The Green Rising

Citation preview

T

HE

G R EEN

A n H is t o ri c a l S u rvey R efe ren c e

t he

to

F a rme rs

o

o

f

.

PR

t he Uni t ed S t a t es t o I

f

a nd

.

or

“

FA R M “

RU R

TH E

E

U N I V RSI

T E N A N TR Y

A L TE X A S

” ,

IN

o

f

TY

.

,

,

LL D

OK L

OF

T HE

ET C

.

.

A H OM A

U N I T ED

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

t he

mprov e

S o c ial S t a t us

.

or

Wi t h S pec ial

E ffo rt s

B B I Z Z EL L , P H D

E SI D E N T

A U T H OR

A gra rianris m,

Orga niz ed

T he ir E c o nomic

W

RISING

CO PYRI GH T , 1 9 2 6 BY THE

MA C MI LLA N

Se t

CO MPAN Y

up an d pri nt e d

mb er

Pub l is h ed Dec e

,

.

J

.

LI

TTLE

AN D

w as

.

.

1926

.

f A meric a by C O M PAN Y , N EW Y OR K

P ri nt e d in t he U ni t e d S t at es J

.

o

The w e ll-b eing

manufa cturi ng

o

an d

ro o t is injure d tree dies

l is lik e a tre e agri cul ture is its ro o t c o mmerc e are i t b ranc hes an d i ts life ; if t he l av e fall the b ran c hes b reak away and the

f

a

peop e

,

,

s

the

e

s

,

”

.

-

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

.

c o n vi ction has lo ng b een that t he land ques tio n f r 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 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 Mg

o wn

e

o

s

a

s

e

s

de r a ll o c at e d tu tio n s

”

s

—PROFESSOR Un

.

FRA N

.

K

A FETTER .

.

is t he l an d Up o n i t s wis e u tiliz atio n an d wi d e l y o 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 all

.

.

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 r r i l d i sturb e d by th e war Th e f a m labor e c a b p y 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 They were thin kin g much o f economic ditions 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

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 th e R ural R ep o rt of t he Li b eral Lan d c en t l y 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 ties

.

’

’

’

’

’

’

’

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

-

.

.

.

P RE F A C E

x

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 v ii x P GES

PRE FAC E 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

.

A GRARI AN IS M I N M EX I C O G E N ESIS

OF

75 8 9 -

A GRARIAN IS M

IN

TH E

U N ITED

S TAT ES

9 0 1 11 -

I N F LU E NC E A G RARIAN IS M

TH E

TH E

OF

I N F LU E NC E O F

L AN D P O L I C IES

ON 1 12 13 0 -

TH E

T ARI FF O N A G RAR 13 1-15 5

I AN I S M

VIII

.

F A R M ER S

42 74

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

E C O N O M I C PR OTES T O PE RAT I VE M OVE M E NT

TH E

PR ES E NT S TATU S E NTERPRIS E

TH E

X II

.

OF

AN D

TH E

17 0 -19 7

Co 19 8 2 3 0

A GRI CULTURAL 2 3 1 24 7

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 z claim e d a m e m ership of a millio n farm b n i a i a t o n g 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 r a n i z i a farm bloc i n Co n g ess it caused the t a o n o f ; g .

.

,

.

.

.

,

.

.

.

.

TH E GREEN R ISI NG

2

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

,

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

,

,

m

.

,

,

.

,

,

.

.

TH E GREEN R ISI NG

4

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 Chesterto n s descript i o n o f what i s as p e asants 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 — a n d p werful classes lan dlords f arm ma n a o us o 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 ,

,

.

.

.

,

,

.

,

.

.

.

.

’

.

/

’

.

.

,

,

,

,

TH E GREEN R ISI NG

6

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 This is o f the country upo n a ca p it alistic basis 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 .

.

.

.

.

,

.

.

,

.

.

,

.

.

,

,

.

TH E G REEN R ISIN G

8

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 2 o f Patrick H e nry shows cl e arly that th e issu e 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

Se e

al

F o rc es in A meri can

W W .

.

Henry

’

s

His t o ry p

P tri c k a

,

H en ry

.

7

.

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 .

,

,

,

,

.

,

,

.

,

,

.

.

.

,

.

.

‘

.

,

.

.

TH E G REEN RISI N G

10

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 n i n f 7 industrial enterpris e a n d a s o o ( ) th e acqu i ; p 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 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 ,

.

.

.

.

,

.

.

.

.

,

.

m

.

,

,

,

,

,

.

,

.

TH E GREEN R ISI N G

12

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 2 The organ i zatio n f agricultural soci e ties o ( ) ; ( ) 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 hme n t o f agricultural schools ; ( 5 ) a n d th e establi s 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

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 no t

.

.

.

,

,

,

,

,

-

,

.

,

.

.

.

.

,

,

.

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

.

.

TH E GREEN RISI N G

16 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 R ome

17

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 Through the e fforts of G racchus BC w as revived 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 f o to th e pr e s e nt tim e Th e voic e th e land t inuo usl y 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 John Ball o f th e ty p e o f th e early Jewish prophets .

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

,

.

.

.

TH E GREEN R ISI NG

18

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 : ,

“

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 O ert ax ’

,

,

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 It o f the r e nt receiving an d the re n t pay in g classes is well to r e call that agriculture did n ot become a r fi mak i ng busi n ess u n til modern t i m es Pre t o p 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 .

.

.

.

.

.

,

.

.

,

.

,

.

,

,

,

THE G REEN RISIN G

20 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 Farmers were o fli c es vaca ted by death or desertion 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 E l h l h e i s P s ays n o G re en in his His t or o t e e g p y f 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

TH E GREEN R ISI NG

22

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 ” “ says G arni e r with th e hard s o much discontent e d 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 The fact that the h e ad o f th e rebel o f S t A lbans 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

.

.

TH E GREEN RISI NG

24

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

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 ” 7 the last V illein s Montagu e Fordham i n commen ti n g on th e re “ The Peasan t R evolt was a remark able s ul t s says : 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 The Bill o f rian in its n ature than that of Ball 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 vi l lei ns ,

,

,

.

,

,

.

.

,

,

.

,

,

.

,

.

.

’

.

.

,

,

.

‘

p

,

,

.

28

.

S

A hort His tory o f Englis h R ural Life, C h ap t e r ' Anna ls of the Bri tis h eas antry , Chap V , p 62 G

P

.

.

IV p ,

.

.

62

.

TH E GREEN R ISI N G

26

a n t indictmen t of agrarian p ractices The repeal “ I t is o f the S tatut e o f Labourers was demanded ” “ 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 Probably n o oth e r o f the s e ve n t een th centuries 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

,

.

,

.

.

TH E GREEN R ISI NG

28

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 11 from time to time betw ee n 15 3 0 a n d 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 raril y

b eneficial ;

.

,

,

.

.

,

,

,

”

,

,

.

,

,

,

.

,

.

.

.

,

.

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

.

TH E G REEN R ISI N G

30

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 C h ap V p 67 The M a king of R ural Euro pe .

.

,

.

,

.

,

,

,

,

,

.

.

,

,

,

.

.

.

,

.

,

.

.

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 This was a civil war Jacquerie occurred 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 r i r In p et o s t o orga n ize secretly for self protectio n .

.

,

,

.

.

.

.

.

,

,

,

.

,

’

,

.

,

.

.

.

