sign i ficant that th e E nglish chart e r gave th e

futur e settl ers no share in gov erning th e mselv e s ;
“
but they were prom i s e d th e l iberti e s franchises and
,
”
immun i ties accord e d to E nglishmen Th i s claus e .
i s found i n th e first colonial chart e r which was ,
gra n t e d by Que e n E lizabeth in 15 78 to Sir Hum

p h re y G i lbert .Th ese words wer e rep e ated in n e arly
all subs e qu e nt charters But they were not in
.
t erpret ed to m e a n that the s e ttlers w e re pr i vileged to

vote or hold o fli ce f or n ot all E nglishme n enj oyed
,
th e s e pr i vil e g e s at home durin g th is p e riod The .
clause ref e rred to th e righ t o f trial by jury the ,
priv i l e ge o f habe as corpus and fr ee speech which ,
w e r e th e h e ritage o f the Magn a Charta and th e

E ngl i sh Bill o f R i ghts But the charter rights were
.
dest ine d to result in co n flicts betwe en proprietors

and s e ttl ers and fin ally to bring about importan t
,
change s in agrarian practic e s and polit i cal p olicies .
“ ”
Th is recogn itio n o f p o litical rights for the settlers ,
says Willis Mas o n West in a royal charter mark s

, ,
a n o nward step in the history o f liberty The crea .
tio n o f th e Virginia A ssembly and the d e votion of

,
the V irgin i ans to it had b orne fruit S ee min gly b e

,
.
,
tw e e n 162 0 an d 163 0 it b ecame a s e ttl e d conviction

,
for all E nglishm e n at last eve n for the court circl e

, ,
that colonizatio n i n Am e rica w as possibl e only upon

” 2
the basis of a larg e m e asure of self-government .
Two m e thods o f lan d settlem e nt w e r e actually

evolved by the E nglish proprietors Th e earlier
.
method i n volved th e b e stowal of large land gran ts

upo n favor e d in dividuals who as propr ie tors pro
v ided ships tools and e quipm e nt and provisions f or
, ,
th e e nterprises Immigran ts w e re r e liev e d o f fi nan

.
cial burde n but wer e expected t o rend e r some s e rvic e
or provide some income to the p roprietors as com
p e n s at io n f o r the cost o f tra n sporta tio n and as r e ntal

for th e land th e y cultivated The other m e thod in
.
v olved the paymen t of the transportation charg e s

o f p ro s pective settlers by plan ters A s comp e nsat i on
.
for th i s outlay plant e rs acc e pt e d a grant o f land and

,
the labor o f the n e w settl e rs for a numb e r o f y e ars .
“
La borers o f t his type were called ind en tur e d
s e rvan ts. They co n stituted th e agricultural labor
supply of the southern colonies u n til replac e d by
“
n egro slav e s Und e r th e titl e of r e demption e rs
.
,
th ey formed the pri n cipal lab or supply o f Pennsyl

v an ia This class of laborers in Marylan d w ere
.
“
kn own as freew il l ers .The term o f in de n t ure w as
Americ an His t ory and Go v ernment Chap I p 45
‘
.
, . .
usu ally a matter o f contract and vari e d with th e ag e
o f th e ind e ntured and other condit i ons A s a rul e .
,
p e rsons und e r n in et ee n y e ars o f age w e r e r e qu i r e d

to s e rve unt i l th e ag e o f twe n ty four ; f or p e rsons
-
over n i n e t e en years o f age the usual p e r i od w as fi v e

y e ars The actual b e nefits and e ff ects o f th e syst e m
.
o f in d e nture servi ce is d e scrib e d by Jam e s C .
Bal l eigh with sp e cial r efe r e n ce to V i rgin i a as f ol

, ,
“
lows : D e sign ed not only as a labor supply but as ,
a n i mmi grat i o n age ncy i t had g e nerally th e e ffe ct o f

,
industrial apprentic e ship greatly str e ngth e ned th e

,
position o f the capitalist employ e r and d e v e lop e d

,
a class o f industrial ly efli cient fre e m e n It suppli ed

.
almost the e ntire force of skill ed labor in the Coloni e s

for mor e than hal f a century and continu e d to b e a
sour ce o f high -grad e labor long i n to th e eight ee nth
cen tury It provid e d for th e growth of a strong
.
y eoman clas s and pr e v en t e d th e compl e t e absorption

o f lan d in to gr e at estat e s ; and it f urn i sh e d a great
n umber o f i nd e p en de n t settlers an d citizens part icu ,
l arl y for th e back country ; it had a marked e ffe ct on

the political as w e ll as the e conomic d ev elopm e nt o f
” 3
th e country .
T oo much emphasis canno t b e laid on th e last two

s e nt en c e s in this quotatio n Indentur e d s e rvic e con
.
t inued until after the R evolutionary War but finally ,
the syst e m gave way to th e wage s system in industry

and various forms o f t e nan try o n th e gr e at estat e s .
Whit e S e r v itude in the Co l ony o f Virginia J o hns Ho pk ins

‘
,
Univ ers ity S t ud ies in Hist o ry and P o l it ic al S c ien c e Vo l X I I I

,
. .
Land Tenure Po licies
Th e in fluen ce Of f eudal tenure is clearly discernible

in th e e arly la n d pol i cies o f the E nglish colo n ies .
I t was to be expected that the feudal system in E ng

land would exert an influenc e on th e land tenur e
poli c ie s in the N ew World .
Th e acc e pted theory which pr e vailed in E n gland

w as that th e titl e to th e lan d in A merica was vested
in th e Crow n I n d i an t i tles to th e lan d occupied by
.
the s e v e ral tr ib e s w e re n ev e r r e cogn iz e d The title

.
pass e d directly from the Kin g or Quee n t o pro

p r ie t o rs w h o disposed o f it as th e y s a w fit subj,
e ct
only to charter prov i s i ons The proc e ss o f dispos in g
.
o f land i n th e Crown coloni e s was through agents to
actual settl e rs u n d e r the laws or decree s of th e

E ngl ish gov e rn me n t .
It is s i gnificant that consid e rable vari e ty d evelope d

in th e land systems o f th e Colonies These difl er
.
en ces w e re very marked i n th e cas e o f the northern
and south ern coloni e s The plan tatio n syst e m b e

.
cam e t he prevailin g type in the southern colonies .
Th e vas t e sta t e s c am e to b e cultivat e d by in d en tur e d

s e rvants and slaves In the N orth th e typi cal farms
.
w e r e small Th ey were cultivat e d by the farm e r

.
,
assist e d by th e memb e rs o f h i s fam i ly Som e tim es

.
s e rvants or hired laborers were employ e d to ass i st

in th e farm work Th e d i ffe rence in th e two systems
.
w as e ss e nt i ally o ne o f soil and climate but in Vir

,
ginia the indi fferent admin istration o f lan d law s

contributed to the acquisition by certa in in dividuals
o f larg e land e d e stat e s Th e plantation syst e m was
.
d i sti nctly fe udal Th e proprietors ex act ed qu i t-re n ts

.
or paym e nt in s e rv i ces for the use o f land Th i s was

.
pa i d f or a time o n both cultivat e d and uncultiva t ed

land But th is plan fin ally becam e an in su ff erable
.
burd e n and quit -rents disappear e d af t er the

R e volution .
E v e n th e fe udal poli ci e s vari e d in differe n t

coloni e s Th e early policy of th e Baltimor es w as to
.
dispose of th ei r lands in large tr acts The result w as

.
a manorial system in wh i ch grant ee s e nj oy e d gr e at

powers and priv i l e ge s In time how e ver for
.
, ,
e conom i c reasons th e s e larg e holdings w e re divid ed

and th e land was occup i ed by small owners In .
Pennsylvan i a th e land was first sold in large tracts ,
but later small hold ings came to pr eva i l The largest

.
e states in Am e ri ca w e r e along th e H udson Some of .
thes e ran ge d from fi fty to a hun dred thousand acres .
Th es e grants w e re mad e by the Dutch We st I n dia

Compan y to propr ie tors call e d A f t er
th e conqu e st o f N ew Amst e rdam by th e E nglish ,
th e s e gran ts were co n fi rm ed .
Fe udal t e nur e was n e v e r successful i n N e w E ng

land A s a rul e grants o f land w e r e made to groups
.
,
in st e ad o f to propr ie tors By mutual agr ee m e nt th e

.
land was subs e qu e ntly divi ded by th e m e mb e rs of

th e group . The o n ly fe udal aspect o f th e lan d
t e nur e syst e m in N ew E ngland resulted from the
custom o f th e group retain in g a portion o f th e land
GENE SIS OF AGRAR IAN IS M I N TH E U S . . 99
in common in which all members e nj oy e d pasturag e

,
and timb e r rights Th e e ffect o f the N ew E ngland

.
system was to besto w fee sirnpl e title on small

farmers wh o cultivat e d th e land th e y own e d with
,
th e a ssistan ce o f members o f th e ir families .
On e result o f th e R evolutio n w as the transfer o f

th e rights in th e la n d held by th e Crown to th e
American people Th e unclaimed p ort i ons within
.
th e s everal states came t o be subj ect to Stat e

authority In additio n to th e public domai n with in
.
th e territory o f the th ir t ee n origin al colonies ther e ,
was a vast domain exte n di n g w est of th e A lle

g h e n ies to the Mississippi R iv e r Virgi ni a
. N orth ,
Caro l ina G eorgi a Co n necticut a n d Massac hus e tts

, , ,
were the pr i ncipal claiman ts to this ar e a This la n d.
was finally ( 178 4 -18 08 ) c e ded to th e Un i t e d Stat e s

a n d w as made subj ec t to dis p osal by th e fe d e ral
gover n m e nt .
The la n d p oli cies o f the U n ited S tat e s have had

f ar r e aching polit i cal e co n omic and social conse
-
, ,
q u en c.es Many asp e cts o f agrarianism ar e dir e ctly

traceabl e t o the e ffects o f thes e policie s upon agri
cultural welfare .
A grarian Pro tes ts in Co l onial Times
Colo n i z ation policies i n th e N ew World brought

agrarian conflicts from tim e t o t ime in almost e v e ry
province Charter rights w ere frequently th e b asis
.
o f the co n flicts b et w ee n the p roprietors or royal
gov e rn ors an d the colo nists The sp irit o f self

.
governm en t ev e rywhere asserted itself in the progress
o f colonial d e velopme n t .But u n derlyin g the p ol i
t i cal struggles there was Oft e n much disco n te n t b e
caus e o f agrarian in equalities .
Th e co n flict o f G over n or Dale with th e settlers i n

V i rg in ia was the earliest in ciden t of this kin d The .
Virgin ia colo n is ts were su fferin g great hardships

wh en he came from E n glan d to assume his adminis
t rat iv e duties i n 16 1 1
. Whe n h e arrived lat e i n the
seas on he fou n d that n o crops had be e n planted .
The fi rst settlers o f Virginia had little int e nt i on o f

e ngaging in agr i cultur e Very f ew o f th e m s ee m to
.
have known much about f armi n g Th e charter o f .
the Vi rgin ia settlemen t contained an un f ortunate

provision callin g for common storag e and us e o f
supplies a n d community of lab o r Th i s communis
.
t i c t e ndency did not en courage farmi n g n or o fl er ,
much in duc e me n t f or thr i ft Captai n N e wport

.
ass i gn ed about one third o f th e settlers approx ima ,
tin g f orty m en to cultivate the soil but the result

, ,
w as d i sappointi n g.
Whe n G overnor Dale arrived he realized the situa

tion and immed i ately set the colo n ists t o diggin g
sassa fras roots an d cedar for the E n glish markets .
H e distribut e d a few three acr e allotments o f lan d

-
to private holders an d required that they b e culti

v at ed. These farm e rs wer e e xpect e d to gi v e annu
ally to th e London Compan y s e ven and a hal f bar
’
rels o f corn and one month s labor i n paym e nt for
the land Th i s was r e garded as e xorb i tant r e nt
.
.
GENE SIS OF AGRARI AN IS M I N TH E U S . . 10 1
A ll o th e r labor e rs w e re give n o ne month of the year

to w o rk f or themselv e s .
Many o f the colo n ists were adven turers wh o wer e

n ot incli n ed to do an y k in d o f hard work A s they .
w e re u n accustomed to la bor with their han ds they ,
objected to clearin g the land a n d cultivatin g the

fi e lds They rese n ted th e autocratic a n d vigorous
.
policies o f G overn or Dale Some resorted to in.
trigue ; others fled to the forests to escape the labor

d eman ds m ade upon them The situatio n was crit i
.
cal and Dale r e sorted to harsh methods Som e w er e

, .
pu n ished by han gin g a n d one was tied to a tr e e to

,
starve These methods wh ile harsh brough t re

.
, ,
sul t s and wh en h e le f t th e colo n y i n 16 16 the settlers

,
had b e come reco n ciled to devoting their energies to

th e agricultural resources of th e coun try They had .
discov e red th e possib ili ties oif a gricultur e i n t h e

N ew World They had found o ut that tobacco could
.
b e rais e d profitably and ent e r e d up o n its cultivat i on

,
with energy .
Th e conflict b etw een la n dlords and peasan ts i n the

short liv ed man or i al syst e m o f Lord Balt imor e i n
-
Maryla n d rem in ds us o f S imilar conflicts on some of

th e medieval man ors o f E urope i n the Middle A ges .
This w as the n earest approach t o the feudal system

o f E uro p e that ever existed within the bounds o f
o ur country Marylan d was th e o n ly colo n y in

.
which th e privil e ge o f gran tin g titles o f nobility was

authoriz e d Un der th e charter provisio n s o f this
.
colony th e lord Of th e ma n or w as auth orized to hold

102 THE GREEN RISI N G
manorial courts t o which the te n a n t might come an d
vote und e r c e rt ain conditions The ten an ts o n th es e
.
manors w e re E ngl ish labo rers who in most in stan c es

asp ire d to b e landowners It was no t l o ng before
.
th e y f e lt th e impuls e to larger freedom and sough t

a fa i r chanc e to ow n th e lan d they c ultivated Th e y .
prot es t e d again st th e ma n orial sys t em Lo cal popu .
lar meet in gs were held an d soo n they took complete

control o f th e landlords courts I t was o n ly a short
’
.
time u n til th e large estates were di vided The ten an t .
acquired o wn e rsh i p o f th e lan d and the manorial

,
syst e m in Marylan d disappeared .
“
What i s kn ow n as th e R evolution o f 1634 in th e
Massachusetts Bay Colony was ess en tially agrarian
“ ”
in nature . Th e impulse t o th is great moveme n t ,
says W est w as e conomic an d social It began as a

,
.
‘ ’
special prot est again st special p rivileges The .
pe o ple felt that th e m ag istrates w e re legislatin g i n

th e interest o f their ow n cl ass A law authorizing
.
th e kill in g of swin e fou n d i n grain fields was e spe

c iall y r e sent ed a n d th e attem p ts t o fix wages may
,
” 4
have co n tributed to a lik e feelin g A concerted .
e ff ort o n the part o f the freeme n to stop this class

legislation was mad e I n April 1634 a call was
.
, ,
issu e d for all fr eemen to atte n d th e G eneral Court

th e following mo n th Previous t o th e meetin g o f
.
th e Court tw o m en from each o f the eight t owns

,
m e t in B o sto n and decid e d upo n d e finite action It .
was agreed to deman d of Win thro p th at th e ch arter

Ame rican His tory and Go ve rnment Chap II p 82
‘
. .
, ,
.
GENE SIS OF AGRAR IAN IS M I N TH E U S . . 103
b e produce d for th e purpose o f d e t e rmin i ng th e

righ ts o f fr ee m e n When th e Court met on M ay 14
.
“
thr e e deputi e s appeared from e ach o f th e ei ght
towns Th is was r e volutionary Th e tw e nty f our
.
-
.
d e puties outnumb e red th e A ssistan ts and made th e

Court r e ally a r e pres e ntativ e body O th e r fr ee m e n .
were present al so to vote but not to d i scuss ,

.
N e ither chart e r nor laws kn e w anyth ing o f repre

sen t at iv es But th e fr ee m e n saw v e ry pr o perly that
.
th e whol e body could not e n gage in lawmak i ng o n

e qual t e rms with the tra i ned and compact body o f
A ss i stants and so th e y f ell back upon th e E ngl i sh
,
” 5
d e vic e o f r e pr e sentat i o n The freem e n ga in e d .
i mportan t e co n omic and political conc es s i o n s as a

r e sult o f th e se prot e sts .
’
Baco n s R eb e llio n which occurred durin g th e ,
summ e r and early autumn o f 16 7 6 h ad i ts origin in ,
agrarian disco n te n t The forty thousan d inhabitants

.
o f th e Virgin ia colo n y at this tim e consisted of som e

two thousan d ne gro slaves an d six thousand in den
t ure d serva n ts Th e re wer e also sev e ral thousand
.
landl e ss labor ers who remai n ed o n th e big planta

tio n s The remain der of the po pulatio n cons i sted
.
o f a few hu n dred large planters and a number o f
small farmers Th e farm po p ulation was discon

.
tent e d b ecause they w ere ov e rtax ed and discrimin

at e d aga inst in tra n sport atio n privil e ges Th e r e .
was an insufli cient n umber o f v e ssels to transport

all o f the tobacco crop t o E n gla n d Prefe ren ce i n .
C hap H , pp
‘
I b id . . 82 an d 83 .
104 TH E G REEN RI S IN G
tran spo rtatio n privileges w as given t o th e lar ge
planters It Ofte n hap p e ne d that the small farmer
.
f a il e d to Obtai n shipp i ng fac il i t ie s fo r any o f h is

crop and it w as th e r efor e l ef t on his hands without
, ,
a mark e t Wh e n he d i d get to sh i p all o r a part o f

.
h i s crop it was oft e n th e cas e that h i s profits w e r e

,
abs orb e d i n e xorbitan t fr eight charge s .
A t th e time this in justice was bein g most k e enly

fe lt an Indian outbreak occurred which the inef
,
fi c ien t G ov e rnor Berk e ley mad e n o eff ort to stop

.
.
Fi nally the savage s laid wast e an outlyi ng farm

o wn e d by N athaniel Bacon an en e rget i c young
,
plant e r who had only rec e ntly arrived in th e col o ny .
Bacon f e lt gr e atly outrag e d b oth b e caus e o f th e

,
plund e r o f h i s farm and the indi ffe r en c e o f th e

col o n i al au thoriti es He imm e d i ately assum e d l e ad
.
ersh ip o f a body of volu n teer troops and pursued th e
Ind i ans In two bri ef campaigns h e compl e t e ly

.
conquer e d th e Ind i an maraud e rs Berkel e y r e s e nt e d

.
th e unauthori z e d military activit i es o f Bac o n and

d e clar e d h im and his troo p s t o be r e b e ls Th i s pr e
.
c ipit at ed a civ i l war .
The social signifi can ce o f the struggle soon became

apparent Most o f the small p lan ters an d farm
.
laborers j oin ed th e forces o f Ba con wh i le th e large

,
’
landlords al ign ed thems e lv e s with B e rk eley s caus e .
Bacon besi e ge d Jam e stow n and forced th e G overn o r

to fle e but th e d e ath o f Bac o n le f t th e b e llig e rent
,
forc e s without a lead e r and th e r e b ell i on e nd e d

,
.
Th i s uprising w as no t without its b e n e ficial r e sults .

GENE SIS OF AGRARI AN IS M I N TH E U S . . 10 5
In 16 7 9 L o rd Culp e pp e r succ ee d e d B e rkeley as G ov

ern or . By this time the royal commissio n ers recog
niz ed th e nec essity o f makin g overtures to th e d i s
contented farm ers A call w as m ad e for a fr ee

.
e xpres sio n o f grievances . This r e sul t e d in a

“ ”
charter o f privil e ges which r e ceiv ed the approval
o f the Ki n g and produ ced a n umber o f reforms
It was about this time that tobacco plan ters re

sorted to the practice of destroying th e growin g
crops to reliev e over production which h ad c aused
-
low prices .
Thus the sp irit o f protes t against in justic e an d

th e conflict b etw e en cl as s i n teres ts produced social
discontent a n d p olitical commotion in the Colo n y
o f Virgi ni a It r equired a long time to e stabl i sh
.
social ord e r in the colonies wh e r e chart e r rights pro

,
duced gr e at in equalities an d wh e r e in di ffere n t or

arbitrary admi nistrat i on o f lan d laws made poss ibl e
a syst e m of land t e nure wh i ch caus e d gr e at d i scon
t e nt among the farm po p ulatio n .
Th e quit ren t co n trov e rsy i n N orth Carolina

-
represented a n other aspect o f agricultural p rotest

that dev el opéd durin g th e colo ni al period . The
ass e ssment o f quit r ents to ok both th e form o f a tax
-
,
and of r en t for th e use o f th e land Wh e n it was

.
ass e ss e d by proprietary in terests it w as classifi ed as

,
a r en t but wh e n fixed by the British govern ment it

,
took the n ature o f a tax G reat oppo sition dev e loped

.
to th e paym e nt o f quit -re n ts There was much more

.
obj e cti o n to payin g this r en t when ass es s e d by p ro

106 THE GREEN R IS IN G
prie t ary in t eres ts than when col lect ed as a t ax by
“
th e Brit i sh govern m e nt The America n farmer
.
,
“
says Lyman Carri e r could see n o good r eason for
,
paying a c o nt inual tax to a n on resi d e nt overlord

-
who in numerous i n stan c e s had contr i buted nothin g

toward mak i ng the S e ttlement an d had be e n gran t ed
” 6
land as a p e rsonal favor by th e Crow n .
Th e attitude of th e f arm e rs toward th e paym e nt

o f quit r e nts vari ed greatly in the di ffe r en t colo n ies
- .
O n e o f th e r e as ons for many of the s e ttlers coming ’
t o A m e r i ca was to e scap e th e abus e s o f th i s syst e m ,
and i t w as natural for them to Oppos e vi olently th e

paym en t o f this assessment O n th e o ther han d .
,
others w e r e far mor e tol e ran t toward the sys t em .
Proprietors li ke Wil li am P e nn and Lord Balt imor e

or Lord Fa i r fax who cam e t o Am erica to l iv e s ee m
, ,
t o hav e had v e ry little trouble collect i ng quit re n ts

-
,
but th e ir non r e s i d en t heirs wer e not s o succ e ssful in

-
th i s undert aking In th e four N ew E ngland

.
C o loni e s O f Plymouth Mass achuset t s Bay Conn ec

, ,
ti out and R hode Island no qu i t -rents e v e r w e r e

,
assessed .
North Carolin a was on e of th e colonies in which

the pro t est against th e payme n t o f this ren t w as
most s er i ous The five royal gover n ors wh o ruled in
.
this colony w e r e in almost co ns tan t con flict wi th

“
th e s e ttl e rs ov e r th is problem Bassett says : Th e .
most continual quarrel w as in regard to th e paym e nt

f A griculture in America C h ap XXV
'
"
B e ginnings o .
,
p . 29 8 .
G ENE SIS OF A G RAR IAN IS M I N TH E U S . . 10 7
of quit ren ts These were a perp etual obligatio n

- .
imposed on lan d wh en fi rst gran t e d an d to be paid

by whomever ow n ed the lan d They do n ot m e an .
that the grantee did no t have fee -simple title as has ,
sometim e s bee n assum e d but wer e in th e nature of

,
a perman e n t lan d tax To pay them w as irksome

.
t o the settlers w h o found many ways o f e vas ion

,
.
O n e diffi culty was that th e y were payable i n tobac co

o r oth er produce and that th e exp e nse o f coll e ctin g
,
from small farmers ate up the value o f th e pro

c eeds To obviate this the governor order e d that
.
quit re n ts be paid at certain specified pla ces The

- .
in habita n ts prot e sted and a law pass e d the assembly

,
t o authori z e paymen t at the home of th e landowner ,
where most other ren ts were paid The govern or .
v et oed t he b il l , and a d eadl o ck resul t ed . Formany y ears

” 7
th e rev en u e from quit rents was very sl en der
- .
Th e quit r en t controv e rsy had two far r e aching

- -
co n sequen ces in American history In the first p lac e .

,
it brough t the farm p op ulatio n into sympathy with

“
the doctrin e o f no taxatio n without repres en ta
tion which sup p lied one o f the immediate causes o f
,
the R ev ol utionfi I n the sec o n d place it direct ed at ,
t en tio n to the in equalities in the system o f lan d

r e ntals which had an important in fluen ce in later
,
agrarian practice s .
The plan ters in th e souther n colo n ies gain ed i n

power and influen c e w ith th e in creasin g numb e r o f
slaves a n d th e rapid develo pmen t o f agricultural
A S ho rt His to ry of the Unit e d S tat es Ch ap V I p 107
7
,
. . .
108 TH E G REEN R ISI NG
ent e rprise It was i n evitabl e that co n flicts would
.
occur b e tw ee n proprietors a n d plant e rs Th e pro .
p ri e t o rs w e r e Oft e n domin ee rin g and exacting with

r e fe r e nce to fi n an cial return s for th e land held by
th e m Th e cond i tion in S o uth Carolin a in th e e arly
.
part o f th e e ighteenth century illustrates thi s situa

tio n The plan t e rs o f South Carolina grew p ros
.
p o us through the cultivation o f rice and indigo

e r .
Th e governmen tal pol i cies an d land ownin g privi

-
leg e s in stituted by th e propri e tors in this colony had

much to do with determini n g the agricultural devel
o pmen t o f the colony Th e chart e r of South Caro
.
lina w as o ne o f th e most autocratic of colonial

ch arters Th e proprietors m ade f e w concessio n s t o
.
the s e ttl e rs They reserved to th e ms e lv e s th e fi nal

.
righ t to pass on or to put in to e ff ect all l e gislation

, ,
for the govern me n t o f the c olony .
The syst e m of land allotment by the proprietors

r e s ul ted in l arge plantatio n s op e rated by num e rous
slav es O ut of a po p ulatio n of
. in South Caro
lina in 17 08 o n ly ab ou t half o f t he people w ere
,
fr ee O ne hu n dred and tw e nty of th e m wer e whit e

.
servan ts a n d ,
w e re n egro and Indian slav e s .
Th e fee li n g was v e ry ge neral that th e propri e tors

we r e d en ying th e p lan ters their civil righ ts through
the man ipulatio n o f elect i ons I t w as claimed that
.
eve n Indian s and non r e sid e nt sailo rs w e r e brought

-
in and allow e d to vote in ord e r to d efe at th e wish e s

o f th e el e ctorate A ll elections wer e h eld in Charl e s
.
t on wher e al l f r ee m e n w e r e e xp e ct e d t o go in o rd e r
,
t o v o t e but it w as i nc o nv en i en t fo r man o f th e m
GENE SIS OF AGRAR I AN IS M I N TH E U S . . 109
to trav e l t o the to wn from the in terior for th i s pur

pos e . The p roprietors were u n po p ular in th e
ass embly an d their in flue n ce with the memb ers o f
th i s body w as th erefore very limited The pla n ters
, ,
.
r e al i z e d that the time w as opportune for reform .
Th ey deman d e d that future e lectio n s be held in the

par i sh e s at plac e s access i bl e to th e p e opl e A t the .
sam e t i m e the ass e mbly d e c i d e d to appo i nt its o w n

coll e ctors of taxes from the Ind i an trades .
Th e s e were radical changes in policy Th e pro .
p r ie t o rs promptly veto ed both m e asures Th e .
p e o pl e assum e d a r eb e llious attitude but be f or e ,
c o nce rted actio n w as take n South Caro l in a was

thr e at ene d by i n vasio n from the S p anish i n Florida .
Th e m i l i tia w e re called o ut by the G overn or to de

fe nd th e colony but these soldiers prom p tly revolted
,
agai nst proprietary rule A s a mean s o f preve n ting

.
v i o l e nc e i t was d e c i d e d t o hold an e lectio n at wh i ch

,
d e l e gat e s to a conv e ntion w e r e to b e appointed .
Th e co n v e ntion repudiat e d th e propr ie tors and re

s ul t e d in a p e t i t i on to th e K i ng that trans f ormed
th e co lony i nt o a royal provi n c e Wh i l e th e pro

.
prie t o rs r e tain e d th ei r rights to th e land until 17 2 9 ,
th eir pow e r w as gr e atly r e str i ct e d by th e un i t e d

i nflu e nc e o f th e plantat i o n o wn e rs .
The A t ti tu de o f t he C o l onia l Far mers t o w ard t he

R e v o lu tion
That th e mass o f A m e r i can farm e rs gave whole

h e art e d support t o th e R e volut i on is a matt e r of
,
110 TH E G REEN R IS ING
w ere more directly affect ed by th e immediate cau ses
“
o f the War than any oth e r group That th e south
.
ern coloni e s j oin ed with th os e o f the N orth in th e

” “
R evolutio n ary War says Carri e r may be traced
, ,
directly to the heavy tax es im posed o n th e agricul

tural products shipped to E nglan d an d the terrifi c
loss occas ioned by the cumb e rsome commercial
syst e m wh i ch pr e vented th e colonists from vend i ng
,
th eir o w n products more directly to the consumers .
With N ew E n gla n d equipped t o co n duct the c arry in g

trad e to th e markets where there was the great e st
d e mand for th e products without duties oth er than
fr e ight being imposed e nrout e it was clear to the
,
southern plan ter that his in terests lay in indepen

” 8
d e n ce .
The f arm populatio n h ad gradual ly in cr e as ed its

in flu en c e through the y e ars in the colo n ial ass em
bl i es and th ese bodi e s became th e c e nte rs of r e sist
,
ance to th e King It should be observ e d however

.
, ,
that th e small farm e rs and gr e at planters for a time

r e pr e sent e d an intermediate position between the
Tor ie s and th e Whigs For man y years the great
.
mass of agr i cultural producers w e r e a n tagonistic t o

the Tori e s b e cau se o f th e privileges they en joyed
and th e beli e f that th e ir allegiance to the Crown was
bas e d on selfish in terests O n the other ha n d th e y
.
,
w e r e n o t willing to align th e ms e lves with the Whigs

because of th e ir militan t attitude an d th e irrespo nsi
b ility o f some o f th e leaders But as time w en t on
.
f Agri cult ur e in Ameri c a C hap XXV p

‘
Begi nnings o , .
, . 300 .
GENE SIS OF AGRARI AN IS M I N THE U S . . 111
they came to b e more an d more ide n tifi ed with Wh ig

policies due t o chan ges in th e p olitical situatio n in
,
E n gl an d .
There is n o dou b t that th e appoin tmen t of G re n

vil le as p rime min is t er by G eorge III had much to
do with ceme n tin g the in teres t s o f the A merican
colonists Th e policies o f G renvill e in volved a strict
.
enforcem en t of th e n avigatio n laws the affi rmatio n

,
by Parliame n t o f th e prin cip les o f th e St M p A ct ,
an d the mai n tenan ce o f a small army in the coloni es .
The fi rst Co n ti n e n tal Con gress held in 17 74 adopte d

, ,
an ag reemen t t o im po rt n o E nglish p roducts after

December 1 1774 an d t o export n o products t o
, ,
th at cou n try after Sep tember 10 177 5 This actio n

,
.
involved great sacrifi ces es p ecially for the farmers

, ,
but by this time th e agricultur al populati o n had b e

com e thoroughly commit ted to the Whig prin cipl e s .
The history o f th e causes leadin g up to th e

Declaratio n o f A merican Ind e penden ce an d the
,
R evolution that grew o ut o f it is e ss entiall y that o f

,
an agraria n protest again st the in eq ualities d e velop

ing from charter provisio n s and eco n o mic injustices
inflicted upo n th e farm population in the colonies
by roy al decrees or parliamen tary enactme n ts .
CH A PT E R VI
TH E I N F LU EN C E OF L AN D P O LICI E S O N
AGRAR I AN IS M
A grarian p rotests ahn os t comple t ely disap p e ared

a f ter the R e volutio n ary War N o co n certed action
.
o n th e part o f any group o f farmers occurred between
th e e stablishme n t o f our n atio n al gov e rn me n t in

178 9 an d th e b e ginning of th e Civil War in 186 1 .
Some o f o ur gover n me n tal policies that w e re promul

gate d durin g this period had importan t i n flu en ce on
agraria n te n d en ci es durin g th e latter half o f th e
n inetee n th cen tury The ex te n sio n of th e public
.
domain and fed e ral laws r elating to it had the e ffect

, ,
o f r e ta rding organ ized e ffort o n the part of the farm
populatio n O n the other ha n d the tari ff had just

.
,
th e op p osite e ff ect The farmers o f th e country

.
,
e sp e c i ally thos e living in the S outh e rn Stat e s b e

,
came i n cr e as in gly hostile t o the chan gin g tariff

schedules o f the n atio n al govern ment While the
.
lan d a n d t ari ff polici es o f the cou n try ten ded to

counteract each oth e r through the first h alf o f th e
n i ne t eenth ce n tury the time came whe n both o f
,
these profoundly influen ce d the attitude o f the

TH E I N F LU EN C E OF L AN D P O LICI E S 1 13
The Pu blic D omain an d Land S e t tl emen t Po licies
By th e Treaty o f Paris by which E n gla n d

ac k nowl edged the in depe n de n ce of the A mer i can
Colon ie s the Un ited States acquired so v ereign ty
,
ov e r an immen se domai n o f square mil es A .
part o f this area comprised th e lan d between the

A ll e gh enie s and the Mississip pi R iver This terr i .
tory was first claim ed by seve n o f the origin al states .
Th ei r claims were based u p o n colo n ial grants but th e ,
boundar i es were no t w ell de fined a n d dissen sio n s

arose ov e r co n flicting claims For a time it seemed .
that this co n flict o f i n terests o n the part o f th e

stat e s migh t pr e v en t th e e stablishment o f a n at i o n al
go v e rn m en t 1
But the sta t es fi n ally agre ed to sur
.
rend e r th e ir claims to the disputed territory Th i s .
e nd e d th e co n troversy .
By 180 2 the U n ited States had come in to posses

s i on of a vast public domain comprisin g
square miles Sin ce that time th e area o f th e cou n
.
try has bee n greatly increased by ann exatio n or

purch as e Th e total lan ded poss essio n s o f the Un ited
.
S tat e s t o day co n sist o f square miles which ,
i s about o ne fourth of th e land su rf ac e o f th e earth .
Dur i ng th e p eriod that the United States w as

acqu i r i ng this vast public domai n th e gov e rnm e nt ,
was r e ducing it by sal e and gif t Th e publ i c land .
p o l i c ie s hav e had important co n s e quenc e s on th e

r Hart s F o rmatio n f t he Union ( 1750
’
S ee Al b e t Bushnel l
1
o
Chap . IV p , . 94 .
114 THE G REEN R ISI N G
eco n omic political an d social li fe o f the people
, , .
The farm populatio n by virtue of its depend e n c e

,
upo n the so il has b een most vitally affected b y th es e

,
policies The Un ited S tat es governmen t h as pur

.
su ed two cours e s in the disposal of p ublic lan ds .
Previous to 182 0 th e lan d was sold to provide r ev

e nue to main tain th e governme n t an d t o pay o ff
the p ublic debt Sin ce 182 0 th e wes t ern lan ds hav e
.
bee n disposed of t o settlers an d others for th e p ur

pose o f develo p in g th e cou n try While the latter .
p olicy has at times yielded an importa n t source o f

reve n ue this as p ect h as bee n in cidental Th e fu n
,
.
damen t al co n sid e ratio n h as bee n to d e velo p a rural

p opulatio n composed of thrifty e n terprisin g farmers
,
who would co ntribut e to the n ational w ealth and

w e lfare o f th e e ntire country .
Th e early p olicy o f rap id dis posal o f publi c la n ds

for the purpose o f providin g reve n ue caus ed the
govern men t to o ffer l an d for sal e in large quanti
ti e s six hu n dred acr es bein g th e min imum amou n t
,
on e p e rson could buy Th e c fl ect o f this pla n was

.
to dispose o f large areas an d to co n ce n trate la n d

possession i n the han ds o f a few s pe culators or pro
p r ie t o rs .The A ct o f 18 00 permitted th e sale o f land
in minimum tracts o f a hu n dred and six ty acres .
This law also lib e raliz e d th e t e rms o f s al e Th e e arly

.
la n d pol i c i es r e sulted in th e sal e o f about eighteen

m i lli on acr e s Much o f this land w as sold t o spe en
.
lators who assumed obligations b eyo n d their ability

t o pay .
TH E I N F LU EN C E OF L AN D P O LICI E S 1 15
The cou n try e xperien ced hard times from .

to
18 15 but land sp e culation agai n was pract i ced b e
,
twee n 18 15 and 18 19 due to th e ri s e i n th e pr i c e o f

,
cotton H o we v e r th e fall in the pr i c e of cotton in

.
,
18 2 0 result e d i n anoth e r d e pr e ssion T h e gov e rn

.
men t was comp e ll e d t o pass s ev e ral rel ie f acts in ,
cludin g one fo r r e l i nqu i sh i ng the titl e o f much land

t o the U n ited S t at e s Thes e pol i cies d i d no t prov e
.
very help ful Th e s e ttlers o f th e W e st became dis

.
satisfied becaus e o f the h i gh pr i ce s of th e la n d th e ,
us e o f th e fu n ds fo r r e venue purpos e s an d th e pre

,
vailin g cre dit syst em Many peopl e in th e o l d

.
states of the E as t obj e cted to any r e duction i n p ub

lic lan d pric e s for fear th at this induc e ment would
cause the farm populatio n of th e East t o l e av e th e ir
farms an d move to th e W e st th e r e by a ffec tin g land
,
values an d caus in g a r i se in wages in in dustrial

en t e rprises .
I n the mean time the peo p le o f th e West were b e

,
comin g critical o f the e arly lan d pol i cy of th e govern

me n t The w ester n represen ta tiv e s became increas
.
ingl y host i l e t o th e plan of making t he public

domain a source o f profit Th omas H Be n ton who
. .
,
was elected t o Co n gress fr om Missour i in 182 1 ,
stro n gly advocated th e grant i ng o f fr e e lands t o

“
se ttlers So lo n g as tid ewater co n gressmen pr e
.
vail ed i n Washin gton says Fr e deric L Paxson

,
.
,
“
there w as no hop e o f victory f or the n otio n that
the U n ited S tat e s ough t to g iv e fr ee farms to the
fro n tiersme n The eas tern d esir e for rev en u e was
.
1 16 TH E GREEN R ISI NG
mi n gled with th e ge n uin e fear o f the growth o f the
western States .
“
Th e ge n eratio n that estab l i shed itself betwee n
180 0 a n d 1820 was grou n ded i n the belief that a
g o v e rn me n t p ri c e f o r lan d w as o n e o f th e n umerou s
fin an cial ex t ortio n s from which it had to su ff er I t .
w as ge n erally co n vi n ced that th e n ewer p ortio n s o f

the cou n try were subj ect t o fin an cial exp loitatio n s by
the older a n d w as more bitterly distressed b y the
,
fin an cial bo n ds that b ou n d it t o fellow citize n s than

by those that w ere h eld by th e ligh ter ha n d o f
” 2
gover nme n t .
It was i n evitable that a chang e in co n d i tio n s

should b e brough t ab out as th e pol i t i cal in fluenc e of
the West in creas e d The e ff e ct o f th e n e w syst e m
.
as modifi e d from tim e to tim e by e x per ie nc e has b ee n
one o f the most mome n tous in the ann a l s o f A m e ri
can history Th e full e ff ects o f th e lat e r pol i cy o f

.
l an d s e ttl e m en t hav e no t y e t b ee n real i zed fully .
But each succeedin g year o f o ur h i story gives n e w

si gn ifi ca n ce to the p rogressive lan d p olicies of our
go v er n me n t .
The early lan d policies of th e govern m e nt grad

uall y gave way to what has proved to be a permane n t
plan o f dispos in g o f public lands Th e sy st e m o f
.
lan d gran ts i n small tr acts for actual settlem en t and

cultivatio n has had much t o comm e nd it The de .
tails o f this method hav e b ee n mod i fi e d f rom t im e t o

’
His t o ry of t he A meri c an F r on tier C hap XXV,
. pp . 22 4
and 225 .
TH E I N F LU EN C E OF L AN D P O LI C I E S 117
time in respo n se to chan gin g co n ditio n s an d p u bli c

se n time n t But the u n derlyin g motive has been
.
adhered to and the n ation h as prospered by it

, .
S p eculatio n in wes t er n lan d ran riot i n the decad e

from 183 0 to 184 0 This was traceab le largely t o
.
th e i nflated co n ditio n of th e curren cy th e lo ose ,
ba nk ing practices an d th e rise in p ric es o f farm

p roducts Lan d in the West had b ee n in cre as in g in
.
pri ce fo r some ye ars p revious to 183 0 but in 183 3

,
th e sal e s r e ached th e e n ormous fi gures o f

acr e s an d i n 183 6 the n umber of acres sold exceed ed
,
twen ty millio n .
The first g en eral p re e m p tio n ac t w as p assed in

183 0 a n d this was su p erseded in 184 1 b y the p erm a
,
ne nt act .Th e e ss e ntial conditions o f preemption

ar e actual entry upo n residence in a d w elli n g and
, ,
improveme n t a n d cultiv atio n of th e tracts o f land .
This policy o f o ur go v ern men t w as graduall y de

v el o ped o ut o f exper ime n tation with o ur p ublic la n d
policies It had th e e ffect of gradually tran sferri n g

.
lan d sp e culatio n in to legitimate practices o f lan d

utilizatio n .
The passag e o f the Homest ead A ct i n 1862 mark ed

another m il e stone in th e la n d po licy o f th e Un it ed
S tat e s . It was th e logical outcome of the pre
emptio n syst e m and r e pr e se n t e d th e fi n al policy o f
the gov e rnment in d i sposin g of the public domain .
The e ss e ntial a im o f this act w as th e gran t of a free

hom e st e ad t o ac tual s e ttl e rs Th e t o tal acr e age for
.
’
each settler w as no t to exceed 160 acres Five years
.
1 18 THE GREEN R ISIN G
a ctual res i den ce w as r e quired to give validity o f title
“ ”
t o th e hom e stead er .
In d i scussi ng th e m e r i ts o f th e H om e st e ad A ct ,
the P u bl i c Land Co mmi ssion said : I t prot ect s th e

“
g over n me n t it
,
fill s th e Stat e s with hom e s it builds ,
up communit i es a n d less e ns th e chanc es o f s ocial an d

civ il di so rder by g i v i ng own e rsh i p o f th e soil i n smal l
‘
tracts t o th e o ccu pan ts th e reof It w as copied from

,
.
n o other n atio n s syst e m

’
I t was origin all y and di s
.
t in c t l y America n an d remain s a mo n ument t o i ts

,
”
origin ators .
Th e H om es t ead A ct proved v e ry popular O ver .
six ty fi v e milli on acre s o f the pub lic domain in th e

-
'
middle W e st were a cquired from homesteads durin g

th e
“
twenty -y e ar p e rio d from 1 86 0 -1880 Th e popu .
lation o f the grain S tat e s th e N orth Central

divisio n ) in creas e d durin g the dec ade 1860 -7 0 by
more tha n 42 pe r ce nt and in th e nex t d e cad e by .
,
n early 34 per cent ; this r e prese n ted an additio n t o

.
the population in twen ty years o f ov e r in

habitan ts Th e op en in g of new land to settleme n t
.
stimulated immi gration to such an e xte n t that

perso n s cam e to th e U n ited Sta t es durin g
the decade 1860 -7 0 to b e follow e d in th e next ten
,
years by mor e a large proporti on o f whom

,
settled in th e m i ddle We st Th e gr e atest grow th .
too k p lac e i n the new e r S t ates of the N orthwes t ,
although even in the older S tates lik e I ll in ois Iowa , , ,
an d Misso uri th e incr e as e w as more rapid tha n the

,
g e ne ra l r ate I.n the si n gl e de c a d e 1 8 7 0 -188 0 over ,

THE I N F LU EN C E OF L A N D POLI C I ES 119
acres or a t e rrito ry e qual in extent to

,
G reat Brita in an d Fran ce combin ed were added to ,
th e cultivat e d area o f th e Un i ted S tates A gai n in .

,
the twenty year per i od

- 18 8 0 9 0 th e r e w e r e adde d
-1 0
, ,
to th e farm ar e a ov e r acr es Such a d e .
v e l opm en t was made poss i ble by th e ext en sio n o f th e
ra i lroad syst e m in the grain r e gi o n which open ed up ,
n e w areas for cult ivat i o n and mad e it possible t o

” 3
market th e product sp eed i ly and e co n omi cally .
The farmer an d ranchma n who acqu ired l an d

under the s ev e ral land settl e m e n t acts became a
p i on e er Th e s e f arm p i on ee rs w e r e w i d e ly separ
.
ated Th e y were o r b e came e ss en tially in divid

.
, ,
ual is t ic In th e m i ddl e W e st e sp e ci ally th e hard

.
, ,
ships connected with pioneering abs orbed their

e n e rgi e s Th e f arm e r had no tim e t o thin k o f co
.
op e rativ e effort a n d in f act cond i tions did n ot eu

, ,
courage co n scious sol i darity Th e problems o f th e .
pio n eer farm e r w e r e not e ss e nt i ally e conomic Th e .
gover nmen t had b ee n gen erous a n d th e simplicity

o f livin g co n ditions d i d n o t cr e at e a fe e l in g o f e c o
nomi c in j u stice I t is th e r efor e not surp ris i ng that

.
, ,
agrarian prot e sts d i d no t find expr e ssion in the un

dev el o ped region s of the middl e West pr e vi ous t o th e
'
Land Gran ts t o R ailroads

Th e
p ion ee r f arm e rs o f th e W es t w e r e con fro n ted
with man y handicaps N ot th e least of these w as m .
Bo gart s E c o no mic His t o ry o f A me ri ca n A gricul ture Chap

a ’ '
.
,
V II p, . 112 .
12 0 TH E G REEN R ISI N G
a dequa t e tran sportatio n faciliti es Prev ious to the
.
Civ il War there were no large systems of railro ads .
The wester n farmer w as in great nee d of bet t er

tran sp ortatio n fac i liti e s for mark e ting his products .
Mark e ts w er e too remot e and th e t ime and cost o f

,
deliverin g his products to mark e t and tran sp ortin g

his su p plies to h is farm w e re t o o gr e at It was ih
.
evitable an d logical that a deman d would be made

u p o n the f e deral govern ment t o util i z e la n d gran t s
t o en courage th e buildin g o f rai lroads through the
rapidly dev e lopi n g territorial s e ct i on of the central
an d far West .
Th e federal p olicy o f makin g land grants for in

t e rnal irnprov ement was slo wly ev olv ed through the
first hal f o f th e nin e t ee nth century Th e quest i on
.
o f the constitutio n ality o f gov e rnmental subsid i es
fo r inter n al improvemen ts had first to b e consid e r e d .
Then th e natur e o f the in t e rnal irnprov ement s to

which federal a i d would apply h ad t o b e d e termin ed .
The pol i cy was first ap p lied t o th e building o f high

ways I t was then extend ed to can als and finally to
.
railroads an d riv e r improv e m e nt In 182 5 th e H ouse

.
o f R epres e ntatives directed its committee on ro ads
an d cana l s t o study th e practicabil i ty o f railro ads
and t o r e port upon th e r e lativ e c ost of constru ctio n
o f ca n als an d railroads . Th e committee mad e a

report favorabl e t o rail road construction By 183 0 .
the u tility o f railroads had b ee n d e monstrated a n d

co n structio n had b egu n . From 183 0 t o 184 1 a con
s iderab l e amou n t o f time o f each ses sio n o f Co n gr ess
TH E I N F LU EN C E OF LAN D P O LI C I E S 12 1
w as consum e d i n d i scu ss i ng th e pol i cy o f land gran t s

to ra i lroads A w i d e d i ffe r e nc e o f opinio n d e veloped
.
in C o n gr e ss with refe rence to th e s e grants I n 183 8 .
a bi ll was passed by the Se n ate makin g a lan d gran t

to Indiana f or bu i ldin g a railroad but th e House o f
,
R e pr e s e ntativ e s d e fe ated th e measur e From 184 5

.
t o 185 0 th e S e nate authoriz ed s e veral land grants fo r

this purpos e but the House of R e prese n tatives re
,
fus e d to pass any o f these acts The hostile attitud e

.
o f th e r e pr e s e ntatives i n Co n gress is p robably ex
plain e d by th e controlli n g power o f easter n memb ers

wh o w e r e alarm ed o v er the rap id development o f th e
M i ddle West Th e mutual advan tage o f b etter
.
tra n sportatio n b e tw e e n th e rural West a n d th e

rapidly develop in g in dustrial E as t was n ot fully
u n derstood at this time .
But in 18 50 a land gran t bill i n favor o f aidi n g

railroad co n structio n w as p roposed received favor ,
abl e consid erati o n by both hous e s o f Congress and ,
b e came a law This act provide d for a land gran t to

.
Ill i no i s A labama and Miss i ssippi The geographi

, ,
.
cal ar e a afl ec t ed would ind i cate that th e b e nefits

w e re su ffici e ntly d i str ibut e d through out th e cou n try
to enlist the support of a maj o rity of both houses o f
Congr ess .
This act marks the beginn i n g of lan d grants for

“
railroad co n stru ctio n A n an alysis of the fin al v o t e
.
” “
o n this me asure i n the Se n ate says Orfi eld show s
, ,
that the li n e o f cl eav age w as rath er betwee n the

states that co n tain ed n o public l an d and th e p ubli c
la n d s tates than a divis i o n o n party lin es This is .
undoub tedl y ac count e d for by th e f act that th e latt e r

wer e e ither th e ben e ficiaries of th e act or exp e c t ed
t o re ceiv e similar grants in the futur e Of tw e nty .
six votes for th e m e asur e eight ee n w e r e cast by s en ,
at ors f rom public land stat e s whil e o f fo urt ee n v o t e s ,
against th e m e asur e only two came fr o m this group ,

.
O ne of these was cast by Chas e of O hio th e o nly , ,
Frees oil er who voted and the other b y Yule of , ,
Florida who for years had oppos e d land grants for

'
int e r n al im p rovem e n ts O n party lin es th e vot e .
stood as follows : For th e m e as ur e ei ght ee n D e m o ,
c rat s a n d eigh t Whigs ; again st th e measure six ,

” 4
D e mocrats s e v e n Whigs and o e Fr e e s oi l e r
,
n -
,
.
O pposition to lan d grants t o ra il ro ads continu e d

som e what p e rs i st e n tly unt i l 18 56 Th e s e nt im e nt .
se e ms to hav e change d compl e t e ly o n th i s subj e ct

about t his dat e Th e n e xt d e cad e w as o ne of reck
.
l ess and pro fligat e land grants The f oll o w i ng quo .
t at ion from Orfi el d r e fl e cts th e chang e in opin ion

“
r e garding land gran ts : Th e country w en t railro ad
'
mad and C o ngr e ss but r e fl e cted th e ge n e ral cr az e for

immed i at e d e vel o pm ent o f rap i d m e ans o f co m
m unic ati o n Th e C ivil War als o s e rved to empha
.
si z e th e importan c e o f th e ra ilroad for m il it ary pur

p os e s and was o n e factor i n e xtend in g th e p o licy to
” 5
th e Paci fi c ro ads .
F e de ral La nd
“
G
ran ts to the tates with pecia l R efe renc e to S S
Minnes o ta , Bul of U niv o f Minn .p 105 . . . .
‘
I bi d .
, p .
‘
106 .
TH E I NF LU EN C E OF L AN D P O LICI E S 12 3
Land grants t o transcontinental road s wer e co n

fi n ed prin cipally to the Civ i l War p er i od Th e in flu .
e nce o f th e South had b e en elimin ated from Co n

gre ss and th e int e rests o f th e E as t and West h ad
,
been drawn mor e clos ely together It bec ame

.
,
th e refor e r elat iv e ly e asy to se cur e unusually favor

,
abl e grants fo r railroad construction Th e first o f .
th e s e grants w as mad e to th e Unio n Pacific in 1862 .
The Union and C e ntral P ac i fic roads were plan n e d

“
to cross the Gr e at Des e rt wh i l e the N orthern
,
Pac i fic w as to cross th e Cordil l e ras at a low e r lev e l

and avo i d the des e rt In 18 66 land gran ts w e re
.
authoriz e d t o th e A tlantic an d Pacific and th e

South e rn Pacific .
The lan d grant mad e to th e Union Pacifi c was

th e first mad e d ir e ctly t o a railroad corporatio n in
stead o f t o a state Most o f the area w e st o f
.
Missouri had n ot been organi z ed i n to states at this

t i m e and a d e partur e in poli cy w as n e ce ssary to en
,
co urage th e buildin g o f rai l roads But the diff eren ce

.
was more nominal than real fo r the s t ates to which

,
C ongr e ss mad o land grants pr o mptly transferr e d

/
x
their grants to th e b en e ficiary c o rporati o n .
Th e exten t of the gra n ts t o the sixt e en roads o f

th e Middle W e st and far W e st was e normo us Th e .
policy adopt ed i n 185 6 was to donate ev e ry alternat e

se ction of land within six mil es o f the road This .
amou n ted to si x squar e mi les or acres for each

,
mil e of railroad Fro m tim e to time this amount was

.
i n cre ased For instan ce i n the case o f the Un io n

.
,
124 TH E G REEN RISI NG
Pacifi c an d oth e r lin es in th e Wes t th e grants w e r e ,
increased t o e very alt e rnate section w i thin twenty

mil e s o f th e rail road Th e aggr e gate of th e s e grants
.
to the U n ion Pacific approximated acr es ;

t o th e C en tral Pacific acr e s ; to th e N orth
,
ern Pacific ,
acr e s ; and th e South e rn
Pacific ,
acr e s The total grants to all .
western roads exclusive o f ,

acr e s of unad
j ust e d claims amou n ted to,
a cr e s — “
an
“
ar e a says Orfi el d as gr e at as th e total e xpans e o f
, ,
th e stat e s o f Mich i gan W i sconsin Ill i n o i s Ind i ana

, , , ,
and hal f o f O hio an d exce eding th e total hom e st e ad

,
e ntr ie s mad e up t o Jun e 3 0 19 1 1 by , ,

” 6
acres .
It w as inevitable th at fraud and dishon e st prao

t i ce s would grow o ut o f thes e e n ormous gran t s to
rail road corporations Unscrupulous ra ilroad oth .
c ial s soo n be gan to d e v i s e means for d e fraud i ng the
governm e nt Fraudul e n t surv e ys w e re mad e wher e

.
by ra i lroad s ectio n s w e r e m ad e to includ e water

rights I n sparsely wat e red s e ctions where r an ch
.
ing was almost th e e xclus i v e i ndustry th e railroad ,
corporat i ons acquired in direct c on trol ov e r th i s im

portan t i ndustry By sim i lar frauds lands rich in
.
mi ne ral d e posits were acquir e d by th es e corpora

tions O n e method of d e fraudin g th e govern me n t
.
involv e d th e purchas e o f th e altern at e quarter sec -
ti o n b e lo n gin g t o a railroad an d th e o th e r thre e

F ed eral Lan d Gran ts t o t he S t at es wit h
‘
Sp c i e al R eferenc e to
Minneso t a, Bul o f Univ o f Minneso ta
. . p . 108 .
TH E I N FLU EN C E OF L AN D POLICI E S 125
quarter-s e ct i o n s belo n gin g t o the gov e rn ment would

“ ”
be s e cur e d i n du e t i me through dummies s elect e d
fo r the purpose Th e railroads also ca me in compe
.
tit i on w i th th e govern m e nt in th e sale o f land As .
a m e ans o f i nduci ng s e ttl e rs t o buy railroad lands ,
r e duced fr e ight rat e s o r r e bates wer e pro mised This

.
practic e produce d o ne o f th e most s i gn ifi cant con

t rov ersies i n th e l ast half o f the n ine tee n th century .
The r e gulations of fr e igh t rates b e came o n e o f th e

most i mportant p o l i tical controv e rs ie s o f o ur history ,
a n d agrarian in flu en ce throughout th e n ation w as

exerted on th e sid e o f regulatio n . Fr e ight rat e
abus e s w er e on e o f the principal caus e s l e ad i ng to
th e e stablishm e nt o f railroad commiss i ons in man y
stat e s Th e Int e rstat e Comm e rce Comm i ss i on had
.
its in ception i n th e confl i ct b e tw e e n railroad corpora

t i ons and th e ge n e ral publ i c
.
Fe d e ral land gra n ts a n d railroad bo n uses res ulted

i n bonanza farming on an e normous scale Farmin g .
practice s of the p e riod devel o p ed a class o f n omad ic

farm hands who b e gan th e harv e st season and
worked northwest as the grain cr 0 ps matur e d fol ,
lowing the har v e stin g seaso n until th e Ca n adian

bord e r was r e ach e d . Th e r e also were groups o f
sh e ep sh e aring sp e cialists who pass ed th e ir winters
-
i n th e towns and citi e s an d usually made tw o rou n ds

a year in th e practice o f th e ir vocatio n The great
.
cattle rang e s w e r e trav e rs e d by nomad i c bands

o f cowboys who f o llow e d th e cattl e tra i ls . T e xas
cattl e w e r e round e d up o n the ran g e s an d dri v e n
12 6 TH E GREEN RISI NG
”
northward to f att e n upo n the bad lan ds o f
Montana and e lsewh e re as a preparation for the
Chicago mark e ts .
I n the meant i m e th e country was s e ttlin g u p

rapidly Th e indu ce m e nts of the railroads an d th e
.
governm e nt and the discovery o f valuabl e mineral

or es i n certain parts o f th e W es t mad e th i s sec
t i on o f th e country attractiv e both to the adv en ,
turer and t o th e p i on ee r farmer Many o f th e ad

“ ‘
ven turers w e r e rough fellows an d some o f th e m were

lawl e ss and in diff ere n t to property righ ts But grad .
uall y the ord e rly e lemen t of th e population gain e d

supremacy and l e gitimat e methods o f production
succeed e d th e adv e nturo us pract i ces o f th e e arly
days Ther e survived how ev e r a spirit o f in itia
.
, ,
tiv e and s e l f-r e lian ce which domin at e d throughout

th e Middle West .
Ps yc ho l o gical and S ocial Efi ec ts

’
I n the m e antim e important psycholo g i cal changes

w e r e tak in g p lace Mark Sulliva n has described
.
” 7
th e se changes as a mood o f irritation H e traces .
this e mot i on to th e un con s c i ous r e alization that th e

av ai labl e supply o f fr ee land had been r e ach ed .
“ ” “
Th e av erag e A m e rican says Sullivan who had
, ,
bee n abl e to look o ut o n a far horiz o n of se e min gly

limitless land now saw that hor iz on close in arou n d
,
h i m in th e shap e o f th e e conomic walls o f a diff erent

sort of in dustrial and e conomic organ izat i on w al ls ,
‘
Se e Our Times C ha p 8 . .
TH E I NFLU EN C E OF L AND POLICI E S 12 7
which to be sur e could be climb e d ; but which called

, ,
for climbing This economic limitation which came

.
with th e e n d of free land an d th e irritation o f sp i rit

arisin g o ut o f it was fe lt not only in the Wes t It .
was felt eve n more in the E ast wher e for gen era , ,
‘
tio n s the cou rse of ambitious youth had bee n to go
,
”
West and tak e up a quarter section o f la n d
’ ‘
-
’
.
This psychological tran sformation is int e restin gly

d escribed by Sulli van as follows
“
The free land had bee n for a hundred years th e
outl e t for r e stlessn e ss th e fi e ld for ambition When
,
.
that cam e to an end r e stlessn e ss turned in upon it

,
s elf an d ferm en ted in to somethi n g a little bitt e r .
Ambition comp e lled to do it s pioneerin g in mor e

,
compl e x fi e lds fr e qu e ntly fail e d t o find satisfaction

,
.
A dventur e an d initiative ins t ead of findin g fre e ,
scope on a hundred a n d sixty acres o f virgin land ,

’
had t o turn to fi elds wh er e me n s elbows bumped
each oth e r fi elds crowd e d an d h i ghly competitive in
, ,
which adve n ture was frequ en tly thwart ed a n d ,
—
in itiative deprived o f its chanc e not m e rely of its
chan ce t o come to fruit but even sometim es o f its
/
, , ,
chan ce t o get a start .
“
So long as there w as fr e e lan d every man had ,
th e opp o rtunity to cr e at e n e w wealth for hims e lf by

th e simplest and oldest means know n t o mankin d .
With th e end o f free land A m e rican me n for th e fi rs t ,
time had occas i o n t o look with e n vy upo n the wealth

o f others o r with j e alous scrutiny upo n how they
,
had acquired it The e n d o f free lan d w as the b egin

.
12 8 TH E G REEN R ISI NG
ning o f those political issues which had to do i n one ,
‘
form o r anoth e r with dividi n g up or with curbing
, ,
’
those who had much .
“
Th e end o f free land was th e largest o ne of thos e
caus e s which in th e y e ars pre ced in g 19 00 gav e rise
, ,
to a prevailin g mood o f repr e ssion o f dis com f ort , ,
sullenly sil e nt or angrily vo cal O pul e nt A m e rica

,
.
,
gen e rous full t e ated mother was beg inning to w e an

-
, ,
h e r children and they w e r e r estl e ss It is do u

l
, b t ful i f .
an y consid e rable portion o f th o se who w e re fretful

r e cognized this in tangible i n exorable thing as the ,
caus e of it I t took tim e to pass from easy going

.
-
assumptio n that o ur land o ur fo r e sts all our na , ,
tural resourc e s w e re unlimited to uncomfortabl e con ,
s cio usne ss that th e y were n ot Th e av e rag e Ame ri .
can more r eadily visualizin g a p e rson i fi e d cause for

,
his discomf ort dwelt more upon caus e s that pro

,
c eeded from persons or organ i zations of p e rsons

,
corporat i ons trusts or what n o t Th e r e w e r e such

,
‘
,
’
.
causes But th e y w e re minor compar e d to th e e nding

.
”
o f the sup p ly o f free land .
Socializin g ag e nci e s produced profound e ff e cts o n

th e individualism of th e fronti e rsman of a g e neratio n
ago Th e ne w physi cal cond i t i ons which have acc e l
.
erat ed s o ci aliz e d c fl o rt in th e West are n owh e re
more cl e arly outlin e d than in th e following words o f

“
Pro f essor Fr e d e rick J Turner : The pione e r farmer
.
o f th e days o f Lin coln co uld place his family on a
fl atb o at strik e i n to the wild ern ess c ut out his cle ar

, ,
in g a n d with little or n o capital go on to th e achieve

,
TH E I N FLU EN C E OF L AN D POLICI E S 12 9
ment of i n dustrial in depe n dence E ve n the home

.
s t eader on the W e ster n p rairies fou n d it possible to
w ork o ut a s imilar in d e pen d e nt dest i ny although th e

,
fac t or o f transportation was a serious and i n cre asin g

i mp e dim en t to his ind i vidual fr ee dom But whe n .
the ar i d lan ds an d th e m i n e ral r e sourc e s o f th e Far

W e st w e r e r e ached n o c o nqu e st was possible by
,
the old ind iv i dual pion e er m e th ods H er e exp e ns iv e

.
irrigati o n w o rks must b e construct e d c o ope rative

,
act ivity was d e man d ed in ut i lizatio n of th e water

supply capit al b eyo n d th e r e ac h o f the small farm e r
,
w as requ i red . In a word th e physiographic prov

,
in c e i ts e l f d e cre e d that th e d e st i ny of th i s n e w fro n

” 8
ti e r should b e social rath e r tha n i nd ividual .
The t im e had com e for co op e rativ e e ff ort in the

p roce ss o f building a b etter and mor e adequate
c iv i l i zation. It w as a s i mp l e matt e r for th e se
p i o nee rs to adopt th e c i ty building plans of the
E ast and o rgan i z e their busin e ss e nt e rpris e s on th e
corporat e pr i ncipl e that w as rap i dly takin g th e place
o f copartn e rship organ izat i o n s e v e rywher e .Capa
c i ty for organizat i on acc e l e rat e d progr e ss in the
n ewly s e ttl e d s e ct i ons But i t d i d far mor e It
. .
slowly d e v e lop e d a consc i ous sol i darity It is not .
surpri s i ng th e r ef ore that s o o n aft e r th e Civil War

, ,
the farm and ranch populat i on o f th e W e st ra i s ed

the vo i c e o f prot e st against fraudul e nt pract i c e s i n
conn e ct i o n with land s e ttl e m e nt and compla i n e d bit
t erl y again st th e unj ust f r ei ght rat e s that absorb e d
The F ro n tie r in A merican His t o ry C hap I X p 2 58
.
, . .
13 0 THE GREEN R ISI NG
th eir profits from th e sal e o f th eir f arm products .
I t i s in this s ect i on o f th e country wher e th e most

rad i cal groups of f arm e rs hav e d ev e loped in rece nt
y e ars In su bs e qu e n t chapters mor e d e tail ed co n
.
si deration wil l b e giv e n to th e organ i z e d e ff orts o f

th e se farmers to s e cur e s o c i al j usti c e i n th e pr o duc
tion transporta ti o n and sal e o f th ei r products
, ,
.
CHA PT E R VII
THE I NFLU EN C E OF TH E TAR IFF O N
AGRAR I AN IS M
Wh ile the lan d p ol icies of the federal gov ern men t

were scatterin g the rur al p op ul atio n over v as t areas
o f th e middle West an d develop in g a spirit o f in di
,
v idual ism there w ere oth er p olitical a n d economic

,
policies that w ere slow ly in culcatin g a se n se o f con

sc ious solidarity i n t h e mi n ds o f the farm po p u l atio n
.
The tariff was the m o st sign ifi ca n t i n fluen ce o f this

charac ter .
The tra n siti o n from an agricultural economy to a

more diversifi ed sys tem o f in d us try sl o wly took
place betwee n 1789 and 18 19 Duri n g this period
.
great chan ges wer e bein g made in mechanical in

v en tio n a n d in dustrial p ro cesses but durin g th e
,
”
closing y ears o f the eightee n th cen tury exports o f
agricultural products co n tin u ed to predomin ate i n
Amer i can foreign tr ade The range o f importable
.
articl e s prin cipall y from E n glan d co n sisted o f co t

, ,
t o n an d woole n goods Th e wars o f the Fr e nch

.
R e volutio n gave the U n ited States al most a n e x clu

s ive market for her agricultural prod ucts in E urope
an d the Wes t I n dies D urin g th e N apo leo n ic wars
.
13 1
13 2 T HE G REEN R ISI NG
Englan d exte n ded h e r trade i n ma n ufa ctured p r od
u ct s with the U n ited S tat es .
Thes e p e cul i arly e ncourag in g cond i t i ons b oth for ,
agriculture an d commerc e pre v ent e d an y strong

,
s e nt ime n t favorable to govern mental assistan ce t o

“ ”
ma n ufacturin g . Much has bee n s aid says F W , . .
“
Taussig i n th e course o f th e p rotective controversy
,
ab o ut the views of the fathers o f th e r ep ublic But .
for nearly twe n ty y e ars a f ter the formation of th e

Union other subj ec ts so absorb ed the attention o f
pub l ic men th at n o distin ct opin ion appears i n th e ir
” 1
utteran c e s for or again st p ro t ect ive duties But .
the i ssue of p rotectio n aros e i n th e first session o f

Congr e ss Th e r e presentativ e s from P e nnsylvania
.
w e re the first advocates o f a pro t ective t ariff policy .
P enn sylvania and Massa chuse tts h ad impose d pro

t ect iv e duti e s previous t o th e adoptio n o f the Co n
s t it ut io n. I n f act s e veral o f the Colo n ies h ad ac
,
cept e d th e principle o f protection as a n aid to some
o f th e ir i n fan t in dustri e s I t is therefore not sur

.
prising that th e Madison Tariff Bill w as in tr odu ced

in Congress on the third day o f th e first sess i o n in
17 8 9 and r e ceived f avorable consid e ratio n As .
fi n ally pass e d this bill may be regarded as both a

,
r e venu e and a protective measur e .
Po licy f o Pro t ec ti on
Previous t o 18 08 the protective f eature o f the

Tar i ff A ct w as o n ly mildly protective The duties .
The Ta riff His t o ry o f t he Unit e d S t at es Chap I I p 13

, .
, . .
TH E I N FLU EN C E OF TH E TAR IFF 13 3
were incr e ase d slightly from time to tim e but the ,
motiv e was t o increase th e rev en ue in st e ad of e x

te n di n g additional aid t o industrial e nterpris e .
H owever i n tern ational complicat i ons r e sult e d in

,
chan gi n g the p oin t o f emphasis in the tar iff polici e s

o f th e cou n try The Berli n and Mila n decr ee s of
.
N ap o l e on an d th e E n gl i sh ord e rs in Council re
, ,
s ul t ed in th e E mbargo A ct of 190 7 War with En g

.
land w as declared in 18 12 Duri n g th i s w ar all im

.
port duties w e r e doubled and trad e with E nglan d

was prohibit e d This situation gav e a great stimulus
.
in the United States to th e manufacturing i ndus

tries especially to thos e en gage d in producing art i
,
cles which had pr e viously b een i mport e d Whil e .
the restrictiv e legislation o f 1808 18 15 was e ss e n

-
t ial l y d e sign ed to incr e as e the r e venu e s the e ffe ct

,
was e quival en t to high prot e ctio n Wh e n the war.
closed the industries that had grown up as a r e sult

,
o f the protectiv e pol i ci e s w e r e now in n e ed o f pro

,
t ectiv e duti e s to sustain them Patr i o tism and pri d e

.
i n th e material welfare o f th e nation un i t e d i n pro

ducing a strong p rot e ctive tar i ff s e nt i ment through
o ut th e cou n try .
Th e Tari ff Act o f 18 16 w as cl e arly a prot e ctive

t ariff measure .It w as passed in respon se t o the d e
man ds of the man ufacturers This measure was op
.
posed by the commercial in terests o f the country

whose prosperity was dependent upon the gr e at e st
fr eed om in in tern atio n al commercial i n t e rcours e but ,
thes e commerci al in teres ts were mostly Federalists

134 THE G REEN R ISIN G
who h ad op po s ed th e War o f 18 12 a n d th e y w e re in
,
the min ority an d their R e p ub lican oppo n ents wer e

“ ”
n ow in p ower Th e American System as adv o
.
,
cat ed by H en r y Clay an d other statesme n o f his
school was in terp reted t o mea n that th e people o f

,
th e Un ited S tates should mak e their own su pp lies

at home a n d that every e n cour agemen t should b e
given t o in dustrial e n terp rise Th e Tariff A ct o f
.
18 16 w as g ene rall y regarded as o ne expression o f this

political doctri n e .
It is sign ifi can t that the agricultural South h ad

n ever opposed a tariff law up t o th i s time In fact .
,
the Tarifl A ct of 18 16 w as o f southern origin The .
bill was reported t o Con gress b y Lown des o f South ,
Carolin a an d was supported strongly by Calhoun

,
an d Cl ay A t th is time the agricultural in teres ts o f

.
the cou n try had more i n co mmo n with the manufac

t urers tha n with th e commercial age n cies The .
southern p eo p le had stro n gly supported the war

policies of th e govern men t I t w as l ogi cal for them
.
,
a fter the war t o favor tho se measur es that would in

,
creas e the eco n omi c as well as the p olitical indepen

d en ce o f th e c ou n try .
The Tarifi Bec omes a S ec tional I ssue

But it w as not lo n g un til th e agricultural i n ter e sts
o f the South b e ga n to feel that protectio n had go ne
too far Th e gro w th o f this se n time n t is eas ily

.
un d e rst o od whe n th e chan gin g situatio n is an aly zed .
The western migratio n as p reviously in dicat ed

, ,
TH E I NFLU EN C E OF THE TAR IFF 13 5
created con cer n in all the A tlan tic Stat es T here .
was great fear that th e ol d sectio n s o f the cou n try

would be come p arti ally dep op ulated and that bo th ,
eco n omic a n d p olitical p ower would be shifted t o

other secti o n s of the cou n try However this feelin g
.
,
o f alarm w as somewhat n eutral i z ed by the rapid de
v el o pm en t o f th e manufacturin g in terests i n N e w
E n gland But in the South th ere wer e no counter

.
balan cin g age n ci es t o offse t th e loss sustain ed by the

migratio n s farth e r wes t I n fact the South was
.
,
adversely aff ected in t w o ways by this situatio n .
I n th e first place there was a decrease in land

,
values ; in the s e con d plac e the exte n sio n o f the area

,
o f cotto n culture w ith a corres p o n din g i n crease in

,
p rod uction caused an over su p ply an d a fall in th e

,
-
pric e o f this p roduc t Many p eople be liev e d that

.
t he prot e ctive tar i ff was res po n sible for the ec o n omic

di stress throughout the Sou t h I t appeared t o th e
.
agricultural producers that the man ufacturin g in

t erest s o f the N orth an d E ast were bein g built up
at th e expe n se o f agricultural productio n an d that ,
the inequality of e co n o mic opportunity was largely

/
the result of th e un j ust ta riff policies o f Co n gress .
But the agricultural in terests were n o t o f one

min d with refere n ce to this matter The farmers .
o f the West were i n the same positio n logicall y as
th o s e o f th e South but they did no t react in the

,
sam e way to the tariff po licies of th e cou n try This .
is explain ed by the fact that the eco n omic situatio n

o f th e wes t ern farmers w as better than that o f the
13 6 TH E G REEN R ISI NG
southern farmers Im p roveme n t in tran s p ortatio n
.
f acilities had the effe ct o f lowering the pric e s o f

commoditi e s while land valu e s incr e ased with th e
,
growth in population Th e f e elin g w as stro n g in

.
th e W e st that th e dev e lopment o f in dustrial cen t ers

would giv e incr e ased mark e tin g facili ties for the
raw products o f the farms and ran ches .
Th e e ra o f prosperity that the country exp erienced

a ft e r th e War o f 18 12 was followed by the p an ic of
18 19 . Th i s d e pres s i on r e sult e d in d e man ds for fur
th e r tariff legislat i on and th e Tari ff Bill of 182 0 was
proposed This bill provided for a n in cr e as e in th e
.
tar i ff rat e s o n cotton and wool e n textil e s ir o n an d , ,
h emp It finally pass e d th e H ous e but fail e d in

.
th e Senate by o ne vot e Th e sectional attitud e o n

.
th i s bill is in dicated in th e followin g quotation from

John Spen cer Bass e tt : In th e f orm e r body ( H ous e )
i t r e c e ived all th e vot e s from th e N orthw e st and ,
all but one fr o m th e Middle stat e s A ll but fiv e o f.
the vot e s from the old e r South w e r e agai n st it and

all but four o f thos e from th e Sou thwest includin g ,
K e ntucky The parts of N e w E ngla n d which repre

.
s e nt e d the old e r comm e rcial and farm i ng in ter es t s

were ag ainst it whil e thos e which favor e d th e ma n u
,
fac t urers wer e for it Thus th e agricultural South

.
,
and Southw e st an d the co mmercial and agr i cultural

parts o f th e N orth e ast w e r e oppos ed to protectio n ,
and th e manufacturin g and agricultural M i ddl e

” 2
states and th e N orthw e st w e r e for it Th e tariff
.
A S ho rt His t o ry of t he Unit e d S tat es C hap XV III p 385

‘
.
, .
, .
had n ow become a sectional issu e in wh i ch agricul

tural producers were array e d against th e manufac
turin g inter e s t s o f th e cou n try .
A close vote o n th e tari ff bill o f 18 2 0 mad e it

in evita ble that th i s measure would b e taken up
again Sev e ral att e mpts wer e made but th e y did
.
n ot succ e ed until th e bill o f 18 2 4 was propos e d This .
act passed both houses by a v e ry small vote Its .
passage w as s e cured by two significa n t comprom i s e s .
In the first place th e duti e s were not so high as ,
those p roposed i n the b i ll o f 18 2 0 ; in the s e cond

place by rai sing the rates on h e mp th e e ntir e vote
,
o f K e ntucky was cast i n favor o f the b i ll Th e duty .
o n raw wool which had appeared i n previous b ills

“
again s e cured th e solid vote of the N orthw e st He r e .
” “
ag ain says Bassett was s e en a stro n g opposition
, ,
in th e South and Southw e st an d N ew E n gla n d was ,
again divid e d Massachus e tts N ew H ampshire and

, , ,
Maine casting in opposition 2 2 o f their 2 5 votes in

the house I n these stat e s th e commercial inter e sts
.
we re in political control and Webster voicing the i r , ,
wishes m ade a n e xc ellen t spe ech against th e b i ll

,
.
E v e ry vot e o f the N orthw e st and o f Kentucky w as

in the a ffi rmativ e a n d every vote o f the South and
the Southwest ex cept three from Marylan d one , ,
from Virgin i a an d two from T en n ess ee was i n the

, ,
n egative Save for N ew E nglan d the tariff had b e

.
,
” 3
come a sec tio n al issue
“
The Tari ff o f A b omin atio n s as the Tariff A ct ,
‘
0p . ci t .
, p . 386 .
138 THE G REEN R ISI NG
of 18 2 8 was called had th e e ff ect o f unitin g the in
,
t eres t s o f N ew E n glan d o n t he side o f pro t ectio n .
Webster declared that man ufacturin g had pr ogres sed

to th e poin t where prot ectio n was the chi e f inter est
“ ”
o f Massachus e tts The long opposition says Bas
.
,
“
se tt betwe e n comm e rce a n d man u f ac turers in N ew
,
E ngland was at an end an d the latter had tri ,
umphed Th i s last stronghold o f ant i tariff sen ti

.
-
m en t in the N orth h ad surrendered Th e ta riff w as

‘
” 4
n ow wholly a s ectional policy I t is easy t o see
.
what had actually hap p en ed The m an ufacturin g .
i n ter e sts in N ew E ngland h ad grown to the po in t

where that in dustry completely predomin ated over
agriculture an d that sectio n of the United Stat es
,
became un ified on th e pro t ective policies o f th e

cou n try .But in th e mean time the balance o f
, ,
power had shift ed to the Wes t The agricultural .
in t e rests had no w b ecome fully aware that the pro

t ect iv e tariff policy was ess en tiall y d e sign ed to aid
industry It became n ecessary th erefore t o res ort
.
, ,
to another e xp e di ent in order to co n tin u e th e pro

t e ct iv e tariff pol i cy of the govern ment The expedi .
en t res ort e d to was that o f provi di n g protectio n for

certa in raw pr o ducts A s w e have see n protectio n
.
,
for hemp s e cur e d th e vot e o f Kentucky for th e

Tariff A ct o f 1824 Prot e ctio n for wool had the
.
eff ect of r e concili n g the farmers o f the West and

N orthwest but at th e sam e time it cr ea ted a cl eav
,
age betw ee n the farmers o f th e S outh an d the W e st .
A Sho rt His t o ry of t he Unit ed S tat es C hap XVIII p 387

‘
. .
, .
,
TH E I NFLU EN C E OF THE TAR IFF 13 9
I t is aside from the purpose of this discussio n to

r eview the tari ff history o f th e United Stat e s ev en
in outline The prec e ding discussio n is suffic ie nt to
.
indicate broadl y th e st e ps by which th e int e r e sts o f

produc e rs an d manufactur ers b e cam e di ffe rentiat e d
with refere n ce to the tariff policy o f th e cou n try .
By 183 0 the agricultural produc e rs o f the South had

b e come thoroughly united in their oppos i tio n to a
protective tariff They h ad come to realize that
.
,
regardless o f the e ff e cts o f the changi ng tariff e nact

men ts no tariff law was drawn with r efe re n ce t o
,
the welfare o f agricultural pr oduc e rs A grar ian