THE G REEN RISI NG

32

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 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 “ Ab far t o o p oor t o be a men ace t o their te n an t s ,

.

’

,

,

.

,

,

,

.

.

,

m

.

,

,

.

,

.

.

.

.

.

AGRAR IAN REV O LUTI O N S OF TH E P A ST s ent eeis

m say s Hele n Douglas Irv in e

33

“

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 r i r l e o s I n th e a ter eighteenth ce n tury there w as p 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 But the p easan ts were far scale of a past age 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 16 Fren chme n possessed these privileges 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

Lo uis

Madel in s ’

Eur

o pe,

C hap

.

V pp ,

The French R e v o lu tion

.

74

an d

75

.

C h ap

.

I p ,

.

6

.

TH E GREEN R ISI NG

34

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 The obj ect o f the decree ism a n d abolish serfdom 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 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 ,

,

,

.

,

,

,

.

,

,

,

.

,

,

,

.

.

,

.

,

,

,

.

.

c

.

.

.

A

P liti

C hap 14 , .

1"

c al

o

Hay es

p ,

.

479

0p

.

an d

S

o cia

.

ci t

.

,

Vo l

.

I

,

l

H is t o r y C hap 14, .

o

f M o dern

p

.

48 1

.

E ur

o p e,

Vo l

.

I

,

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 “ ” “ Th e rich sai d Marat have t o th e landl o rds 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 ,

.

.

.

.

,

,

“

-

,

.

,

.

,

TH E GREEN R ISI NG

36

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 t A mong th e o f cattle o r the best piec e o f raime n 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 Th e o us local i ti e s dur i ng th e sixt ee nth century 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

.

TH E GREEN R ISI NG

38

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 i r f r i fr ee dom a s n ow s e cur e d and r v w a a d e a t e ee a g p 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 v at e d

.

.

.

,

,

,

,

,

,

,

,

‘

‘

.

.

.

.

,

.

.

A grarianis m in Ot he r Parts

E r u o e p f

o

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 .

AGRAR I AN REV O LUTI O N S OF TH E P A ST

39

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 r n i was gradually brought abou t in o ne way a t o o p 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 n e p den ce was on his home farm whose obj ect it .

.

,

,

.

.

,

,

,

,

,

.

.

,

.

.

.

,

.

,

,

TH E GREEN R ISI N G

40

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 ,

.

.

,

.

.

,

,

,

.

,

,

.

.

,

.

,

.

.

,

.

,

.

.

AGRAR I AN REV O LUTI O N S OF TH E P A ST

41

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 Vo l I I C h ap XX XI X p 393 .

.

,

,

,

,

,

,

.

,

,

.

,

,

.

,

,

,

,

.

"

.

.

,

.

o

s

.

,

.

,

.

.

TH E GREEN R ISI NG

44

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 Thes e in flu enc e s produc ed a cleavage t al is t class 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 This confl i ct o f inter e sts produ ced o f rich m e n 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 The writ ings o f Karl Marx ( 18 18 t eenth c e ntury 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 Vo l I I C hap XXX I X p 3 98 O ut line of H is t ory .

.

.

.

,

,

,

,

,

,

.

,

.

,

.

,

,

.

.

,

.

,

.

,

.

.

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 GREEN R ISI NG

46

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 f i z r n e for th e purpos e o f buyi n g land f arm a d o g 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 .

.

,

.

.

’

.

,

’

.

,

,

.

.

.

’

,

’

’

,

AGRARI AN T EN D EN CI E S I N E U R O P E

47

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 r r both Charl e s Darwi n and H e nry G eorge f o a o p y 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 GREEN R ISI NG

48

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 l i h m n o f rural synd i cal i sm in E ngland cann t s e s t o p 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 — is familiar to most stude n ts o f t e nur e a n d free sal e 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 .

’

,

.

,

.

.

.

.

.

,

,

,

.

,

’

,

.

,

.

TH E GREEN R ISI NG

50

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 I n 19 19 and 19 2 0 th e un i ons in A pulia dit ions 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 A r ef usal o f the lan d o f me n who cultivat e i t 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 n o larg e estat s and sell th e m l i beral e i n r u o d a f 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 ,

.

.

‘

.

.

.

’

.

.

.

,

,

.

,

,

.

,

,

.

,

,

TH E GREEN R ISI NG

52

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 l e p 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 .

.

,

,

,

.

’

,

.

,

,

.

,

.

’

.

,

.

AGRARI AN T END EN CI E S I N E U R O P E

53

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 .

.

,

,

.

.

,

,

.

,

.

,

.

,

.

.

,

TH E GREEN R ISI N G

54

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 “ Their agreed work h as n o t be e n very significant 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 Th e c ialist agitator c an regime n t in his army 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 r Thei trade u n io n s do n ot deman d co n ditio n s in t iv el y

.

,

,

,

,

,

.

,

,

,

.

.

.

.

.

.

,

,

,

.

AGRAR I AN T EN D EN CI E S I N E U R O P E

55

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 ,

.

.

,

.

.

.

,

.

,

.

.

TH E GREEN R ISI NG

56

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 f Cr e at i ng a surplus la n ds of agricultural o ( ) 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 u 4 n A ccel e rati n g th e tra n sition from the old ( ) 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 ,

,

,

,

.

,

,

.

,

,

,

,

.

.

,

,

,

.

,

.

,

.

AGRAR I AN T EN D EN CI E S I N E U R O P E

57

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 th e farm e rs are or more o f the R ussian p eople .

.

.

,

,

,

,

,

,

,

,

,

.

,

,

.

,

,

.

,

,

,

.

,

,

.

,

,

,

THE GREEN R ISI NG

58

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 .

.

,

.

,

,

,

‘

’

.

,

,

.

,

.

.

.

,

AGRARI AN T EN D EN CI E S I N E U R O P E

59

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 on

.

,

.

.

.

.

,

,

.

,

,

.

,

.

,

’

.

.

,

,

TH E GREEN RISI NG

60

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 Th e o f public utili ty e xisted pr e vious to this t i m 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 I bi , Cha V , p 102

d

r r

.

p

t

.

.

.

C hap

.

V p ,

.

100

.

AGRARI AN T END EN CI E S I N E U R O P E

61

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

t he Gen eral Effec ts

f

M o v emen t

o

f t he Agraria n

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 l e t e w i th o ut s o m e comm e nt n th e influ e nc e o t h e p 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 i n a t o n for the improv e me n ts c e iv e ad eq uat e /c o m e s p 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 ,

,

.

,

.

.

’

.

.

,

.

,

.

TH E GREEN RISI NG

62

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 In th e b o undar ie s o f th e small proprietorships 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 ,

,

,

.

.

,

,

,

.

.

.

,

.

.

,

,

,

AGRARI AN T EN D EN CI E S I N E U R O P E

63

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 A ustralia

1

.

.

,

.

,

.

.

.

,

,

,

,

.

.

.

,

,

.

.

,

.

The Co op era ti v e

M o v emen t

ih Agric ul ture

the agr aria n movemen t has bee n mor e s i gn ifica nt than that o f agr i cultural co Opera N o influe n ce

of

TH E GREEN R ISI N G

64

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 tion

.

,

,

.

,

,

,

,

,

,

.

,

,

.

.

,

,

.

.

.

,

.

.

,

,

,

,

.

AGRARI AN T EN D EN CI E S I N E U R O P E

65

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

.

,

,

.

,

,

.

,

.

.

,

.

.

,

.

.

.

.

,

TH E GREEN R ISI NG

66

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 n ly a uniform stan dard o f the righ t ki n d o f pig 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 r r i nclud e s tho e fa m e rs who are too poor f or s t s fi 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

R ural Credi t

f 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 o

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

TH E GREEN R ISI NG

68

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

Agricul tural

Welfare

f 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 o

,

,

.

AGRARI AN T EN D EN CI E S I N E U R O P E R ome is an o f activities

69

organizatio n rea lly unique in the scope 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 ; 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 .

.

.

,

.

,

,

,

.

,

,

,

,

,

,

,

,

m

,

,

,

,

,

,

TH E G REEN RISI N G

70

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 associat i ons ; and ( 3 ) s ent at iv es from e mployers 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 r i t e matters a s well as with th e League of N a a p 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 i z n i n i t is destined in t i m e e x e rt a remark a a t o o t g 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 GREEN R ISI NG

72

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 ,

.

.

AGRAR I AN T EN D EN CI E S I N E U R O P E

73

brought e v e n larg e r fre e dom to the rural population The r e forms w e re f oll ow e d by o f easter n Prussi a 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 7 av e rage size o f th e actual un i t of pr oduct i on 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 p 184 The Agrarian R ev o lutio n in R o umania .

.

.

.

.

,

,

,

,

,

,

.

,

,

.

,

,

,

.

.

,

,

,

"

.

.

.

TH E GREEN R ISIN G

74

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 f o fsprin g of S lavo Marx i an doctrine s but rath e r as 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

Agrarianis m

f 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 o

.

.

75

TH E GREEN R ISI N G

76

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 This p olicy explains tw o sign ifican t o f exploitatio n 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 2 predomin ating 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

.

,

,

.

,

TH E GREEN R ISI NG

78

” 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 ie ndas co m 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 f n n c e was achieved a f t e r tw e lv e years o blood e d e p 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 Th e Mexican Congr e ss in 18 7 7 v em b er 2 1 18 7 6 “ 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 GREEN R ISI NG

80

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 He w as a ma n o f splendid spirit a n d fine ideals 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 assiste d by Villa led th e revolt again st ah uil a 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 r t i n n n i u migh t The section this o a o o o f co s t t w p 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 .

,

,

.

,

,

,

,

,

,

.

.

,

,

,

,

.

.

,

,

,

.

.

.

.

p

Mexi c o .

55

.

,

An I n

t erpretation

,

r t on

b y Ca le

Be als

Chap V, .

TH E GREEN R ISI NG

82

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 Th e land pol i cy w i th r e fe r e nc e t o t ial l y carr ie d o ut th e ha ce ndado s d i d n o t irnpl y a confiscation The .

.

,

,

,

.

,

,

,

.

,

,

,

.

.

.

.

,

.

.

,

.

.

.

AGRAR I AN IS M I N ME X IC O

83

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 ” “ R says Pro f essor E A oss it wi t ke rank l ll a e t e d p 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 6 O br e gon r é gim e i n th e S urv ey Grap hic says : Th e 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

S ci

The

S ee

o

s

al

p e cial

R e v o lutio n in Mexic o

t io n

edi

on

M exic o

,

issue

C hap Of

May

,

.

192 4

V II p ,

.

.

86

.

THE GREEN R ISI NG

84

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 But it i s l ut io n count e r r e volution and anarchy 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 “ which carr ie d with it th e dispossess ing o f S p e n ce 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 M exi c o of the M exic ans C hap 13 p 205 '

.

.

.

.

,

.

.

.

.

.

,

,

,

,

.

.

,

7

,

.

,

.

.

TH E GREEN R ISI N G

86

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 Th i s is a clear statem e nt o f M exico s to both 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 of

,

,

’

,

.

,

.

.

,

-

.

.

,

’

.

.

.

.

,

‘

,

.

,

.

,

,

.

AGRAR I AN IS M I N ME X IC O

87

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 ,

,

.

.

.

’

.

.

.

,

,

’

,

.

,

,

,

.

,

TH E GREEN R ISI N G

88 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 e p t e dom i n i on which th e pr e vious own e r had over 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

Lan d S e t t l emen t

f 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 o

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 For th e ni e s fai l e d for much th e same r e ason 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 .

,

,

.

.

,

,

,

.

,

.

,

,

.

.

.

.

,

,

,

,

.

,

TH E GREEN RISI NG

92

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 It is e stimat ed gr e at e st e nt e rprises o f th e day 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 G old h ad b e com e pl e nt if ul as a p erit y in E ngland 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

I I I , 13 42 .

mic .

D

men t o f

e v elop

t he

Uni

ted S ta tes

p

C ha

.

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 E xactly on e hundred y e ars later the pro 163 2 r i r of G e orgia receiv e d their gra n t from th e e t o s p K i ng B efor e 17 6 3 s e ttl e m e nts Were w ell estab G radually thes e lish ed along th e A tlantic seaboard 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 ,

.

,

.

.

.

,

,

.

.

.

.

,

.

,

,

,

,

.

.

.

,

.

TH E GREEN R ISI N G

94

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 h r G i lbert Th ese words wer e rep e ated in n e arly e p y 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 .

,

.

.

.

,

.

,

.

.

,

.

,

,

.

,

.

,

GENE SIS OF AGRARI AN IS M I N TH E U S .

95

.

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 n i n f r f a the cost tra n sport tio n and as r e ntal e s a t o o o p 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 pective settlers by plan ters A s comp e nsat i on o f p ro s 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 Chap I p 45 Americ an His t ory and Go v ernment ,

,

.

,

.

,

,

,

,

,

.

.

,

,

.

.

.

,

.

.

,

.

.

.

‘

.

,

.

.

THE GREEN R ISI NG

96

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 ‘

,

,

.

.

GENE SIS OF AGRARI AN IS M I N TH E U S .

.

97

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 r i r h f e t o disposed it th e y fit subj e ct s w o o a s a w s p 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 .

.

.

.

,

.

.

.

.

.

.

,

.

.

.

,

THE GREEN R ISI NG

98

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 h n i e es to the Mississippi R iv e r Virgi ni a N orth g 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 u e n e s Many asp e ct o f agrarianism ar e dir e ctly c s q 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 .

.

THE GREEN R ISI NG

100

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 These farm e rs wer e e xpect e d to gi v e annu v at ed 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 .

A ll o th e r labor e rs w e re give n

o ne

.

10 1

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 .

.

,

.

.

.

.

,

,

.

,

,

,

.

.

,

.

.

.

.

THE GREEN RISI N G

102

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 A concerted have co n tributed to a lik e feelin g 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 The freem e n ga in e d d e vic e o f r e pr e sentat i o n 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 .

.

.

.

.

,

.

,

.

.

’

,

,

.

.

.

.

.

.

‘

I b id

C hap H , .

pp

.

82

an d

83

.

TH E G REEN RI S IN G

104

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

L o rd Culp e pp e r succ ee d e d B e rkeley as G ov By this time the royal commissio n ers recog ern or 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 In

16 7 9 .

.

.

.

.

,

.

-

.

,

.

,

,

.

.

THE GREEN R IS IN G

106 r r i e t a p y

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 ,

.

,

.

.

’

,

.

,

.

,

,

,

.

,

,

,

.

.

.

"

p

.

B e ginnings 29 8

.

'

o

f A griculture in America

C h ap

.