.
protes t s became in creasin gly porte n tous through the

n e xt two d e cad e s Th e doctrin e o f N ul l ifi cat ion i n
.
South Carolin a was o ne expression o f it The seri .
o usnes s o f this prot e st is indicat e d by Clay s co m

’
promise tariff o f 1833 which postuo ned b ut did n ot

,
settl e the issue All tari ff acts p as sed by Congres s

.
from 1830 t o 18 6 1 with th e exception of the A ct

,
of 184 6 wer e clearly protective in character

, .
Th e ge n eral attitud e o f the agricultural popul a

tion in th e South toward sectional i n flu e nces in con
g re ss io nal legi slation is revealed in Calhou n s speech
’
in the S en at e which was deliv e red on February 4

, ,
18 50. He declar e d that th e eq ui librium o f power

be twee n th e N orth and th e Sout h had been de
stroyed . H e claimed that this was no t due t o
n atural caus e s but to pol i c ie s adopt e d by the fed
,
eral governmen t o ne o f which was that o f the pro

,
t e ctiv e tari ff Calhoun arose from a sick bed t o give

.
T HE GREEN R ISI NG
e xpress i on to this sentim e nt and a few days later
,
h e d ie d It is n o t without s i gn ifican ce that the l ast

.
public utt e rance o f Calhou n r e flect e d the united

publ i c op i n i on o f the S outh Th e M o rrill Tariff A ct
.
o f 18 6 1 was p ass e d o n the e ve o f th e Civ i l War after ,
s e v e ral South e rn senators had withdrawn It re .
stor e d th e rates o f e arli e r tariff acts and aga i n com

mit t ed th e country to a policy o f protect i on .
N o issue i n Am e rican p olitics h as had s uch great

‘
in flue n ce i n dividin g the pe o p le p olitically as the

policy of prot e ctio n It has been unfortu n ate that
.
an e co n omic qu e stio n o f such in tricacy should b e
come such a persisten t an d co n ti n uous p olitical

problem A gricultural producers usually have n ot
.
bee n give n co n sideratio n in the formulatio n o f tariff

schedul e s Tariff rates have ahnost i n variably bee n
.
determin ed by the in t e rests o f in dustri al p roducers .
Prot e ctive rates have bee n exte n ded t o a fe w raw

products whe n a compromise w as n ece ssary to secure
a suffi cien t numb e r o f votes for the passage o f tari ff
l e gislatio n The in fluen ce o f agrarian forces in re
.
cent years h as had the e ffe ct of in creas i n g the n um

ber o f raw p roduc t s for which prot ective rates h ave
bee n provided bu t th e ext e nsion to such products
,
usually h as been th e r e sult of compromi se in th e

in terest of higher prot e ctive rates on man ufactured
products .
TH E I NFLU EN C E OF TH E TAR IFF 14 1
I nfluen ce o f t he Tarifi on Farm Prosperi ty
Much has b e en claimed for the gr e at tar i ff acts

o f rec en t t im e s There are thos e wh o claim that
.
the Din gley the Payn e Aldri ch and th e mor e re

,
-
,
c ent l y e n acted Fordn e y M c Cum

- b er tariff acts each ,
a strong pr o t e cti ve measur e r e sulted in d ir e ct b en e

,
fit to th e farmers of the cou n try This claim merits .
analysis .
It i s tru e that the prices o f prot e cted farm pro d

uct s hav e risen in man y ca ses as a result o f ta ri ff
l e gi slat i o n Th i s i s n o tably tru e o f w o ol sugar and

.
, ,
v e ge tabl e o i ls In recent y e ars enormous quant i ti e s

.
o f v e ge tabl e oils have bee n shipped into th e U n ited
Stat e s fr o m Manchuria Kor e a and th e Tr o p i cs

, ,
.
Thes e o i ls hav e come into d i r e ct comp e t i t i on w i th

cottons ee d an d p e anut oils The seri ousne s s of this
.
compet i tio n is i ndicated by th e fact that pr evious t o

19 2 0 th e quant i ty of i mp o rt e d v e g e tabl e o i ls al m o st
,
equall e d th e ent i r e cottonse e d oil production o f this

cou n try . The United Stat e s Tari ff Commiss i o n ,
a f ter a thorou gh investigat i on o f th i s situatio n re ,
port e d that soya b e an s and p e anuts could be pro

duced in O r ien tal countr i es in almost u n lim i t e d
qua n titi e s at pri c e s that would destroy th e vege tabl e
o il i ndustry i n th e Unit e d S tat e s It was sho w n .
also that th e re w e r e acres in cocoanuts i n

the trop i cs wh i ch would provide a source o f supply
,
for oils i nt e rchang e able i n the man u f acture of ol e o

margarin e lard subs titutes an d soap The Ford
, , .
142 TH E G R EEN R ISING
ney M cCumb er b ill i n prov i ding protect iv e duties
-
,
for v e g e tabl e oils undoubt e dly st imulat e d th e v ege

,
table oil pric e s and ben e fited th e seed crushing in

dus try in the South .
B al anci ng t he A c coun ts f
o Agricu l ture and I ndus t ry
But in i ts larg e r as p e cts th e tar iff policy has b e

,
come one o f balancin g ac counts when the be nefits ,
to farmers are to be consid e r ed Farmers h av e bee n

.
l e d to b e li ev e that th ey c o uld a fford to pay h i gh

,
prices for th eir purchas e s i f th e tari ff rat e s w e re

,
equally effectiv e in raising th e prices o f the thin gs

they had to s ell Bu t th e wh e at cotton an d cor n
.
, ,
farmers who const i tut e th e larg e maj ority o f agri

,
cultural produc e rs and whose a ggr e gate pr oducts

ex ce ed e normously in value th e relatively few farm
p roducts o n the p rotect e d list get n o protect io n
,
.
The American Farm Bureau which is impartial ,
p olitical ly h as e stimat e d that the Fordn ey—

,
Mc
Cum b er Tariff A ct has added to the
aggr e gat e in com e o f th e farmers o f th e coun try .
But th is amoun t h as gon e prin cipally to the growers

o f w ool hard sprin g wh e at flax see d l e mons an d
, , , ,
to th e produc e rs o f sugar And wh i le th e s e pro

.
ducers w e r e profit i ng by a ga in o f the

growers o f o th e r stapl e products w e re losin g
o r more than ten times as much in
in creas ed price s that th ey w e r e r e quired to pay b e

cause o f the tar iff o n the manu factur e d commod i ties
TH E I NFLU EN C E OF TH E TAR IFF 143
The vie wpoin t o f thousands of farmers is re

fl ec t ed i n a recent book o f Herb e rt Quick w ritte n ,
shortly b e for e his death in which he cont e nds that

,
the farm e rs of th e nation are nev e r bene fited by a

prot e ctive tariff ev e n wh en it in cludes many o f the
,
products o f th e farm e r A f t e r saying that th e free

.
fl o w o f wheat an d cotton to E urop e an markets is

charge able t o o ur existin g tari ff h e goes on to say :
,
“
But we through o ur tari ff laws shu t o ut man y o f
th e goods with which th e y would if th e y could b u y , ,
our wh e at an d cotton ; and their curr e ncies are de

p re c iat ed s o that e xchang e is aga inst th e trade So .
th e y go on nak e d and starv i ng whil e we also su ffer

,
from o ur ow n glut o f what th e y bitterly n eed All .
that is n ee ded in order to brin g reli e f t o o ur farmers

and E urope is t o put deman d in touch with su pp ly
,
.
“
If w e had a la w giving greater freedom i n the
place of th e restrictive laws we n ow have th e mar ,
k e ts o f the w orld migh t lift the farmers out of th e

” 5
hole in which they find th e mselves
‘
Quick argues the e ffect o f the tari ff on agriculture

by r eferri n g specifically to its in fluence on cor n ,
wheat flax seed rice sugar wool b e ef cattle an d

, , , , , ,
oth e r products in th e typical agricultural sta t e o f

T exas A ft e r d i r e cti n g attention to th e fact that the
.
sugar tariff costs the A merica n people two dollars

p e r capita which aggr e gates a total o f
,
a y e ar for all the A merican people h e says : ,

“
O f this trem en dous sum the Un ited Stat es gov
,
The R eal Tr o ub l e with t he Farme rs C hap I I I pp 22 and 23

, .
, . .
e rn men t colle cts at th e custom -houses .
I t is all add e d t o th e cost of livin g O v e r .
go e s t o th e sugar manufacturers and producers Th e .
b ee t sugar f actori e s in the West ne ed n o tariff for

-
,
‘ ’
th ey ar e p rot e ct e d by fr ei gh t rates from the port s .
Th e only A m e r i can farm e rs who g e t any go o d o f it ,
broadly sp e ak i ng ar e thos e of Lou i s i ana Their out

, .
put g e ts abou t a year by it In o ther .
words w e tax ours e lv e s

,
to give the
Louisiana p e opl e I t would be be tt e r to
pay th e m fo r l e tti ng th e ir lan ds li e fall ow if w e
could g e t cheap e r sugar th e reby The farmers of .
th e whol e country n ee d ch eap sugar mor e than an y

o n e e ls e Th e tariff is no t laid for the benefit o f
.
th e can e grow e rs or th e b e et growers but f or th e

-
,
-
,
great int e r e sts e ngaged in the manufacture a n d re

fining o f sugar Th e farmers eve n in sugar produc
.
ing r e gion s would b e quite as well o ff i f not a pound

o f sugar w e r e produced They could use th e ir la n ds
.
as profitably for oth e r crops A nd the b ee t sugar

-
.
busin e ss i s introducin g labor co n ditio n s which de

” 6
bauch th e ir commu n iti e s .
The conclusion o f this writer is that a tariff for

th e b e n e fit o f th e farm e r has b een and i s bunk , ,
abysmal bunk .Farm b enefits from tariff acts

—
are always in th e cloud s n ever in the clods ”
.
Whil e it is beli e ved that H erbert Quick is refl ect

in g the gen e ral view of the farm p op ulatio n of the
coun try with r eferenc e to th e e ff ect of the tariff on
I b id C h ap I V pp 3 2 and 33
‘
. . .
, ,
TH E I N FLU EN C E OF TH E T AR IFF 14 5
a gri cultural p ros perity there seems t o be no den y

,
in g the f act that farmers of certain crops have

pro fi ted by p rotectio n I n fact Quic k admits th at
.
,
the w ool p roducers hav e profited by protectio n But .
after ad mi ttin g this fact he remin ds us that not all

,
farm e rs are sheep growers but that only a relat i v e ly

,
small n umber o f thos e engage d in agricultural ent e r

prise ar e exclusiv e ly i d e ntifi ed w i th this sp e c i al in
dus try H e contends that th e b e nefits o f prot e ction
.
from o ur w ool tari ff go to th e fe w own e rs of big

flocks o n great ranges an d that wh i le th e s e few ar e
,
profitin g by protect i on all oth e r f arm e rs ar e su ff e r

,
ing loss es as a r e sult o f this gen e ral policy .
Th e problem o f cro p surp luses brought th e tari ff

issue squarely b efore th e Sixty nin th Congress in its
-
consid e ration o f agricultural legislatio n A vast .
amou n t o f in formation r e latin g to th e ine qual ity of

th e tariff b e twee n agr i culture and indus try h as b een
brought o ut i n h e ari ngs o f agricultural committ ee s
o f Congr e ss and in the p repared sp e eches deliver ed
or submitted for r e c o rd by s e nators and represen

tat iv es .
Propo n ents of farm relief in C on gress co n tend e d

that th e e xistin g t ari ff sch edules be n e fit e d manufac
t urers at the exp en se o f farm produc e rs and that
the aggregate protectio n provid e d for farm products
was mor e than o ffs e t by th e incr e as e d pr i c e s farm e rs
had t o pay for manufactured articles An e xampl e .
o f this argument is illustrated by the following quo
t at ion cred i ted to the Jefferso n City M i ssouri

, , ,
Capit o l N ew s an d
quoted in a speech b y Congress
ma n C C Dickerso n :
. .
“
The Uni ted States h as the richest a n d greates t
iro n ore reserves th e largest coal re serv es, bes t
-
,
skilled labor an d best b usin ess man agement

, .
“
I n the fac e o f all these facts and condi t i o n s n ew ,
an d un call ed fo r h igher tar i ff s ar e giv en th e st ee l

-
in dustries so th at their e n ormo us p rofits can be

,
further in creas e d and higher p ric es e xac t ed from all

people com p elled to buy th e products of steel a n d
iro n Th e cutl e ry tari ff s av e raged 10 7 p er ce n t
.
,
pock et kn iv e s 14 6 per c e nt the cheaper grades 179

,
per ce n t scissors an d shears 185 p e r cent The se

,
.
ama z in g rat e s cost th e people ann ually .
“
Th e railroads consumed pe r ce n t o f iro n
an d ste el pr o ducts o r ,
tons dur i ng 19 2 5
,
.
O n thes e and oth e r products purchased for all pur

poses the railroads pay in cr e ased tarifl prices of
nearly an nually which th ey pass o n t o
,
the ship pers in th e form o f high e r freight rates The .
farmer n ot only p ays his shar e o f this but he is also ,
a co n sumer o f iron an d st e el produc t s in th e amoun t

o f n early 2 0 pe r c e n t o f the e ntir e output So he .
falls he ir to this additional tariff burde n The build .
in g an d bridg e trad e s co n sume 18 per ce n t th er eby ,

” 7
u n duly enha n cing th e cost o f bu ildin g .
’
The method o f balancin g the farmer s ac coun ts
as his fin an cial operat i o n s are aff ected b y th e tariff
is ill ustrated in th e followin g quotatio n from a
The Congr essio na l R e c o rd Vo l 67 N o 13 1 f o r M ay 17 1926
,
.
, .
,
.
THE I NFLU EN C E OF TH E T AR IFF 14 7
speech o f Co n gressman O B Bart ness of N orth

. .
Dak ota
“
A n an alysis of th e higher p ri ce re ceived by the
farmer o n such o f h is p roducts as are protected by
the tariff reveals that the p ro t ectio n brin gs him a
total additio n al sum of arou n d An
al yz ing further we fi n d that the additio n al sum p aid
by the farmer for agricult ural p roducts o f other

cou n tries totals Thus his gain is $30 ,
o r $ 1 for each man woman and child c on

, ,
n ect ed with agriculture .A still further analysis

reveals th at because o f the tariff th e farmer pays
extra on ma n ufactured steel products
alo n e o r th e equivalen t o f $5 for each man w oma n
, , ,
an d child . The extra cost to th e farmer o n oth e r

man ufactured goods which he purchases will total
even more So u n der th e prese n t tariff the farmer
.
mak es a n et gai n of $ 1 on the higher p rice for agri

cultural products an d pays ten times that to mai n
tain th e higher th a n world p rice on man ufactured
- -
goods w hich he buys .
“
Such disparity would not of its elf be th e serious
_
matt e r it has bee n sin ce the w ar if the d e pression

o f E urope had n ot found a vuln erable poin t o r me an s
o f attack through o ur export p roduc t s That de .
pression would at o n ce disap p ear if our statesme n

w ould d evise a way t o protect our hom e m ark et
price on th e agricultural p rod ucts which are n ow
” 8
in o ur export clas s .
The C o ngr essiona l R e c o rd Vo l 67 N o 132 f o r May 18 1926

‘
. .
, , .
,
Probably the best summary reflectin g this p oin t
o f V iew is co n tai n ed i n the discu ss io n o f the e ff ect s
o f th e tariff on agri culture by Ho n orable Cordell
H ull a r e cogn ized tariff an d reve n ue expert w ho

, ,
writ e s as follows :
“
A griculture has n ever go n e t o the heart o f the
tar iff questio n : but should it fail soo n to do so it is
d e stined to a state o f permanen t decay i n th is cou n
try Ther e is n o more sou n d eco n omi c law tha n
.
that tariffs are help less to b e n e fi t an in d ustry with

a substan tial surp lus which must be ann ually so ld
,
abroad in competitio n with imp ortan t quan tities of

like products from other cou n tries Th e A merican .
farmer th erefore w ho prod uce s of the total agri

, ,
cultural out p ut some 80 to 8 5 p er c en t o f the staple

agricultural p roduc t s such as corn cotto n wheat , , , ,
oats ry e hay lard meat p roduct s an d tobacc o

, , , , , ,
much o f which must be ex po rted can no t ho p e t o ,
r e ceive a n y ap p reciable ta riff b e n e fi ts The e xistin g .
tariffs o n the co n t rary hurt th e American farmer

, ,
by 1 ) in cre asin g his p r oductio n costs ( 2 ) his cos t ,
o f living ( 3 ) his transportatio n rates on both lan d

,
and s e a ( 4 ) d e creasi n g his foreign markets a n d his

,
e xports an d ( 5 ) decreasin g his p roperty value b y

,
surplus congestio n The tariff is a treme n dous factor

.
in th e productio n cost o f the farmer as it is i n his

livin g costs Th e re is scarcely an article which h e
.
can purchase f or a n y purpose at a p rice that is n ot

tari ff i nflat e d His agricultural machin ery was
.
place d on th e free list while higher duties w ere im L

pos e d on all the materials e n t e rin g i n to the same ,
and th e fact that the man ufacturer domin at e s the

world compels th e farmer to pay high tariff p ric e s
-
j ust the same While th e i n evitab le logic o f high

.
tariffs is that home productio n should no t excee d

home co n sumptio n ul trapro t ect ionis ts are strivin g
,
t o expan d the ex p orts o f industry whil e they are

advisin g th e farmer to r e strict his output t o th e
home dema n d They tell him that he should b e
.
co n tent with home markets I n the first place th e

.
,
’
farmer s home mark et is secure regardless of tari ffs ;
,
seco ndly o f what co n cer n is th e home o r any oth e r

,
market t o the farmer un less he can sell at a price

ab o ve the cost o f p roduction " Th e farmer is in t e r
est ed in p rices a b ove all else High tari ff advo cates
- .
also tell the farmer th at his colla p se i n 19 2 1 w as

primarily due to c ommercial dep ression wh e r e as i n
,
truth the commercial dep ress ion w as primarily du e

to th e agriculture collapse an d loss o f purch as ing
Th e p roposed farm relief l e gislation u n der con

sideratio n b y t h e Sixty n in th Congress brought forth
f
-
widesp read dis cu ssio n in the pr ess o f th e c ountry .
Th e farm pre ss was p articularly vigorous in its ad

v o cacy o f remed ial law s Most o f the editorial co m
.
me n t refe rred t o th e in equality o f th e tari ff schedul e s

in justifyin g a subsidy for agriculture The Pro .
g re s si v e Farme r a,
n ably edited and wid e ly re ad
pap e r in th e South an aly z es the situatio n as follows :
,
“
Th e high tari ff t en ds t o lesse n the importatio n
o f for e ign goods an d th us by les se n in g competition
, ,
h as in cr e ased th e price o f man u factur ed goods

plows clothin g e tc Immi gration laws have shut
, ,
.
o ut for e ign labor a n d this i n tur n h as e n abled o ur
American labor e rs to charg e and get more for their

serv ic e s Th e farmer is p ayi n g his part o f what it
.
co sts to promote the welfare o f th e se classes He .
has b e en tax ed in order th at th e lif e of th e Ameri

can lab o r e r mi gh t b e m ade more pl e asan t a n d to
mak e even more exorbitant the profits o f the Am e ri
can man ufacturers He has su ff ered all th is for th e
.
sak e of a prot e ct ive tar iff but whe n it comes t o

,
makin g farm pri ces higher the tariff hits o nly on

,
‘
’
o n e cylin der I t hel p s co n siderably with ce rtain
.
min or cro ps a n d to a certain ext en t with more im

,
portan t o ne s bu t an y impartial stude n t o f agricul

,
tural eco n omics wi l l tell yo u th at the tariff costs the

farm e r much mor e than it brings him .
“
It is this conditio n of aff airs th at h as m ad e far
m
ers dissat isfi e d and brough t about a strong d e man d
for l e gislation that will reli e ve the situatio n All .
over th e country f arm ers are saying I buy i n a pro ,

‘
t e ct e d mark e t but whe n I sel l I take pot luck with

th e rest o f th e world Pro t ect me as y ou hav e th e
.
l ab orer an d th e m an ufacturer or quit h e lpin g thes e

'
’
other t w o class e s at my expense Sin ce the manu.
fact urers of the E ast will n ot agree t o a ny r educt io n

o f th e tari ff the farmers o f the Wes t are deman d
,
in g agricultural l e gi slatio n to level th in gs u p They .
in sist that th e G overn men t give them some so rt of

THE I NFLU EN C E OF THE TAR IFF 15 1
legis l ation that will do for th e farmer what the

tar iff has done f or the manufacturer ”
.
The de f end e rs o f th e protectiv e tariff balan c e the

acc o unts o f agriculture and industry qu i t e d iff e r
e ntly from thos e who oppose th i s pol i cy A n article .
by Congr e ssman W i ll R Wood in the N e bras k a

.
Farmer i ssu e o f Jun e 19 2 6 discusses the benefits

, , ,
o f a prot e ctiv e tariff t o farm producers He calls .
atte n tion t o the fac t that exports of farm products

hav e declin ed from of our total exports in
19 2 1 to in 19 2 5 This is a decr e ase i n v al ua
.
t i o n of Wh en we turn from e xports

to imports att en tio n is called t o the fact that the
aggregate valu e in 19 2 5 w as Of
this total or 5 7 was admitt e d t o
this cou n try duty fre e O f the .
worth o f goods on which a duty w as p ai d ,
o r 5 0 70 wer e agricultural products o n wh i ch
a duty w as charged to p rotect th e farmers o f th i s

cou n try This left
. worth of imports
other than agri cultural p roducts on which a duty
was paid but o f this amou n t
,
repre
sent ed such luxuries as mahogan y cut glass an d , ,
diamo n ds The farmers prosp e rity i s no t aff e cted

.
’
by th e tariff on these l u xuries .
Th e advocat e s o f protect i on con te n d th at the

poli cy is as nec essary to agricultur e as to industry .
Foreign competitio n is growin g rapidl y in th e pro

duct i on o f farm prod ucts The wheat area o f Can
.
ada A ustralia and th e A rgen ti n e is b ein g ex te n ded

, ,
rap i dly Da iry production i n South Amer i ca and
.
N e w Z ealand cont in ues to e xpand Live stock pro

.
d ucers i n this country are n ow compelled t o comp e t e

i n f o r e ign mark e ts w i th those i n Brazil the Argen
,
t i n e and oth e r countrie s E nglish cotton spinn ers

,
.
ar e u n d e rtakin g to en courage cotton pr oduct io n in

many parts o f th e British E mpire .
Land values and high production costs make it

imp o ss ibl e for th e Am e rican farm p rodu ce r t o co m
'
p e t e succ e ssfully in th e markets o f other countr ie s

wh e r e land is ch e ap a n d the labor cost low Th e r e
.
fo r e th e prosperity o f th e American farmer is d e

,
p e nd e nt upon th e policy o f p rotection .
It is also contend e d that prot e ction t o manufac

turin g interests in sures reaso n ably high wag e s and a
r elat i v e ly high standard o f livin g for in dustrial
w o rk e rs Th e farmer b ene fi t s by the prosper i ty o f
.
i ndustrial ent e rpris e because th e p urchas in g pow e r

“
o f produ c e rs is r e lativ e ly high
. The Amer i can
” “
farmer says Will R Wood can r educ e the A m e r
,
.
,
i can wag e ear ne r t o th e level of the E uropean if he

so d e sires by ass i stin g those wh o would tear dow n
our tariff wall s an d he should do this if he figur e s

,
that by so doin g h e will b e the gain er i n the t ransac

tion An y time the A meri can f armer d e sires to e x
.
change the Am eri can w age e arn er who e ats b ee f and

v e al an d pork and mutton and consum es 15 4 pounds
o f i t a y e ar for th e E uropean work in gman w i th h i s
pov e rty str i ck e n standard o f living ; any time the

-
A m e rican farmer d e sires t o exch an ge the Ameri can

TH E I NFLU EN C E OF TH E TAR IFF 153
industrial work e r who eats whit e b read thr e e times

,
a day for the E urop e an laborer w h o e ats it not at

, ,
all h e can take a lo n g st e p in that direction by

,
ass i sting the e nemi es o f prot e ctiv e tar iff syst e m t e ar

down th e tariff walls .
“
A n y time the A merica n farmer desir e s to buy all
o f his manufactured goods from for e ign producers
because he ca n get th e m for l e ss mon e y h e ca n ,
realiz e his d e sire by vot in g to rep e al th e protect i v e

tari ff now in fo rc e and e ffect But wh e n he do e s so
.
,
he not only throws his b e st cust om e r out o f w o rk

but h e enables all Am e rican c o nsum e rs t o purchas e
th e ch e ap wheat from Canada ch e ap dairy products ,
from all quart e rs o f th e gl ob e and cheap m e at pr o d

,
uc t s from th e pamp as gr ass plains o f A rg e ntin e .
Ame rican industry and A m e rican agricultur e are

“
int e rdep en d e nt A m e rican industry can n ot inj ure

.
o r d e stroy A merican agricultur e without striking at
th e agricultural pe ople wh o purchase o n th e whol e

m
, , ,
4 5 p e r c e nt o f th e products o f A m e rican ills and

factori e s America n agricultur e can not injur e o r
.
d e stroy Ame rican in dustry without strik i ng at th e

w o rkers in in dustry who purchas e 90 p e r cent o f
,
” 7
th e output o f the American farm This in bri e f
.
, ,
is the typical argumen t for prot e ctio n by th o s e who

reflect the view p oin t o f in dustrial producers But .
it i s o n ly fair t o say that th e organ i z e d f armers of

th e nati o n do no t acc e pt this analysis o f th e s i tua
tion .
Se e Co ng ressiona l R eco rd p age 12885 for J uly 3 1926

'
.
, , ,
154 THE GREEN R IS ING
It goes without sayin g that it is an im p o ssibility
to adj ust the ta riff on manufactured goods and farm
products in such a way as to equalize the b en e fits of
th e syst e m But it should b e obse rved that the ex
.
t e nsion of tariff sch e dul e s to farm products has no t

had th i s e nd in vi e w primarily Th e exten s i o n o f
.
dut i es to eggs butter milk oranges lemons beef

, , , , , ,
wool sugar b ee ts and other articl e s has b een rather

, , ,
in th e form o f a concess ion to th e f arm prod u ce rs t o

reco n cile them to th e gen eral tariff p rotection p olicy
o f the cou n try .
Th e widespr e ad b e li e f of farm producers that th e

,
tariff h as b ee n d e t ri m e ntal to th e m h as b ee n one

,
o f th e most un iversal causes o f u n r e st and dissat is
faction among those wh o till th e soil .Farmers

throughout th e country have kn own th at power ful
influ e nces have bee n brought to bear upon Congres s
in ahnost every se ssion to p rovide protect io n t o
manu f acturin g enterprise I t is a well k n own fact
.
that in th e main thes e e ff or t s hav e proved su cc ess

ful As a result o f this policy the farmer has bought
.
most of the things h e n e eds in a prot ected market

and sold th e prod ucts o f h is la b or in a fr ee trade
-
market This h as s e rio usly affected adversely th e

.
relative exchan ge betwee n th e product s the farmer

has to dispose of an d the nec essities h e must buy .
’
The farm bloc in Co n gress the n umerous farmers
,
organ izatio n s through out the cou n try an d the r adi

,
cal mov e me n ts o f farmers from time to time have

bee n exp r es sions of so me of the farmers p rotes ts ’
TH E I NFLU EN C E OF TH E TAR IFF 15 5
agai n st govern me n tal p olicies that were regarded as

u n just a n d unfair t o agri cultural p rodu cers The
.
Amer i can p rotective tar iff p olicy h as much t o ao

cou n t for in stimulatin g dis co n t en t an d diss atisfac
tio n amo n g o ur farm p o p ulation I n subsequ en t
.
chapt ers an e ff ort will b e made to an aly ze the form

wh i ch this protest has tak en fro m t im e to time
throughout the last half-century o f this co n flict .
C H A PT E R VIII
F ARM ERS O RGAN I ZE FO R POLITIC A L A CTIO N
Th e land policies o f the governme n t railro ad sub

,
sid ies and th e changin g ta ri ff sch e dul e s cau se

,
d th e
farm popul ation of the country to f eel the inequali
ti e s r e sultin g from legislatio n The S pirit o f ln
.
dividualism o n th e p art o f the farmer had gr adually

d e clin ed as th e rural population incr e ased and the
m e chan ical a n d social agen ci e s promoting sol i darity
d e v e loped By th e e n d of the fi rst decade after the
.
clos e o f th e C i vil War cond i t i ons w e re ripe f or defi

,
n i t e political action on th e part o f the farm e rs .
A ll that w as n ee d e d to brin g all th e lat e nt fo r ce s

o f rural li fe i nto act i on w as a r e al or i magin ary
common cause Th e financ i al d e pr e ssion o f 18 73
.
supplied th i s caus e and start ed a mov e m e nt th e sig

n ifi c an ce o f which has n ot yet b ee n real i z e d fully .
H aworth in comme n tin g upo n the und e rlyin g

,
caus e s o f th e n ew agraria n te n dencies o f this pe riod ,

“
says : G radually disco ntent spr e ad For a score o f
.
generatio n s An glo -Saxo n s had been travelli n g the

stony road to political equalit y an d in th eory at
,
l e ast th e goal h ad bee n attain ed But me n wer e

.
b e gin nin g to realize that political equal i ty was a

p oor thin g unl e ss through it they could o b tain som e
156
F ARM ER S O RGAN I ZE FO R A CTIO N 15 7
th in g approachin g e quality o f eco n omic op p ortun ity .
Thus th e old questio n o f equalit y came t o the fro n t

agai n but with a ne w face Po p ulism progres siv
,
.
,
ism soci al i sm Bolsh e v i sm w er e all man ifestatio n s

, , ,
” 1
o f th i s ne w struggle for human rights .
Class conscious n ess grew rapidly i n almost every

s e ct i on of th e Un it e d S tates k ni n ediat el y after 187 0 .
I ndustrial labor orga n i z ed for th e purp ose of in

cr e asing its b argainin g power with capitalistic i n
t eres t s Labor unions u n dertook t o co e rce their
.
fe llow craftsmen to j oin their organizations Capi .
t al is t s ad o pted the policy o f the comb i n e both f or ,
financi al pro fi ts an d for in creasin g eco n omic a n d

p o lit i cal power The farmers finally realiz ed that
.
th e ir i n dividualis m had made th e m ine ff e ct ive as

an influence i n politics an d i n the busin ess relations
a ffe ct i ng th e ir ow n in teres ts .
Wh i l e fi n an ci al corporations labor un i o n s and , ,
farm organizations were develop ing conscious soli

dar i ty i n th e ir o w n respectiv e groups th e mutual ,
i nt e r e sts b e tw e en cap i tal in dustr i al labor an d f arm

, ,
e nt e rpris e wer e disr e gard e d al most c o mpl e t ely Th e .
bala n ce o f po w er w as clearly on the side o f th e

w e althy combi n es The great corp oratio n s which
.
rap i dly develo p ed in to t rusts used the machi ne ry

o f gov e rn m en t t o a c complish their ends Th ey op .
posed limitatio n on w or k in g hours ; they fought f ac

t o ry r e gulat i on of all k inds ; th e y r e si st e d gov
1
The Uni t ed S tates in Our Own Time s , 1865 -1 9 2 0, C ha p XXI V
.
,
p . 50 1 .
158 THE GREEN RISI NG
ern mental r e gulations Influential lobb i es wer e
.
mai n tain ed at th e n atio n al and state capitals dur

in g the sessio n s of Congr es s an d th e several sta te
l e gislatures a n d aggressive attemp t s w e r e made t o
,
co n trol political co n ve n tio n s n omin ations for polit i

,
cal offi ces a n d not in freque n tly publi c official s were

,
in timi dated a n d sometimes bribed in a n e ff ort t o

d efeat all forms of le gislatio n in ten ded to promote
social justi ce b etw ee n all classes .
The obj ective o f all organ iz ed effort was relief

through cl ass legislatio n I n dustrial labor an d agr i
.
cultural produ cers had realiz ed that for nearly a

ce n tury special in t er ests had ap p eal ed to Congress
for advan tageo us tari ff duties for m an ufacturin g en
t erpris es an d for all k inds o f subsid i es for tran sporta
t i on com p an ies and oth e r corporate in t e res t s Th e .
b e lief had s p read t o all e l e ments o f th e populat i on

that legislatio n was th e only m e ans f or equalizin g
“
e conomic opportunity . The idea that p e rman ent
r e lief from oppressive cond i t i o ns could be obtain ed
”
o n ly through gover n me n tal in t erven tio n says B ,
.
P D eWit t slo wl y gain ed grou n d Those who pro

.
“
,
.
pos e d the id ea at fi rst were called revoluti o n ists a n d

socialists a n d were regarded as visionaries Soon .
,
however th e gov e rn me n t was ap p ealed to in various

,
ways to chan ge existin g c on ditio n s R ailro ads could

.
b e curbed b y commissio n s the tariff could be low

,
er e d corp oratio n s could be di ssolved in comes co ul d

, ,
be tax ed The p eo p le were under the delusio n th at

.
they own ed the govern me n t ; they had us ed it little

F ARMER S O RGAN I ZE FO R A CTIO N 15 9
now , they though t it would ha v e to succo r them

,
.
G overn m en t a n d legisla tio n w ould bring in the mil

l ennium
” 2
.
There was no el eme n t in our p o p ul atio n wh o b e

l iev ed this more fi rml y tha n the farmers They .
had come t o feel a dee p se n se o f eco n omic in justice .
They orga n i z ed for political act io n Wh ile the .
methods th e y adopted to accomplish th eir e n ds

have changed from time to time through out the
past fi fty y e ars they have been active in politics
,
.
Part o f th e time they have e xerted their in flue n ce

through the two ol d party organizat i ons and oth er ,
times they have reb elled a n d attempt e d t o aecom

p l ish th e ir e nds through parties of their o w n .
The B eginning f
o Po litical Pro tes t
In 18 5 8 a co n fer en ce o f farmers w as h eld at Ce n
tral ia Illi n ois for the p urpose o f p rotestin g agai n st
, ,
excessively high freigh t rates This w as n in e year s

.
before the organ izatio n o f th e G range But the .
Civil War was n ear at han d a n d the in teres t and

e n ergies o f th e peopl e soon were absorb ed com
p l e t el y i n the cha n gi n g asp e cts o f national l i fe and
th e conditions cr e ated b y th e gr e at world conflict .
High prices in cid e nt t o th e disturbed conditions also

had the i r e ffect o n farm e r opin ion But a d e cline in
.
p ric e s after the war again focused attentio n on

freight rat e s Th e farm e rs had no t forgotte n their
.
e xp erienc es w i th tran spo rtation compan ie s previous

The P ro gr es siv e M o v eme n t C ha p I p 15
.
, . .
to th e b e ginning o f hostil i ties and prot e st against
,
pr e va ilin g rates was n ot only r e new e d but it was

much more widespr e ad than form e rly Farmers o f .
the We st were producing immens e crops of grain

which th e y were unable t o mark e t b e cause o f the
in ad e quate e quipm en t o f the railroads The pri ces .
o f farm products were s o low that the farm e rs could
not a fford to p ay the fr e igh t from th e farms to th e

mark e t centers The situatio n w as intol e rabl e an d
.
it was in e v itable that som e th ing should b e don e .
Th e railroads naturally resisted all e fforts to re

du ce fre i ght rates They were over -ca pitalized and
.
w e r e e nd e avorin g to p ay dividends o n capital inv e st

m en t i n excess of actual values The railroad offi
.
c ial s h ad lost th e co n fiden c e o f th e p e ople be cause
of fraudule n t practices Their p le as th e refore for

.
, ,
“
impartial co n sid e ratio n f ell o n deaf ears High .
” “
fr e igh t and pas senger rates says H aworth and
, ,
stories of the millions that railway lords were piling

up combin ed to create great hos tility among th e
,
people ; an d th e me n chiefly e n gaged in the man age

m e nt o f railroads—Jay G ould the Vanderbilts, ,
Thomas A Scott Joh n W G arrett an d others

.
,
.
,
w e re in discrimi n ately co n demn ed as a ban d o f fi nan

” 3
c ial pirates .
While this co n troversy betwee n farmers and tran s

“
p o rt at io n compani e s was in progr e ss th e Patrons
,
” “ ”
o f H usban dry ,
familiarly k n own as th e G rangers ,
w as fou n ded in Wash in gto n City in 186 7 Th is .
The Unit e d S ta t es in Our Own Times C hap I p 15 9

,
.
, . .
soci e ty did not gain much importan ce u n til the

p an ic in 18 73 But th e fi n an cial distress o f that year
.
fe d th e flames o f agrarian d i scont e nt and in a short ,
time the in flue n ce o f th e G ran ge spread throughout

th e Middle West I t was not lo n g before the or
.
ga n iz at io n acquired a membershi p of a millio n a n d

a half .
Th e great e st stren gth o f the G ran ger mov ement

d e vel o p ed in those sections wher e distres s w as fe lt
most k e enly an d wh er e the great e st d i ssat i sfact i on
w i th railroad m an ag e m e nt e x i sted Th e states with
.
the most active G ranger organizati o ns includ e d I n

dian a Illin ois M i chigan W i sconsin M i nnesota
, , , , ,
Iowa Missouri Kansas N e bras ka Cal i forn ia and

, , , , ,
O regon .
Whil e the fu n dame n tal caus e o f the rapid devel

o pm en t a n d s p r e ad o f th e G ran ger moveme n t was
th e prot e ct i on o f clas s int e r e sts th e organ i zat i o n was

,
d e clared to be non -pol i t i cal i n charact e r In th e .
d e claration o f purpos e s that was ad o pt e d by th e

N ati o nal G ran ge i n 18 74 th e f ollow ing compr e
,
h ensiv e program was submitted as the objective of

th i s n e w agrarian mov e me n t :
“
We pro pose meetin g tog e th e r tal k in g tog e th e r
, ,
workin g toge ther buying toge th e r selling togeth e r

, , ,
and i n gen e ral act i ng tog e th e r fo r our mutual

, ,
prot e ct i o n and ad vanc e m e nt as occasion may

, ,
”
r e qu i r e .
Th e id e al i stic purpos e s o f th e organi zatio n as out

lin ed i n th is statem e nt did n ot p reven t it from
16 2 THE GREEN R ISING
takin g a d e fin ite positio n u p o n p ublic questio n s af ~
“
fec t in g th e i nterests of farmers The phras e actin g
.
,
together for our mutual protection and advan ce

”
ment m i ght e as il y be in t e rpreted i n such a way as
to in clude advo ca tin g govern me n t r e gulatio n o f
rai lroad rates and the cr e at i on o f st at e rai lro ad c om
,
missions to adjust railroad charges and to exercis e

,
th e influe n ce o f th e G ran ge for or again st all k in ds

o f legislatio n that was regarded as hel p ful or h arm
ful to farm e n t er p rise .
I t w as in evitable that the G ran ger organi z atio n s

would com e in to deadly conflict with the railroad
in ter e sts The membershi p of the organi z ation h ad
.
long felt that the rai lroads were large ly r e sponsible

fo r most o f their eco n omic distress . Th e G ran gers
took th eir case with the railroads to the l e gislatures
of the several stat es Th e y deman ded the cr e atio n
.
o f railroad commiss io n s to re gulat e railroad charges
an d t o su pervise the admin istration o f railroad ao

t iv it ies
. Th e railroad organ iz atio n s resist ed the
e ff orts of th e G ran gers an d denoun ced th e poli cy
of railroad r e gulatio n as co nfi scat ory an d therefore
, ,
un constitut i onal But a n umber of sta t es wer e in