XXV

,

G ENE SIS OF A G RAR IAN IS M I N TH E U S .

of

10 7

.

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 To obviate this the governor order e d that c eeds 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

.

,

.

.

TH E G REEN R ISI NG

108

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 r r i w e r e Oft e n domin ee ri n g and exacting with e t o s p 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 r e p o us through the cultivation o f rice and indigo 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 r i r e promptly veto ed both m e asures Th e t o s p 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

f

o

mers

t he C o l onia l Far

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 ,

TH E G REEN R IS ING

110

w ere more directly affect ed by th e immediate cau ses “ That th e south o f the War than any oth e r group 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 .

,

,

,

.

,

.

,

.

,

,

.

,

.

.

‘

Begi nnings

o

f Agri cult ur e in Ameri c a C hap ,

.

XXV p ,

.

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 The Pu blic D omain

an d

1 13

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 1 go v e rn m en t 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 ,

.

.

.

,

.

.

.

.

.

.

,

.

,

.

1

r

S ee Al b e t Bushnel l

Chap

.

IV p ,

.

94

.

Hart s ’

F o rmatio n

o

f

t he

Union

( 1750

THE G REEN R ISI N G

114

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 1 r f 8 The A ct permitted th e sale land r i t 00 o f e o s o p 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 Thes e pol i cies d i d no t prov e t o the U n ited S t at e s 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 .

,

,

.

,

.

,

.

.

,

,

.

,

.

,

.

.

.

,

,

.

,

.

.

,

TH E GREEN R ISI NG

1 16

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 r f c o w o v e r n me n t p ri e l a n d a s n e th e n umerou o f o s g 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 Th e full e ff ects o f th e lat e r pol i cy o f can history 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

and

225

.

t he A

meri c an F r on tier

C hap XXV, .

pp

.

22 4

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 .

.

,

.

,

.

,

,

.

,

.

,

,

.

.

.

.

.

.

’

.

THE GREEN R ISIN G

1 18

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 over n me n t it fill th e Stat e s with hom e s it builds s g 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 I t was origin all y and di s n o other n atio n s syst e m 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 “ -1880 1 twenty y e ar p e rio from 86 Th e popu th e d 0 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 in the population in twen ty years o f ov e r 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 1 1 c 8 7 0 e ra ate I n the si n gl e de a d e 88 0 over l r n e g .

,

,

,

‘

,

.

,

’

.

,

.

.

'

.

.

,

.

.

,

,

.

,

,

,

,

,

.

,

THE

I N F LU EN C E OF L A N D

119

POLI C I ES

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 -1 0 1 8 0 the twenty year per i od 8 9 0 th e r e w e r e adde d 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 In th e m i ddl e W e st e sp e ci ally th e hard ual is t ic 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

.

.

TH E G REEN R ISI N G

12 0

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 From 183 0 t o 184 1 a con co n structio n had b egu n s iderab l e amou n t o f time o f each ses sio n o f Co n gr ess a

.

.

.

,

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

TH E I N F LU EN C E OF LAN D P O LI C I E S

12 1

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 From 184 5 R e pr e s e ntativ e s d e fe ated th e measur e 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 w as

.

.

,

.

,

.

.

.

,

,

.

,

.

,

.

.

,

,

TH E GREEN R ISI NG

12 2

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 Of tw e nty t o re ceiv e similar grants in the futur e 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 again st th e measure six c rat s a n d eigh t Whigs ; ” 4 n D e mocrats s e v e n Whigs and o e Fr e e s oi l e r 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 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 .

.

,

,

.

,

,

,

,

,

'

,

.

,

,

,

.

,

.

.

.

'

m

.

.

G

S

-

S

F e de ral La nd ran ts to the tates with pecia l R efe renc e to 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 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 .

,

,

.

,

.

.

,

.

.

.

,

.

,

x

/

.

.

.

,

.

.

,

TH E G REEN RISI NG

124

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 ; acr e s ; to th e N orth t o th e C en tral Pacific 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 cr e a 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 Minneso t a, Bul o f Univ o f Minneso ta ‘

.

.

Sp c i

al

e

p

.

R eferenc e

108

.

to

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 .

.

,

.

.

,

.

.

.

.

,

.

.

.

TH E GREEN

12 6

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 H e traces th e se changes as a mood o f irritation 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 ,

,

.

.

,

,

‘

,

’

‘

’

.

.

,

,

.

,

.

,

,

,

’

,

,

,

/

,

,

,

.

,

.

,

,

.

TH E G REEN R ISI NG

12 8

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 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 ,

‘

’

,

,

.

,

,

,

,

.

,

,

,

,

l

.

,

,

-

.

,

,

,

.

,

,

,

’

‘

,

.

,

.

.

.

.

,

,

,

TH E I N FLU EN C E OF L AN D POLICI E S

12 9

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 In a word th e physiographic prov w as requ i red 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 ment

of

.

,

.

,

.

,

,

.

,

.

.

.

.

.

.

,

,

.

,

.

.

THE GREEN R ISI NG

13 0

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 i n ds o f the farm po p u l atio n sc ious solidarity i n t h e m 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 but durin g th e v en tio n a n d in dustrial p ro cesses 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

T HE

13 2

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 I n f act s e veral o f the Colo n ies h ad ac s t it ut io n cept e d th e principle o f protection as a n aid to some I t is therefore not sur o f th e ir i n fan t in dustri e s 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 As 17 8 9 and r e ceived f avorable consid e ratio n 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

Pro t ec ti on

f 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 o

.

,

.

,

.

.

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 The Berli n and Mila n decr ee s of o f th e cou n try 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 try o ut th e cou n Th e Tari ff Act o f 18 16 w as cl e arly a prot e ctive It w as passed in respon se t o the d e t ariff measure 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 ,

.

,

.

,

,

.

.

.

,

.

-

,

.

,

,

.

.

.

.

,

THE G REEN R ISIN G

134

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 The t urers tha n with th e commercial age n cies 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 I t appeared t o th e di stress throughout the Sou t h 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 .

,

.

,

.

.

,

.

,

,

,

,

.

.

,

/

.

.

,

.

TH E G REEN R ISI NG

13 6

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 Th e tariff states and th e N orthw e st w e r e for it A S ho rt His t o ry of t he Unit e d S tat es C hap XV III p 385 .

,

.

.

.

.

,

,

.

.

,

.

,

.

,

.

,

,

.

‘

,

.

,

.

.

TH E I N FLU EN C E OF TH E TAR IFF

13 7

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 Th e duty o f K e ntucky was cast i n favor o f the b i ll 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

.

THE G REEN R ISI NG

138 of

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 18 2 8

,

.

,

.

,

,

.

‘

.

.

.

,

.

,

,

.

.

,

,

.

.

,

.

,

.

‘

,

.

,

.

.

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 r i e ss n l o a legi slation is revealed in Calhou n s speech g 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 I nfluen ce

o

f

t he Tarifi

on

14 1

Farm Prosperi ty

Much has b e en claimed for the gr e at tar i ff acts There are thos e wh o claim that o f rec en t t im e s the Din gley the Payn e Aldri ch and th e mor e re b er tariff acts each c ent l y e n acted Fordn e y M c Cum 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 .

,

,

,

,

.

.

.

,

,

.

.

,

,

.

,

.

,

,

.

,

,

,

.

TH E G R EEN R ISING

142

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

Agricu l ture

and

I ndus t ry

f 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 the ducers w e r e profit i ng by a ga in o f 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 o

,

,

.