.
fl uenced by th e G rang e r organ i zation t o cr e at e rail

road commiss ions with bro ad sup e rvisory p o w ers t o
regulate railroad transporta tion polic i es Th e con
.
“ ”
s t it ut ional ity o f the so c alled
- G ran ge r Laws came
before th e Supr e me Court in 187 7 an d their validity
was upheld The co urt too k the p osition t hat the
.
s everal states pos se m ed the p ower t o regul a t e rates ,

F ARMER S O RGAN I ZE FO R A CTIO N 163
provid e d th e rat e s w e re n ot made s o l ow as t o

amou n t t o th e confiscatio n o f property .
The farm e rs o f th e West had w on a gr e at victory ,
both in l e gislativ e halls and in th e courts o f th e

c o untry They d e monstrat e d th e ir political str e ngth
.
and r e v e aled the pow e r of co n certed action H ad .
th e y possessed c o n t i nu o us coh e r e nc e th ei r i nflu e nc e

,
would hav e b ee n mor e p e rman e nt and h e lp f ul in

s e cur ing social justic e for thems e lves and th e farm
e rs o f future g e nerations But it w as in this r e sp e ct
.
that th e y r e v e al e d th e ir w e ak ness The pass in g o f

.
th e era of financial d e pr e ss i on weak e n e d th e spir i t

o f clas s conscious n ess among th e farm e rs composin g
th e G range . The i nfluenc e o f th e o rgan i zat i on

gradually d e clin ed as prosperity slowly returne d and
their grie vance s disappeared .
A n a f t e rmath o f th e G ran ge r c o nflict w i th th e

ra ilro ads cam e in 1886 In th e cas e of the Wabash
.
R a i lroad v s Illino i s the U n it e d States Supr e me

.
,
C o urt part i ally revers e d its form e r d e c i s i on in the

“ ”
G ranger Ca ses an d held that th e states had n o
power to r e gula te in terstate commerc e For a t im e .
it s ee m e d that the prin cipal work o f the G ranger

mov e ment h ad bee n brought to naugh t Som e o f .
th e most stri n gent laws r e gulating rat e s w e r e re

p e al e d gradually by th e stat e s But th e pr i nci pl e
.
that rai lroads ar e quasi -public corporat i ons and

subj e ct to r e gulation in th e in t e r est o f pub li c w el fare
had b ee n r e c o gn i z e d too long to b e d i sr e gard e d I n .
st e ad ther e fore o f a complete r e v e rsal o f policy in

, ,
th e stat e s where railro ad c ommissions had b ee n es
t ab l ish e d th e ir power over i n tra -stat e transporta
,
t i on w as either held o r restored The final r e sult of

.
the Wabash cas e was the p as sag e o f th e Interstat e

Comm e rce A ct which had the effect of suppl e m en t
,
in g the work o f the stat e ra i lroad comm i ssions .
While in very r e cent tim e s the I n terstat e C o mm e rc e

Commissio n has ab sorb e d som e o f th e pow e rs o f th e
stat e rai lro ad commi ssions both go v ernment al agen
w
c i es hav e con tin ued to fu n ctio n in the i nt e r e st o f

public welfare .
A grarian ism had w on its fi rst great victory i n th is

cou n try The Patro n s o f Husban dry are e n titled
.
t o the cr e dit for the accomp lishme n t o f this tas k .
M idd le men s ’
Profits and I n teres t R ates
The farmers had other grievan ces b esides th e rail

r o ad situation dur in g the de c ad e from 18 7 7 8 7 that
-
stimulat e d class conscious n ess and d e velop ed a spirit

o f organized p rotest . O n e o f these gr i evan ce s gr ew
o ut o f th e profits o f th ose who p urchased farm prod
uc t s f or r e sal e t o co n sumers The farmer had come

.
to f e el that he w as n ot get t in g his share of the profits

from th e sale o f his produ cts The complain t
.
again st th e middl e man is not new and the prot e st ,
o f th e farmers i n the s e ve n ties was n ot the fi rst
t i me it had b een expressed E very p eri od o f e co

.
n omic depr e ssion has give n emphas is to ine qualities

in th e distributive system A t this time it s eemed
.
that the middleme n h ad carried their system t o un

F ARMER S O RGAN I ZE FO R A CTIO N 165
usual extremes as a mean s o f in creasin g their p ro fi ts

at the e xpe n se o f th e we l l b ein g o f the farm pro
-
ducers .
Th e farmers charged that c ommissio n me n re

sorted to short weights fals e sta n dards of quality
, ,
and secret combin atio n s to p reven t com p etition an d

to d e pr e ss pric es Th e se charges were directed prin
.
cipal l y again st middleme n wh o purchas ed directl y
from the farmers The farmers charged also that

.
they w e re compelled t o p ay u n duly high prices for

f arm impl em ents an d other su p pli e s du e to monopo ,
l is t ic control o f i n dustrial e n terp rise .
A noth e r s e rious complain t made by farmers re

lat e d t o th e high in terest rat e s which they h ad to
pay Th e cr e dit system espec ially in the South and
.
We st at this time was i n tolerable Int e r e st charg e s

.
ran very high There were many d e vices for Shy

.
locking the farmer The most v i cious system w as

.
th e commissary o r p l an tation store wh e r e suppli e s

,
wer e purchased on time The farm e r often paid

.
cr e dit pric e s for the goods h e purchas ed an d i nter e st ,
charge s wer e then added to th e sale price The

/
.
i nt e rest rates ra n as h i gh as 15 or 2 0 per c e nt and

o f ten high e r The farmer did no t always und e r
.
stand just how the credit syst e m w as Op e rat e d But .
h e realized from his return s at th e en d o f th e year

that somethi n g was wro n g .
G rieva n ces resultin g fro m the i n equalities in th e

system o f distributio n a n d the exorb i tant interes t
rates have p ers isted un til our p r ese n t day But .
r e cogn itio n by the farme r o f th e in just i c e in th ese
practic e s durin g the first decad e o f the ir organ i z ed
activi ty has n o t b ee n without s i gni ficanc e . Th e
agrarian prot e st that w as raised more than a hal f a
c e ntury ago h as h ad much t o do with rural cr e dit
l e gislati o n o f r e ce n t t i m e s and co o p e rat iv e mark e t
in g act i viti e s that are wid e ly practiced by farmers
of t o day .
A ll o f th ese gri e vanc e s en rich e d th e soil b f d iscon

t e nt and o ut o f i t sprang a numb e r o f farm o rgan i za
,
t i ons Th e T e xas A lli anc e w as organ iz e d in 18 7 5 ;

.
th e A gri cultural Wh eel appeared in 18 82 ; the Farm

e rs N at i o nal All i an ce came into exist e nc e in 1880 ;
’
and th e Farm e rs Mutual B en e fit A ssoci ation w as

’
f orm e d i n 188 7 E ach o f th e s e organ i zat i o ns e m

.
p h as iz e d the gri e van c e s o f farmers and proposed a

r e m e dy for th e social and e conomic situation .
Conflic ting Farmer Opinion

Two fundam e ntal d i am e trically oppos in g polic ie s
gr aduall y developed in these farm organ iz ations .
The farm e rs o f one school o f publ i c Op in ion h eld

that rural probl e ms w e r e e ss e nt i ally e conom i c and
s o cial and that th eir s o lut i on d e p e nd e d up o n ad
justm e nts w i th i n the contr o l o f th e organ i z e d
f arm e rs th e ms e lv e s Th e oth e r sch o ol o f farm e r
.
o p in i on agr ee d th at th e farm e r s probl ems w e r e

’
e ss e nt i ally e con o mic and social b ut cont e nd ed that

th eir s o lut i on d e pe n ded primar i ly upo n polit i cal
act i on This diff eren ce in view poin t has pers i st e d
.
F ARMER S O RGAN I ZE FOR A CTIO N 167
unti l th e pr e sent time But th e Farm ers A llianc e

.
’
durin g th e p e ri od und e r revi e w gr ad ually absorb ed

most o f th e o th e r farm organ i zat i o ns e xc e pt th e
G rang e This order finally d e spair e d o f sati s factory
.
r esults through i ndep end e nt act i o n and sought r e l ief

by m e ans o f political in flue n ce .
Farmers hav e ado p ted t w o methods of politics

to s e cure their ends Throughout most of o ur h i s
.
tory they have ope rated within th e regular po l itical

party organ i zatio n s But at times th e y have becom e
.
d i sh e art e n e d or impatient a n d organ ized in depend

e nt part ie s through wh i ch they hav e und e rtake n
to accomplish th e ir p urposes H i story cl e arly shows
.
that a poli tical party compos e d primarily o f farm e rs

h as n e v e r b ee n v e ry succe ss ful Farm organizations
.
,
wh e n th e y hav e gon e in to poli tics hav e be e n usually

,
short liv e d and relatively ineffe ctiv e Th e y s ee m

- .
to accompli sh mor e for their memb ership by th e

adoption o f sound busine ss pract i ces and th e ut i liza
t i o n o f r e gular chan n e ls o f gov e rn m e nt than by
att empts at i nd e p e ndent pol i tical act i o n and app e al
t o cla ss consci ousn e ss .
Farm influen ce o n party act i o n i s cl e arly ind i

ca t ed in th e plat f orms o f polit i cal parties through
o ut most o f th e history o f th e cou n try It appears .
most p e rsist en tly in th e platform announcem e nts

w i th r efe re n ce t o the tariff The D emocratic plat
.
“
fo rm o f 184 0 f or e xampl e d e clares that j ust i c e and
, ,
sound policy forbid th e federal govern m e nt t o foster

o ne bran ch o f industry t o th e detriment o f an oth er ,
or to cheri sh the in terests of one p ortio n t o th e in
j ury o f an other portio n o f o ur commo n cou n try .
This doctr i ne is reafi rmed in later platforms of th e

D emocrat i c Party While th e tariff policy o f th e
.
country is not re ferred t o in these platform declara

t i ons th e protect iv e p olicy o f th e gover n m e n t is
,
cl e arly i n the m i nds o f th o s e who formulated this

and s im i lar stat e ments The t w o great p art ie s have
.
d i ff e r e d e ss entially on the tariff iss ue b ut t h e R e

,
publ i can Party has be e n in fluenced greatly by th e

f arm e rs o f th e country with refere n ce t o tariff l e gis
lat i on Th e R epublican p latform for examfl e has
.
, ,
pl edge d protect i on to various grou p s of farmers and

stockmen by advocatin g a p rotectiv e duty on wool ,
sugar and oth e r p rod ucts produc ed by group int e r

,
e sts o f farmers .
T h e i nflu e nce o f th e farm populatio n also is re

v e al e d i n th e party platforms relatin g to oth e r mat
t e rs b e s i d e s th e tar iff D eclarat i ons o n monopol ie s
.
,
th e mon e y qu e stion railro ad consolidation and r e gu

,
lat i on and public lan d p olicies hav e in di cated th e

,
in cr e asing in flu e n ce o f th e farmers in poli tics .
W i th th e growin g politica l pow e r o f th e rural

populatio n in th e West an d the South sin ce the
C iv i l War agrari an pol i ci e s hav e r e c ei v e d mor e at
,
tent i on o n th e part o f e ach of the great poli tical

parti e s Wh il e polit i cal promise has n ot always
.
been synonymous with political performan ce much ,
has b ee n accompl ish e d through party action i n

behalf o f the farm p o p ulatio n .
The fi rst agraria n party platform w as that o f the

Farm e rs A llian ce i n 1890 This is a sign ifican t dat e
’
.
in the history of agrarianism in this cou n try I n .
th e preceding year the Farm e rs Allian ce held a

’
convent i o n in St Louis A plan o f co n federation

. .
with the Knights o f Labor was formul ated an d ,
friendly an d sympathetic overtures were made t o '
th e G r e en back Party and th e Sin gle Tax Party .
Th e plat form adopted i nclud e d d e man ds upo n Con

“
gr e ss t o pas s laws pr e ve n ti n g th e d e ali n g i n futures
”
o f all agricultural and m e chanical prod uctio n and
prohibiting th e alie n ow n ership o f land N o can .
didat es w e r e chosen at this conv e ntion The Farm

.
ers All i an ce had carri e d th e plea o f its m e mb e rship

’
d i r e ctly to the court o f pub l ic opin io n But th e

.
rise o f another a n d larger political o rgani z ation o f

farm e rs made the app e al o f the Farmers A llian ce ’
i n e ffe ct ive and most o f th e farm e rs i d e ntifi e d with

,
the Al l ian c e were ab sorbed i n th e Populists or Peo ’
’
pl e s Party which e nter e d th e political are n a about
,
the sam e time .
By this time great groups of farm e rs had r e ached

th e definit e c o nclus i on that the r e li ef th e y sought
could no t b e obtained through the ol d party organ
izat ions . Millions o f farmers broke with the ol d
political organiz atio n s a n d formed a n e w party I n .
th e chapter that follows this departure in o ur A meri

can polit i cal h i story w i ll b e surv ey e d and its influ
e nc e upon o ur natio n al life will b e appraised .
C H A PT E R I X
AGRAR I AN P ARTI E S AN D TH E I R POLICI E S
Th e agraria n mov e ments that started in the s ev “
e nti e s w e r e not primarily in tend e d as political or

g a n i z at i.o n s The G rang e b e gan as a conservativ e
farm mov e ment who se prin cipal purposes w e re to
promot e th e e ducat i onal and social int e rests o f its
m e mb e rs When the G ran g e chan g e d its obj e ctiv e
.
to e c o nom i c and p o l i tical r e form th e organ izat i o n

,
b e gan to d e cli ne Th e Farm e rs Allian ce had much

.
’
th e same h i story B ut the polit i cal influ e nce o f th e

.
A llian ce b e came much great e r than that e v e r at

t ain ed by th e G range . H owever the p e riod o f its
,
polit i cal in fluen ce w as v e ry short Th e A llian c e .
e x e rt e d cons i d e rabl e in flu e n ce in th e e l e ction o f

1890 but its declin e was rapid aft er this date
,
The .
“ ” ’
Al l i anc e w as th e f orerunn e r o f the Peopl e s Party ,
which b e cam e th e first gr e at farm e rs pol i tic al o r ’
g a n iz a t io n i n th i s country .
The Pe opl e s Agrarian Party

’
Th e P e ople s Party was compos e d o f th e politi

’
cally active farm e rs who had be e n ide n t ifie d with

the Farm e rs All i an ce the Grange and th e G r e en
’
, ,
17 0
AGRAR I AN P ARTI E S AN D TH E I R POLICI E S 17 1
back Party E co n omic co n diti ons were quite favor

.
’
able for the ris e of a stro n g farmers party at th i s
tim e Finan cial distress was w idespr e ad among th e
.
f arm population The prices o f farm products w e r e

.
low mortgag e s were b ein g fo reclos e d o n many f arms

, ,
and th e farm e rs were concern ed ab out th e causes o f

'
th ei r finan cial distress The ne w party naturally .
made gr e at h e adway in th e W e st and South wh e r e ,

“
th i s financial distress w as great e st Kansas th e .
,
”
moth e r o f rad i cal moveme n ts was th e center o f ,
its gr e atest activity .
Th e first nati o n al conv e ntion of the Populi st

’
Party or th e N ational Pe opl e s Party w as held at
, ,
Omah a N e braska July 2 -5 18 9 2

,
Th e platfo rm
, ,
.
ad o pt e d at this conven tion summariz ed in vigorous

languag e th e principal gri e vanc e s o f th e peopl e .
Th e d i ssat i sfaction with th e ol d part ie s was ex

“
pr e ssed as foll ows : Th e y hav e agr e ed toge th er t o
i gn or e i n th e comin g camp aign e v e ry issu e but o ne
, ,
.
Th e y prop o s e t o drown th e outcri es o f a plund e red

p e o pl e with the uproar o f a sham battle ov e r the
tar i ff so tha t capital ists corporations national
,
.
, ,
banks rings trusts water e d s tock the d emo n etiza

, , , ,
tio n o f silver and the oppr e ssions o f the usur e rs

,
may all b e lost sight o f They p ropose t o sacrifice .
o ur homes lives and ch ildr e n o n th e al t ar o f Mam

, ,
mon ; t o destroy th e multitude i n order t o secure

”
corruptio n fu n ds from th e millio n aires .
In anoth e r conn e ction i n th e platform th e stat e ,

“
m e nt is made that we m e et in th e midst o f a n ation
brought to th e verg e o f moral pol i t i cal and mat e , ,
”
r i al rui n Th e charge is m ade that c o rruption is
“
wid e spr e ad th e newspape rs ar e subsidiz ed
,
o ur ,
homes cov e r e d with m o rtgage s labor impov e r i shed , ,
and th e land co n cen trating in the hands o f the capi

”
talists . In m o st specifi c terms this platform giv e s .
e xpr e ssion to the farm e rs gr ie van ce s as f ollows :

’
,
“
O ur annual agricultural pr o duct ions amount to bil
li o ns o f dollars in value which must w i thin a few
"
w e eks o r months b e e xchang e d for billions o f dollars

o f commodities consumed i n their production ; th e
e xisting curr e ncy supply is wholly i n ad e quat e to

mak e this e xchange Th e results ar e falling prices
.
,
the formation o f combin e s and rings th e impov er ,
ishment o f th e producing class

”
.
O ther s p ecifi c and at th e tim e radical po litical

, ,
polici e s advocated by th e del e gates to this conv e m

t i on included a demand for a graduat e d in com e tax ,
postal savin gs ban ks public ownership o f tel e graph

,
and telephone systems in itiativ e and r e fe r e ndum

, ,
currency r e form a n d th e fr ee and unli m i t e d c o i nag e

,
o f silver and gold at th e ratio o f sixt e en to on e .
Thes e politi cal pro n ou n cem en ts cl e arly indicate that

the farmers throughout a great s e ction o f th e coun
try had bee n tra n s f ormed from the most cons e rva
tive t o the most r adical el e m e nt in the population
o f the cou n try .
The Populist Party n omi n ated Jam es B Weaver .

,
o f Iowa for Presid e nt and Jam e s G Fie ld o f V i r

, ,
.
,
gin ia f or Vice Pr e sident

,
G e neral W e av e r had be en
.
AGRARI AN PAR TI ES AN D THE I R POLICI ES 173
th e presi de n tial can d i date o f the G reen b ack Party

in 1880 He w as an able speake r a n d made h i s ap
.
p e al d i r e ctly t o the p eo p l e A t the gen eral el e ctio n

.
in 189 2 the Po p ulist can didate received ov e r a mil

l i o n popular vot es and t we nty -t w o electoral votes .
“ ” “
Fo r the only time says Fred E Hayn es betw ee n
,
.
,
18 60 and 19 12 a third -party candidate h ad w o n a

,
p lac e in the electoral college O f the

. millio n p c pu
lar vot e s over ,
were cast in the Wester n an d
” 1
South e rn S ta t es The e lectoral votes for th e
'
Po pul i st ca n didates wer e c ast in the W e st an d far

W e st Kansas cast te n Colorado f our Idaho three
.
, , ,
N e vada three an d on e each w as cast i n O rego n an d

,
N o rth Dakota .
’
Th e large po pular v ote cast for the People s Party
candidat e s in 189 2 made a profound impr e ssio n o n
th e politi cal leaders o f both o f the ol d p oliti cal par
t ie s an d caused th e greatest co n cer n t o politician s
and e spe c i ally t o co n gress men an d legislators The .
party had b e e n ridiculed at first a n d the p latform

was d e nou n c e d as socialist i c But the time h ad
.
co m e wh e n t hi s new e xpr e ss i on o f agrarianism h ad

to b e tak e n seriously I t b e came incr e asingly evi
.
d e nt imm e d i at ely aft e r th e gen eral el e ction o f 189 2

that o ne o r th e oth e r o f th e ol d partie s would b e
com e su fficie ntly pr o gr e ssiv e to make an app e al to
th e vot i ng str e ngth of t h e Po p ulist Party The .
p o pular vote had be e n v e ry clos e between Cleve

land th e succ e ssful d e mocrati c ca n didat e a n d Be n
, ,
1
S o cial P o litics in the Unite d S tat es C hap VI I p 165
.
, . .
jamin H arrison th e republican ca n didate in 189 2
,
.
O ut o f a total o f over t en millio n vot e s cas t Cleve ,

’
land s popular vot e e xce ed e d H arrison s by only ’
The farm party ther e fore cl e arly h e ld th e , ,
balan c e o f pow e r an d th e r e cogni t i on o f th is f act

,
is r e v e aled in th e declaratio n o f b oth part i es in 1896

and 1900 an d in much l e gislat i o n both sta te a n d ,
national that has b ee n enacted sin ce the Peo p le s

,
’
Party first gav e exp ress i on t o its politi cal faith in

189 2 .
G en e ral co n ditions throughou t the cou n try b e

tw ee n 18 9 2 and 189 6 were f avorabl e to th e co n tin
u e d growth of this agrarian party O ne o f th e most .
s e r i ous fina n c i al crises that th e country ever experi

en ce d o cc urr e d in 18 9 3 During th i s y e ar 5 73 banks
.
and trust compani e s fai l e d 2

H undreds of commer .
c ial firms fail e d trad e an d in dustry wer e disorgan

,
iz ed , and busine ss d e pr e ss i on and un e mploym e nt

produce d some o f the most serious strik e s i n o ur
h i story Th e gr e at rail road str i k e o f 1894 and
.
Coxey s army refl e cted the w i despread n atur e o f th e

’
distr ess and th e labor unr est The farm e rs o f th e .
W e st and th e Southw e st w e re in volved in the g e n

e ral d e pr e ss i on that prevailed But in addit i o n to .
th e ge neral financi al s i tuatio n f arm e rs e xper ien ced ,
a fail ur e o f th e corn crop in 1894 and th e declin e ,
i n th e E urop e an d e mand fo r wheat caus e d the price

t o f all t o l e ss tha n fifty cents p e r bushel .
’
B o ga rt s ’
The Ec o no mic His t o r y o f t he Unit e d St ta e s, C hap .
XXV I p , . 3 99 .
AGRAR IAN P ARTI E S AN D TH E I R POLICI E S 17 5
The repeal of the silver claus e of th e Sh e rman A ct

at th i s t i me arous e d th e antagonism o f many p e opl e
i n th e S o uth and W e st who had c o m e to b e l ie v e that
free co i nag e o f silv e r would gr e atly r e li e ve th e fi nan
c ial distress Th e pri ce o f silv e r had fall e n West
. .
ern silv e r mines w e r e closed and min in g e mploy ee s

w e r e throw n o ut o f w o rk That th e mon e y qu e stio n
.
w o uld b e com e th e pr e d o mi nan t i ssu e i n th e cam

’
p gai n of 18 9 6 w a s quit e evid e nt Th

. e P e o pl e s
Party had rais e d th e m o n e y qu e sti o n in th e plat
form o f 18 92 and i t b e cam e th e pr e do mi nant i ssu e
,
in th e party cont e sts fo ur y e ars lat er .
The d e mocratic platform of 189 6 w as cl e arly de

sign ed t o a bsorb th e str e ngth o f th e Populist Party .
“ ”
The Cross o f G old spe e ch o f William J Bryan .
committed this party to the fr ee coinage of silv e r .
The party plat f orm d e clared that the act of de

mon e tizing silv e r r e sult e d among other thin gs in
, ,
the fall in th e pric e s o f farm -products Many of .
th e lead i ng ec onomists o f the cou n try r e garded th i s

causal r e lationship as e co n omic sophistry But it .
had th e e ffe ct in t e n ded by the p olitical lead e rs o f

,
th e D e mocratic Party Bryan b e came th e candidat e

.
o f th e Democrat i c Party and th e Populists i n th eir

, ,
conv e ntion inst e ad o f nomin atin g an in depend e nt

,
cand i dat e in dorsed the candidat e o f th e Democratic

,
Party Th e R ep ublica n Party was comp e lled to

.
d efe nd the gold s t an dar d McKinl ey b ecame th e

.
standard bear e r o f this party I n the general ele c

.
tion Bry an rec e ived v o t es an d M cK in l ey

‘
,
r e ce ived Bryan received 17 6 electoral
vot e s which in cluded all the Souther n S tat e s ex
,
c e pt Marylan d West Virginia K en tucky and most

, , ,
o f th e W e stern States The Populist Party un

.
doubted ly co n tributed gr e atly to th e popular vot e

o f W J Bryan but its congre ssional str e ngth had
. .
,
d e cli n ed In th e Fif ty fi fth Congre ss ( 189 7 ) there

.
-
fi
were only v e populist s en ators and twenty one rep
-
resent at iv es .
Th e Populist Party main tain ed its in depe n d e nt

political organ ization an d particip ated in th e n a
t ional campaign s o f 1900 1904 and 19 0 8
, ,
Bu t th e .
split in the party organ izatio n in 19 00 further

w e ak e ned the str e ngth o f the agraria n forces The .
pr e domin an t e l ement o f th e party again i n dors e d

Bryan a n d su ppo rted th e democratic tick et Th e .
“ ”
middl e o f th e ro ad factio n cast less than
- - -
votes in th e g en eral election o f 1900 I n 1904 the .
Populist Party n omin ated Thomas E Watson o f .

,
G eorgia who p olled

,
votes but the party
,
str e n gth w as a b out spen t and in 19 08 th e Populi sts

,
po ll e d only votes This was the last time

.
th e P o pulists held a n ational co n ve n tion or partici

pated as an i n d e pe n den t organ iz atio n in p olitics .
The history o f th e fi rst agrarian political party

i n the Unit e d States w as a shor t one It was activ e
.
as a p olitical organ iz atio n from 189 2 t o 1908— a

p eriod o f o n ly six tee n years. I ts real i n flue n ce i n
politics is co n fi n ed ev e n t o a shorter period but t he ,
ac tual accom p lishme n ts o f the p arty ca nn ot be

AGRARI AN P ARTI E S AN D TH E I R POLICI E S 17 7
m e asured by its sp an o f years or it s n umerical

stren gth A surv ey o f th e platform dema n ds o f this
.
agrarian party radical as they app eared when first

,
advocat e d reveals the fact that most o f them have

,
become a p art o f our n atio n al an d sta t e policies .
A s i de from th e i n flu ence exerted by th e Populist

o n nat i onal pol i t i cs th e sta t e organizatio n s o f th i s
,
party e x e rt ed cons i derabl e in flu e nce o n l e gislation

in many o f th e stat e s esp e cially in th e Middl e W e st
,
and i n th e South S in c e 18 9 2 th e farm e r has b e

.
c o m e a pr e domin ant f actor in party pol i tics H is .
in t e rests and w i sh es h av e bee n tak e n i n to account i n

th e formulation o f platform d e mands and in legisla
t i v e programs o f the n ational an d stat e gov e rnm e nts .
Whatev e r political h e r e sies may have be en adv o

c at ed by th e Po p ulist Party th e r e is n o d e nying th e
,
fact that it has l i be ral i z ed th e think in g o f th e Am e r

i can p e o pl e and prom o t e d soci al j ustic e by m e ans o f
much r e medial l e gislat i on .
The N onp artis an League
Sinc e the disap pearance o f the Popul i st Party in

19 0 8 th e re h as no t b ee n another s e parate agrar i an
party unt i l th e app e aranc e o f th e N onpart i san
L e ague in 19 15 I n f act th e N onpart i san Le agu e
.
,
has not b e com e national a n d h as not part i c i pat e d i n

nati onal politics i n the sam e way and t o th e same
e xtent as the Populist Party d i d Th e absorpt i on o f
.
th e Popul i st Party b y th e D e mocrat i c Party und e r

th e l e ad e rsh i p of William J B rya n had th e e ffect o f
.
l i b e raliz i ng th e polici e s Of th e latt e r party But th e .
d e v e lopm e nt o f th e pr o gressiv e mov e m e nt in th e

R e publ ican Party through the nation al l e adersh i p
o f Th e odor e R oosev e lt caus ed some r e adj ustment in
the o l d politi cal organiz at i o n The G rang e rs th e .

,
G r ee nback e rs and th e Populists appear e d to hav e

,
c ulminated in th e Progr e ssiv e Party mov e ment o f
H ow e ver th e r e forms advo cat ed by th e Pro

,
g r e ss iv e Party did not e mphas i ze th e e sse n tial ag

rarian po l ici e s th at had b e e n advocat ed by th e
Populis t s In fact The Pr o gr e ss iv e s combin e d th e

.
,
H amilton syst e m o f nat i on al ism w i th the Je tte r

” 4
s o n ian princ i pl e o f popular rule .
In an e ff ort to make governm en t more responsive

t o popular Opini on th e Progr e ss i v e Party advocat e d ,
d ir e ct primari e s th e in itiativ e and r efe re n dum th e

, ,
r e call o f e xecutiv e an d l e gislat iv e officers an d o f

j udicial d ecisions A comprehensive program o f .
e conom i c an d s o cial reform which i ncluded wo rk

m e n s co mpensat i o n a mini mum wage for wom e n
’
,
work e rs and prohib i t i on o f child labor was als o

,
advocat e d Th e farm e r s problems wer e n o t empha

.
’
sized in th e platform of the Progr e ssiv e Party But .
th e advo cacy of a down ward rev isi on of th e tariff ,
cons e rvation o f th e nat i on s natural r e sourc e s and ’

,
fe deral control o f in dustrial corporations e ngaged i n

in terstate commerc e undoubt e dly brought t o th i s
’
See P . B . D w itt s
e
’
The P r gr
o M o v emen t C hap IV
es si v e ,
. .
‘
Haw o rt h s The Unit ed
’
St ta es in Our Own Times C hap X I X
,
.
,
p . 3 75 .
party th e sympath e t i c support o f a large e lem e nt o f

the farm population .
Th e issues w e re v e ry cl e arly draw n b etwee n the

cons e rvative R e publican Party and the Progressiv e
Party which was composed o f th e liberal R epubli
,
cans throughout th e cou n try Ta f t became the can

.
d idat e of the R epublican Party in op p osition t o

R oo s e v e lt th e candidat e o f th e Progr e ssive Party
,
.
Woodrow Wi l son b e cam e th e Democrat i c cand i dat e .
“ ”
H e advocated th e N ew Fr ee dom wh i ch repre ,
s en ted an intermediat e position b e tw een the ultra

co n s e rvativ e positio n o f the R e publ i can organ iza
t i on a n d the extr eme l ib e ral pos i t i on o f R oos e v e lt
,
and his followers The r e sults o f th e e l e ction show

.
that th e e lectorate divid ed its strength b e tw ee n th e

two o l d party organ izations on the bas i s o f normal
party alignmen ts excep t i n th e cas e o f the farm ers
,
who w e re normally R epublican A s a g e n e ral thing

.
th e y des e rt ed Ta f t and th e o l d R e publ i can Party

organi zat i o n a n d voted f or R oos e velt
’
W i lso n s el e ct i o n comm i tt e d the nation to a pro
gram o f sane ly progr e ss ive legi slat i on including du e
,
c o nsideratio n to econom i c and soc i al problems af

fec t ing agriculture .
Th e N o n partisa n Leagu e mov e m e nt had its rise ,
gr e at e st e xpans i o n and d e cl i n e w i th i n th e p e r i o d
,
compr e h e nd e d by th e adm i n i strati o n o f Woodrow

Wi lson N o other admin i strat i on i n American his
. .
tory has pass e d so much l e g i slat i o n d ir e ctly favor

,
able t o the in teres t s o f farm e rs as that o f Preside n t s

Wils on But th e s e ctio n s o f the coun t ry w here the

.
N onpartisa n Leag ue had its b e gi n nin g an d most

rapid development were prin cipal ly co n cern ed w ith
eco n omic problems that w e r e r e gional rather th an
national For that reason th e agrarian program o f
.
th e Wilso n admi n istratio n st imulated rather th an

n eutralized th e N onpartisan League movemen t i n
th e Middl e West .
Th e co n ditio n s that gav e ris e to the N o np artisa n

L e ague w ere n ot v e ry diffe rent from thos e that re
s ul t ed i n th e Populist movem en t o f an earlier pe riod .
Th e cause of u n rest pr ec edin g e ach o f th e s e agrarian

political mov e ments w as the belie f that f armers
were bein g exploi t ed by corporat e int e rests .
A graria n p rot e sts of the early p e riod r e sult e d

from u n fair practice s growin g o ut o f tran sportatio n
pol i ci e s o f the railroads Th e d i ssatisfaction that
.
r e sulted in th e organ iz ation o f th e N onpartisan

L e agu e was due to u n fair m e thods o f marketin g
grain a n d other farm produc t s .
The N onpartisa n Leagu e had its b e ginn in g in

N orth Dak ota Farmers had com e to f e el that they
.
w e re th e victims o f many e conomic gri e van c e s For

.
a long time they believed th at th e syst e m and prac

tice s o f mark e tin g th eir grain w e r e un f air an d um
j ust t o the producers Th ey beli e v e d that ban kers
.
,
m e rcha n ts an d profe ssional p o lit i cians were in

,
l e agu e w i th the mill e rs t o e xplo i t th e m

.
Th e p res i dent an d some o f th e pro fe s sors o f th e

State A gricultural College at Fargo w e re th e first
to poin t o ut th e u n fair practices i n the mark etin g

of grain The N orth Dakota Un io n o f th e American
.
Soc ie ty of E quity was organi z ed to promote the co

op e rat iv e e ffort amo n g farmers i n sellin g their p r od
uc t s and b uying supplies . A n umb er o f grain
“ ”
e l e vators were established o n th e E quity P l an .
A d emand cam e from th e f arm e rs in 19 15 to th e

Stat e Le gislatur e to e stablish sta t e ow n ed el evators
-
at the thr e e t e rmi nal mark e ts at Minnea p o li s ,
St Paul and Duluth This qu es tion dev e loped a

.
,
.
bitt e r controv ersy and resulted in the legislature

d e cl i ning to act favorably o n the r e quest .
The farm e rs w e re sorely disap p oin ted ov er the ir

defeat in th e l e gislature an d rese n ted th e attitude
o f those who l e d th e figh t i n op p ositio n to their
program They became co n vinced that legislatio n

.
favorabl e t o th e interests o f farmers w as impossible

und e r the e xistin g party organi z atio n s. The serious
ne ss o f the situat i on seemed to dem an d radical
act i on and th e farm e rs h ad b e com e thoroughly con
,
v in ced o f this fact A ll that was n eeded w as a le ader

.
w h o knew th e probl e ms o f the farmer as they exis ted

'
in N orth Dakota .
While th e h e arin gs o f the farmers were b ein g

c o nducted b efor e th e l e gi slat i v e committ ee s at Bis
marck th e f utur e l e ad e r o f th e Le agu e was prese nt
,
.
H e t o o k no part i n th e arguments and at that time

was n ot eve n a m ember o f the N orth Dak ota U nio n
o f the A merican Soci e ty of E quity whose represen
t at iv es w e re advo catin g the buildin g o f sta te t er

mi n al el evators H is n ame was Arthur C Townley
. . .
H e was th i rty fi v e y e ars o f age at that tim e H e

- .
was r e ar e d on a w e ster n farm by native A merican

par en ts He was a high school graduat e and for a
.
sh ort tim e taught a cou n try scho o l H e becam e a .
f arm e r in the e xtr e me w e stern part of N orth Dakota ,
and by his r e ading and practical e xp erie n ce b e

, ,
cam e thoroughly familiar with the problems con

front ing th e grain farmers o f his state Howev e r .
,
having b ecom e compl e t e ly discouraged ov e r the out

look for agricultur e in his stat e h e gav e up his
,
’
farm becam e a pl ast e r e r s h e lp e r and trav e l e d in
, ,
many parts of the N orthwest as a laborer A f t e r .
this e xperi e nc e h e r e tur n ed to N orth Dak ota and

e ngag e d i n flax f arming wh e r e h e b e cam e r e as o n
,
ably prosp e rous .
This in brief is th e b ackgrou n d o f the man who

b ecame the lead e r o f th e N onpartisan League an d
f or a tim e exerted great in fluen ce over th e farmers
and industrial workers o f a large sectio n o f th e Mid
dl e and Far West .
B e fo r e he l e ft Bismarck aft e r th e hearings be for e

,
th e l egislati v e committ e es Townl e y became defi

,
nit el y co n vi n ced th at the farmers were re ady to
organize and that th ey would d e s e rt r e ad ily the ol d

political parti e s a n d leaders if a p rogram were form
ul at ed that would promise relief from e xisti n g co n
dit ions He decided to assume le adership an d to
.
direct th e policies of th e propo sed organ izatio n A .
temporary o ffi ce w as estab lished at Min ot a small ,

AGRAR I AN P ARTI E S AN D TH E I R POLICI E S 183
tow n in the northw e stern part o f the sta te An .
e xecutive committee was selected to formulate a

pr o gram wh i ch was as f ollows :
,
“
Stat e ow nersh i p o f t e rminal el evators flour mil ls
, ,
-
,
—
pack ing houses and cold storage p lan ts .
“
Stat e i n sp e ction o f grain and grai n dockage .
Ex e mpt i o n o f farm improvem e nts from tax atio n .
Stat e hail i n suran c e on the acre ag e tax basis .
R ural credit ban ks op e rat e d at cost .
This program app e aled to the farm ers o f N orth

Dakota I t was n ot or i gin al with Townley and h i s
.
assoc i ates but it r e flected th e vi ews of f arm organ

,
izat ions o f the stat e and s ee med to o ff e r a r e m e dy

for th e ec onomic ev i ls with which th e f armers wer e
afflict ed .
That it d i d appeal to th e f arm e rs i s i n dicated by

th e rap i d growth o f th e organ i zat i on B efor e th e
.
e nd o f th e summer o f 19 15 th e r e w e r e mem
b e rs and b ef or e th e cl o s e o f th e y e ar the n umber
,
had increased to In S e ptemb e r 19 15 th e , ,

“ ”
N o n partisa n Lead e r the ofli c ial p ape r o f the or
,
g a n iz at io n w as establ i sh e d
,
. Th i s publ i cat i o n was
c i rculat e d wid e ly and was r e ad e age rly by those who
were int e rest e d i n th e new organ ization .
The N o n partisan League was w e ll organized and

ready t o e n t e r upo n its great task o f ga i n ing control
o f the state governmen t in th e general e l e ctio n o f
19 16 . In March o f that year the League delegates

met in stat e co n vent i on at Fargo for the p urp ose o f
nom in atin g candidat e s f or state offi ces Lynn J . .
Fra z ier a su ccessful farmer an d a graduate of th e
,
State University was n omin ated for G ov ern or H e

, .
was n ormally a R epub l ican in politi cs an d a pro

no unced p rohib iti o n ist .
The N o n partisan Leagu e e n tered upo n a vigor

o us campaign throughout the sta t e Cand i dat e s
.
who w e re in sympathy w i th th e Leagu e program

were selected or en dorsed Th e oppon e n t of th e
.
League can d i date for G ov e rn or was a progr e ss iv e

D e mocrat who did no t make an act iv e campai gn .
Th e primari e s w e r e h e ld o n Jun e 2 8 an d in sp i t e
, ,
o f on e o f th e worst thunderstorms in th e history o f
th e stat e th e farme rs turn e d out to th e p o l ls and

,
Frazi e r defe ated h i s opp o n e nt by a substant i al

maj ority .
In the gen e ral ele ctio n in N ovember all the Leagu e

candidat e s for state ofli c es were elected E ighty .
o ne Leaguers o ut o f a total o f 1 13 memb e rs w e r e
e l ected t o the low e r house o f th e legislatur e giving ,
th e organ i z atio n the control of that body E ight ee n .
L e agu e candidat e s w e re e l ect e d t o th e S e nat e ,
which was a great victory but the numb e r d i d ,
n ot i nsure the League s control of th e upp e r

’
h ouse .
The legislature ass emb led in Ja n uary 19 17 with , ,
the N onpartisan League in compl e te control o f th e

lower hous e but it soo n b e came evid e nt that the
,
L i eut en a n t G overn or an d a majority o f th e stat e

‘
se n ators wer e no t in sympath y with th e Leagu e

p rogram A co n flict aro se betwee n the lo w er house
.
and th e S enat e over the agrarian policies o f th e

N o npart i san Leagu e It was d e cid e d soon that it
.
w o uld b e n e cessary t o ame n d the state constituti on

b efo r e th e L e agu e program could b e e n act e d into
law It was decided that in ord e r to s e cure speedi e r
.
act i on it would b e b e tt e r to fram e a n e w constitut i on

and subm i t it to the p eople than t o submit ame n d
m e nts t o the e x i sting constitution A n ew con stit u
.
t i on w as propos e d wh i ch was r e ad ily adopted by

,
th e H ouse bu t when it came up in th e Se n ate it

,
was d e fe ated by a motion to postpo n e co n sideratio n

O f the m e as ure in d e finit e ly Th i s actio n w as de
.
“
cl are d by th e Le agu e to b e a b e trayal o f th e f arm
e rs i nt e re sts an d a d e fe at o f th e mandat e of the
’
p e opl e o f th e stat e who have twic e sp e ci fically voted

,
in favor o f stat e own e d t e rm i nal e l e vators and given

-
the Leagu e cand i dat e s hu ge majoriti e s in the 19 16

e lectio n . In answ e r to th i s charg e the oppositio n
claimed that th e proposal of a n ew co n stitutio n had
n ot been an i ssue before the people i n th e pr e cedin g
electio n .
Wh il e th e N o n partisan League su ff ered defeat in

th e supreme e ff ort to submit a n ew co n stitutio n t o
th e p eo ple a n umber o f bills were passed in the
,
interest o f th e farmers Th ese enactme n ts in clud ed

.
a stat e gra i n grading act a Torr en s titl e r e gistratio n

,
law a statut e guaranteein g d e posits in state b ank s

, ,
an act d e t e rmin i ng a rat e o f assess m en ts on farm

improvemen ts a n d a law reducin g freigh t rat es A .
THE GREEN R ISI NG
state h i ghway commis s i o n w as cr e at e d also and in ,
cr eased appropriatio n s for go o d roads wer e provid e d .
A n appr o pr i at i on al so was author i z e d f or th e e r e c

tion o f a t e rmin al el e vator but du e to d iff e r e nc e s in
, ,
some o f th e details with refe renc e to this bill b e

tw ee n th e H ouse an d S en at e G o ver n or Frazier
,
veto e d it Thus th e l egislatur e e nded without the

.
agrar i an program of th e N onpartisan League hav

i ng acc omplished the p aramoun t aims o f the or
gan iz at io n .
Th e N onpartisan Leagu e was complet e ly success

ful in N orth Dakota in th e campaign o f 19 18 G ov .
e rn o r Fraz ie r w as r e e l e ct e d and th e o rgan i zat i on

,
h ad a controll i ng maj o rity i n both hous e s o f th e

l e g i slatur e . Th e e ntir e congr e ssi onal d e l e gation
w e r e m e mbers of th e Le agu e and in complete sym
pathy with its purpos e s Th e agrarian legislat i on
.
pass e d in 19 19 in N orth Dakota under th e auspices

of th e L e ague is as follows :
.1 Provision was mad e for state-ow n ed grain
war e h o us e s and e l e vat o rs and flour m i lls Workin g
,
.
capital w as pr o vid e d by a bond issu e o f fiv e million

dollars .
.2 Th e Bank of N orth Dakota was created with

i n i tial capital o f t w o million dollars t o be supplied
,
by a bo n d issu e .
.3 Exempt i on o f all farm improv e ments from

taxation .
.4 Cr e ati o n o f a hail in suran ce fund which was ,
provid e d fr o m an acr e ag e tax o n all tillabl e land .
.5 Es t ab l i s h me n t o f t h e H o me B u il din As s o ci a
tio n of N orth Dakota for encouraging home ow n er

ship .
6 Co n trol o f state -ow n ed fi n a n cial an d commer

.
c ial industri e s was ass i gned to an in dustrial

commission consisting o f th e G overnor th e Secre
, ,
tary o f A gricultur e and th e A ttorney G e neral

,
.
In add i tion to this program o f agrarian le gisla

tion a numb er o f oth e r acts wer e passed that had
,
b ee n adv o ca t e d pr e v i ously by th e People s Party

’
.
For e xample a graduated tax upo n incomes the

, ,
’
cr e atio n of a workman s c omp e nsat i o n commission ,
pr o vis i on for as sessm e nts again st e mploy e rs for the

purpos e o f providing funds for sickn e ss and ac c i de n t
insuran c e f or i ndustr i al e mpl o y ee s and th e regula
,
t i o n o f th e h o urs and cond i tions o f labor f or wom en ,
w e r e i ncluded in th e program o f s o c i al l e gislatio n .
The N onpartis an League in Ot her S tates
The N onpartisa n League attaine d its greate st

success in N orth D ak ota but its i nflu e nce w as ex
,
t e nd e d t o a numb e r o f oth e r sta tes However in

.
,
no o th e r state was th e L e agu e succe ssful in gain in g

c o ntrol o f th e machi ne ry o f th e gov e rnment .
Th e natio n al act ivities o f the organ i zation b egan

in January 19 17 and h e adquarters w e r e ope n ed in
, ,
St Paul A vigorous campa i gn was in augurated t o

. .
e nlarg e the scope of activities o f th e League The .
agrari an program o f the L e agu e app e al e d to gr e at

numbers of farm e rs in Minnesota South Dakota
, ,
Idaho C o lorad o Montana and N e braska While .