,

,

.

,

,

,

.

,

,

,

.

,

,

.

,

,

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 r i i e c t o that e xchang e is aga nst th e trade So a e d s p 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 ,

,

,

.

,

,

,

.

,

.

.

,

,

‘

.

,

,

,

,

,

,

,

.

,

,

,

,

.

,

.

.

TH E GREEN R ISI NG

144

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 They could use th e ir la n ds o f sugar w e r e produced A nd the b ee t sugar as profitably for oth e r crops 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 e rn

.

.

.

,

’

‘

.

,

,

.

.

,

.

.

-

,

,

.

.

.

.

,

,

.

.

‘

,

.

,

.

.

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 .

,

,

,

146

THE GREEN R ISI NG

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 So he o f n early 2 0 pe r c e n t o f the e ntir e output 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

TH E T AR IFF

OF

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 An total additio n al sum of arou n d 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 A still further analysis n ect ed with agriculture 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 d child The extra cost to th e farmer o n oth e r an 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 .

.

,

,

,

.

,

,

,

.

.

.

_

.

.

‘

,

.

,

.

,

.

TH E GREEN R ISI NG

14 8

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 L place d on th e free list while higher duties w ere im ,

,

.

,

.

,

,

,

,

,

,

,

,

,

,

,

,

.

,

,

,

,

,

,

.

.

.

,

TH E I N FLU EN C E OF TH E TAR IFF

14 9

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 High tari ff advo cates est ed in p rices a b ove all else 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 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 r r r a n ably edited and wid e ly re d s s i F m a a e v e e g 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 f

.

.

.

,

,

THE GREEN R ISI NG

150

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

THE

I NFLU EN C E OF

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 He calls o f a prot e ctiv e tariff t o farm producers 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 was admitt e d t o or 5 7 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 repre was paid but o f this amou n t 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 .

.

.

,

,

,

.

.

.

,

.

,

,

,

’

.

.

.

.

,

,

TH E GREEN RISI NG

152

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 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 This in bri e f th e output o f the American farm 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 ,

,

,

,

.

,

,

.

,

,

.

.

,

,

m

,

.

,

.

,

,

.

.

'

,

,

,

.

THE GREEN R IS ING

154

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 Th ey op o f gov e rn m en t t o a c complish their ends 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

p

.

The Uni

50 1

.

t ed S tates in

Our

Own

Time s

,

p XXI V

1865 -1 9 2 0, C ha

.

,

THE GREEN RISI NG

158

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 “ The idea that p e rman ent e conomic opportunity 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 ern

.

,

,

,

.

.

.

.

.

,

.

.

,

.

,

.

,

,

,

.

,

F ARMER S O RGAN I ZE FO R A CTIO N

15 9

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

now ,

,

.

l ennium

” 2

.

There was no el eme n t in our p o p ul atio n wh o b e They l iev ed this more fi rml y tha n the farmers 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 l i h t e ir e nds through parties of their s h n o w p .

.

.

.

,

,

.

The B eginning

f

o

Po litical Pro tes t

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 l l e t e p 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 In

18 5 8

,

,

.

.

.

.

.

.

,

.

.

TH E GREEN R ISI NG

160

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 “ r i t n o a t o compani e s was in progr e ss th e Patrons p ” ” “ 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 ,

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

,

,

.

,

,

,

,

.

,

,

.

,

.

,

,

,

.

,

.

,

.

.

F ARMER S O RGAN I ZE FO R A CTIO N

16 1

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 i z i acquired a membershi p of a millio n a n d a n n a o t g 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 en t a n d s p r e ad o f th e G ran ger moveme n t was o pm 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 .

,

.

.

.

,

,

,

,

,

,

,

,

,

,

.

,

.

,

,

,

,

,

,

,

.

,

,

,

THE

16 2

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 Th e railroad organ iz atio n s resist ed the t iv it ies 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 ” “ G ran ge r Laws came s t it ut ional ity o f the so c alled 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 ed the p ower t o regul a t e rates s everal states pos se m ~

.

,

,

,

.

.

.

.

.

,

,

.

.

.

,

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 GREEN R ISI NG

1 64

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 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 ,

.

,

.

w

,

.

.

.

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 n e o f these gr i evan ce s gr ew o f organized p rotest o ut o f th e profits o f th ose who p urchased farm prod The farmer had come uc t s f or r e sal e t o co n sumers 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 ,

,

.

.

,

.

.

.

.

.

,

.

,

/

.

.

.

.

.

THE GREEN RISI NG

166

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 z n h i e the gri e va c e s f farmers and proposed a a s d o p 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 agr ee d th at th e farm e r s probl ems w e r e o p in i on 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 ’

.

.

.

.

.

.

,

.

,

.

.

.

.

,

,

,

TH E GREEN RISI NG

168

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

or

.

.

,

.

,

.

,

,

,

,

.

.

,

,

,

.

,

.

,

.

F ARMER S O RGAN I ZE FO R A CTIO N

1 69

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 ” and o f all agricultural and m e chanical prod uctio n 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 i z i n a n a t o s The G rang e b e ga n as a conservativ e g 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 i z i n a n t i n th i s country a o g “

.

.

,

’

.

.

.

,

.

.

,

’

,

’

.

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 Th e platfo rm Omah a N e braska July 2 -5 18 9 2 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 .

’

.

.

,

,

'

.

,

.

,

,

.

’

,

,

,

.

,

,

.

,

.

,

.

,

,

,

,

,

,

,

,

.

,

,

.

,

TH E GREEN R ISI NG

1 72

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 G e neral W e av e r had be en gin ia f or Vice Pr e sident ,

,

,

,

,

,

.

.

’

,

"

,

.

,

,

.

,

,

,

,

,

,

,

.

.

.

,

,

.

,

.

,

,

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 e e al d i r e ctly the p eo p l A t the gen eral el e ctio n o t p 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 lac e in the electoral college O f the millio n p c pu p 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 S o cial P o litics in the Unite d S tat es C hap VI I p 165 .

.

.

,

.

,

,

.

,

'

.

.

,

,

,

,

.

’

.

.

.

.

,

,

1

.

,

.

.

TH E GREEN R ISI NG

17 4

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 2 and trust compani e s fai l e d 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

XXV I p ,

’

.

The

3 99

.

Ec

o no

mic

His t o r y

o

f t he Unit e d

St t

a e s,

C hap

.

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 Th e pri ce o f silv e r had fall e n West c ial distress 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 i 1 n of quit e evid e nt Th e P e o pl e s 8 6 a 9 w a s p g 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 .

.

.

’

.

,

.

.

.

.

,

,

.

.

,

.

,

,

,

,

.

.

.

‘

,

TH E GREEN RISI NG

17 6

Bryan received 17 6 electoral r e ce ived 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 Bu t th e t ional campaign s o f 1900 1904 and 19 0 8 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 I eriod o f o n ly si x tee n years t s real i n flue n ce i n p 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 .

,

.

.

TH E GREEN R ISI NG

17 8

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 r i v e Party did not e mphas i ze th e e sse n tial ag e ss g 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

.

P

.

B

.

D

w itt s

e

’

The

Haw o rt h s The Unit ed

3 75

’

.

P r gr o

St t

a es

M o v emen t C hap IV Our Own Times C hap X I X

es si v e

in

,

.

.

,

.