188 TH E GREEN R ISING
th e politica l influence of the or ganizatio n w as fe lt
m o r e cl e arly in M in nes ota th an in an y oth e r state
exc e pt N orth Dakota in all o f th e s e stat e s vigorous
,
campaigns w e r e conduct e d and cand i dat e s o f the

Leagu e contest e d e l e ct i ons w i th th e o l d party or
g a n iz at io n candidat e s.
Th e L e agu e s i n fluenc e w as e xt e nd e d to many

’
oth e r stat e s but in most cases som e o th e r name

,
was us ed for th e agrar i an o rgan i zat i o n " Gr e at

pr e j ud i c e ex i st e d in many stat e s aga i nst th e N on
part i san L e agu e and farm l e ad e rs found i t n ec es
,
sary to use some oth e r name for th e organ izatio n

that was fost e ring its program For exampl e in
.
,
T e xas the Farm Lab o r O rgan izat i o n was e ssent i al ly

the N o n part i san Leagu e und e r a new nam e .
Th e i nflu e nc e o f the Le ague b e gan to d e cline aft e r

the e lection success e s in 19 18 in N orth Dakota and
after the agrar i an legi slat iv e program had b ee n
adopte d in th e f ollowing y e ar In the pr imaries of
.
192 0 an oppos i tion t i ck e t t o th e Le agu e was plac e d

in the fi e ld by th e more cons e rvat i v e p e o pl e Of N orth
Dakota Whil e th e Le agu e main tain e d its polit i cal
.
supremacy the res ults o f th e e l e ctio n in d i cate d

,
cl e arly th at it w as rap i dly losing i ts i nflu e nce ove r

th e e l e ctorate The most notabl e pol i tical succe ss o f
.
that year w as the e lection of Dr E F Ladd Pr e si

. . .
,
dent o i the A gricultural Col l e ge to th e Un ited

,
States Se n at e .
The finan cial dis tr ess that c ame to a n umber o f

th e state -ow ne d activit i es was th e most sign ifican t
AGRAR I AN P ARTIES AN D TH E I R POLICI E S 189
in flu e nc e in destroyi n g the confiden ce in th e League

program Ther e wer e a n umber o f ban k failur es
.
throughout th e stat e Th e packing house of the

.
Soc ie ty o f E quity l o cated at Fargo was compelled

, ,
to suspend op e rat i ons The Bank o f N orth Dakota

.
exp e rien ced serious fina n c i al e mbarrassm en t I t b e

.
cam e nec e ssary to disco n t i nu e the co n structi o n of

th e grai n e l e vator and fl o ur m ill at Grand Fork s an d,
th e operat i ons o f th e hom e bu i ldin g a n d rural cred it

bo ard wer e disconti n u ed Th e sudde n de crease i n
.
th e price of wheat and oth e r farm products in the

fall o f 19 2 0 had much to do with these financ i al
r e v e rs e s Th e oppon en ts o f the League p rogram
.
mad e much o f the finan cial distr e ss o f th e state

o wn e d ag e nci e s which had th e e ff e ct o f d e stroying
,
confid e nc e i n th e se en t e rpris e s This result w as in

.
e vitable .
Th e f ai lur e o f th e agrar i an program in N orth

Dakota i s e xplai n e d in th e monthly l e tter o f the
N at i o nal City Bank o f N ew York editio n o f A pril
, ,
19 2 1 as follows :
,
Th e plan of mak in g the S tat e of N orth Dak ota

a se l f— contai n e d un i t financially was fundam en ta lly
e rroneous Th e Stat e is mainly devoted to o ne in
.
dus try agricultur e and largely t o one crop Mo ne y

, ,
.
is e asy o r tight in all localit i es at one a n d the same

t im e For th i s r e ason th e State does not make a
.
w ell balan ce d ec onomic o r fina n cial u n it in itsel f

-
.
Mor e ov e r N orth Dak ota is a comparatively new

,
State ; it has always used outside capital t o i ts ad

vantage and can contin ue to do so The id e a o f .
corrallin g all th e loos e f u n ds at the capital o f the

Stat e and o f g e tt i ng along w i thout aid f rom outs i d e
”
w as a mistake .
It i s t o o e arly to forecast th e perman en t influ e nce

o f the N onpart i san League on agrarian i sm i n th e
Uni t e d States Those w h o pr o cla im e d h e artily that

.
the rev e rs e s that had com e to th e state own e d agra

-
ria n i ndustri e s in N orth Dako ta h ad b een th e caus e

o f the fai lure o f th i s f arm mov e m e nt d i d not take ,
account o f s om e o f th e m o st fundamental asp ec t s

o f th e s i tuat i o n .
“
A n in terest i ng movem e nt says H aynes wh i ch
, ,
has arous e d h e at e d c o ntr o v e rs ie s and has also ra i s e d

,
th e hopes o f many p eopl e i s d i sappear i ng as hav e

,
s o many s i milar und e rtak in gs in th e past T o wn .
l ey s id e a a Ford car and $ 16 produc e d a r emark

’
, ,
abl e organizat i on Just what its final i nflu e nc e may

.
prov e to b e r e mains fo r th e f utur e t o show us C e r .
t ainl y it e mphas i zes the valu e o f l e adership lead —

,
ership plus a sound c O

” 5
ns t ruc t iv e programm e .
Whil e th is in t er e st i ng movem en t se ems to be d i s

app e aring as Prof e ssor H ayn e s sugge sts it emph a
, ,
s i z e s much mor e than the mere valu e o f lead e rsh i p .
I t e mphasiz es th e w i despr e ad d i ssat i sfact i on of th e

farm populat i o n o f a larg e part o f th e country with
th e agr i cultural econom i c s i tuat i on Th e fact that .
some o f th e polic ie s of th e Leagu e w e r e impract ic

able does n ot d i scredit th e val i dity o f the cause o f
‘
Haynes Third P art y M o v emen t Chap VI I p 170
’
, .
, . .
th e agrarian prot e st i n N orth Dakota a n d other

w e s t ern stat e s upo n wh i ch the N onparti san Leagu e
,
bas e d its program o f rad i cal actio n .
The Farm Lab or Part y
Th e Farm Labor Party o f 19 2 4 was th e immediate

proge ny of th e N onpartisan Leagu e It is true that .
th e L e agu e had its i nception in the agrari an pro test

“
alo ne But as H erbert E G aston says Tow n ley
.
,
.
,
and his associat e s delib e rat e ly gav e th e movem e nt

o f agrarian prot e st and revolt its bias o f concilia
tion toward and inv i tation to all i anc e with org an
, ,
” 6
iz ed labor Th e o ffic i als o f i ndustrial labor have
.
follow e d until r e c e nt tim e s a v e ry d iffer e nt course

, ,
from th at o f th e Farm Labor organization The .
e fforts to unite th e in t e r e sts o f th e farmers with

those o f industr i al lab or pr e s e nt an in ter e stin g
ph e n o m e non in social organization .
The Third Party mov e m e nt know n as the Farm ,
Labor Fe d e ratio n was th e r e sult Of a seri e s o f co n

,
f erences and conventions h eld in M in neso ta in

March 19 2 4 The call o f th e first conf e ren ce in
, .
St Paul w as fer the purpos e o f bringing the oflficial s

.
o f the princi pal Third Party group together to co n

s i d e r a program Th e Farm Labor Party o fficial s
.
in Minn e sota were assigne d th e l e adership in

calling a conv e ntio n o f progressive farming an d
labor elemen ts for th e p urp os e o f co n siderin g a
S ee p age 10 The N e w R epub li c Vo l 40 N o 5 09 ( S ep temb er
‘
, , .
, .
3,
political pro gram This convention brought together
.
a numb er o f groups som e o f which h ad v e ry l i ttl e

,
i n c o mmon D i ff e r e nc e s aros e with r efe r en ce to pro

.
c ed ure as w e ll as to d e ta i ls i n a program o f act i on .
But th e predominant group consist e d Of the Farm

Labo r Party o f N orth Dakota which was a new ,
mov e m e nt d e signe d t o sup ers e d e the N onpartisa n

L e ague and the Farm Labor Party o fficial s o f South
,
Dakota M i n n esota N ebraska Mo n tan a,Washin g

, , ,
t o n and Illi n ois

,
.
Ther e w e re two rival programs su b mitted f or

th e c o nsid e rat i o n o f th e d e l e gat e s Th e M i nneso ta
.
Farm Labor representatives favored the postpo ne

m e n t o f th e organizat i on o f a national party until
th e preside n tial campaign o f 19 24 was over O th e r .
groups favored the immediate formation o f a

national party .
A s th e v ie ws o f th e s e two confl i ct in g groups

could n ot b e harm on i zed it w as nec essary for th e
,
c ommitte e o n orga n izatio n to arrang e a compromis e
which provided for the appoin tmen t o f a national

committee t o serve through th e campaign o f 19 24 .
This committ e e was given power to replace or

withdraw candidat e s and to co Operat e with other
progressiv e groups in promotin g the purpos e s of th e
Farm Labor eleme n t .
I t is rather in ter estin g to observ e that in th e

formulation o f th e Third Party program o f 19 24 the
farm e rs o n the whole pres en ted a more radical
, ,
as p e c t tha n man y o f th e labor groups The re as o n

.
fo r this is n ot hard to understan d wh en o ne r e calls

the radical utt era n ces o f some o f the farm l e aders .
“ ”
One h e ard at S t Paul . says R ob e rt Morss Lovet t
,
i n The N ew R epub lic o f July 2 19 2 4 of a sh e riff , ,
s e tting o ut from G re e n Bay Wisco n sin to s e rv e , ,
s ix foreclosure n otices i n o ne morn in g ; o f a farm in
M i nn e sota worth sacrifi ced on a mortgag e

of by a famil y which has own e d it for two
gene rations ; o f a three we e ks trip through S ou th ’
Dakota i n ramshackle cars not one o f which boasted

,
a top o r a windshield Un e mploym en t in th e in dus

.
trial centr e s is tragic en ough but it has all e viatio n s

,
which are abs e nt i n the ca se o f a family with nin e

ch i ldren e victed from th e ir farm an d adrift o n the
cou n tryside I t is this conditio n which is respon
.
sibl e for th e recru i ts to the Commu n ists among th e

farm e rs Combatt e d by th e trad e u n ion organiza
.
tions th e Commu ni sts hav e ap par en tly made no

,
gr eat progress amo n g in dustri al w o rk ers Th e .
A m e rican labor mov e m en t is n ot revolutio n ary .
How long this can b e asserted o f the farmers o f

”
the N orthwest is it must be admitt e d a questio n
, ,
.
The nomination o f R M La Foll e tt e and B K

. . . .
Wh ee l e r fo r Pr e sid e nt and Vic e Pres id e nt respec ,
t iv el y by th e Third Party mov e ment gav e deep

, ,
conc e rn to th e cand i dat e s o f th e Democrat i c and

R e publ i can part ie s .Th e d e cline in th e pr i c e o f
wh e at in th e f all o f 19 2 3 had creat e d wid e spr e ad
d i ssat i s fact i o n wh i ch h ad culminate d i n th e Farm
Lab o r m o v e m e nt o f 19 2 4 Th e D e moc ratic an d
.
R e publican party l e ad e rs r e aliz e d that th e farm
d i scontent was w i d e spread It was difficult at first
.
to d e t e rm i n e which party would b e mor e s e r i ously

a ff e c t ed by th e Third Party mov e m e nt l e d by La
Fo ll ett e and Wh ee l e r Both o f th e can d i dat e s o f
.
th e Farm Labor Party mad e a v i gor o us campai gn ,
d e v o t in g most o f th ei r t im e to th e stat e s wh e r e th e
discont e nt among th e farm populati o n w as most
pronounced But as th e campai gn p rogre ss e d i t
.
, ,
became incr e as ingly appar e n t that th e antic i pated

strength o f th i s lat e st pol i t i cal mov e m en t would not
mat erial i ze A s th e campa i gn n e ar e d its end i t was
.
,
g en erally conc e d e d th at La Fo l l e tt e would probably

carry only W i scons i n Minn e sota and N orth Dakota
, ,
.
I n f act h e carri e d only h i s hom e s t at e o f Wiscons in

,
.
But the p opular vot e o f th e three candidat e s

e mphas i zed th e fact that th e d i s c ont e nt o f th e farm
labor e l e m e n t was rath e r wid e spr e ad and sign ifi can t .
Coolidg e r e ce i v e d votes ; Davis

962 and La Foll e tt e It is not without
s i gnifica n c e that La Foll e tt e r e ceiv e d more than half
th e n umb e r o f vot e s of Davis H e rece ived a sur .
pri sin gly large popular vot e i n Calif orn i a Illinois , ,
Iowa M inn e sota N ebraska N ew York O hio P e nn

, , , , ,
sylvan i a and W i sconsin

,
.
Var i ous vi e ws have b e en expr e ssed as to th e

s i gnifica nce o f th e Th ird Party mov e me n t in 19 24 .
Som e cont e nd that i t marks th e e nd o f farm labor

pol i t i cal agitati on in this country O th e rs expr e ss .
the view th at th e farm labor forces o f th e country

have come to see that poli tical actio n does n ot o ffer

th e most sat i s factory solut i on to th ei r problems .
Th e re are still oth ers who co n tend th at the f arm

labor f orces w i ll profit by th e mistak es o f 19 2 4 and ,
will ren e w th e ir political activities with great er

success in future years .
A n e d i torial in th e Washingto n P os t u n d e r date ,
o f Sunday N ovemb e r 9 19 2 4 s ee ms i nclin ed toward

, , ,
“
th e latt e r view . A lthough th e R ad i cal moveme n t
did n ot attain th e pro portions a n ticipated it still ,
cont i nues as a force to b e reckon e d with in the

realign m ent o f the o l d part i es .
“
This political r e union o f the farmer and the
b usin ess world is by f ar the most importa n t though ,
not th e most conspicuous i ssue o f th e day It has

, .
pass e d th e stag e of argument Its only solut i on .
n ow lies in compromis e Th e farmers r e aliz e t oo

.
d efini tely th e nature o f the diffi culty to be coze n ed

’
o r tr e at e d as hicks N or will they b e qu ie t e d cer
‘
.
,
t ainl y n o t pe rmanently by the accide n t o f h igh

,
”
prices i n a pr e sidential year .
This e d i tori al as s e rts further that busi n e ss must

"
meet agricultu re half way I t must play f air an d

.
squar e The West must be brough t into th e coun

.
cils o f the party an d policies be agre e d upo n w hich

ar e just to al l sections and in t e rests The E ast .
should r e cogni ze that its o w n industrial outposts

scattered over th e rest o f the coun t ry are not rep
resent at iv e o f W e stern sentim en t nor si m i l ar i n
in terest to the districts in which th ey happen to be
located Whil e the p olitical leadership o f the farm
.
i ng sta tes may r e mai n som e what co n fus ed owin g to

,
the rapidity w ith which this schism h as arisen the ,
econom i c leadership co n sistin g o f the heads o f th e

’
Farmers organ izat i ons are very d e fin i te and unani
”
mous i n their views .
The farm e rs o f th e cou n try hav e b ee n r e sponsi bl e

larg e ly for all o f the Third Party mov e m e n ts th at
hav e b e com e s i gnifica n t in our polit i cal h i story .
Their great e st influ e n ce p ol i tically speakin g was

, ,
e xerted by the Populist Party Th e N onpart isan

.
League did n ot be come a natio n al party movement

t o any appreciabl e ext en t but its p o lit i cal in flu e nc e
,
was reflect e d in the el e ctio n s o f several states and ,
i n N orth Dakota i t probably has made a perman ent

co n tribution to th e politi cal p olic i es of th e s t ate
govern men t .
It is too e arly t o appraise the poli tical sign ifi canc e

o f the Farm Labor moveme n t . Its future w ill prob
ably dep en d upo n the quality o f its leadership an d
the agricultural eco n omic situatio n Th e citiz en .
ship o f th e country however will make a mistak e

, ,
to j udg e th e s e th ird party agrar i an mov e m e nts

mer e ly by the popular or electoral votes they re
ceiv ed or the n umber o f candidat e s they e lected to
o fli c e
. D ee per s i gn ifican ce o f th e influ en ce o f th e s e
parti e s is to be fou n d in th e ir e ff ec t s upon the two
pr e dominant parties They have had the e ff e ct o f
.
st i mulat i ng th e progr e ssiv e e l e me n ts in the D e mo

crat i c an d R epubl i ca n part ie s an d forcing th e
,
AGRARI AN P ARTI E S AN D TH E I R POLICI E S 197
l e aders o f these parties to advocate political meas

ur e s econ o mic polic ie s and social programs o f
, ,
gr e at importan ce to the masses o f the people What

.
ever political heresies these parties may h ave in

clud e d in their platforms th e y should be give n
,
cr e dit for proddi n g the co n servative and reactio n ary

el ements i n the ol d politi cal organ izatio n s out o f
“
th e ir me n tal lethargy
.
CHA PT E R X
THE E CO N O M IC P R OT E ST AN D T HE
COOP ERATIVE M O VE M EN T
A grarianism reached its culmi n at i o n m t he co
op e rativ e marketin g movemen t that h as d e v eloped

sin ce th e World War This latest expression o f
.
rur al d isco n t e nt did n ot come as a sudden and

spontan e ous outburst on the part o f th e farm
population The immediat e cause o f rural un rest
.
was th e finan cial d e pressio n that sw e pt ov e r th e

cou n try in 19 19 and 19 20 But the rapidity with
.
which th e co Operat iv e movement spr e ad and th e ,
qual i ty of l e ad ersh i p it produ ced in dicate that it

,
w as th e culmination o f social a n d e conomi c in

fl uence s that hav e b ee n seek i ng for a long time a
logi cal an d e ffe ctiv e form Of expr e ssio n .
“
Wh at to many seemed a sudden in dependent
“
outburst says Kile w as i n fact but a phas e i n
, ,
a lo n g slow growth
,
I t is but th e culmina
tion and latest e xpr ession of a crusad e which h ad
its inc e ptio n back in the dark days followin g the
C ivil War and which with varying degrees of vigor
and succ e ss ev e r s in ce h as pushed forward th e
farmers fight for free an d equal pr ivileg e a n d
’
opportu n ity .
TH E E CO N O MIC P R OT E ST 19 9
True the movem e nt su ff er e d a severe backset

,
follow in g th e collapse of the G ran ge i n 18 7 5 -7 6

and again with th e dis int e grat i o n o f th e Farm e rs
A ll i anc e in 189 0 -9 1 For a p e r i od o f many y e ars
.
f ollow i ng this latt e r d i saster the m o v e ment fou n d

e xpr e ss i on o nl y in a wh i rlpool o f polit i cal isms ‘ ’
w i thout much s e mblance O f coher e nc e or unit y Y et .
throughout i t all the sam e irnpel l ing motive has

ex i st e d .
“
Th e story of the ris e and d e cl i ne of the G range ,
th e Farmers A ll i ance th e A gricultural Wh ee l th e

’
, ,
Br o th e rs o f Freedom th e N orthwestern A ll i an ce ,
th e Farm e rs Un i on th e Farm e rs and Laborers

’
,
’
Un i on the E quity and th e G l e an e rs toge th e r w i th

, , ,
th e story of th e farmers att empt at ind e p e nd en t ’
p ol i t i cs as e x e mpl i fi e d by Gr ee nback i sm popul i sm , ,
and b i m e tal i sm fo rm a m o st i nt e r e st i ng chapt e r in

,
th e d e v e lopm e nt o f o ur econom i c and political life

and c o nta i n viv i d l e ssons wh i ch o ur agr i cultural n o
l e ss than o ur pol i ti cal l e aders o f today may well
” 1
stop and p onder .
Co opera tive M ark e ting on a Co mmodi ty Bas is
Th e c o o p e rat iv e mark e t ing mov em e n t is th e

r e sult o f n e w pol i c ie s rece ntly put into force by the
fe d e ral gov e rnm e nt and a new typ e o f f arm organ
izat io n that has d e v e lop e d thr o ugh gov e rnm e nt e n
c o uragement Th e passag e of th e Sm i th Lever A ct
.
-
1
O rv ill e M ert o n K il e s ’
The Fa rm Bur eau M o v emen t
C hap . I pp
, . 3 and 4 .
by Congress in 19 14 pro v id ed for a comprehensive
program Of agr i cultur al extens i on Th i s im . porta n t
agrarian m e asur e gave the stamp o f appr o val t o
f arm e rs coOperat iv e demonstration work wh i ch had
’
,
b ee n pr ev i ously fost e red by Dr S e aman A K n app

. . .
The E xt ension sp e cialist and coun ty agricul tural

ag e n t began in 19 14 to diss e m i nate the sc i entifi c
agricul tural in formatio n that had b e com e availabl e
through the r e search activiti e s o f t he e xp e rim e nt
stations throughout th e country Wh e n th e h o s
.
t ilit ies b e gan in 19 17 th e n umb e r o f c o unty agr i

cultural ag e nts w as in cr e ased gr e atly and the i r
s e rv i c e s w e r e ut i liz e d to aid in st i mulating ag ricul
tural production By th e tim e th e War cam e to an
.
e nd th e Extens i on S e rvice organizat i on h ad becom e

,
organiz e d th oroughly and th e county ag e nt h ad b e

come a recogn i z e d factor in th e promotion o f
agr i cultural e n d e avor .
In the meantime county and stat e f arm bur e aus

,
w e r e b e ing form e d i n s e v e ral stat e s It is si g

.
nifi cant th at this organization e nt e red upon it s first
n atio n al p hase whe n repr e s e ntat i v e s from twelv e

states gathered at Ithaca N ew York o n February
, ,
12 19 19 to consid e r th e advisab i lity and d e sirab i l i ty

, ,
o f u ni tin g i n a national federation A s a r e sult o f

.
this m ee tin g it was decid e d to postpon e final act i on

for th e present but a call w as iss u ed for anoth e r
,
m e etin g t o b e held at Chicago on N ovemb e r 12 and

13 f or th e purpo s e o f f o rm i ng a nat i o nal associa
tion . In the in terven in g mo n ths vigorous cam
TH E E CO N O MIC P ROT E ST 201
farm bureau organ izatio n s wer e establish ed and

stat e fed e ratio n s o f county f arm bureaus w e r e
f o rmed Th e date for this meetin g was opportun e
. .
The price s o f f arm products had fall e n throughout

the country the purch asing p ower o f farm e rs had
,
gr e atly decli n ed and the N at i on was in th e midst

,
o f a f ar -reaching fi na n cial depres sio n .
Some of the addr e sses made at the Chicago meet

i ng may b e r e gard e d r i ght f ully as important con
t rib ut ions to th e agraria n lit e rature of this cou n try .
H arv e y J S co n ce who was presid en t o f the Illi n ois

.
,
“
Bur e au at th e time said : ,
It is our du ty in creat
ing this organizat i on t o avoid any policy that will
al i gn organ i zed farmers with th e radicals o f other .
o rganizations The policy should be thoroughly

.
—
A merican in every respect a constructiv e organ
,
iz at ion i nst e ad o f a destruct i ve organization .
“
We shall organize not to fight a n y o ne or to
,
antagonize but to co Operat e and to construct

, ,
man agi ng the aff airs o f agriculture in a broad b usii

n e ss manner following the policy that most o f the
,
i lls complain ed o f by th e in dividual will disapp e ar

when bus i n ess i s done in busin e ss ways .
“
In ord e r to do th e busi ness in volved i n a n at i onal
agricultural association it will be n ecessary that this
associatio n be represe n t e d in e v e ry place wh e re the
busi n ess o f th e farm e r i s tak e n into cons i deration .
“
Th e great id e a should be to ke e p co n trol o f our
food produc t s u n til th e y ge t closer t o th e ult imat e
consumer than they do at th e presen t time th e reby ,
no t onl re t urn in t o us ro fi t o n t h e a rt i c l e ro
2 02 THE GREEN RISI NG
duced, but servin g humanity in a more e ffi cient
mann e r by giving the consum e r an art i cl e o f qual i ty
”
at n o i n cr e as e d cost .
Mr S tr i vings o f N e w York s ai d
.
,
Farm e rs ,
must g e t past their o w n gateways and g e t out and

s ee what i s g o i ng o n in th e world W e must put .
agricultur e into proper relat i onship with th e r es t

”
o f th e world .
J R Howard o f Iowa declared :

. .
, I st an d as a ,
rock again st rad i calism but I beli e ve in a n organ ,

” 2
iz at io n wh i ch strikes ou t from th e should e r .
Th e s e br ief quotat i ons from som e o f th e l e aders

who att e nd e d the Chicago m e et ing ill ustrat e th e
point o f v ie w o f large numb e rs o f farm e rs through
o ut th e country at that part i cular tim e Th e re .
was no th o ugh t o f rad i cal action or affili atio n with

any group with radical te n denci e s .
The e ffe ct o f th e war o n A m e rican agriculture

w as th e stimulat i on o f production But w i th the .
r e storation o f p e ace co n ditions throughout th e

world and th e low pu rchas i ng pow e r in for e ign
mark e ts h ad com e a pr e cipitous d e cl i ne in t h e
p ric e s o f farm products Th i s s i tuation had caus e d .
th e farmers to fee l that produ ction was not a seri

o us probl e m but it had becom e appar e nt that the
,
mark e ting o f farm pr o ducts w as o ne o f th e most

essential d e termining factors in agricultural ent e r
pri s e Farm e rs everywh e r e had come to f e el that
.
”
S e e K il e
’
s op . ci t .
,
C hap . IX pp
,
. 116 , 1 17 and 118 .
TH E E CO N O MIC P R OTE ST 2 03
th ey had ne glected th e busin e ss asp e ct o f the ir

vocatio n Th e y wer e d e t e rm i n e d to dev i se ways
.
a n d mean s t o e xercise larg e r control ov e r th e pro

ducts o f their farms until they had pass e d i n to th e
han ds o f th e co n sumer .
The Pro gram of t he Co opera ti v es
Wi th this id e a in mind th e Farm Bureau Fe d e ra

,
tio n en ter e d upon an e xt e ns iv e pr o gram o f ed ucation

an d legislati on with r e fe r e nc e to a b e tt e r system o f
mark eting and distributing farm products . The
United Stat es D e partm e n t o f A gricultur e and the
“
E xtensi o n S er vi ce o rgani z at i o ns i n th e several states

encourage d th i s m o v e m e nt i n ev e ry appropr i ate
‘
man n e r poss i bl e . Th e nat i on al and state farm

‘
bur e au fed e rations assumed l e ad e rsh i p i n the natio n

wide movem
.
e nt to market f arm products more

profi tab ly . Th e e o nom i c program o f th e Farm
c
Bureau Fed e ration was outl i n e d i n th e f ollowing

comprehensiv e pronounc e m e nts :
“
1 T o e xt end c o Operat iv e mark e t i ng of farm
.
crops to th e poin t i n th e distribution syst e m that

th e maximum ben e fits ar e s e cur e d fo r th e p roduc e r ,
and i ncid e ntally f or th e consum e r

, , .
“
2 To limit th e profits and r e duce th e costs o f
.
d i str ibut i o n in al l lin e s not handl e d co Operat iv el y .
“
3 To so estimat e the e ff e ctiv e w o rld sup ply o f
.
a ny farm product and t o so r egulate the flo w t o

market as to e liminate sharp and extreme price
fluctuations .
“
4 To e stablish n ew for e i gn mark ets for surplus
.
A m e rican f arm products .
“
5 T o provi d e cheap er sources o f f e rtiliz e r and
.
”
mor e e conomical means o f prod uction .
As a m e ans o f carry in g o ut this comprehe n sive

program c o Operativ e marketin g committees were
,
appoin ted to consider methods o f merch andising

agricultural commoditi es For example th e Farm
.
,
’
e rs G rain Marketi ng Committee o f s e ve n t e en th e ,
Farmers Live St o ck Marketing Committee o f fi f

’
’
teen and the Farmers Dairy Products Marketin g
,
Committee o f eleve n were orga n iz ed Sin ce the

,
.
appoin tment o f these committees by the Farm

Bur e au Fe deration a number o f oth e r commodity
,
mark e tin g committees have been appoin ted from

the sever al state farm bureau federations to pro
mote the mar k eting o f p articular farm crops .
The Gro w t h of t he Co opera ti v e M o v emen t

Th e significan c e o f the cooperative marketing
mov e m e nt can best b e in dicated by some refer e nc e
to th e n um b er of commodity marketi n g organ iza
tions the aggregat e m e mbership the geo graphical
, ,
area cov e r e d the aggr e gat e volum e o f bus i n e ss an d

, ,
the natur e and e xt e nt o f l e gisl ation passed by Con

gr e ss and th e s e v e ral stat e s to e nco urage promot e , ,
and pr o tect th e bus i n e ss o f th e c o Operat iv e asso

ciat ions .
TH E E CO N O M IC P R OT E ST 05
It i s scarc e ly nec e ssary to obs e rve that cooperative

e ffort o n th e part of farm e rs did no t originat e with
the eco n om i c d e pression of 19 19 Farm organiz .
at ions had b ee n fost e r i ng co Operat io n i n various
ways for many y e ars The p i oneer farm organ i za

.
t i ons e ncourage d the co mb i n e d purch as ing of sup

pl ie s long b e fore this plan was e xt e nd e d to th e mar
"
k e ting o f farm products But it sh o uld be ob

.
served that commodity mark e t i ng had a substant i al

b e gi nn i ng b ef or e the war Th e co Operat iv e mov e
.
m e nt in Franc e Irelan d and De n mark had b e en

, ,
studied by a numb e r o f A m e rica n e conomists farm ,
l e ad e rs bus i n e ss and publ i c m e n The r e sults o f

, .
co Ope rat iv e e ffo rts in thes e c o untries w e r e mad e
k n ow n to t he A merican farm ers through the press

a n d public addr e sses Th e favorable reports th at
.
had com e t o this country had in t er e st e d gr e atly th e

f arm produc e rs in many sections .
Pr e vious to 19 14 th e citrus grow e rs o f Flor i da and

California had d e monstrat e d th e advantage s o f co
op e rat i ve e fforts i n s ell i ng th ei r products Cotton .
al so had b een mark et ed succ e ssfully on a co Opera

t iv e basis by a group of farmers at Scott A rkansas ,
.
Her e and th e re co Operat iv e cr e am e ri e s had be e n

es t ablished . Poultry an d vegetabl e associatio n s
w e r e b ei ng op erat e d suc cess fully o n a small scal e i n
var i ous parts o f th e country 6
.
But pr e vi o us to th e war th i s syst em o f mark e t in g

S ee C l arenc e P ’
oe s H o w Farme rs Co ope rat e and D o ub le P r fit
o s
C hap s 14 , 15
. and 16 .
had n ot b e en taken very seriously by man y farmers .
Th e impr e ss i on pr evai led th at this pla n o f dis

tr i b ut i ng f arm products w as practi cal only f or per
ish ab l e products Th e idea w as n ot widely held
.
that it was f eas ibl e to dispos e of such pr oducts as

cotton gra in and li v e stock in th i s way I t may be
, ,
.
sai d th e r efo r e that wh i l e c o Ope rat iv e market in g

, ,
had a beginn i ng in th i s cou n try p revious t o the

war th e gr e at d e v e lopm e n t o f th i s plan has com e
,
s i nc e 19 19 Th e e xt e nt o f th e mov e m e nt sinc e that

.
tim e const i tut e s a un i qu e chapt e r in th e history o f

agr i cultural progr e ss .
Th e Bur e au of A gr i cultural E conomics o f th e

U S D e partm e n t O f A gr i cultur e h as recently m ade
. .
a study o f th e mov e ment in this country A ccord in g .
t o th e r e port o f th e Bur e au th e r e were ,
farm e rs i n 19 2 6 who w e r e m e mb e rs o f coOperat iv e

mark e ting organ i zat i ons Th e d istri bution o f co m
.
mo dity mark e ting organizat i ons an d the number

in clud e d i n th ei r m e mbership hav e bee n in flu e nc e d
greatly by th e imp o rtanc e o f the f arm crops pro
duce d and th e e xt e nt o f the financial distress the
farm e rs have e xp e rie nced in marketi n g their par
t icul ar cr o ps For exampl e 4 6 p e r c e nt of th e farm
.
,
m e mb ersh i p i n co o p erat iv e mark e ting organ izations

—
r e s i d e in th e tw e lv e north c e ntral stat e s Th e .
south e rn stat e s r e port th e west n orth

c e ntral stat e s ,
th e e ast north c e ntral stat es
-
,
th e south A tlant i c states th e east

,
south c en tral stat e s

- the west south ce n tral
,
-
,
TH E E CO N O M IC P ROTEST 2 07
the Pacific states ,

th e Middl e
A tlantic stat e s ,
th e mounta i n states ,
and th e n orth A tlan t i c stat e s only ,
The g e ographical distribut i on o f co Operat iv e ass o

ciat io ns and th e extent o f the busin e ss conduct e d
by th e m are in di cat e d som ewhat by the m e mb e r

‘
sh i p o f th e N at i onal Counc i l o f Farm e rs C o Opera-I ’
tive Market i ng A ssociatio n s Th e r e are thirty thr e e

.
-
associatio n s a ffi liated with th e N at i onal Cou n cil .
These includ e such organ izatio n s as the A rkan sas

R ice G row e rs C o Operat iv e Ass oc i at i on th e A tlan tic
’
,
Coast Poultry Pr o duce rs A ssoci ation th e Burl e y

’
,
Tobacco G row e rs Co o p e rat iv e A ss o c i at i on th e

’
,
’
California Prun e and Apr i cot G row e rs A ssociation ,
th e Florida Citrus E xchan g e the G e orgi a P eanu t

,
G row e rs C o Operat iv e A ssoc i ation th e Main e Potato

’
,
G row e rs A ssoc i at i o n th e Pac i fic C o tiperat iv e Wool

’
,
G row e rs th e S o w ega M e l o n G r o w e rs E xchange in

,
’
G e orgia th e T e xas Farm Bur eau Cotton A ssocia

,
’
tio n and th e T e xas Wheat G ro w e rs A ssociat i o n
,
.
There ar e mor e than farm producers id e n

fi
t i ed with t he t hir t y
-thr ee c oO p e rat iv e associations
which ar e affiliat e d with th e N at i o nal C o un cil o f
Farm e rs Co iiperativ e Mark e ting A ssociatio n As
’
.
i n dicated by th e location of th e s e assoc i at i ons an d

th e pr od ucts that ar e b eing mark e t e d by them this ,
moveme n t i s n atio n -wid e Th ey are in mor e o r l e ss

.
succe ssful op e rat i on from T e xas t o Main e and from ,
th e Pacifi c coast to the A tlant i c s e aboard .
Th e geo graphical distribution and th e exte n t o f

th e bus i n e ss c o nduct e d by som e o f th e s e associat i o n s
ar e i llustrat e d by th e f ollowin g figures :
Th e Am e r i ca n Cranb e rry E xchange which is o ne ,
o f the old e st co m modity mark e tin g as sociations i n

th e country did a busine ss of
,
in 19 2 2 .
Th e W i sconsin Ch ee se Producers A ssociation sold

’
ov e r p ounds o f ch ee se in 19 2 3 The Cali .
forn ia Fru i t G row e rs E xchang e a world famous c O

’
,
op e rat i ve organiz ation sold more than

,
worth of citrus fruit in 19 2 3 An d th e Sun Maid

.
R a i s i n G row e rs o f C al i fo rn i a handled f or producers

tons of ra i si ns in one y e ar with a gross sal e
,
exce edi n g The aggregate figur e s for

th e n i n e co Operat iv e cotton as soci at i ons are no t
availabl e but th e busin ess conducted by th e m h as
,
been incr e as in g rap i dly s inc e 19 2 2 and today r e p

,
res e nts one o f th e largest fin ancial busi n ess e n ter

pris e s o f mod e r n times .
Ther e ar e s e v e n r e lativ e ly large as s oc i at i ons

selling tobacco o n a commod i ty basis Six o f th ese .
orga ni zations sold pounds o f to bac co in one

year which r e prese n ts a total busin ess o f
,
0 00. This is approximately half of the fin ancial

value o f th e tobac co crop of th e U n i t ed States .
Th e tw e nty fi v e c o Operat iv e liv e stock s e llin g

-
associations did a busin e ss in 19 2 3 which amou n ted

to O ne o f these organ iz atio n s alo n e
co n du ct ed sales which total e d
Th e farm commoditi e s ab out which th e coopera
tive marketing movements have cen tered include
TH E E CO N O MIC P ROT E ST 209
wheat cotto n tobacco live stock fru i ts rice woo l

, , , , , , ,
dairy products pean uts and v e g e tabl e pro ducts of

, ,
al l kin ds In fact there is scarcely a marketable

.
,
farm pr o duct that is no t now bein g sold somewh e r e

through co Operati v e as s oc i ations E xperi enc e has
.
d e monstrated that both perishabl e and n o n -perish

able products can be mark e ted succe ss fully on a c o
op erative b asis I n fact the n ature o f th e product
.
,
is a l e ss im p orta n t consideratio n than th e available

qua n tity an d t he territorial scope o f the market .
For example it requires a larger amount o f capital

,
to finance a co Operat iv e cotton o r wh e at associat i o n

than a v e getable association Th e s e products are
.
sold in both local and foreign mark e ts Th e s e fac .
tors pr e sent probl ems that do not ge n e rally e x i st for

mor e p e r i shabl e c ommod i ti e s produce d o n th e
farms I t i s a f act o f gr e at i mp o rtanc e that all k i nds
.
o f commod i t i es ar e b ei ng mark e t e d c o Operat iv el y
and that th e dir e ctorate s o f th e as soci at i o ns hav e

be e n r e as o nably succ e ss f ul i n adapt i ng th eir m e th
o ds o f mark e t i ng to th e part i cular comm o d i ty th e y
ar e charged with disposing o f t o th e consum i ng

public .
H o s ti lity t o t he Co opera ti v e M ark e ti n g M o v emen t

That h o st il i ty and o pposit i o n to th e c o o p e rat i ve
s elling o f farm pr o ducts would d e v elop was inev it
abl e Th e plan involv e d rad i cal change s in financ i al
.
p o l i cy I t v i tally aff ect e d th e in t e res t Of m i ddl e m e n

.
w hose in flue n ce in man y cases was very great .