,

AGRAR I AN P ARTI E S AN D TH E I R POLICI E S

17 9

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

THE

180

GREEN

RISI NG

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 .

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

,

,

.

AGRARI AN P ARTI E S AN D TH E I R POLICI E S

18 1

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 A n umb er o f grain uc t s and b uying supplies “ ” 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 The serious und e r the e xistin g party organi z atio n s 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 .

.

.

,

.

.

,

.

.

.

,

.

'

.

,

.

THE GREEN R ISI NG

18 2

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 i z n a Th i s publ i cat i o n was at io n w as establ i sh e d g 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 .

,

,

,

.

,

.

.

.

.

.

,

.

.

,

,

,

,

,

.

.

.

.

.

THE GREEN R ISI NG

184

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 ,

,

.

.

.

.

.

,

,

,

.

.

,

.

,

,

’

.

,

,

,

‘

.

AGRAR I AN P ARTI E S AN D TH E I R POLICI E S

185

and th e S enat e over the agrarian policies o f th e It was d e cid e d soon that it N o npart i san Leagu e 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 Th i s actio n w as de O f the m e as ure in d e finit e ly “ a b e trayal o f th e f arm cl are d by th e Le agu e to b e 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 ,

.

,

,

,

.

z i n i t n a a o g

.

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 .

,

.

.

.

.

,

.

.

,

.

.

.

.

,

.

.

AGRAR I AN P ARTI E S AN D TH E I R POLICI E S

187

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 ,

,

.

.

,

.

,

.

.

,

,

.

TH E GREEN R ISING

188

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 z n i i n candidat e s a t o a g 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 .

.

,

,

.

.

,

.

.

,

.

.

,

,

,

.

,

,

.

.

.

,

TH E GREEN R ISI NG

190

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 T o wn s o many s i milar und e rtak in gs in th e past 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 ” 5 ns t ruc t iv e programm e ership plus a sound c O 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 .

.

.

,

.

,

,

,

,

.

’

,

,

.

.

,

.

,

,

.

.

‘

’

,

.

,

.

.

AGRAR I AN P ARTI E S AN D TH E I R POLICI E S

19 1

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,

,

.

,

.

THE GREEN R ISI NG

19 2

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 The re as o n as p e c t tha n man y o f th e labor groups .

,

.

.

,

,

,

,

,

.

,

.

.

.

,

.

.

,

,

.

AGRARI AN P ARTI E S AN D TH E I R POLICI E S

19 3

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 ” “ says R ob e rt Morss Lovet t One h e ard at S t Paul 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 fo r

.

,

.

,

,

,

,

’

,

.

,

.

.

,

.

.

,

.

,

.

.

.

,

,

,

.

.

.

TH E GREEN R ISI NG

19 4

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 It is not without 962 and La Foll e tt e 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 .

.

,

.

,

,

.

,

.

,

,

.

,

.

.

,

,

,

,

,

,

,

,

.

.

.

AGRAR I AN P ARTI E S AN D TH E I R POLICI E S

19 5

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 .

,

.

,

,

,

,

.

,

.

,

,

.

.

.

’

‘

.

,

,

.

"

.

.

.

TH E GREEN R ISI NG

196

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 Its future w ill prob o f the Farm Labor moveme n t 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 E CO N O M IC P R OT E ST AN D T HE COOP ERATIVE M O VE M EN T

THE

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 Th e passag e of th e Sm i th Lever A ct c o uragement .

1

O rv ill e

C hap

.

M ert o n K il e s

I pp ,

’

.

3

and

4

.

rm Bur

The Fa

eau

M o v emen t

TH E GREEN R ISI NG

2 00

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 The policy should be thoroughly o rganizations — 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 .

.

,

,

.

.

~

.

,

,

.

.

,

.

,

,

,

,

.

.

,

THE GREEN RISI NG

2 02

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 But w i th the w as th e stimulat i on o f production 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 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 ,

.

“

‘

‘

.

.

c

.

.

,

,

,

.

.

.

.

TH E GREEN R ISI NG

2 04

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

t he Co opera ti v e

M o v emen t

of 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 6 var i ous parts o f th e country 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

C hap s 14 , 15 .

’

H o w Farme rs Co ope rat e

and

16

.

and

D o ub le

P r fit o

s

THE GREEN R ISI NG

2 06

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 For exampl e 4 6 p e r c e nt of th e farm t icul ar cr o ps 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 th e e ast north c e ntral stat es c e ntral stat e s 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 r r i fi with hi t thr ee e t v e associations t i ed c o O a t he t p y 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 ,

,

,

,

‘

’

.

.

’

,

’

,

’

,

’

,

,

’

,

’

,

’

,

,

’

.

,

’

.

,

.

,

.

THE GREEN R ISI NG

2 08

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 In fact there is scarcely a marketable al l kin ds 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 .

.

.

THE GREEN R ISING

2 10

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 that th i s argum e nt has no valid i ty when l e t e d a y p 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 “ It is tru e w e move one half o ur 19 24 h e sa i d : 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 “ E verybody s e ts a pric e o n what h e Wheat says sells e xcept the farmer Why shouldn t we h av e a .

,

.

,

.

.

.

.

.

.

,

,

,

,

,

,

.

.

.

.

,

,

,

'

,

’

.

S ee E o n o mi M a h, 1925 , p 2 5 ‘

rc

c

c J o urna l

.

.

of

t he

R o y al

Ec

o no

mic

S ci ty o

e

fo r

TH E GREEN RISI NG

2 12

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 Th i s organization enc ies i n c o Operat iv e marketi n g 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 Th e raisi n growers o f Califor n ia p ro fi t e d by 000 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 f ficial 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

N O 3 ( Augus .

mic

t

10,

Bul

le tin

of

t

t he Chase N a io nal Bank , Vo l

.

III

,

TH E GREEN R ISING

2 14

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 : o

.

.

.

.

.

,

,

.

,

.

.

,

,

.

,

,

.

.

.

,

,

.

.

,

,

,

"

S upply

S ri e

es

D m nd p II pp 18

and

) C ha ,

.

e

,

a

.

( The C amb ridge an d

19

.

Ec

ono

mic

Handb o o k s

TH E E CO N O MIC P ROT E ST

2 15

of

N ow people talk about the law

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 af ter explainin g th e d i ffe r e nce b e erno r Lowden ” ” “ “ 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 ,

,

.

.

,

.

,

.

,

.

,

,

,

,

.

,

,

,

,

TH E GREEN R ISI NG

2 16

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 .

,

.

,

.

,

.

.

.

.

,

.

.

.

.

TH E GREEN R ISING

2 18

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 .

M ark e ting

Legis la tion R el atin g t o Co op era ti v e

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 N i n e ty p e r cent o f th e f armer s troubl e say i ng : can b e solv e d by himself and himself alone and no ” mor e than t e n p e r c en t by legislation I t is gen 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 ,

,

’

,

‘

.

’

.

.

.

,

.

,

.

.

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 m p any o f C l ev e land “

7

”

,

,

,

iss ue

of

Jun e 1925 ,

.

,

TH E E CO N O MIC P ROT E ST

2 19

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 .

.

,

.

.

.

.

’

.

,

,

.

,

/

.

-

.

.

TH E GREEN R ISI NG

22 0

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 Th e i d e a o f this o f a gr e at busine ss corp oration 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 This departm en t w as to e stablish o f A gricultur e standard s o f clas sifi catio n p rovid e a system o f in .