2 10 THE GREEN R ISING
Co o p e rat i ve mark e tin g also ran counter t o wel l
e stablish ed tradit i onal policies o f marketin g an d dis
tributin g farm products that a ff ected directly or
indir e ctly gr e at numb e rs o f people I t shoul d b e
.
obs e rved h ow e ver that it has b een surpris in g h ow

, ,
much sympath e t i c support an d assistan ce this

movem e n t h as r e ce iv e d from ban kers and busin ess
men and h o w ine ffe ct i ve much o f th e opposition
,
has b een in r e tard i ng the pr o gre ss of the mov eme n t

‘
Man y co n sc ie nt i ous pe ople have op posed th e

co Operat iv e mark e t i ng movement o r have b e e n
,
sk e pt i cal o f its b eneficial r e sul ts Some of its mos t

.
ard e n t supp o rt e rs ar e som e what to blame for some

o f th e adv e rs e opin i ons and critic isms that hav e been
dir ect e d aga i nst th e m o v e m e nt E xagge rated claims

.
hav e be e n mad e and p o ssibl e b e n e fits hav e bee n

promis e d that w e re n o t v al i d Al l fallac i ous argu
.
me n ts th at hav e b ee n pr e s e n ted by e nthusi as tic

fri e nds o f th i s mov e m e nt hav e b ee n s eiz ed upon by
c o mp e t e nt authorit i es and u sed f or th e purpo se o f
creat in g pr e j udic e against th e mov ement For ex .
ampl e in th e pr elimi n ary propaganda much w as

,
“ ”
h e ard about th e folly o f d in g and th e wis dom
“ ”
of ord e rly mark e t ing .
Pro fe ssor Jam e s E Boyl e h as pointed out re

.
p e a t e dl y that th i s argum e nt has no valid i ty when

appli e d to wh e at I n an addr ess b efor e Sect i o n F o f
.
the Brit i sh A ssoci at i on at Toronto on A ugust 13 ,

“
19 24 h e sa i d :
,
It is tru e w e move one half o ur -
wheat crop to mark e t within n in e ty days o f harv est .

TH E E CO N O M IC P ROT E ST 2 11
Th i s is ex actly as it should be For wheat i s a world .
crop and the flow o f the U n ited States stream o f

,
wh e at must b e co Ordin at ed with th e fl ow o f wh e at

” 4
into export from the competin g export countri e s .
Th e e conom i c f allacy i n th e ord e rly mark e t i ng ,

”
th e m e rchandisin g versus dumpin g argument h as
be e n poi n t e d out w i th re f eren ce to cotto n and oth e r
products S ta tistical data will no t oft en support
.
this argumen t if a reaso n ably long p e riod o f tim e

i s consid e red as a basis .
It has be en charge d freq uently that th e purpos e

of co Operat iv e marketi n g is to control th e price o f
th e commod i ty A dverse cri tics freely quot e ad .
v ocat es o f th i s plan to substantiat e th i s charge .
Le ad e rs o f this mov e m e nt sp e ak f r eely o f incr e asin g

“ ”
bas i c pr i c e lev els .
A aron Sap i r o has us e d this phras e r e p e atedly in

his v igor o us addr e ss es in advocacy o f c o Operat iv e
mark e t i ng Sp e ak in g b ef or e th e Ind i ana Wh e at
.
Marketin g Confe r e nce in Ind i anapolis Fe bruary 18 , , ,

“
19 2 4 h e sai d :
,
Wh e n w e talk o f co Operat iv e mar
k e ting w e say this : W e ar e int e r es t e d in raising
, ,
”
the bas i c l e v e l o f th e pric e o f wh e at .
Mr W H S e ttl e o f Indiana a m e mb e r o f the

. . .
, ,
O rganization Committee o f the I n dia n a Wh e at

Pool i n a pamphl e t entitl e d Merc handis e Y o ur
,
Wheat says ,
“
E verybody s e ts a pric e o n what h e
'
sells e xcept the farmer Why shouldn t we h av e a .

’
‘
S ee E o n o mi c c J o urna l of t he R o y al Ec o no mic S ci ty
o e fo r
rc
M a h, 1925 , p 2 5 . .
vo i ce in n amin g th e pri ce on the products we
sell " Let s get co n trol o f the fl o w of th e wheat crop
’
through our o w n associatio n an d b e abl e t o m e r

ch an dise i t i n a w ay that will l et us have a voic e
in making pri ces Savi n g a few o f th e han dlin g

.
charge s woul d b e merely saving penn ies an d lett in g

th e dollars go by What we hav e go t to do is to
.
handl e o ur crop so that it is worth more in com

parison with what w e have t o buy We w ant t o
.
i ncr e as e th e pr i c e lev e l of wheat in compariso n with

”
th e manufactur e d goods an d livin g expen ses .
Such stat e m en ts as th ese have b een responsible

fo r th e charge that price fixin g an d mo n opoly co n
tr o l ar e th e fundam ent al purpo ses o f th e coOperat iv e
marke ting moveme n t .
I t is claimed that the system of poolin g is de

’
s i gn ed t o e ff e ct a farmers trust a n d that its essen
,
t i al a im and outsta n din g ch ar acteristics are n ot

d iffe r e nt from the ol d in dustrial trusts most o f
,
which have bee n outlaw ed b y th e federal govern

-
m e nt Is this criticism just " Does it refl e ct the

.
e conomic mot i ves o f th ose wh o have identifi ed

th ems e lv e s with th e c oOperat iv e mark e tin g associa
t i ons " Th ese are questio n s that deserve to be
answ e red and answered very d e fi n it e ly by the
fr ie nds o f th e co tiperat iv e marketin g mov e m e nt .
It is only fair to say that ma n y farmers have been

actuated by th e motiv e s o f monopoly a n d p rice
fix i ng But thos e wh o have though t through the
.
e conom i cs o f th e plan have see n clearly and have

TH E E CO N O MIC P R OT E ST 2 13
taught that the ess e ntial aim o f co o p e rative com

modity marketing is mer e ly to give thos e who pro
duc e th e products some voice in securing a fair price
inst ead o f provid in g mea n s o f monopoliz in g the
supply of th e product and controlling th e pri c e by
trust method s
Dr Be n j amin M An derso n mak es a wise obs e rva
. .
“
tio n on th i s p oin t whe n he says : Co tiperat iv e
mark e ting is to be comm e nd e d wh en it accomplish e s
technical im p rovemen ts in the marketing p ro cess ,
but co n d e m ne d whe n its p urp ose is th e co n trol o f

” 6
prices through spec ulatio n a n d holdin g Th e
‘
’
experience of the Farmers R aisin G rowers A ss o cia ’
tion demo n strates the peril of monopolistic tend

enc ies i n c o Operat iv e marketi n g Th i s organization .
f
u n d e rtook to disp ose o an over supply o f raisins at
-
an arbitrarily fix e d price The co n sumers of raisins .
refused to a ccep t the surplus at an exces sive pr i ce .
Th e organ ization failed with liabilities o f

000 Th e raisi n growers o f Califor n ia p ro fi t e d by
.
this b itter experience They reorga n ized on a real .
co Operat iv e ba is in 19 2 3 In th e o fficial organ

s .
,
The Ass ociation Grow er issue o f March 19 2 3 th e , , ,

"
stat ement is mad e th at the future return s o f th e
farm e r can be in creased either by savin gs i n the cost
”
o f produ ct io n o r savin gs in the cos t o f distributio n .
Th i s would i n dicat e that the raisin grow e rs had

recogn ized the fu n damen tal justifi catio n for c c
l’
S ee Ec o no mic Bul le tin of t
t he Chase N a io nal Bank , Vo l . III ,
N O 3 ( Augus
. t 10,
2 14 TH E GREEN R ISING
o p e rativ e mark e t ing associatio n s A ll o f the se as .
soci at i ons must l e arn so o n e r o r lat e r that th e

e c o nomic productio n and d i stribut i on of commo di
ti e s is the aim in e very program o f co mmod i ty
mark e ting o n a co Operat iv e basis .
Much has b e en said about th e operatio n o f law s

o f supply and d e mand i n r e lat i on t o th e co Operat iv e
mark e t ing mov e ment Th e re has b een much m i s .
und e rstanding as to th e m e a n in g and o perat i on o f

th i s e conom i c princ i pl e H e nd e rson h as form ul ated.
th e laws o f supply and d e mand as follows :

“
1 Wh en at th e price rulin g d e mand exceeds
.
, ,
supply the price ten ds to ris e Co n v e rs e ly wh e n

,
.
supply e xc eeds deman d the price ten ds to fall .
2 A rise in price te n ds sooner or late r to de

.
, ,
cr e ase demand and to i n cre ase supp ly Conversely .
a fall in pri ce tends soo ne r or later to in crease de

, ,
mand an d t o d e crease supply .
“
3 Pric e tends to th e l e vel at which demand is
.
” 6
e qual to supply .
Th e val i d i ty o f th e s e laws is acc e pt e d g e n e rally ,
but the farmers believe that th e pri ce determinatio n

o n th e basis of the f ree Op e ration o f th ese laws does
not usually e x i st G ov e rn o r Frank 0 Lowd e n a

. .
,
notabl e advocat e o f c o Operat iv e mark e t i ng i n an ,
addr e ss b ef or e th e N ati o nal Co Ope rat iv e Mark e tin g

Con fe ren ce in Was hingto n in Ja n uary 19 2 5 said : , ,
"
S upply andD m nd e a ( The C amb ridge Ec ono mic Handb o o k s
S ri
e es ) C ha
,
p II pp 18
.
,
. an d 19 .
TH E E CO N O MIC P ROT E ST 2 15
N ow people talk about the law

,
of
supply and
d e mand fix i ng th e pric e ; th e refore the farmer i s
,
foolish wh e n he assum e s to do it They ignore th e

.
pract i ce that obtains ev e rywher e els e In other in .
dus tries th ey e v e n i n many cas e s insist upon co n

trollin g the retail pr i c e e v e n aft e r th e c o mmodity
has l e ft thei r hands and gone in to th e hands o f th e
r e ta il m e rchant in the int e r e st o f stability o f th e ir
,
i ndustry what e v e r it may be

,
. In all other in
d us tries the g e ntl e m e n who produc e insist that th e ir
lips shall b e th e on e s which sp e ak th e word first .
Under prese n t agricultural cond i t i ons th e farm e r ,
does not dare e ve n to fram e a price in his ow n m ind

u n til he has consult e d the local deal e r in the
tow n .
In an o th e r conn e ct i on in th e sam e addr e ss G ov ,
erno r Lowden af ter explainin g th e d i ffe r e nce b e

,
“ ” “ ”
tw e en n ormal pric e and market pr i ce ,
said
“
E v e ryon e agr ee s that in mak i ng the mark e t pr i c e
th e re must b e e quality of conditions o n the two
s i des and e quality o f in format i on or that pr i ce will
,
n ot r e flect or/ev en approximate th e normal price .
Is th e re any such equality und e r pr e sent conditions "

In oth e r words what o f th e i solat e d individual
,
farm e r s i tuat ed a th o usand m i l e s from th e mark e t "

Is h e on t e rms o f e qual i ty i n arriving at a j ust mar
k e t pr i c e w i th th e gr e at c e ntrali z e d pow e r ful organ
,
izat ions w i th the i r repr e s e ntativ e s scatt e r e d all ov e r

,
th e world usi n g the wires hour by hour and com

,
municating every chan ge in co n diti o n s wh i ch mi gh t
a ff ect the price i n the en d " N o there can b e no
,
such equality for th e c otton growers corn grow e rs

,
and pig growers u n less the farmers an d produc ers

”
o rganiz e o n commodity lin es .
Th es e quotatio n s br i ng o ut one o f th e esse n tially

val i d arguments for c oOperat iv e mark e t in g Th e .
farm e r is n ot exp e ctin g to s et aside th e laws o f sup

ply an d deman d O n the other hand this plan o f
.
,
marketin g farm p roducts is o ne o f the r e asonabl e

ways o f givin g free play t o th e se laws E v e ry o ne
.
knows that under th e lais s ez faire poli cy that has

pr e vai l e d in th e p ast the price paid t o farmers in th e
pri mary markets by middleme n has varied greatly .
For e xample the market price paid t o in dividual

,
f arm e rs in local marke ts on th e same day and o n the

sam e bas i s o f grad e a n d stap le of cotton is far from
un if o rm O ft e n the pri ces p aid for cotton hav e b ee n
.
from 15 0 to 2 00 points u n der N ew O rlean s quota

t i o ns To pr oduc e un i formi ty o f th e price l e vel to
.
,
d e crease th e cos t o f th e mar k etin g p rocess and t o

,
provide e ffi cie n t ma chin ery for co n ductin g the bus i

n e ss o f farmers are the ou t stan din g valid argumen t s
f o r co Operat iv e marketin g.
Wh ile there may be a diff eren ce of o p in ion with

r efe r e nc e to detai l s in th e organizat i on o f co Opera
t iv e mark e t in g and whil e it is undoubtedly true that
some commodity market i ng organiz ations will fail
becaus e o f ineffi ci e nt busin ess leadership an d organ
izat ion policies it seems re aso n ab l y cert ain th at
,
TH E E CO N O M IC P R OT E S T 2 17
farm e rs i n th e future will market th e ir products in

i ncr e asing n umb e rs through co Operat iv e ass o ci ations .
“ ”
In th e past farm e rs hav e kn own all too l i ttl e ,
says 0 D Fost e r i n a very illuminatin g article on

. .
,
“
this subj ect about co n trollin g and solving their
,
problems i n busin ess fashio n The farm e r is as

.
much a ma n ufacturer as the ma n wh o owns a fac

tory an d the marketin g o f farm p roduc t s is as much
o f a commercial venture as th e sellin g o f h o ist i ng
cranes or an y other comm odity and r e quires j ust as

high a degre e o f intellige n ce as any oth e r bus i n e ss
enterpris e The farmer has b ee n critici z ed for his
.
lack o f k n owledge o f mark et in g .Th e probl e ms

which crowd him are of a n entirely d i ffe ren t natur e
and h e does no t have any opportu n ity to learn th e
d e mands of the trad e O ne thin g which farmers
.
must be made t o realize is that consideratio n o f th e

mark e ting problem of an y give n cro p should b egin
prior to the time whe n they p lant th e ir se ed and ,
that they have performed o n ly hal f o f th e functions

of productio n when they have harvested th eir
crops .
“
There canbe l ittle questio n o f th e v alue to the
farmer in co tiperat iv e action Th e s e organ izat i ons
.
conducted al o n g busin ess methods have given agri

cultural marke tin g s tan din g in the busin ess world .
They mark a ste p forw ar d in the world o f agricultur e

for th ey raise the stan dard o f productio n an d secure
th e economies which come from large scale orga n i z a
tio n an d co Operation They wield enormous infl u
.
2 18 TH E GREEN R ISING
e n c e for th e y ca n change for the better the en tire
pr o ducti o n m e thods of an in dustry .
Legis la tion R el atin g t o Co op era ti v e M ark e ting

S e cr e tary Jardin e o f th e Un i ted States D e part
,
m e nt of A gricultur e h as r e cently b ee n quoted as

,
say i ng : N i n e ty p e r cent o f th e f armer s troubl e

’
can b e solv e d by himself and himself alone and no ,

”
I t is gen
‘
mor e than t e n p e r c en t by legislation .
’
eral l y r e c o gniz e d that the farm e r s problems can n ot
b e solv e d by l egislat i ve eco n omic panac e as It is .
irnpo rt an t to r e co gn iz e that th e farmer is a bu s i ness

man and that h e h as the same fina n ci al problems as
thos e engag e d i n oth e r kin ds o f busin e ss en t e rpris e .
But the changin g aspects o f economic l i fe hav e re

quir e d som e l e gi slation in the int e r e st o f all kinds o f
bus in e ss act iv i t i es A griculture i s n o e xception and
.
,
from time to t im e it h as b ee n n ec e s sary for farm ers

to s ee k remed i al or protectiv e legislation in th e
i n ter e st o f th e ir busi nes s .
In ord e r to mak e the program o f co o p e rativ e mar

k e t i ng e ffe ct iv e it is nece ssary for th e ind ividual
,
farm e rs to e nt e r into contract with th e commodity

as s o ci at i o ns The mark e ting policies o f th e associa
.
tions th e ms e lv e s rais e impo rtant legal qu e stions It .
th e r efor e b e cam e n e cessary to secur e legi slation

val i dating th e form o f contracts and givin g legal
7
Why C oo pe rat iv e M ark e ting I s a Big I ssue in T rad e Winds
,
“ ”
,
a finan c ial p ub l i c at io n o f t he Unio n T rust C o mp any o f C l ev e land

, ,
iss ue of Jun e 1925

, .
protection to th e associatio n s The Sta n dard M ar

.
k e t in g Law pr e par e d by A aro n Sapiro of Cal ifornia

was d e s ign e d to m ee t fully all the l e gal r e qu i r e m e nts
an d to giv e e ffect iv e n e ss to the sales policies o f th e
commod i ty associations T exas was th e first state
.
to pass th i s law and sinc e that time ( 19 2 1 ) thirty

,
fi v e stat e s hav e e nact e d a statut e similar to that o f

T exas Th i s is i n i ts e lf a r e markabl e achi e vem e nt
. .
It indicat e s th e w i d e spr e ad i nflu e nc e e x e rt e d by

farmers in b ehalf o f th e ir ow n e conomic int er e sts .
It is a tribut e to th e g i fted author o f th e ori ginal

law that this act has b ee n attack e d r e p e atedly in
th e courts sinc e 19 2 1 an d its validity has been
un iformly upheld .
Int e r e st i n co Operat iv e mark e ting has b een re

fl ec t ed i n a mass o f l e gi slat i o n that has b ee n pro
p o s e d r e c ently by C o ngre ss t o aid in th e solut i on
o f th e farm e r s e conom i c probl e ms Much o f this
’
.
prop o s e d l e gi slation is e conom i cally unwise un ,
sound in p o licy and unn e cessary as an a i d t o mor e

,
efficien t an d success ful commodity mark e t ing O n .
th e whol e it has b een inspir e d by go o d int e nt i ons

, /
and support e d by thos e who sincer ely d e sir e to im

prov e th e e conom i c status Of the farm populat i on .
A bri e f summary o f thre e o f t h e bills propos e d in

th e si xty eighth Congr e ss w i ll in dicat e th e trend o f
-
this proposed legislation .
Th e McN ary H aug e n b ill w as in tend e d as an

-
e m e rgency m e asure to r eliev e the di stress o f th e

wh e at f armers in 19 2 3 This bill p ro p osed t o
.
e stablish a gov e rn me n t co rporation to fix a ratio
pri ce for ce rtai n commoditi es . This cor p oratio n
was giv e n broad pow e rs by th e governm e nt n ot
only to fix a rat i o price for wheat on th e open
mark e t bu t t o buy th e nec e ssary amoun t o f wheat
to susta i n th e pri ce agr ee d upon Th e surplus
.
wh e at w as t o b e bought and dispos e d of in any

mark e t o f the world and at any p r i ce it co uld s e cure .
Th i s b i ll was o bviously design ed to establish the

pr i c e o f wh e at and th e e ff e ct o f it would hav e be e n
,
to subsidize th e industry .
The N orris S i nclair bill provid e d for th e form

-
at i on o f a corporat i on to be call e d th e Farme rs an d ’
Co ns umers Fina nc ing Corp o ra tio n with a hundr e d

’
million dollar capital and a right to issu e bonds to

th e exte n t o f five times that amount This pro .
posed corp o rat i o n w as to b e own e d and controlled

compl e t e ly by the fed e ral go v e rnm e nt I t w as to .
hav e th e p ower to erect warehous e s to buy and ,
s e ll farm products an d p e rform all o f the functions

,
o f a gr e at busine ss corp oration Th e i d e a o f this

.
r e markable proposal was to sustain a r e asonably

h i gh price for farm products a n d to in sur e a stab il
ized market for the farm .
Th e proposed Ti n cher bill w as very di ffe rent from

th e oth e r two to which r e fe r enc e has b ee n made .
Th i s b i ll pr o pos e d to establish a division o f coOper

ativ e marketi n g i n the Un ited S tates Department
o f A gricultur e . This departm en t w as to e stablish
standard s o f clas sifi catio n p rovid e a system o f in
,
spe c t ion an d certificat i on as sist co o perative assoc ia

,
t i ons in carrying on their busin ess help i n install i ng

,
records and per f orm other services for the en

,
c o uragement o f c o Operat iv e market i ng assoc i at i ons .
It i s not surprisin g that the farm lead e rs ident i fi e d

w i th th e c o Operat iv e marketing movem e nt hav e
o ppos ed vigorously both the N orris -S i ncla i r and th e
M cN ary-Haug en bil ls In crit i cising this l e gisla

.
t i on A aron Sapiro an authority o n th e law o f the

, ,
“
subj e ct sai d : Th e farm e r do e s not n ee d a crut ch
'
.
,
What h e ne e ds is a light an d let the govern m e nt

,
give h i m a ligh t i n stead o f try i n g to make him l ea n

” “
o n a crutch . I n anoth e r conn e ction h e sa i d : I
am again st the Un ited States gov e rnment tryin g to
do a n y price fixing I am against th e U n ited Stat e s
.
gov e rnme n t try in g t o do any fancy thing to dispos e

o f sur p lus a n d hurt w heat growers in any other land
just so as to make the co n sum e r o f A m er i ca pay an

art i ficial price for any farm prod uct I am for th e
.
farm e rs ru n nin g their ow n busin e ss There is n ot

.
any more reas o n why we n eed a crutch than th e

st ee l industry or an y other outs i de in dustry ne eds
a crutch They take care o f th e mselves W e can
. .
do ju s t as much for ours elves if we will learn proper

o rgani zat i o n What the farm e r ne e ds i s not pr i c e
.
fi xing by the gov e rnment ; h e n ee ds co Operat iv e

marketin g organ izatio n with the definite e n courage
m en t o f the Un ited Stat es governm en t I n stead o f
.
th e g overnm e nt g i v i ng money and soaking th e

consumers of A merica let th e governmen t d e vote
,
o ne per cen t o f that e n ergy t o really help in g th e
f armers through co Operat iv e mark e ti ng associat i ons ,
and th e y w i ll solv e th ei r wh e at pr o bl e m and oth e r

”
probl ems in less than five or seven y e ars .
The S ixty-ei ghth C o ngr e ss adj ourn e d w i thout act

i n g favorably upo n e ith e r o f the propos e d b ills for
the r el ie f o f agriculture .Wh e n th e S ixty-n in th
Congr e ss co n vened a r ene wed eff ort was mad e to
secur e the pass age o f on e or mor e o f thes e l e gisla
tiv e proposals Most o f these m e asur e s were re
.
dra f ts o f b i lls that had be e n subm i tted prev 1ousl y

to Congress .
Of th e num e rous bills in troduced only thr e e re

c eiv e d serious co n sid e ration Th e first was th e
.
Curtis A swell Bill which had for its purpos e th e

-
,
organization with govern m en tal aid o f a nationwide

co Op era t iv e ass o ciat i on . This b i ll prov i ded f or th e
co Ord in at io n o f all exist i ng co Ope rat iv e mark e t in g
ass o c i at i o ns o f the cou n try and i t furth e r provided

,
fo r th e e ncourag e m e nt o f th e organizat i on of addi

t io n al co Operat iv e a s sociat i o n s where th e y w e r e
found to be ne ed e d Th i s bill failed to provide ade
.
q u at el y for mark e tin g the surplus f arm crops ,

and it
i s probabl e that this w as th e re as o n it did no t rec e iv e
mor e f avorable consideration .
Th e s e cond farm reli e f bill was kn own as th e

Tinch e r Bill Th is bill was d e sign ed to promote
.
co mm o d i ty mark e t ing by l e nd in g th e co o perativ e

ass o c i at i o n s mon e y at low rat e s o f in terest It was
.
reported that this w as an admin istrative meas ure

TH E E CO N O MIC P ROT E S T 22 3
and that it was support e d by President Coolidge an d

Secr e tary Jard i ne . Two crit i c i sms wer e direct e d
against it by farm pap e rs and farm organ i za
tions throughout the country I t was cont e nd e d
.
in th e first place that it did no t go t o the root o f

the farm problem because ther e was n o real n eed
for more ch e ap mo ne y to fin anc e commod i ty cc
operative enterprises I n th e s e cond place the bill
.
,
failed to o ffe r a satisfactory r e med y f or stabil i zin g

mark e t conditions In other words th e same crit i
.
,
c ism was di rect e d at the Ti n ch e r Bill that appl ie d
to th e Curtis A sw e ll B i ll nam e ly that it did not

-
, ,
prov i d e a sat i s f actory m e thod for marketing surplus

farm products .
For th ese reaso n s the frie n ds o f farm relief in

Co n gress turned t o the Haugen Bil l otherw ise ,
know n as the Farm Surp lus B i ll which was the ,
only one o f th e thre e that really attempt ed a solu

tion Of th e surplus probl em This bill was sim i lar
.
to th e M cN a y Haug en Bill tha t was o fl ere d as an

r -
em e rge n cy measure in the precedin g Co n gr ess It .
provid e d i n brief for four thin gs

1 ) Th e establishm e nt i n the Department o f
“
A gricultur e o f A Div i sion of Co iiperat iv e Mark e t
”
in g for th e en courag e ment and assistan ce o f com
mo dity c o Operat iv e associations .
“
( )
2 Th e cr e atio n o f a Fe deral Farm A dvisory
”
Cou n cil to co n sist o f fi v e m e n from each of the
twelve fed e ral land ban k districts four to b e ,
n omi n ated by farmers mark etin g organ izatio n s an d

’
224 TH E G R EEN R ISI NG
th e fifth to be appoin ted by the S e cre t ary o f A gri
cultur e Th e bill provided that this b ody should
.
meet twice a y e ar and formulat e r e comm e ndations

as to policies for farm relief .
( 3 ) Th e establ i shm e nt of a Fe deral Farm

Board to b e compos e d o f twelve me n o ne from
, ,
e ach o f the twelve f ed e ral lan d bank districts and ,
appoint e d by the Preside n t o f th e Un ite d States

from th e Federal Farm A dvisory Council ,and e m
ploy e d f or their e n tire tim e to study the probl e ms
and n e ed s o f the American farmer .
( 4 ) The payme n t of an equalization fe e or pro

’
duc e rs tax on bas i c agricultural commodit ie s the ,
amount o f th e fe e or tax to be determine d by the

Fe d e ral Farm Board t o b e us ed for purchasing
, ,
stori ng and s e ll ing surplus crops

,
.
( 5 ) An appropriatio n o f was pro

v id ed fo r assist i ng c o Operat iv e mark e ting ass oc i a
t i ons in financin g and s e llin g farm products .
This bill was known in the Senate as the M cN ary

Bill Both bill s wer e fin ally defeated aft e r several
.
days o f e arn e st deba t e i n the H o us e and S e nate .
Party lin e s w e re broken down and b oth D e m o crats

and R e publican s v o t e d for and agai nst th e s e bi lls .
Th e H aug e n B i ll was d e feat e d in th e H ous e by a

vot e o f 2 15 to 170 Th e M cN ary Bil l was d e fe at e d i n
.
th e S e nate by a vot e o f 4 5 t o 3 9 In both houses

.
thes e bills w e r e supported by a coal itio n o f western

and south e rn congress m en and opposed by a com
bi n atio n o f east e rn represe n tatives with the support
TH E E CO N O MIC P R OT E ST 225
of m e mb e rs from other sectio n s o f th e cou n try who

w e re oppos ed to the subsidy feature o f the measure .
Th e press comment on the defeat of thes e bills i s

a fairly accurate expressio n o f popular s e ntiment .
The Kans as City S tar which is r e ad wid e ly through

,
o ut a sectio n where farm disco n te n t h as be e n most
i n e vid en ce discusses this sub j ect editorially u n der

,
“ ”
th e titl e Invitin g a Farm R e volt A ft e r dir e ct ing
.
atte n tio n t o th e fact that the failure o f Congres s

to p as s a farm r e lief m e asur e do e s not settl e the
issue th e editorial p roc eeds to raise this question
,
“
Do e s Washin gt o n wan t a farm revolt on its hands
as it had i n the ol d Popu l ist days " It is i n vi ti ng
’
such a revolt if it refuses to recogn ize th e farmers
”
r e li e f in terests
.
“
There is but one thi n g that Co n gress could do ,
says the Dallas N ews editorial ly in commen tin g on

,
th e d e feat Of this legislatio n which w ould assured

,
l y co n tribute t o th e betterment o f th e agricultural

in dustry that all me n desire I t could reduce the
.
rates o f the most highly protect ive tari ff measures

this c ountry has ev er k no wn O ne effect o f this
.
would b e t o e nh an ce the p urchasin g power o f th e

products o f the farm An other w ould b e to make
.
for eign mark ets more absorptive o f our f arm pro

ducts For it is with th e ir o w n manufactur e d pro
.
ducts that most for e ign peoples must buy of th e

”
Unit e d S tates particularly E uropean p e opl e
,
.
Mark Sulliva n in a syn dicated article express e d

, ,
“
a similar vie w . Th e cornb el t prop osal he s ay s
, ,
was t o give to the f armer the sam e d e gree an d
s e curity o f tariff prot e cti on as th e man u f acturer
e nj oys . Th e co rn belt R e publicans made an
alli an ce with th e D e mocrats to o ut -tariff th e tari ff ,
and that man euver has failed Th e o nly th i ng l ef t

.
to e v erybody wh o wants to do som e th in g for th e

farm e r is to attack th e tariff and to r e vise it down
ward A ll their e arlier alt e rnativ e s about ra i si ng
.
th e f arm e r on st i lts as h i gh as tar i ff st ilts upo nwh i ch

,
th e man u facturers strid e have fai le d The other

, .
alt e rnatives t o reduc e th e heights o f t h e stilts on

,
which th e manufactur e rs walk i s now in front o f

,
them Th e proposal t o rais e the pr i ces o f farm pro

.
ducts to parity with manu f actured products h as

b ee n d e fe at e d Th e r e i s l e ft only th e proposal t o
.
r e duce th e price o f what th e farm e r is compe lled t o

buy fr o m th e man ufactur e r by reduc ing th e pro t ec
t i v e tari ff.
Th e w i d e spread dissat is fact i on through th e W e st

over th e fai lur e of Congr e ss to pass th e M cN ary
H aug e n bill r e sulted in the Senate r e newin g its
e ff orts to pass a farm -r e li ef m e asur e A fe w days
.
be for e final adj ournm e nt o f th e s e ssi on in July the

S e nat e p as s e d th e Co Operat iv e Mark e t i ng b i ll ,
known as th e Tin ch e r b i ll wh i ch pr ev i ously h ad

,
pas s e d th e H ous e Two i mpor t an t am e ndm e n t s

.
w e r e o ffe r e d to this bill whil e i t was und e r con

sid e ratio n . The Fess am e ndment p r oposed to
creat e a revolvin g fu n d of 100 milli on dollars to be
TH E E CO N O M IC P R OT E ST 22 7
o ff e r e d as loans to coo p erative marketing groups .
Th e R obinson amendme n t p ro p osed the establish

me n t o f a 2 00 mill io n dollar farm E xport Corp ora
“
tio n with authority t o make loans to an y farmers ,
ranch e rs or pl an t e rs acting s e parat e ly or in co Op

,
”
at iv e associ at i o n s for th e purp os e o f e nabl ing
th e m t o dispose o f surp lus crops B oth amendme n ts
.
were defeated b efore the fi n al vote was taken on

the or i gin al bill The passage of th e Co Operat iv e
.
Marketin g bill b y th e Senate en ded the lon ge st de

bate an d the m o st thorough co n sideration that Con
gr e ss h as ever give n to proposed farm l e gislat i on .
Those w ho favored the equaliz atio n fee principl e

o f th e M cN ary -Haugen bill w e r e d i sapp o in t e d
. It
is cla i med that the n et result o f co n gressio n al action
was th e creat i o n o f a division o f co Operat iv e mark e t
ing i n the Departmen t o f A griculture Th e act o n ly
.
giv e s legal san ctio n to th e work o f the Bur e au o f

A gricultural E co n omics which has been en couragin g
,
commodity marke tin g u n d e r executiv e ord e r for

s e veral years This l e gislation how e ver do e s in sure
.
, ,
mor e adequa te fu n ds for th i s purpo s e and th i s prob

,
ably is the only be ne fit that ca n b e d e riv e d from

this latest eff ort at farm relief .
There seems to be some dan ger at the pres e nt tim e

that agr i cultural e n t e rp rise will be caused to su ffe r
from t o o much rather than too littl e l e gislation .
This men ace is greater i n Congress than in the

several state legisl atures If a n other fin ancial de
.
pr e ss i on should oc cur aff ecting agricultur e and par ,
t ic ularl y wheat an d co tto n it is almost certain that

,
Congress would depart from previous govern mental

p olici es a n d p as s some such legislatio n as th e N orris
Sincla i r bill o r th e M c N ary Hauge n bill
- But it is
.
certain that this legislatio n will be op posed by the

more conservative of the p o p ulatio n whom it is
in te n ded t o b e n e fi t
.
The S ignificance o f the Co operativ e M o v ement

“
Kn owledge faith leadership—this is the trin ity
, ,
”
o f es s en tials
,
sa ys Claren ce Po e in his b ook o n
,
H ow Farmers Co opera t e in rural co bperat io n an d

“
, ,
th e greatest o f these is Leadership G iv e us l e ad e r

.
”
ship and all th e other thi n gs will b e added to us .
Th e hop e fulness of this movemen t grows out o f

th e quality o f l e ad e rsh i p that has app e ar e d But .
—
fai th fai th in th e policy o f co iiperat iv e mark e t i ng ,
fa i th o f farm e rs in e ach oth e r f aith o n th e part o f

,
farm e rs in those whom they se lect to serv e th e m

is e ss e nt i al to the con tinu e d advan ce m e nt o f the
mov e m e nt that h as h ad such a r emarkabl e b e gin
n ing Co Operat iv e marketing as an e xpr e ss i on o f
.
agrar i an i sm h as s urvived th e r e turn o f prosp erity .
This in itsel f is e n couragin g But much n ee ds to be

.
don e to establish this farm econom i c pol i cy o n a

sou n d and profitabl e bas i s .
Th e m ost serious criti cism that can b e offered to

th is latest expressio n o f a grarian ism is the narrow
in terpretatio n that our farmers h ave given to th e
TH E E CO N O MIC P R OT E ST 229
id e a o f co o p e ratio n . A gricultural Co o peratio n ,

“
says one o f o ur most thoughtful j our n alists m e an s ,
simply that the farmer must tak e control o f all

—
phases of his busin ess the busin ess of growi n g and
d elivery t o the world its food an d the raw material
for its clothing If the farm e r is t o i nsur e to him
.
’
s e lf his share o f th e co n sumer s dollar h e must en
,
large his conception o f c o iiperat io n and mak e it

includ e all as p e cts o f th e field Co Operat iv e mar
.
ketin g is o n ly one asp ect o f th is whole situatio n .
The oth e rs in clude c o Operat ion in buying suppli e s ,
co Operat io n in production ,
co o p e rati o n i n agricul
tural manu f acturing proc e ss e s and coOperat ion in
,
rural cred it and crop in suran ce Some advan ce h as

.
b een mad e i n the se directio n s But t he nex t s t ep

.
in agrarianism s houl d b e a balanc e d program of

unifie d effo rt t ha t wi ll gi v e s ym metry and propor
”
t ion t o e v ery as pe c t of rural c oop eration .
The co Operat iv e mov e ment in marketing farm

products represen ts th e mos t advan c ed st e p yet
taken by th e farmers o f th e country in the solution
o f their ec o n omic problems . A good stan dard o f
liv in g for those who live in the ope n cou n try is th e
only means o f savin g the American farmer from
p e asan try E co n omic in de pe nden ce is the fu n da
.
men tal safeguard of this whole situatio n It is th e .
duty no t o n ly o f o ur farmers but o f p eople of all

other vocatio n s to e n courage every mov emen t that
promises t o im p rov e th e e co n omic status o f our
farm populatio n Coiiperativ e market in g gives us
.
the greatest p romise in this d irectio n Therefore
.
,
th e bank e r the m e rch an t and the manu factur e r can