.

.

,

.

’

’

,

.

.

,

,

.

.

.

.

,

TH E E CO N O MIC P ROT E ST spe c t ion

22 1

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 What the farm e r ne e ds i s not pr i c e o rgani zat i o n 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 ,

,

,

.

.

,

,

'

.

,

,

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

,

TH E GREEN R ISI NG

22 2

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 for mark e ti n g the surplus f arm crops and it l u a t e q y 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 o ne

,

.

.

.

.

.

,

.

,

.

,

.

.

.

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 M r to th e cN a y Haug en Bill tha t was o fl ere d as an 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 f Th e cr e atio n a Fe deral Farm A dvisory o ( ) ” 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 .

.

.

,

.

,

,

,

.

,

,

.

.

.

,

’

TH E G R EEN R ISI NG

224

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 Fe deral Farm ( 3 ) Th e establ i shm e nt of a 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 was pro ( 5 ) An appropriatio n o f 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

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 of

.

.

,

,

.

,

’

.

,

,

,

.

.

.

.

.

,

,

.

,

,

,

TH E GREEN R ISI NG

22 6

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 It o f th e M cN ary -Haugen bill w e r e d i sapp o in t e d 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 .

,

,

.

.

.

.

.

,

.

,

,

,

.

.

.

THE GREEN R ISI NG

22 8

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 r M r o c N a Sincla i r bill th e But it is y Hauge n bill 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 o p e rati o n i n agricul co Operat io n in production 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 metry and propor unifie d effo rt t ha t wi ll gi v e s ym ” 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 A good stan dard o f o f their ec o n omic problems 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 .

,

,

.

’

,

.

.

,

,

,

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

TH E GREEN R ISI NG

2 30

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

.

.

TH E

23 2

GREEN

R ISI NG

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 e rfectly well known to ev e ry man woma n a n d p 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 as far as it s o f ag riculture at th e prese n t time r elationship to i n dustry is co n cern ed an d its co n di “

‘

.

.

,

.

,

,

.

,

,

,

,

.

,

,

,

,

,

,

’

.

‘

.

,

,

.

.

‘

.

,

,

,

TH E GREEN R ISI NG

234

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 are al l bas ed on whol esal e pri ces an d as reliab le 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 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 .

,

.

,

,

.

,

’

.

‘

w

.

.

‘

’

’

‘

.

.

‘

.

,

,

,

,

,

,

.

’

.

’

‘

.

.

’

‘

.

.

‘

.

’

.

’

‘

.

.

TH E GREEN RISI NG

236

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 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 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 ,

.

2

.

.

.

3

.

.

,

of

19 2 5 ,

ST A TUS OF AGR ICULTU RAL EN T ERP RIS E 4

.

23 7

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 The number o f persons engage d in agriculture dec line d from in 19 2 0 to in 192 5 Th e gross in com e o f agricultural ent e rpris e dec line d from 1 1 in 9 9 2 0 to 24 in 19 2 5 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 .

,

.

.

5

.

.

6

.

.

7

.

.

.

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 .

,

.

TH E GREEN RISI NG

2 38

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 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 .

.

,

,

,

,

.

2

.

.

,

.

,

.

.

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 2 to urban markets hav e b ee n less s everely a ff ect ed 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 Chap 2 The A gricu lture P r o b l emin t he Uni t e d S ta t es ,

.

,

,

,

,

,

,

,

,

.

,

.

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 6 states 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

Farm D is tress

f 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

.

o

.

,

,

,

.

.

,

.

.

,

THE GREEN R ISI NG

240

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 r t a t i o n costs are all i n volved o p 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 It cost to produ ce the crop an d it o f wh e at 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

.

2

.

3

.

G overnme n tal pric e fi xing G ov e rnmental buying and selling G overnme n tal subsidi es .

.

.

TH E GREEN R ISI NG

2 42

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 To r e duce cost o f production by coop erative e ff orts To syn chronize marketi n g an d distributio n to prospective demand To redu ce th e spr e ad b etw ee n producer and co n sumer 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 based on relative quality o f p roductio n .

.

2

.

.

3

.

.

4

.

.

5

.

.

6

’

.

.

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

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 4 mes t ic pric e s 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 en t al and e conomic pr i n cipl e s o ffe rs mor e prom e rnm 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 e nc o urage m e nt and ass i stanc e that is ernmen t al acc o rd e d t o i ndustry and transp o rtat i o n A s th e N a “ Farm t ion al Confe r e nc e Board has sa i d r e c e ntly : 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 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 d uce d

.

.

,

.

.

.

.

,

.

,

,

,

,

.

,

.

.

/

.

’

.

,

,

.

,

‘

’

.

a

.

‘‘

S ta tes

.

TH E GREEN R ISI NG

2 44

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 -2 5 f f 1 2 e p rt th e L i b e ral Land C o mmitt ee R o o 9 3 o ( ) 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 “ 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 “ 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 .

2

.

,

,

.

3

.

,

.

Th e se pri nc i pl e s should guid e in the formulatio n There is o f a nat i onal program f o r agricultur e 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 .

,

.

.

.

,

,

.

.

.

.

.

.

'

,

.

.

.

.

.

TH E GREEN R ISI NG

2 46 r i ce p

la nd

f

o

mus t

t o uni t pro duc ti on

b ear

so

me

express ed

direc t

in

re la tions hip

mone tary

Oth e rwise ,

ms

t er

.

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 Th e recommenda o f tari ff rates n ee ds to b e mad e 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 Th e A grarian Crusade o f tim e 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 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 .

,

.

.

.

.

.

,

,

1

.

.

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 /

.

.

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 1

.

.

.

.

.

,

.

TH E GREEN R ISI NG

2 50

2

.

188 7

3 4

Th e A dams A gricultural R es e arch A ct

of

.

Th e Purn e ll Agr i cultural R e search A ct o f

.

19 2 5

of

.

.

19 06

Th e Hatch A gricultural R esearch A ct

.

Th e A gricultural E xtensio n A ct Of 19 14 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 2 cultur e 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 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 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 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 5

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

-

E

.

.

O

.

.

S

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

,

.

t e d S tat s D ep art ment f d uc at io nal and r arc h w o rk T h is tat e d ep art men ts o f agric ul ture 2

e s

T h e Uni

e

ese

o

.

.

r c ul t ur e t ru al s

Ag i is

o

al s o

d o es

e o f so

me

much of

the

RE SULTS OF AGRARI AN IS M VI

25 1

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 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 6 p osed l e gislatio n in behalf o f agricultur e 2

.

.

.

“

.

’

.

.

.

.

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 ‘

.

TH E GREEN R ISI NG

2 52

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 Above all th e y demanded o n a f a i r bas i s all around 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

Farmers t o w ard C l as s Legis l ation

f 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 o

.

TH E GREEN R ISI NG

2 54

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 — I t was for a speci al clas s th e rail C umrnins act 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 .

.

,

,

,

.

.

,

.

.

.

,

.

’

,

,

.

,

,

,

,

,

,

.

,

,

.

RE SULTS OF AGRAR I AN IS M

2 55

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 to

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

s e cu rin g

l egis la tio n

and

,

,

as

fa v orab le

t o him

as

i t has

o ur ci tiz ens hip

o t her c l as ses o

f 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 b een

,

is , t o

,

,

,

,

.

,

.

.

TH E GREEN RISI NG

2 56

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 The t eres t s from whose grip h e ne eds to escape 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 h is

,

.