, ,
w e ll afford to le n d a h el p in g han d to a mov e m e nt

th at Offe rs so much prom i s e toward sustain i ng and
promotin g o ur Western civiliz atio n .
CH A PT E R X I
TH E P RE S EN T STA TUS OF AGRICULTU RA L

"
EN T ER P R IS E
E v e ry nat i o n has h ad i ts farm problem . Virgil

w as righ t whe n he said :
O ur heavenly father had n ot j udged it righ t
To leave the road o f agrl cul t ure light :
Twas he w h o first made husban dry a plan ;
’
A nd care a Whetsto n e for the wit Of man ;

N or su ff ers h e his ow n domai n to li e
A sleep in cumbrous ol d world lethargy
-
.
Th i s p roblem has appeared early an d p ersist e d lo n g

i n th e li fe o f natio n s Th e w i sdom to find a solutio n
.
o f this problem as it has man ifested i ts e lf has tested
the m en tal acum en o f sta t esmen A dispositio n to.
i gnore this problem as w e hav e s ee n has r e sult e d

, ,
o f ten i n soc ial or political revolutions and e c o nomic

distress .
It seems that n o natio n has e ver s eriously

att e mpt e d to formulate a co Ordinat ed co n struct iv e
,
farm pol i cy . G overnmen tal policies hav e been

formulated in beh al f o f n at i o n al defen se i n dustry ,
Geo rgics Bk 1 120-125 tr b y R D Black mo re

, .
, ,
. . . .
23 1
a n d tra n sportatio n It seems that a n atio n s basic
.
’
in dustry should b e the firs t t o rec eive this ki n d o f

consi d e ration Th e Un i t e d S tates h as gon e f arth e r
.
perhaps tha n any oth er n atio n in pass ing important

laws to en courag e agriculture but the fault has ,
b ee n in the fragme ntary way in wh i ch the probl e m

h as been approached .
C o ngress A t tac k s t he Pro b le m
The action o f the Six ty -n in th Co n gress is a good

i llustratio n o f our attitude to w ard agricultural en
t erpris e . More tha n 2 00 bills a n d res olutions relat
i ng to some aspect o f farm relief were in troduced .
M o st of th e se measures propo sed some form o f gov

ernmen t al control o r pric e fixing Many o f th e m
.
provi d e d for larg e appropriat i ons o ut o f th e F e d e ral

tr e asury The resolutio n s pro p o s ed in vestigations
.
o r nat i o n al o r in ternatio n al confere n ces o n f arm
probl e ms Th e s i nceri ty o f p ur pose o f th e authors

.
o f most o f th i s pro p osed legislatio n is not t o be
qu e stion ed But it is quite o b vious that many of

.
th e s e bills and res olution s were e ith e r economi cal ly

unsound or th e remedy p ro po s ed w ould have proved
,
i n e ffe ct i ve Th e debates in Congr e ss r e v e al th e

.
mental confusio n conc e r n in g th i s problem The e x .
t e nd ed d ebate in th e Six ty -n in th Congr e ss on some

o f th e more importa n t farm reli e f m e asure s amply
i llustrat e s th is fact Th e followin g coll oquy con

.
,
den se d from th e Congressi ona l R ecord o f Jun e 1 1 ,
19 2 6 is rath e r ill umin atin g :

,
STA TUS OF AGR ICULTU RA L ENT ERP RIS E 23 3
“
Mr R o b i nson o f Indiana : Mr Pres id e nt I had
.
‘
.
,
assum e d unt i l th e j unior Senator from O hio ( Mr

,
.
Fe ss ) spok e yesterday a n d again t o some e xte n t

t o day that th e r e was n o quest i o n in the mind o f
,
any m e mb er o f this body as to th e fact that th e r e

is a farm probl e m in the Un ited States I had as .
sum ed that th e fact s w e r e so per fe ctly clear s o ,
p e rfectly well known to ev e ry man woma n a

,
n d ,
child in th is gr e at lan d o f ours with r efe rence t o

th e farm s i tuation that th e r e c o uld be n o qu e st i on
,
in th e m ind o f any S e nator as to wh e th e r th e prob

l e m e x i sted or no t I was utterly amaz e d at som e
.
stat e ments mad e by my good friend f orm e rly my ,
t e ach e r th e jun i or Senator from O hio but not mor e

, ,
s o in an y stat e m e nt h e mad e than in that wh i ch
sugg ested that this i s a sort o f passing craz e a phase ,
o f o ur national life that will pas s ov e r in a day o r
a we e k or a month and that it requ i r e s no att e ntio n

,
what e v e r from th e A m e ri can G ov e rnm e nt basic ,

’
though th e industry be .
“
Mr G ooding : A lt o g e th e r Mr Pr e s i d e nt i n 19 14
.
‘
, .
,
we had in ba nk s and in 19 2 5 we
had 95 18 9 2 93 2 000 .
‘
We hav e accumulat e d m o r e w e alth in o ur banks
sin ce 19 14 tha n all th e accumulations i n the exist
e nc e of this G ov e r n men t b e fore that time Yet .
,
th e great Se n ator from O hio stan ds h e re and tells

us that there is n o di ff eren ce be twee n the condition
o f ag riculture at th e prese n t time as far as it s
,
r elationship to i n dustry is co n cern ed an d its co n di

,
tio n in years of pan ic ; th at it is practically o n the
same basis as durin g th e time of the pan ics o f the
past ; that its ills are imagin ary ; and that they will
cure t h e ms elves if w e just let them alo n e ; an d that
th e farmer must work o ut h i s own d e st i ny .
’
“
Mr Fe ss : Mr Pr esi d e nt
.
‘
.
The President pro t e mp o r e : Do e s th e Sen ator

‘
from Idaho yi e ld to th e Senat o r from O hi o " ’
“
Mr G oodin g : I y ie ld
.
‘
.
’
Mr Fe ss : Th e r e lat iv e purch as i ng po w e r o f th e
.
‘
farmer in 19 2 5 w as ab out 9 0 ce n ts A gricultural

.
products hav e in creas e d sin ce 19 2 1 from 116 to 14 7 .
Th e wholesale p rices o f n o n agricultural commodi

ti e s have d e creas ed from 16 7 to 165 The p urchas
.
ing power of the farmers product h as in creased

’
from 69 to 90 .
‘
I say to the S en ator that I will j oin him in any
r em e dy by law by which we can in cre ase the facili
ti es o f mark etin g ; I will go the limit with him ; but
i f this matter is p ermitte d to go on in its n ormal
c o urs e aid e d by what w e can do in co Operat iv e
,
mark e t ing w e will r e duce the d i ff erent i al between

,
’
the articles n o n agricultural and thos e agricultur al .
“
Mr G o oding : Th e G overn m e nt r e ports I regard
.
‘
,
as reliab le ,
are al l bas ed on whol esal e pri ces an d ,
th e r e is n o questio n but that the in creases have b ee n

e nt i r ely o ut o f pro p ortion t o the wholesale price s ,
b e ca us e in a larg e measure it is th e retailer w ho

pays the fr e igh t rate and passes it on and the in ,
creas e in fr e igh t ra t es has m ade the sp read a gr e at

STA TUS OF AGR ICULTU RA L EN T ERP RIS E 235
d eal large r than i t was Fo r instan ce fi gures have

.
,
b ee n g iven as to th e pric e s on soap and other things

manufactur ed in C i ncinnat i Th en with the in .
,
cr e as e du e to the higher fr e igh t rates the spread ,
i s entir e ly di ff er en t from what it w as b efore The .
basi s w as nev e r fa i r a n yhow b e caus e th e farm e r ,
d o e s not buy whol e sal e at all .

’
“
Mr M cMas t er: Mr Pr e sid ent
.
‘
— .
w
Th e Pr e sident pro tempor e : Do e s th e S e nator ‘
from Idaho yield t o the Senator from South

Dak o ta " ’
“
Mr G ood i ng : I yield
.
‘
.
’
Mr Mc Mas t er: Wh ile th e comparison o f th e

.
‘
purchasi n g pow e r of farm p roducts i n comparison

with the purchasin g p ower of no n agricultural pro
ducts is in t e restin g and has a certain bearing upon
,
th e qu e stion how ev e r we must not overlook th e

, ,
great ce n tral fact u n d e rlying th i s situatio n that ,
according t o th e report of the i n dustrial co n fe rence

b o ard at N ew Y o rk the cost o f production of agri
,
cultural products has been less than the whol esale

pri ce s o f those agricultural pr o ducts s i nc e
“
“
M r Fe ss : I n accordanc e with that stat e ment
.
,
’
ev e ry farm e r would b e brok e .
“
M r G ood in g : Most Of th e m ar e broke
.
‘
.
’
Mr McM as t er: N o : they ar e not

.
‘
.
’
Mr Fe ss : Th e S e nator from Idaho says th e y

.
‘
ar e bro k e and th e Sen ator from South Dakota says

th e y ar e n ot
.
’
“ ’
Mr G ooding : I am speaking g e n e rally
.
‘
.
M r Fe ss : Th e S e nator from Idah o is logical
.
‘
.
I f what th ey produc e c o sts mor e than th ey g e t out

o f it th e y can n o t liv e o n n o th i ng
’
, .
So w e find o ur farm probl e m r e duc e d to an e co

n om i c paradox and it s merits t o a re duc tio ad ah
s urdum argum en t .
An Ana lysis o f t he S i tuatio n
But th e facts in th e agricultural s i tuat i o n can n ot

b e thus disp o s e d o f A n analys i s o f th e stat i st i cs
.
r e lating t o th e f arm s i tuat i o n sh o ws cl e arly that a

r e al probl e m e x i sts and that i ts s olut i o n r e quir e s
,
c o nstructiv e act i on Th e briefe st summary r ev e als

.
the ex i st in g s i tuation
The n umber o f farms h as decreas ed from

in 19 20 to in 19 2 5 o r ,
p e r cent .
2 . The number o f acres of f arms de cl ine d from

in 19 2 0 t o in 19 2 5 .
Th e d e cr e ase i n th e numb e r o f farms and ag

gregat e farm acreage sh ows that th e number
o f abandon e d f arms is incr ea si n g .
3 . The total agr i cultural w e alth d ecreas e d from

i n 19 2 0 to in
19 2 5 . I f th e s e figur e s are corr e ct e d to th e
19 13 purch as i ng pow e r o f th e d o llar th e f arm ,
w e alth i n 19 2 0 was and that

of 19 2 5 ,
ST A TUS OF AGR ICULTU RAL EN T ERP RIS E 23 7
4 . Th e n umber o f farms op e rat e d by t e nan ts in

creased slightly for the n atio n as a whol e b e
twee n 192 0 an d 19 2 5 Th e p ercentage o f
.
farms operat e d by t e nants w as high est in the

predomin an tly agricultural stat e s ran ging ,
from 3 4 p er cent in th e W e st N orth Cen tral

t o 5 3 per ce n t in th e West South C e ntral The .
agricultural census o f 19 2 5 shows that the p e r

c en tage o f farms operated b y tenan ts in t hese
r e gio n s h as in creased durin g the p ast fiv e
y e ars
.
5 . The number o f persons engage d in agriculture

dec line d from in 19 2 0 to
in 192 5 .
6 . Th e gross in com e o f agricultural ent e rpris e

dec line d from in 9 9 2 0 to
1 1 -
in 19 2 5
24 - .
7 . The farm population constitut e s about 3 0 p e r

c e nt of th e to tal populat i o n But th e farm ers
.
r e c eiv e d o nly p e r c e nt o f th e nat i onal in

com e in 19 19 and that d e cl i ned t o about 14
per c e nt in 19 2 5.
The Efi e c ts o f t his S it ua ti on
Th e s e stat i st i cs are su ffic ient to ind i cat e the ge n

e ral tr e nd o f th e agricultural s i tuation Th e e ff ec t s .
ar e shown by th e i n c r e as e i n f arm i nd ebt e dn e ss and ,
th e numb e r o f farm bankruptcie s and bank f ailur e s

i n agri cultural r e gions Th e facts ar e as follows
.
1 . The farm in debted n ess of th e Un ited S tates
in creased f rom in 19 10 to
i n 19 2 0 Figures comp il e d by
.
the C en sus Bureau show that from 19 2 0 to

19 2 5 the mortgage i n d e bt e dn e ss has in cr e as e d
steadily I n typ i cal agricultural stat e s lik e
.
Iowa N ebraska N orth Dakota and Kansas

, , , ,
the per ce n tage in crease ra n ged from 12 to 18 .
2 . Th e number o f bankru p t cies amohg farm e rs

stead ily in creas ed from 679 i n 19 10 t o 19 06
in 19 16 Th e n umber declin ed to 163 2 i n
.
19 17 12 0 7 i n 19 18 and 9 9 7 i n 19 19 Th e n um
, ,
.
ber increased rapi dly from 1363 in 19 2 1 to

7 8 72 in 19 24 Th e p e rc e ntage o f failures has
.
in creased from 2 1 t o 123 from 19 2 0 t o 19 2 5 .
In comm e nting o n th e s e figur e s th e N ati onal I n ,
d us t rial Conf e r e nc e B o ard d i r e cts att e nt i on t o th e

“
fact that Th e s e dispar i tie s and th e ir e ffects hav e
not been the same in all s e ctio n s o r i n all branches
o f the in dust ry . I n g en eral it ap pe ars that th e
produc e rs o f wh e at c o r n cattle hogs and c o tton
, , , ,
have felt the e ffec ts o f the p ost w ar readjustment

-
most seve r ely whil e th e produc e rs o f dairy products

, ,
fruits an d veg e t ables es peci al ly those in prox im i ty

, ,
to urban markets hav e b ee n less s everely a ff ect ed

,
2
.
Th e d eb ate i n the Sixty n in th Congress o n farm

-
rel i ef r e peatedly brought out the fact that most

o f the bank failures from 19 2 0 t o 19 2 5 wer e due to
The A gricu lture P r o b l emin t he Uni t e d S ta t es Chap 2 .

,
p . 63 .
STA TUS OF AGR ICULTU RA L ENT ERP RIS E 239
th e fin an cial distress of farmers Sen ator G ooding .

,
f or e xample dir e ct e d attention to th e relativ e ly

,
small n umber o f ban k failures in th e man u f acturing

s e ctions o f the cou n try compar e d with th e number
i n th e agricultural states From 19 2 0 to 19 2 5 th er e .
w ere 13 bank failures in th e N ew E n glan d S tates ;

th e re were 3 2 in N ew Yor k N ew Jers ey Pennsyl , ,
va n ia Delaware Maryl a n d a n d District o f Col um

, , ,
b ia ; th e n umber in creas ed to 583 i n Virgin ia West ,
Virgin ia N orth Caroli n a South Carolin a G e orgia

, , , ,
Florida A labama Mississip p i Louisiana Texas

, , , , ,
A rka n sas Ke n tuck y a n d Tenn es see ; to 4 3 5 in Wis

, ,
consin Mi nn esota Iowa and Missouri and to 114 1

, , , ,
in N orth Dak ota South Dakota N e brask a Kan sas , , , ,
Mo n tana Wyomin g Color ado N e w M e xic o an d

, , , ,
O klah oma There were 24 75 ban k failures b e tw ee n

.
19 2 0 and 19 2 5 Most Of this n umber occurr ed in

.
agricultural stat e s where ban k ers wer e fi n an cing

farmers or in agricultural section s o f i n dustrial
states 6
It is quite o bvious from these fi gures that
.
th e re was a high correlatio n b etween the fin an cial

distres s o f agricultural p r oductio n and the n umb er
o f ban k failures .
The Caus es
f o Farm D is tress
It seems therefore th at there is am p le just ifi ca

, ,
tio n for as sumin g that a farm problem actually

C o ngr essio na l R e c o rd Vo l 67 N o 152 fo r J une 11 1926
, .
, .
,
.
Al so see C o ngressio n l R e c o rd Vo l 67 N O 136 fo r May 22

a , .
, .
,
192 6 .
exis t s a n d that th e factors involv ed in its solutio n
d e mand consideration .
It has come to be ge n erally u n d e rstood that the

probl e m of stabilizing the pri c es o f farm products
is e ssen tial to rural w el fare A constru ctive policy
.
relatin g to this problem involv e s man y factors .
Balan ced productio n e co n omic cost of production

, ,
quality o f products effic i en t mark e tin g and tran s

, ,
p o rt at io n costs are all i n volved .
The disposal of th e farm su rplus is th e p articular

aspect that the farm problem h as tak en in recent
y e ars Farm production ex c eeds domestic consump
.
tio n A mark e table farm surplus should contribute

.
to agricultural prosperity But it hap pe n s that it

.
,
o fte n has the e ffect o f depr e ssing domestic prices

below the cost o f productio n To remedy th is situ
.
ation was the purpos e of th e M cN ary -H augen an d

other bills introduced in th e Sixty-eighth an d Sixty
n inth Co n gres s es .
Th e u n stabl e market may be il lustrated from the

pr e vailin g prices o f wheat in recent years The .
Tariff Comm i ssion mad e a repor t o n th e cost o f

producing wh e at in cert a in states in th e N orthwest .
I t w as fou n d that th e cost was p er b ushel .
In 19 2 1 th i s cou n try produced bushels

o f wh e at . It cost to produ ce the crop an d it
,
was sold by th e farmers for p e r bushel The .
n et loss per bushel therefore w as 3 9 ce n ts or a n

aggregate loss o f
I n 19 2 2 there wer e bushels p r o duced ,

STA TUS OF AGRICULTU RA L EN T ERP RIS E 24 1
an d the crop sold in primary mark ets for 89 cen ts

p e r bu shel The los s p er bushel was 4 2 c en ts or
.
on the total crop .
I n 19 2 3 there were bush e ls pr o duc e d ,
for which th e farmers r e ceived 9 2 71 0 cen ts per

bushel The aggregate loss that year w as 3380
.
,
for the cro p .
I n 19 2 4 th e nation produce d bushels ,
and th e farmers rece iv e d p er bush e l for it .
Th e loss o f 12 ce n ts p er bushel aggregat ed 3 10 1 ,
These figures sho w that wheat r an ged from

per bushel i n 19 24 to 9 2 % o cents p er bushel in the
precedin g y ear Cotto n p rice s have fluctuated b e
.
tw ee n even w ider margin s in r e c en t years the pri ce ,
rangin g from 4 2 c en ts down to 10 cents per pound .
It oft e n happens that a relativ ely small cr 0 p h as

yielded more than a large one .
Conflic ting Theories o f Farm R elief
Th e prob l em co nfro nt ing agri cultur e is to fin d

/
some m e thod to stabiliz e markets again st the se un

due and e xcessive fluctuatio n s Two conflictin g
.
th e or ie s have d evelop e d w i th r e f er enc e to th e

rem e dy for this situation O ne i s bas ed upo n
.
1 . G overnme n tal pric e fi xing .
2 . G ov e rnmental buying and selling .
3 . G overnme n tal subsidi es .

4 . Bureaucratic credit co n trol of a gri cultural
commerce .
The other th e ory mor e cons e rvativ e and m o r e in

,
harmo n y with reco gn iz ed eco n o mi c prin ciples seeks,
a solutio n i n a produc e rs co Operat iv e organi zation

’
w i th adv i sory or controllin g pow e rs as foll o ws

,
1 . To adjust acreage on the bas i s o f prospect ive

.
deman d at fair p rices .
2 . To r e duce cost o f production by coop erative

e ff orts
.
3 . To syn chronize marketi n g an d distributio n to

prospective demand .
4 . To redu ce th e spr e ad b etw ee n producer and

co n sumer.
5 . To equal i ze productio n from y e ar to year to

co n form to changi n g d e ma n ds an d buyin g
power .
T o in crease th e p rod uce rs bargain in g po w er

’
6 .
based on relative quality o f p roductio n .
The latter theory perhaps o ff e rs the most promise

of p erman en t r el i ef Th e most difficult aspect o f
.
the whole situat i o n is that of preve n tin g ov erpro

duct i on Pr e vail i ng h i gh pri ce s hav e always r e sulted
.
in in creased acreag e th e f ollow in g year Wh en th e

.
governmen t fixed th e price o f wh e at at $ 2 pe r bush e l

dur in g th e w ar it had the eff e ct o f in cr e asin g the
acreage p lan t ed t o th i s crop approximat e ly
000 The high p rice Of cotto n in r ecen t years pro
.
STA TUS OF AGR ICULTU RA L EN T ERP RIS E 2 43
d uce d the sam e r e sult Th e in e vi tabl e e ffe ct o f .
overproduction o f any staple crop is to incr e as e

th e e xportabl e surplus A s th i s e xc e ss affe cts th e .
world pric e s it c o rr e spond ingly d e pr e ss e s th e do

,
mes t ic pric e s 4
I t is much sirnpl er to fo rmulat e
.
this problem than i t is to solv e it But it s ee ms .
that the application o f a theory bas e d on sound go v

e rnm en t al and e conomic pr i n cipl e s o ffe rs mor e prom
ise of succ e ss than o n e bas e d on art i fic i al d e vice s .
I t go e s without say ing that agricultur e is at b e st

a hazardous vocation Un c e rtain seas onal cond i
.
t i ons damage from storms and ins ect p e sts will

,
probably always make i t so Farm e rs should ne v e r .
forge t also that th e r e i s n o subst i tut e for thr i ft

, , ,
e n e rgy and w o rk in mak i ng farm i ng a profitabl e

,
e nt e rprise But a ft e r th i s is said i t sh o uld b e r e cog

.
,
nize d that agr i cultur e is e nt i tled to the sam e gov
ernmen t al e nc o urage m e nt and ass i stanc e that is

acc o rd e d t o i ndustry and transp o rtat i o n A s th e N a .
“
t ion al Confe r e nc e Board has sa i d r e c e ntly : Farm
ing is mor e than an in dustry Th e s i gni ficanc e of .
agriculture in th e life o f the n at i on is f ar d eep e r

/
than this I t t o uch es som e thing vital and funda

.
mental in th e n ation s e xist e nce It in volv e s th e

’
.
n atio n al security th e raci al charact e r th e e conom i c

, ,
” 6
w e lfar e a n d the soci al pr o gr e ss o f o ur p e ople
,
.
‘
E dw in G N o urse s A meri can A gricul tur e and t he Europe an
.
’
M ar k e t in t he Ins t it ut e o f E c o n o mic S erie s is n in f o rming analy a
s is o i t his s it uat io n .
The F o r ew o rd t o The A gri c ul tur e P ro b le m in t he Unit e d

‘‘
S ta tes .
Th e se ar e wis e words that deserve wide acceptatio n .
In so far as th e e xisting status o f agricultur e is

dep e nd e nt upon g o v e rnm e ntal ac ti o n it is probabl e
,
that some time w i ll elaps e b efor e concr e te r e sults

ar e obtain e d Th e m e thod o f tr i al and error pro b
.
ably w i ll b e th e only on e that can be appl ie d A s .
tim e go es o n mistak en pol i ci es can be e limin ated

a n d profitable on e s strengthened and r e in forc e d .
Th e pri nc i pl e s as f ollows outlin ed in t he R ural

, ,
-
e
R o op rt f th e L i b e ral Land C o mmitt ee ( 19 2 3 -2 5
) o f
G r e at Britai n may w e ll b e o ur gu i d e as we attempt
to apply r e m e d ie s to e xisting conditions
“
1 . Mod e rn States i n ge n eral have found it ad
visabl e and possible to safe guard agriculture .
“
2 . A pract i cal rural poli cy must be o ne which ,
whil e d e aling with k n ow n e conomic f acts al ,
lows for human n ature ; which do es n o t di s

c o urage personal e nterp rise or i n terfere with
industrial judgment a n d s kill .
“
3 . A s rural ills ar e ge n erall y dee p seated n o ,
n at i onal policy for rural life can su cc ee d if it

evad es fundam e ntal questio n s and h e sitates to
”
attack root caus e s .
Th e se pri nc i pl e s should guid e in the formulatio n

o f a nat i onal program f o r agricultur e There is
.
imp e rat i v e n ee d for a compr e h e nsive agricultural

policy f or th e nation It is quit e obvious that legis
.
latio n hast ily conceiv e d and resulti n g from political

,
p res sure is usually in ad equate Th e e n tire n atio n

,
.
STA TUS OF AGR ICULTU RA L EN T ERP RIS E 2 45
is concerned with rural w e lfare Th e re fore all l e g

.
,
isl at ion desi gne d t o aid agr i cultural produc e rs should

be bas e d on established fac ts and mad e to con form
to sou n d princi ples o f publ i c policy .
A n ational land policy is bas i c to any program o f

rural irnprov ement Th e r e is nee d for a sc ie nt ific
.
classification of the land ar e a o f th e U n i t e d Stat e s

with r e fer e nce to it s economic utilizat i on Ar e as .
peculiarly adapt e d t o for e sts grazing and crop pro

, ,
duction should be in dicat e d car efully Th e d e tail ed .
class ificatio n should in clud e marginal lands and

adaptable crop ar e as R e clamation should c o mpri s e
.
an importan t asp e ct o f a land d e v e lopm e nt p olicy .
The w elfare o f farm pro duc e rs should b e con

s idered in c o nn e ctio n with the probl e m o f land
ut i l i zat i o n A n ad equate syst e m o f s e l e ct i ng s e ttl e rs

.
bas ed upon adap t abil i ty o r sp e cializ e d a gri cultural

production should be consid e red Ther e ar e t o o
.
man y farmers today cult ivat i ng marginal land In .
a n e ff ort to brin g productio n up t o a subs i st ence

basis man y o f th es e farm e rs ar e following a po o r
cro p pin g syst em or u n d e rtaking to culti vat e a
gr e at e r acr e age than thei r capital inv e stm e nt just i
fi e s This fact has had l i ttle public consi d e rat i on
'
,
.
but i t const i tutes one o f th e most important prob

lems con ne ct ed with rural e conomy .
Ther e is a l so nee d to apply e conomic pr i nci pl es t o

lan d values E veryo n e knows that i nflat i on o f land
.
valu e s h as b ee n one of th e causes o f f arm d i str ess .
Speculat i on li e s at th e root o f this trouble The .

p rice f
o la nd mus t b ear so me direc t re la tions hip
t o uni t pro duc ti on express ed in mone tary ms

t er .
Oth e rwise , th e farm e r w i ll b e co nfronted co nstan tly

w i th the probl e m of produc i ng su ffici en t yi elds to
enabl e him to s e ll h i s product at a fair pric e abov e
th e cost o f production This i s exactly what h as
.
happ e n ed i n recen t y e ars and th e inability o f

,
f arm e rs to make a profit on high priced land h as

r e sulted in th e d e clin e in land values .
Ther e i s n e ed o f b ett e r co Ordi nat ion o f sta te and

fe deral r e gulatory age nci es This is ne cessary in
.
ord e r to e limi n ate duplicat i o n of e ffort a n d conflict

in th e administration o f agricultural laws I t is .
e qu al ly important to co Ordin at e c ommodity as so cia

t i ons and the various cr e dit agencies There w as a .
t ime when f arm cr e dit w as limited an d in t erest rat es

e xorbitant Cr e di t facili ties are adequate today
.
but th e farm e r ne eds to make a wiser use of l o a n

f acil iti e s This can b e st be brought about by bet t er
.
adj ustm e nt o f productive associations an d credit

i nst i tutio n s .
S e rious consid e ratio n n eeds to be give n t o equal

izat ion i n b ene fits o f subsidi e s if this policy is t o be
contin u ed Th e tari ff is e ssen tially one form o f
.
subs i dy Tar i ff sch e dul e s as we have s ee n in pre

.
,
v io us discuss i ons hav e b ee n a co n t in uous source o f

,
i rr i tat i o n becaus e o f th eir un e qual benefits to th e

d i fferent class e s of produc e rs A b e tt e r adj ustmen t
.
o f tari ff rates n ee ds to b e mad e Th e recommenda

.
tio n o f th e N ational A gr i cultural Co n fer en ce of 19 2 2

ST A TUS OF AGR ICULTU RA L ENT ERP RIS E 247
that a Perma n e n t Tari ff A djustmen t Board b e cr e

ated with th e power to vary schedul e s b e tw e en
in dustrial an d farm products d e serv e s cons i derat i on .
But what about the farm surplus probl e m " Th i s

i s the qu e stion that is very much in th e public min d
today . This problem is secondary to th e mor e
f undam en tal o n es o f land util i zation balanc e d pro
,
duction th e use o f cr e dit for productive purposes

, ,
a n d the e qual i zatio n o f b ene fits und e r th e various

forms o f subsidi e s Comp e tition in for ei gn mark e ts
.
must be d e termi ne d fi n ally on th e basi s o f th e eco

nomic law o f supply and demand Th e ability of
.
f arm produce rs in this country to comp e t e succe ss

fully w i th those o f oth e r countri e s must d e p e nd upon
r ela tive cost o f production quality o f products
, ,
rap i d i ty o f transp ortat i o n and marketin g facil i t ie s

.
Legislati o n th at ign ores th e se important fact o rs

must ult i mately brin g dis as ter upon th e industry
that i t is des ign ed to serve .
CHA PT E R X II
R ESULTS OF AGRAR I AN IS M
For more tha n h alf a c entury th e farmers o f th e

country hav e e ndeavor e d to b e tter the ir relative
pos i t i on i n th e so cial and e co n omic order This .
struggl e h as ga i ned its greatest momentum durin g

p er i ods o f financ i al d i stress bu t i n one form or
,
anoth e r it has p e rsist e d through a rather lo n g p eriod

” 1
o f tim e . Th e A grarian Crusade h as had two
pr im e obj e cts in v i ew Th e fundame n tal o ne has
.
b ee n to es tabl i sh pric e s and to sec ure higher return s

fo r farm pr o ducts sold . The seco n d motive h as
b ee n to e qual i z e th e advantages o f agricultur al
produc e rs with those o f oth e r vocatio n s an d to se
cur e to th e i ndustry th e same privileges a n d immu
n it ies enj oyed by man ufacturin g an d
In e qual i t ie s began t o develop betwee n agriculture

and i ndustry with the rise o f m on opolies an d th e
pol i t i cal advantag e s th at they acquired The fi gh t .
b e gan wh e n an e ff ort was made to regulate rail road

rat e s and pr e v e nt re bates A s th e farm e r has always
.
b ee n a gr e at borrower financial depressio n has ofte n

,
br o ught h i m i n confl i ct with the ban kin g i n t erests ,
1
T his is t he app r o p riat e t it l e o f a b o o k b y S o l o n J Buck in
.
whic h f arm mo v ement s sin c e t he C iv il War are rev iew e d .
2 48
RE SULTS OF AGRAR I AN IS M 249
and h i s e ff orts t o s e cur e ch e ap mon ey hav e brought

h i m in conflict with the gr e at fi n ancial i n terests o f
th e country But whatev e r form th e struggle has
.
tak e n and it has vari e d all the way from organ iz ing
,
for buyi n g an d s elling farm products to u n iting by

th e thousands i n polit i cal o rgan i zations the e nd ,
h as always b e en e i ther to improv e th e e conomic

status o f th e farm populatio n or t o equalize the
opportunit ie s of farming as a busi n ess in compe
titio n with other vo catio n s .
Ou t lin e f R esu l ts
o
What hav e b e en th e ne t r e sults o f th e u ni t e d ef

forts o f farm e rs to accompl i sh these ends " This
i s a qu e st i on that naturally ar i s e s a ft e r o ne has
surv ey ed th e act ivit i es o f farmers throughout th e
long p e riod o f the ir struggl e The more sign ifican t .
r e sults o f agrarianism in this country i n th e p eriod

sinc e the C i v i l War may be summari z ed as follows :
I . R ail ro ad C ontrol
/
1 . E stablishm e nt of
railroad commissio n s
with power to regulat e fr ei ght rates and pre
v ent rebates .
2 I n t e rstate Commer ce A ct o f 188 7

. .
II A gr i cultural E ducation and R es e arch :

.
1 The Land G ra n t A ct o f 186 2 with sub se

.
,
qu e nt am e ndm e nts for the endowme n t o f agri

cultural coll e ge s in th e s e v e ral stat e s .
2 . Th e Hatch A gricultural R esearch A ct of
188 7 .
3 . Th e A dams A gricultural R es e arch A ct of
19 06 .
4 . Th e Purn e ll Agr i cultural R e search A ct o f

19 2 5 .
Th e A gricultural E xtensio n A ct Of 19 14
5 . .
6 Th e Smith Hughes A ct o f 19 17
.
-
.
III Th e A gri cultural R e gulatory A ctiv i ti es

.
1 Th e U n it e d Stat es D e partme n t of A gri

.
cultur e 2
.
2 Th e State Departments o f A griculture

. .
IV Fi nanci al Legislat i on
.
" Th e Bland A llison A ct o f 18 78

E
-
.
N Th e Sh e rman S i lv e r Purchas e A ct of 18 90 .
P Th e Fe d e ral R e s e rve A ct o f 19 13
O
.
P Th e F e d e ral Farm Loan A ct of 19 16 .
R
Th e A gricultural Cr e dit A ct of 19 2 1
S .
6 Th e A gricultural o r Int e rmediate Cr e dit

.
A ct o f 19 2 3 .
V E conom i c Efi ec t s of Farm Movements

1 Co o p e rativ e Commod i ty M ark e ting
. .
2 Co o p e rative O wn e rship o f grain elevators

.
and oth e r agr i cultural manu facturing en ter

pris e s .
3 C o o p e rat iv e buy ing age nci e s part i cularly

.
,
O f f arm supplies and e qu i pm e nt .
2
T h e Unit e d S tat s D ep art ment f e o Ag i r c ul t ur e al s o d o es much
e d uc at io nal and r arc h w o rk T h is
ese . is al so t ru e o f so me of the
s tat e d ep art men ts o f agric ul ture .
RE SULTS OF AGRARI AN IS M 25 1
VI . Polit i cal E ffects of Farm O rgan i z atio n s

“ ”
1 The A gricultural
. bloc i n Congress in
19 2 1-2 3 .
Party platform pledges by al l po litical

2 .
part i es to aid agricul tur e .
3 N ati onal agr i cult ural co n f eren c es spon

.
sored by th e Pr e s i d en t o f th e United Stat e s .

“
4 The Pr e side n t s ( Cooli dge ) A gricultural

’
.
Commissio n for Farm R eli ef .
5 I n creasi n g favorabl e legislat i on and pro

.
p osed l e gislatio n in behalf o f agricultur e 6

.
While this outline is in no sense complete it illus ,
trat es th e w i d e spr e ad and gr o w i ng i nflu enc e o f

farm e rs in th ei r organized capaciti e s o n th e nation
as a whol e While it may n ot be strictly accurat e
.
to cr e dit all o f th e s e accomplishm e nts t o farm move

m en ts it is r e asonably clear that farm influ en c e h as
,
h ad eith e r a dir e ct o r ind irect influence in brin ging

about all o f the items in this outlin e .
I t will be obs e rved a l so that the results of agrarian

eff orts wer e yery m e age r previous to th e b e gin nin g
“
o f th e tw e ntieth c en tury Th e clos e of th e ol d
.
”
c e ntury says Walt e r L o ck e in The N ew R epu b lic
, , ,
“
had l i ttl e to show for the work o f r e v o lt don e
th rough grang e all i anc e and popul i sm Th e littl e
, ,
.
farm e r store s had d ie d lik e n e w hatch e d ch i cks in a

-
March w i nd The farm e r parti e s had shrunk to

.
Th e incr eas ing numb er o f fa rm p r o d ucts inc l ude d in t he Pro

‘
t e c t iv e T ariff A ct is an ill us trat io n o f t his t end en cy .

m e r e v e st i g i al r e main s Th e farm e rs w e r e b ac k in
.
th ei r old part ie s trad i ng through th e Ol d chann e ls

, .
O nly i n farm e r minds r emai ne d a trac e o f the

struggl e The great awakening o f rural conscious
.
n e ss has com e s i nce th e b e g i nn i ng of the World War

in 19 14 Th e p ast ten y e ars surpass th e pr e ce d i ng
.
fi f ty years in actual accomp l ishme n t s for rural

advanc em e nt .
As o n e r e v ie ws the r e sults o f agrarian e ff ort,i t is

eas y to see the change in the poin t o f view of the
farm e r in r e ce n t t im e s A s h is poin t o f vi e w h as
.
chan ge d from in d i vidu al i sm to co Operat iv e e ffort h e ,
has change d his program from one o f expediency

to far -reachin g policy . What distingu i sh es the
”
pr e s e n t agrar i a n movement says a n editorial in
,
“
The N ew R epu b lic f or A pr i l 9 19 2 4 , ,
from thos e o f
e arl ie r g e n e rat i o n s is primari ly a change in the
farm e rs conc e pt i ons o f m e an s o f redr ess I n the
’
.
ei ght i es and nin et i es the re forms advocated by th e

farm e rs w e re e ss e ntially individual ist i c . Th e y
sought to counteract th e declin e in pri ces o f agri
’
cultural products by mean s o f mo n e t ary inflat i o n ,
b e l ie v ing that rising prices would ben efit n ot o n ly

th e farm er but the whole b ody o f producers at the
cost o f th e mon e y lenders and b ond hold ers They .
wish e d to break up trusts a n d other comb inations

i n th e fa i th that competition would establi sh pr i ce s
o n a f a i r bas i s all around Above all th e y demanded
.
,
control o f th e railw ays in order to e liminat e ex ces

,
s i v e and d i scrim in atory rates which n ot o n ly w e igh ed

RE SULTS OF AGRAR I AN IS M 2 53
dir e ctly upo n the f armer but also tend e d to build

up industrial a n d trad in g monopo l ie s to exp loit him
further .
“
The farmer o f today still opposes monetary de
fl at ion d e t e sts th e trusts and r e gards the ra i lways
, ,
as i nstrume n ts of oppressio n But he no lo n ger

.
believes that tin kerin g with th e mo n ey sta n dard ,
prosecuting the trusts and curbing th e rai lways will

,
brin g him substan tial r e lief A s a n in dividual he is

.
helpl e ss i n the contest with bu sin ess and in dustry

which combine spo n ta n eously law or n o law The
, .
great advanc e in prices resultin g from the war o f

fered the farmer conclusive proo f o f his r e lativ e
weakness His products promptly slipp e d back to
.
the pr e war pr i c e l e v e l wh i l e in dustri al pri c e s main

-
,
t ained th e ms e lv e s at fifty per ce n t abov e that level .
The only h e lp for h i s case appeared to lie in the

adoptio n o f the w e apo n o f his enemies combinatio n ,
.
And s o w e hav e had recently under the n ame of

co bperat io n an e p i d e m i c o f agrar i an comb i nat i ons :
tobac co growers grain grow e rs cotto n growers as

, , ,
w e ll as a mul t i pl i city o f comb inations amo n g pro

”
duc ers o f m i nor and local i z e d crops .
A tti tu de f o Farmers t o w ard C l as s Legis l ation
Th e farm e r s eems to hav e as sum e d also that th e

stat e and nat i onal gov ernments ar e thoroughly com
mit t ed to a pol i cy o f clas s l e gislation and that his
o n ly hop e is to shar e i n th e sp e c i al pr ivil e ges s e cured
by gov e rnm e ntal act i on Th i s p o i nt o f v ie w w as
.
r e fl e cted i n an addr e ss of O E Brad fut e former . .
,
pr e s i d e nt o f th e A m e r i can Farm Bureau Fed eration ,
wh en he said :
“
Whe n the bank s w e re havin g grave diffi c ulties ,
Congress too k a lot o f time and study an d evolved

th e Fed e ral R e s e rve A ct I t was f or a spe cial
.
—
clas s th e bankers .
“
Wh en th e railro ads were in difli cul ties followin g
the war Co n gress go t busy an d evolve d the E sch
,
C umrnins act —
I t was for a speci al clas s th e rail
.
roads .
“
Wh en th e laboring me n advan ced the claim that
they were not gettin g all that was comin g to them
and deman ded an eight hour day without a cut in
-
wages Congress evolved th e A damso n law I t was

,
.
for a special class —the laboring m en .
“
Sur e ly it is n t wrong to take care of th e greates t
,
’
producin g class i n the cou n try which is n ow in ,

”
grav e difficulti es .
G e orge Pe e k pr esident o f the Am e rica n Cou n c il

,
of A griculture blu n tly expressed his views o n this

,
subj ect in unmist akabl e language as follows : ,

“
If w e are to have an E sch Cummin s law for the
-
ra i lroads a n A damson law for l abor an d a strict

, ,
pr ot e ctive tariff for man ufacturers w e are j ustified ,
in demanding o f Congress similar co n sideratio n of

”
the farmer .
The T e xas Farmand R anc h und e r date o f Apr i l 4 ,
19 24 comm e nted o n th ese opini ons by sayin g :

,
“
Quite r igh t But do es th e farmer hims elf choose
.
to grasp the l e gislative helpin g hand " Is he ready

fo r bunglin g lawmakers t o b ecome arbit e rs o f his
”
d e stiny "
Th e answ e r to th i s editorial query is undoubt e dly
an affi rmation Th e f armer has see n subs id ie s
.
grant e d to others H e h as come to bel i ev e that h i s

.
“
o nly chanc e for equal o pportuniti e s is to grasp t h e
”
l e g i slativ e hel pin g hand Sou n d publi c policy
.
m i ght sugg e st that it would b e b e tter to r e verse th e

pract i ces o f a century and den y to all class e s Special
privil e ge s an d immuniti e s But th e farmer k n ows .
that such a rad ical r e versal o f govern m en tal policy

is n ot t o b e expected Traditio n an d prec e den t are
.
pr e d o m i nant factors i n o ur pol i tical l i fe The .
in flue n ce of industrial e n t e rp rise is too great a n d

sp e cial privil e ges have b e en enj oy e d too lo n g for
th e pol i cy of protectio n and speci al p rivil e ges to
b e den i e d Th e farm e r th erefor e has o n ly one
.
, ,
—
cho i ce t o s eek t o equaliz e his Opp ortuni ties by
s e cu rin g l egis la tio n as fa v orab le t o him as i t has
b een , and is , t o o t her c l as ses o
f o ur ci tiz ens hip .
Walte r Lo ck e in a well cons i der e d r e view of this

,
“
g eneral attitud e o f th e f armer today says : Wh i ch ,
—
e v e r co urs e th e farm e rs follow an d they are pretty ,
—
sure to hav e their try at both their succes s de ,
p e nds u p on the dev elo p ment an d mai ntenance o f

an eff e ctiv e meas ure o f political s olidarity Experi .
enc e proves this n ecessary eve n though it is n ot

special privilege the farmers go aft e r but merely an ,
e conomic equ ality The farmer has got to kn ow

.
h is e c o n o mic r i ghts and to dare main tain them in
pol i tical act i o n or h e will for e v e r go on carryin g
,
wat e r f or h i s mor e r e al i st i c countrymen .
“
Fo r all th e progr e ss alr e ady mad e compl e te polit
,
i cal farm e r m i nd e dn es s is st i ll a long way ah e ad

-
.
Th e farm e r as a whol e is not yet a clas s H e is o n ly .
a crowd In politics h e r e tain s a marvelous appetite

.
f or ston e s in li e u o f bread He is pron e to accep t

.
as h is political l e aders attorneys for t he in terests

by which h e i s exploit e d H e vot e s for tari ffs which
.
ro b h im . H e supports an immigration policy which

re f us e s h i m th e consumer at home that o ur tr ade
policy d enies h im abroad Hi s min d is plied b y a
.
period i cal li terature whose main support is th e in

t eres t s from whose grip h e ne eds to escape The .
f armer suffe rs by the fact that there i s almost n o

” 1
f arm e r support e d pr e ss to sp e ak for him
- .
‘
From an other vi e wpo in t Willi am C Lankford .
an alyzes th e f armer s di fficulties i n a speech in Co n

’
“
gres s as follows : Th e great trouble Mr Speaker ,
.
,
is that thr ee fourth s o f the tim e of the Congr e ss is

-
taken up with p as sing legi slatio n that hurts the

farm e r an d puts on h i s al r e ady be n d e d back addi
t ic h al burd e ns and th e oth e r one fo urth of the time
,
-
of Congress is tak e n up shout i ng for the farm ers an d

for those that toil in an e ffort to fool them in to
believing that someth in g is really about to be do n e
” 5
for them .
S e e The N e w R epu b li c fo r Ap ril 16 1924 p 200

‘
, , . .
S e e Co ngres sio na l R e c o rd for M arch 16 192 5 p 58 40

“
.
, , .
I t i s rath e r strange that in an organiz e d e ffort o n

th e part o f farm e rs to secur e e conom i c equality
w i th oth e r groups they hav e always b ee n charged
with being radical Th e farm e r is n ot radic al H e
. .
is n ormally and natur al ly a conservative A s Bruce .
Bl i v e n says i n a conclusi on to an i nt e r e st i ng art i cl e ,

“ ” “
entitled Th e Fr i ght e ned Farm e r ,
A t h e art ther e ,
i s no mor e cons e rvative in d iv i dual on e arth tha n

the land ow n in g American o f the Mi ddl e West H e
- .
is bl o od broth e r to the man o n Main Str ee t with

-
,
all h i s horror of cults and isms and n e w fangl e d -
’
not i ons . The farmer s radical i sm is e xactly the
radicalism which thr e w th e tea overboard in Boston
H arbor It is an outrag e d se n se of inj ustice and a
.
burn in g determinat i on to l e ave no ston e unturned

to s e cure what he r e gards as r e dr e ss When he gets
.
what h e wants I p red i ct that the radical i sm o f the

,
farm e r will disap pe ar so quick ly that ov e rnight peo

ple will wo n d e r ho w th ey could e v e r have supposed
that the agricultural regions were anything else than
” 6
sa fe and san e .
It is rather sign ifican t that rural public opin ion

/
has arrived at defi nit e conclusions with reference to
political poli cies affe cting th e interests o f farmers .
N o l e ss sign ifican t h as be en the formulat i o n o f ec o

nomic organ izations for mark e t i ng farm crops .
Farm e rs ar e now committ e d t o a defi n ite legislative

program and systems o f c o Operat iv e cr e d i t an d mar
k e t i ng Much relief has com e alr e ady thr o ugh th e se
.
S ee The A tlantic M o nt hl y Vo l 133 N o 5 p 686

‘
.
, , . . .
,
agenci e s .In the process o f reachin g conclusio n s
w i th r efe r e nc e to th es e polic i es the farm e r h as been
r e gard e d as a radical But as Bruc e Bliven says
.
, ,
th e farm e r i s at h e art cons e rvativ e and h i s t e m

,
p o rar y radical t e nd e ncie s hav e r e sult e d from a s e ns e

o f injust i c e o f th e e x i stin g economic order A gra
.
rianis m has acc o mpli sh ed other r e sults that are l ess
tangi bl e but n on e the less real than those to which

r efe r e nce h as b ee n mad e Th e farmer has b e com e
.
conscious o f his political i n flu en c e .
The Fu ture D irec tion f Agrarian Efforts

o
I t is rath e r in t e r e sting to sp e culat e with referen ce

to futur e agrarian tend e nci e s in this country The .
like m i ndedn e ss that the farm populatio n has de

-
v el o pe d is c e rta i n t o r e ma i n . Th i s m e ans that

’
th e f arm e r s influe n ce will co n tin ue to be ex e rt e d
and that it w ill produ c e importan t e ff e cts on the
pol i tical policie s o f th e n ation Is it lik ely th at
.
th e farmer will resort to p rivate organiz ation or ,
will there e m e rge a strong agraria n p o l itical part y

as a m e ans of b es t accom p lishing the ends o f farmer
e fforts "
It se ems unlik ely at the p res e n t time that the
farm e rs o f the country w i ll undertake to accomplish
th e ir aims through an in d e p en d e nt poli tical organ
izat ion .A t least thr e e r e asons may be suggested
f or this conclusi o n I n th e first place the independ
.
,
e nt party movemen ts o f farmers have n ot b ee n very

succ essful In the s e co n d place the tra di tio n al
.
,
RE SULTS OF AGRARI AN IS M 2 59
par t y align m ents of farmers will ke e p man y o f them

in the ol d parties In the th i rd place th e f armer
.
,
s e ems unabl e to d e termine wheth e r h e is a capitalist

o r a labor e r H is pleas for support from other
.
groups therefore are no t v e ry persu asive or co n

, ,
v in cing .
Th e Third Party moveme n t l e d b y La Foll e tte

and Wh e el e r u n dertoo k to e ffect a com b ination b e
tw een agriculture an d in dustri al labor Th e hopes .
o f th e campaign were bas e d upon th e prosp e cts o f
winnin g the farmer vote in the W e st and the in

dust rial lab or vote in th e E as t These expectations .
were not r e ali z e d in e ith e r dir e ction The fact is .

,
that the comb i nat i on o f industr i al lab o r and agr i

culture is illogical A s H erb e rt E G as ton says
. .
,
“
Th ere is an ess e ntial fundamental a n d bas i c c o n
, ,
fl ic t o f int e rests Th e farmer is a cap i talist an d his

.
int e rests ar e w i th capi tal i sts n ot with th e wage ,
workers Mor e ov e r h i gh industrial wage s m e an

.
,
h i gh pr i ces for sh o es clothing agri cultural impl e

, ,
men ts fl iv v ers can ne d v e g e tabl e s and oth e r th in gs

, , ,
o n and with which the farm e r subs i sts and carr i es
on his activity Co n v e rs ely th e w o rk e r wants h i s

.
,
bread an d m e at cheap and h e can t hav e i t so ’
i f th e farmer ge ts what h e wan ts p olit i cally and

” 7
e conom i cally .
When we turn to the farm capitali st s v iew pomt ’

,
we also e ncount e r d ifficultie s in find i ng a common

ground on which agricultural and capitalistic enter
Se e The N e w R epub lic fo r S ep t emb er 3 192 4 p 10
‘
. .
, ,
prises can sta n d A griculture itself is comp osed o f
.
—
two co n flictin g group s farm ow n ers and farm
te n an ts Wh i l e farm owners ar e essentially cap ital
.
i sts they are pr imar i ly b orrowers a n d no t len ders

, ,
which p lace s th e m mor e o r less in conflict w i th

fi n an cial in t e rests Bankruptcy comes to th e farmer
.
more o f ten tha n to an y other class Th e ra n g e of .
capital a n d in com e o f the f armer varies greatly .
Th e small farmer is usually a laborer an d is d e pen d

’
e n t upo n a labor e r s in com e Farm tenan ts are
.
lab o r e rs for wag e s I n 19 2 0 over half o f th e f arms

.
i n the Un it e d States w e re operat ed by te n ants A t .
the pr e se n t time there are probably thr e e milli on

tenan t farmers in th e Unit e d States Th e organiz a .
tion of agricultur e th e refore makes for d iversity

, ,
rather than for commo n i n terests .
Fo r these reasons a n agrarian party o f comma n d

ing in flue n ce seems unlikely The farmer s best .
’
opportunity for pol i tical influ e nce is through private

organized e ffort Th e o l d political p arti e s hav e re
.
s po n de d v e ry sympathetically to agricultural infl u
e nc e i n r e ce nt ye ars If th e farmer w ill capitalize

.
his str ength through e xisting party organ ization s

inst e ad o f diss i patin g his e n ergies in temporary agri
cultural party organizations h i s e ff orts will prov e
,
m o r e e ffe ct i ve and be n e ficial r e sults w i ll b e more

,
readily f orthcoming .
Th e i ne ffe ctiv e n e ss of agrarian e ff orts in th e past

has be e n du e larg ely to i nexp e r ie nce d and incompe
RE SULTS OF AGRAR IAN IS M 61
tent leadership The farmer has no t bee n able t o

.
d e fine his e n thusi as m in u n dersta n dable terms He .
has been fully aw are o f his diflficul t ies and problems

as a producer but h e has not b een able t o state
,
clearly the remedies that w e re required to relieve

his situatio n This explain s his slo w progr e ss But
. .
the results o f his e ff orts in recen t years are con

c l usiv e pr o o f that h e is begin n i n g t o th i nk through
his p roblems and uni tin g his e ff orts for th e accom

p l ishm ent o f defi n ite results .
A n o ther qu estio n arises with refere n ce to th e

future o f agrar i an activities Will the influ e nc e o f
.
the farmer in creas e or decrease i n future years " The

farm p opulatio n is relatively on th e declin e There .
seems t o b e just ifi catio n for the b elief that the

quality o f the farm p o p ulatio n tak in g the n atio n
,
as a whole is decli n ing also

,
This would seem to
.
i n dicate that the farmer s ca p acity for organ izati on

’
would b e come less a n d corres p o n din gly his infl u

, ,
e n ce on public a ff airs would decrease .
The hopeful side of th is questio n gro w s o ut o f

m
th e fact that fa ing is b ecomin g a man y sid e d
/ r —
in dustry . The business as p ect o f farming has
exte n ded greatly the in flu e nc e o f agricultur e A gri .
cultural i n fluen ce today cann ot b e accurately me as

ured by the n umber o f farm p roducers The .
thousan ds o f b usiness me n w h o are en gaged i n mar

ketin g tran sport i ng a n d manufacturi ng farm prod
, ,
uct s are v it all y in terested in the p rosperity o f the

farmer I t is this vital a n d in fluen tial eleme n t i n
.
o ur population to whom we may reaso n ably look for
aid in the support of all measures design ed t o sus

tain and promote the i n terests of farm e n terp rises .
It would appear th en in the light o f history an d ,
presen t r esults o f agraria n e ff ort that the future o f ,
agriculture in this cou n try is reas o n ably encourag

i n g A t least there is n o immediate cause for con
.
cern Quotin g Walter L o cke again : The road

.
“
ah ead for the farmer both political and eco n omic, ,
is a le n gthy one He himself must chan ge b efor e

.
his co n dition can be wholly cha n ged an d he is slo w ,
to chan ge Bu t there is a stirri n g a n d n o ligh t one

.
,
.
I n his politics as in his busin ess th e sleepin g gian t

, ,
is rubbin g his eyes The reforms i n itiated by gran ge

.
’
a n d farmers alliance were man y of them adop ted , ,
aft e r th e farm e r parties had died The N o np artisa n .
League was a flash in the p an but i t taught wes ter n ,
farmers the p ower o f politi cal in depen den ce Due .
partly t o farmer s p irit the Middle West is achiev ,
in g som e thi n g lik e a political auto n omy .
But steadily by whatever path seems t o o p e n

, ,
th e farmers are workin g th eir way in to th e su n .
A millio n an d a half o f them more or less are in co , ,
o p erative ass ociations tur n in g over a billio n or so

a year Th e farmer has his lobbies at Washi n gto n
.
an d the sta t e ca p itols as respectably as any o th er

in teres t Blu n derin gly more or less blin dly w ith
.
, ,
ma ny missteps u p man y a blind alle y the b ela t ed

, ,
farm e rs are followi n g in the wake o f th e ir syn dicate d

” 6
e x e mplars o f f actory min e and count i ng room
, , .
Public w e l fare and nat i onal prosperity w ill de

p e nd i n th e f utur e up o n a w i s e r d i str ibut i on o f e co
n o mic pow e r a n d pol i t i cal influence Throughout .
o ur nat i onal history th e re has b ee n a w i d e range
o f inequality betw e e n th e se influe n ces Industry .

,
financ e and transp o rtat i o n i nt e r e sts hav e e x e rt e d

,
un e qual power and influ e nc e w i th r e fer e nc e to e ach

oth e r but individually and coll e ct i vely th e y have
,
ex e rt e d a p r e dominant influ e nce ov e r agricultural

e nt e rp ri se This was true wh en th e agricultural
.
populat i on far outnumber e d th e c o mbin e d po pul a

tions engag e d in oth e r pursuits It has co n tin u e d
.
unt i l th e pr e s e nt tim e .
But it is g e n e rally admitt e d that th e agri cultural

population has be e n slowly gain i ng econom i c and
pol i t i cal strength in r e c e nt y e ars Th i s is e xplain e d
.
by the fact that th e rural p o pulation has ga i n e d

gr e atly in soc i al consc i ousn e ss and th e agr i cultural
w e alth o f th e c ountry has mor e than k e pt pace w i th
industr i al e nt e rprise This t e ndency suppl ie s the
.
bas i s o f hop e f or the e quilibr i um o f soc i al f orces .
Th e G r ee n R i sing th e re for e whos e sw e ll tid e may

, ,
n ot y e t have b een r e ach e d is n o t a s in i st e r soci al

, ,
ph e nom e n o n It i s m e r e ly th e subtl e work ing o f the

.
sil e nt forc e s o f r e adj ustm e n t in the onward progr e ss

o f nat i onal l ife . But there will be n o p e ace until
S e e The N e w R epub lic f o r A p ril 16 192 4 p 2 0 1
‘
. .
, ,
th e div e rging f orc e s composin g the complicated fab
ric o f o ur social order can b e brough t ne ar e r to
equil ibrium If this b e true the G re e n R i sing that
.
,
is sw ee p i ng ov e r th e world g iv e s th e best possi

bl e promi se o f economic su ffi cien cy an d politic al
freedom .
I N D EX
Be al s , Ca l e o n , o n the M ex i an
r t c
c tt t
ons i u io n , 81 ; uo te d , q
A g a ianism, d efi ne d , 2 ; a ia
r r r c l 83
b as is o f , in M e x i o , 78 ; re c Be n o n , T ho mas H , o n p ub l i
t . c
s ul ts o f, 2 48 c
l and p o l i y , 1 15
r r r t
A g a ian e v o l u io n, d e fi ne , 2 , d Bl a k c D t fl
e a h , in uen e o n u al c r r
14 ; in R uss ia, 3 ; in R o me , life , 20
E
16 ; in n gl and , 19 ; in Fran e , c Bl iv en , B u e , o n o nse v a is m
r c c r t
29 ; in G e many , 35 ; in I re
r o f fa m r r
e , 25 7
l and , 4 9 ; in Sc t
o l and , 50 ; in Bo y l e , ame s B o n o mmo di y
J c t
R o umania, 5 9 ; in M exi o , 75 c
.
,
ma k e ing 2 10
r t
rc t r c
Ag i ul u al o nfe e n e , 2 r c rad fut e , O
,
E , o n Go v e n r
A g i ul u al co o p e a io n, me an
rc t r r t men al s ub sidies , 254
. .
t
in g o f , 228 r
B y an , ill iam
W ag a ian J r r
A g i ul u al E o no mi s , Bu e au
rc t r c c r v ie w s o f 175
o f , 206 t
Bux o n , H
oe ], o n ag i ul u al rc t r
rc t r l
A g i ul u al Ho dings Act , 6 1 c r t
o o p e a io n , 66
Agri ul t ural in o me , e l ine in ,
c d c
23 g C
rc t r
A g i ul u al inv en io n, 10 t
rc t r t
A g i ul u al w e al h , d e ease in, cr C ad e s r e b el l io n , 2 5
’
2 36
r c lt r l
A g i u u a whe e , 166 l C all es , l and p o l c y o f , 84 i
C arr anz a, r eact io nary p o licy o f,
And e s o n, Be njamin M , o n co
r 81
o e a iv e ma k e ing, 2 12
.
p r t r t C a ie , Ly man, o n o o nial tax ,

rr r c l
r
As hb o u ne Act , The , 49 106 , 110
tr P c c l
Cen al a ifi , and g an s t o , r t
B 12 4
t rt
Ch es e o n , G K , o n t he G e en r
c
. .
Ba o n s R eb e llio n , 103 q t
’
R is ing, 3 ; uo e d , 4
rt
Bak ew e l l , R o b e , q uo e , 11 t d t tt t
C l ass l egisl a io n , a i ude o f
Bal l , o hn , l and e f o me , 17
J r r r fa me o w a d 2 53
r rt r
Ball e igh , ames C , o n o l o nia
J c l
,
.
l r r r c tt
C ay , Hen y , He e f o d a le
r
l ab o su pp l y , 96 tr c t r
in o d u e d b y , 11 ; t he a iff
Bart ness O B , o n b al an ing
, . . c v i ew s o f , 134
cc d tr
t he a o unts o f in us y and C o o l id ge , Pr
e si d e n , o n f a re t rm
rc t r
a g i ul u e , 147 lie f l e gisl a io n , t
Bass e , tt q t q tr t
uo e d o n ui - en s , r t c t
C o o p e a iv e As so ia io ns , ge o~
t r c tr
106 ; o n a iff o n ov e rsy , 13 7 r c tr t
g ap hi al d is ib u io n o f, 207
2 66 I N D EX
C o o p e rat iv e M ark e t in g h o stil Fa rm Lab o r P art y 19 1 ; po l 1
c i es o f 193 ; p arty no mme es

, ,
it y t o , s 209 ; l e gi l at i o n r e l at ,
in g t o , 2 18 of t he , 193
C o o p e a iv e mo v e men , 63 ;
r t t F rm
a rise o f 166
o rgan 1z at io ns ,
di t o rial c o m
,
r
s p e ad o f , 198 ; p o g am o f, r r F rm
a and R an c h e
m n t o n g ernment al s ub
,
r
203 ; g o w h o f , 2 04 ; si gnifi t e ov
c c
an e o f , 2 28 s id 1e s ,
2 54
C u is-As w el l fa m e ie f b i l ,
rt r rl l F r r f c nfli cting th ri
a m e l ie , o eo es
o f, 24 1
F rm S urp l u Bill ( S M
a s ee c
N ry H ug n Bil l )
a - a e
D l G rn r c nfli ct with F rm r Al l i c 166 169

a e s
’
an e ,
F rm d cr in numb r f
,
a e, ov e o o
,
a s, e e as e e o
ttl r 100
se e s,
,
D l l N w dit ri l c mm n t
a as e s, e o a o e
F ul k n r H W qu t d 8
a o e
n f r m r l i f l gi l t i n 2 25
e
F
, ,
.
m d m n t t f rm r l i f
.
,
o a e e e s a o
D y A t T h 49
,
ess , a en e o a e e
e as c e,
b il l 2 26 ; uo e d on q t f rm
D e N e g i R a mo n P , o n auses
,
a
r ,
. c c
,
t
o n d i io ns , 2 3 4 , 2 3 6
o f w ar fo r M e xi an in d e pe n d c F e ud al s y s e m, e t
l aine d , 5 xp
e n e , 77 ; o n f u u e o f M e xi o ,
c t r c F r
o dham, M o n t e gue , o n t h e re
D m rk c p r t i m s ul t s o f t h e e asa n s R ev o l ,
’
P t t
en
m nt in 20 5
a , oo e a ve ov e
q t
25 ; uo e d , 27 , 2 8 , 29
e
D witt B P n g rnm nt l
,
F t r 0 D o n c o p erat iv e
os e , . .
, o
e , . .
, o ov e e a
mark et in g 2 17
id 159
Fr n c c o p rat iv e mov ement
,
a
D i z ttitud t w rd l n d
,
a e, o e
a a e o a a te
in, 2 05
f o rm
,
79 ,
D ic
,
C C t ariff v iews o f Fr c
en h R ev o l ut io n ag a r rian
ig
,
rs o n ,
l
i . .
, ,
as p e ct s 33 o f,
Frueauff , C h a l e s A , d e ense o f r . f
xc
M e i o s ag a ian l aws , 87
’
r r
E nc l r in R o me ,
o s u e s , na u e o f , t r G
17 ; eff e s o f , in ct
n gl an d , 28 E
q ual iz at io n Fe e , p in ip l e o f, r c r r q t
G a n ie uo e d , 2 0 , 2 2 , 2 5
,
in f a m el ie f b ill , 22 7
r r t r rt
G as o n H e b e E , uo e , 19 1,
,
. q td
E v ans , I
L , o n ag a i an is m in r r 259
S t r q t
. .
R o umania, 60 ; o n s p e ad o f r G o o di ng ena o uo ed o n
fa m o ndi io ns , 2 3 3 2 3 4, 2 35 ;
, ,
ag a ian r r e fo m, 7 3 r r r c t ,
E xtensio n e v i e , d iss emina S r c o n b ank f ail u e s 2 39 r ,
ti o n o f agr i ul u al in fo ma c t r r r
G ange , f o und ing o f, 160 ;
t io n h o ugh , 2 00t r r
s p e ad o f 16 1 ,
r r
G an ge l aw s , 162
G re e n, t he his o ian, uo e d , 2 1, t r q t
zg
G reenb ac k ers , 178
F a rm b ank rup tcies 2 38 G re e n R is in g, meaning o f t he ,
F ar m Bur au f o rmat io n
,
e o f,
200 3
F arm d is tres s c aus e
,
of s 239 Gren v il l e c o l o n ial p o l icy o f,

F a rm in d eb t ed n ess 2 38
, , ,
, lll
I N D EX 2 67
H J
Ha b a s c h o n t h,
P e a san t s R e e
’
Jac quere, p e as ant r eb el l ion ,
5,
vo l t 24
H aw rt h
o
,
n r i e oo f ag r ar i an s J ardine S e cr t ary o n farmers e

’
p r b l em 2 18 ; n f arm rel i ef
, ,
d i c n t nt 156
,
s o e o s, o
,
H ya t
es ,h h is t r ia
e n o n t h e o l e gisl at io n 2 23
J urnal ism agri cul tural 12
,
F r nch R e l ut ion 3 4
,
e vo o ,
qu t d n n n p art isan
, ,
H yn
a es , o e o o - J uarez rev o l ut io n o f 79
, ,
p art y m m nt 190 ov e e
H n d r n E rn s t F quo t ed
,
e e so ,
e .
, ,
K
H en d e rs o n ,
l awH D
s o f . on K ansas C ity St r a , q uo e d t on
s upp l y an d d e m
.
,
an d , 2 14 farm re l ie f l e gisl at l o n , 22 5
He n y r I tt t t r
V , a i ud e o w a d K e t R ob ert
, ,
r
l e ad e o f eb el l o n , r i
t
p e as an s , 3 2 2
r P tr c tr t c tt r
H e n y , a i k , p a io i u e Kil e , O M o n e ono c mic pro
far me rs 198
.
.
,
an oe s o f, 8 t st of
r m
e
Knapp D r S e aman A farm
,
rc t r
H o l l an d , ag i ul u al p o b l e .
,
d emo ns trat io n w o rk o f 2 00
,
.
in , 63 ,
H o me s e ad A ct , 117
t
Ho w a d , r R , o n a i al ism,
J . . r dc L
20 2
rt
Hue a , d i a o ship o f , 80 ct t r La F o lle tt e third p art y l ea der
r a i ff t r
,
Hul l , C o de l l , o n t h e p
m
shi o f, 25 9
ag i ul u al rc t r
p os p e i y , r rt t
Lan d N a io n al iz a io n , 5 5 t
E 8 Lan d p o l i ie s , 113 c
Hume , t he h is o ian , uo e d , t r q t Lan gl an d , illiam, l an reW d
23 f o me , 17
r r
Hun d e d Y e a s War, in uen e
r ’
r fl c Lank f o d , il l iam C , o n c o n
r W .
o f, o n r r
u al l if e , 3 1 , 3 2 gres s io n al a i ud e o wa d tt t t r
fa me , 2 56
r r
I t
La ifun dia, 17 , 50
Lib e al Lan d C o mmi ee , re
r tt
Indi n gric ul t ur 7
a a e, rt
p o o f, 24 4
I t rn t i n l In t itut f Agri
n e a o a s e o c tt I
Lipp in o , s aa , uo e d o n d if c q t
cul tur t b li h m n t f 6 8 ;
e , es a s e o fi cul t ie s o f o l o nial d e v e l o p c
p r gr m f 6 9
,
o a o men , 9 1
t
Int rn ti n l L b r O rg niz
,
e a o a a o a a t c tr
Liv e-s o k , in od u io n o f, 11 ct
P 0 1] , ag ric ul t ural p r gram o f c
Lo k e , W t r
al e , o n e s ul s of r t
76
o ,
ag a ianis m, 2 5 1 ; o n f a m
r r e r r
In n t io n of farm machinery mind e dnes s , 255 on fu u e o f t r
ig
f
,
fa me s 262
rr
Ir e l an d , c o o p erati ve mo v e ment Lo uis X III an dXI
,
tt t
V , a i ude
i n, 205 t r t
o w a d p e as an s , 3 2
I rv me H el e n , o ugl as , uo D q t ed , tt
Lo v e , R o b e rt rM o ss , o n rad
3 0 , 3 3 3 9 , 5 4 , 66 i al f a m o p ini o ns , 19 3
c r
I i
,
s a ah t h e p o p he , s o ia r t c l te Lo w d en , Fr c
ank D , o n r oope a
f o ms o i , 15
,
r iv e m
.
t r t
a k e ing, 2 14 , 2 15
2 68 I N D EX
Lub in, D av id , f ound e r of In P rty The P pl 17 1 ; n mi
a eo e s,
’
o
I n titut
,
t e rn at io n al s e of Agu n e es o f 172
P tr n f Hu b ndry 164
,
c ul tur e 69 a o s o s a
P n F r d ri c L q u t d n
, ,
axs o e e o e o
p ub l i c l nd p licy 1 16
,
.
,
M a o
P nt R l t in Engl nd
,
e as a ev o a
r efo rms
, ,
Made r o t he M e xic an 19
P k G rg n g rnm nt l
,
0 ee , eo e, o ov e e a
M arx K arl t h e in uen fl c e o n th e s ub idi s 254 es ,
Phi l d l phi S ci ty 12
, ,
p eas antr y , 44 a e a o e
P l t l nd t nur l w f 16
,
M c N ary -Haugen b il l , 2 19 ; o p a o, a e e a s o
p os mo n
,
to, 22 1 ; p r ov is io n s Po e , C l a r nc o n agricul t ural

e e,
o f,223 c o op e rati n 2 28 o
P o p ul ist P arty c o nv nt i n o f
,
c
Mi ah , t he o h e , s o ial pr p t c re e o
mine es
, ,
o ms o f , 15
f r 17 1 ; no o f, 172
M id dl e men s
’
o s , 146 Pr fi t P r mp t i n A t 117
ee o c
Si r T h o mas P r c tt n up ri rity f M
,
M o o re , , o n en cl o s es o ,
o s e o o ex
r 27
u es , i c n gric ul t ur
a a75 76 e,
P r gr i F rm r qu t d
,
M o rril l t ariff ,
a ct o f, 140 o es s v e a e ,
o e on
effe ct o f t ariff o n ag ric ul tural
p ro sp e rity 149
P r gr i P rty 178
,
o ess v e a
l I d tr P r t cti n p li cy f 13 2
,
t
N a io na n us i al C o nf e e n e r c o e o o o
B o a d , uo e d o n fa m p i es , P ub l ic d m in xt nt f
, ,
r q t r rc o a , e e o ,
113
2 38 , 243
N ew b urger, o se p h , o n agricul J Q
t r
u al c t
o n d i io ns in R uss ia , 5 7
N e w R ep ub li , The, e di o ial c t r Q uic k H erb e rt on t he p oli cy

o n f a m e l ie f , 2 5 2
, ,
co mm en t r r of p r o t e ct io n 143 144 , ,
rt
N o n -p a is an Leag ue , 177 ; p l a t -r ent s o pp o s it io n t o
Q ul t 106
fo m o f, 183 , ag a ian l egis
, ,
r r r
t
l a io n o f , in N o h ak o a , rt D t R
186
rr S c r
N o isin l ai Bil l , 220 , 22 8 R ail ro ads l and gr an ts t o 118
R ipp y J F re d o n Me xi can
, ,
r r
N o way , ag ari an p a y in , 55 rt
l an d e fo m, 86
.
, ,
N ul l ifi cat io n , d o ine o f, 139 ctr r r

R o b e s o n , amen d men t o ag i
r t r
O c t
ul ura lr
e lie f b il , 22 7 uo l q t
e d , 2 33
O b r ego n l an d p o licy o f 82 R o ge s , t he e o n o mi his o ian ,

r c c t r
O gil v ie W il l iam l and r e fo rme r
, ,
, , ,
fl c
in uen e o f p es il e n e o n t c
46 ; quo t e d , 4 7 r r
u al li f e , 19
Orfi el d , o n c o nfl ict o v e r l and R o me , l and e n l osu e in , 17 c r
p o li cie s , 12 1 t
R o o sev el , Th e o d o e , pro gres r
s iv e l e ad e sh ip o f , 178 r
P R o ss , E
H , o n l and e f o m in
. . r r
M exi o , 83 c
P in
a e, T h o mas refo rme r 46 R o umania ag a ian ev o u io ns r r r l t
P rtit
, , ,
a o Papalare, 50 in, 40 , 5 9
I N D EX 2 69
R ural C redit 6 7 ,
T o wnl ey Art hur C ,
.
, r
l e ad e shi p
R ussia l and l aw i n, 56 o f, 182
,
T o w nsh end Vis c o unt 11 , ,
S ul l ,J t ro 11
e h
u rn er F r e de ri c k J o n p io n ee r
,
S p ir
,
farmin g 128
,
a r
A a o n, o n o o p e a iv e
o, c r t
Ty l e r Wat r b e l lio n 24
,
ma k e ing, 2 11 ; s anda d
r t t r , ,
e ,
ma k e in g, l aw o f , 2 19 ; uo
r t q t
e d , o n f a m el ie f l e gis a o n ,
r r l ti U
Sc
22 1
ien i t fi c farming dev el o p m t en
Unio n P cifi c l
a ,
and g ran ts t o,
,
12 3
S
o f, 11
c o n c e Harv ey J o n farm i
Un o ns , ag ricul tural ,
48 , 5 3
,
b ureau p o l i cy 2 0 1 ,
V
S ett l e W H o n c o o p erat iv e .
,
mark et ing 2 11
.
Virgil quo t e d 23 1
,
, 3
S p nce Th o mas re fo rmer 46

,
e
S t at ut e o f Lab o re rs 2 1
, , ,
W
S ul l iv an Mark quo t ed 126 22 5 Wall ace Al fred R ussel o n l and
,
Syndic al ism rural 46 ; in I t al y

, , , ,
, ,
,
n at io n al iz at io n 47
,
and S p ain 50 5 7
,
, W a hingt n Geo rg l eade rship
,
s o e,
ani m
,
of 9 al ind u try o f 11 s
Washingt o n P o st e di t o rial on
, , ,
T
arm
,
T ariff C o mmiss io n r ep o rt o f o n
r ad ic l t end en c ies of f a
p art i s 195 , ,
e
c os t o f p ro duc ing w heat 240 W l l s H G quo t ed 4 3 44 45 ,
T ar iff in fl uen c e n agrarian is m

,
e ,
. .
, , , ,
,
13 1 ; ac t f 18 16 13 3 ; act o f
W es t W il l is M as n o n c o l o n ial
o ,
,
o ,
p l it ic al right s 9 5
o ,
o
182 8 13 7 ; act o f 1833 and
,
,
1846 139 ; l ate r a ct s 141

W il o n W oo d r o w p o l it ic al at s , ,
t it ud e o f 179
T auss ig F W q uo t e d o n t he
, ,
,
tariff 132
, .
W ood
.
W ,
il l R o n b en efi t s o f ,
.
,
T enant s f arms o p erate d b y 237

,
t ariff t o agri c ul t ure 15 1 ,
, ,
T x as Al l ian c e 166
e
Y
T hi rty Y e ars War e ffe ct o n
,
’
Y o un g, Art hur en c o urag ment

,
p easants 3 7 , e
T inche r farmre l ie f b il l 220 2 2 2 t o s e en ti fi c agri c ul t ur e b y 11

,
l ,
, ,

W. B. Bizzell - The Green Rising

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T HE G R EEN RISING

A n H is t o ri c a l S u rvey o f A gra rianris m, Wi t h S pec ial

F a rme rs o f t he Uni t ed S t a t es t o I mprov e

A ll rig h t: res erved

BY THE MA C MI LLA N CO MPAN Y .

Pub l is h ed Dec e mb er, 1926 .

manufa cturi ng an d c o mmerc e are i t b ranc hes an d i ts life ; if t he

Our reme dies o ft in o urse l v es d o lie,

Mg o wn c o n vi ction has lo ng b een that t he land ques tio n f r o

trans c n d any res trict ed ﬁel d o f e c o nomic and t hat i t is fund

men tal t o na tion al su r v iv al and natio na l we lfar I t is trul y a e .

pr o b l em c a llin g fo r s t at e mans hip o f t he b r o a de t t ype

—PROFESSOR FRA N K A FETTER

a ll o c at e do w ne rs hip dep en d t h e sur v i v a l and gr o w t h o f fr e e ins ti

I n the spri n g o f 19 24 the writer visi t ed E urop e

for th e purpos e of studyin g rural life co n ditions It .

b e cam e appar e nt that pro f ou n d cha n ges wer e tak

rium b e tw e en p o pulat i on e l e m e nts had b ee n ap

p re c iab l y d i sturb e d by th e war. Th e f arm labor

was e xp e ri e ncing ﬁnanc i al distr e ss as a r e sult o f fall

thoroughly d i ssati sﬁ e d and disc o urage d and was,

uniti n g his e ff o rts w i th i ndustri al lab o r to comp e l

It becam e incr e asin gly apparent that the farm

Sea and westward to the A tlantic O c e an were d e ,

t ermined to improv e th e ir e co n omic and social con

ness o f social solidarity an d h ad caus e d them to

the farmers had be come socialistic a n d h ad turn ed

to the most radical elem e nts of industrial labor for

It was quit e obv i ous that the unr e st in th e rural

world wid e agrarian revolution was in progr ess

Th e fact that it was largely bl o odl e ss in no wis e

only b ecom e thoroughly arous e d to th e ir e con o mic

a program o f relie f N aturally th e e l e m e nts in this

program var i ed in detail but the motiv e s that actu

at e d them w e re the sam e .

Th e writ e r became v e ry much impr e ss e d with th e

It w as e asy to real i z e that o ur e conomic and soc i al

w e r e to b e profoundly inﬂu e nc e d by th i s world w i d e -

mov e m en t o f agricultural pr o duc e rs .

It se e med that a surv e y o f this s i tuat i on might

o n var i ous asp e cts o f this subj e ct . A r e v ie w in

The Farm Bureau M o v emen t ; Bruce s The N on

part is an Leagu e ; H ayn e s Third Part y M o v emen ts ;

It i s hoped that at l e ast this book may poss e ss

cat e that th e issu e o f agrarianism i s passing R e .

c en t l y th e R ural R ep o rt of t he Li b eral Lan d

This r e port r e comm e nds rad i cal change s in th e land

support o f at l e ast o n e o f th e pr e dominant part ie s

Cons e rvativ e Party w i ll not l i k e ly b e abl e to ignor e

comp e ll e d th e Sixty ninth Congress to giv e s erious

consid e rat i on to farm r el i e f proposals Th e fa ilur e

o f Congr e ss to pass th e k i nd o f l e gislat i on d e mand e d

by gr e at farm organ i zati o ns w i ll c e rtainly mak e this

Th e r e is a pr e vail i ng o p i n i on that rural d i scont e nt

obs e rv e d that th e re h as be e n increas ing coh e sion

quite obvious that conscious solidar i ty on th e part

The writer prep ared most of th e manuscr i pt for

e co nomists an d rural sociologists conn e ct e d w i th

c ial s in various parts o f the cou n try hav e ch ee r fully

answered man y in quiri e s a n d suppli e d imp ortant

A cknowledgme n t o f this assistance h as b ee n mad e

ack n owledgment o f appr e ciation is r e fe rr e d to h e r e

en tire res po n s i bility for any e rrors o f a s t atisti cal

o pin i o ns e xpr e ss e d and conclus i ons r e ach e d are h is