,

-

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

‘

.

.

’

,

.

,

-

,

.

‘

,

,

,

.

.

,

.

.

RE SULTS OF AGRAR I AN IS M

2 57

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 .

.

.

,

,

,

.

,

’

.

.

.

,

.

.

.

.

‘

,

.

,

.

,

.

.

TH E GREEN RISI NG

2 58

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 r r a o p 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 .

.

,

,

,

.

.

.

f Agrarian Efforts 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 A t least thr e e r e asons may be suggested izat ion 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 The Fu ture D irec tion

o

.

-

.

’

.

,

.

,

.

.

,

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 H is pleas for support from other o r a labor e r 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 .

.

.

.

,

.

,

,

,

.

,

.

,

,

,

,

,

.

,

,

’

.

’

,

‘

,

,

.

.

TH E GREEN R ISI NG

2 60

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 i h m n f l e o defi n ite results s t p 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 — / r m th e fact that fa ing is b ecomin g a man y sid e d 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 .

.

,

.

.

.

.

.

,

.

,

’

,

,

.

.

.

.

,

,

THE GREEN R ISI NG

2 62

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 .

.

,

,

.

.

,

,

.

,

.

.

,

,

,

.

’

,

,

.

,

.

,

.

,

,

.

,

,

.

.

,

,

,

,

RE SULTS OF AGRAR I AN IS M

2 63

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 Industry o f inequality betw e e n th e se influe n ces 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 But there will be n o p e ace until o f nat i onal l ife 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 GREEN R ISI NG

2 64

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 A g a ianism, d efi ne d , 2 ; a ia b as is o f , in M e x i o , 78 ; re s ul ts o f, 2 48 A g a ian e v o l u io n, d e fi ne , 2 , 14 ; in R uss ia, 3 ; in R o me , 16 ; in n gl and , 19 ; in Fran e , 29 ; in G e many , 35 ; in I re l and , 4 9 ; in o l and , 50 ; in R o umania, 5 9 ; in M exi o , 75 Ag i ul u al o nfe e n e , 2 A g i ul u al co o p e a io n, me an in g o f , 228 A g i ul u al E o no mi s , Bu e au o f , 206 A g i ul u al Ho dings Act , 6 1 Agri ul t ural in o me , e l ine in ,

r r

r c l

c

r r

r

E

t

c

r

rc t r rc t r

d

Sc t

c

rc t r

r c r t

c

rc t r

c

c

g

c

l

r

d c

23 A g i ul u al inv en io n, 10 A g i ul u al w e al h , d e ease in, 2 36 A g i u u a whe e , 166 And e s o n, Be njamin M , o n co o e a iv e ma k e ing, 2 12 As hb o u ne Act , The , 49

rc t r rc t r

t

r c lt r l r p r t r

t

cr

l

r t

.

Be al s , Ca l e o n , o n the M ex i an uo te d , 81 ; ons i u io n , 83 Be n o n , T ho mas H , o n p ub l i l and p o l i y , 1 15 Bl a k e a h , in uen e o n u al life , 20 Bl iv en , B u e , o n o nse v a is m o f fa m e , 25 7 Bo y l e , ame s B o n o mmo di y ma k e ing 2 10 E , o n Go v e n rad fut e , O men al s ub sidies , 254 B y an , ill iam ag a ian v ie w s o f 175 oe ], o n ag i ul u al Bux o n , o o p e a io n , 66

r t tt t

c

c

Ba o n s R eb e llio n , 103 Bak ew e l l , R o b e , q uo e , 11 Bal l , o hn , l and e f o me , 17 Ball e igh , ames C , o n o l o nia l ab o su pp l y , 96 Bart ness O B , o n b al an ing t he a o unts o f in us y and a g i ul u e , 147 Bass e , uo e d o n ui - en s , 106 ; o n a iff o n ov e rsy , 13 7 ’

rt

J

J

r

,

r

.

.

.

t d r r c

l

c

cc d tr rc t r tt q t q tr t t r c tr

q

t

c

.

c c D t

fl

r c r r J r t

c

c

.

r r

r t

c

,

t

,

.

t

r

c

r

.

W

J

H r t

t

r r

rc t r

C C ad e s r e b el l io n , 2 5 C all es , l and p o l c y o f , 84 C arr anz a, r eact io nary p o licy ’

i

o f,

81 C a ie , Ly man, o n o o nial tax , 106 , 110 Cen al a ifi , and g an s t o , 12 4 Ch es e o n , G K , o n t he G e en R is ing, 3 ; uo e d , 4 C l ass l egisl a io n , a i ude o f fa me o w a d 2 53 C ay , Hen y , He e f o d a le in o d u e d b y , 11 ; t he a iff v i ew s o f , 134 C o o l id ge , e si d e n , o n f a re lie f l e gisl a io n , C o o p e a iv e As so ia io ns , ge o~ g ap hi al d is ib u io n o f, 207

rr r tr

B

c

c l

P c c l

t rt

.

r t

r

.

q t t tt t r rt r l r r r c tt tr c t r ,

Pr

r t r c

t

t

c t tr t

rm

I N D EX

2 66 C o o p e rat iv e

M ark e t in g h o stil 209 ; l e gi l at i o n r e l at ,

s it y t o , in g t o , 2 18 C o o p e a iv e mo v e men , 63 ; p o g am o f, s p e ad o f , 198 ; 203 ; g o w h o f , 2 04 ; si gnifi an e o f , 2 28 C u is-As w el l fa m e ie f b i l ,

r t

r

r

c c rt

t r r

t

r

rl

rm Lab o r P art y 19 1 ; po l c i es o f 193 ; p arty no mme es

Fa

l

,

,

t he , 193

of

F rm F rm

rise o f 166 di t o rial c o m and R an c h a m n t o n g ernment al s ub a

o rgan 1z at io ns , ,

ov e

a e,

o

o

,

e s,

se

as

a

s, e

e

e

e

a

o

e as

c

a

o

o

s a

e

e

o

e,

,

D e N e g i R a mo n P , o n auses o f w ar fo r M e xi an in d e pe n d e n e , 77 ; o n f u u e o f M e xi o ,

r

,

,

c t r

c

c

.

c

D m rk c p r t i m m nt in 20 5 D witt B P n g rnm nt l id 159 D i z ttitud t w rd l n d en

a

e

,

ov e

o

e

a

,

a

a

f o rm ,

,

l

.

.

,

D ic

ov e

ve

,

e

a

e a

oo

,

79 ,

C C

ig i

rs o n ,

.

a

o

e

.

,

a

te

t ariff v iews o f

,

E E

in R o me , 17 ; eff e s o f , in n gl an d , 28 q ual iz at io n Fe e , p in ip l e o f, in f a m el ie f b ill , 22 7 v ans , L , o n ag a i an is m in R o umania, 60 ; o n s p e ad o f ag a ian e fo m, 7 3 xtensio n e v i e , d iss emina o n o f agr i ul u al in fo ma io n h o ugh , 2 00

r

2 54 a m e l ie , o f, 24 1

o

a

s

F r r f c nfli cting th ri F rm S urp l u Bill ( S M N ry H ug n Bil l ) F rm r Al l i c 166 169 F rm d cr in numb r f F ul k n r H W qu t d 8 F m d m n t t f rm r l i f -

a

e s

a

s,

’

e

b il l

I

ct

r c

r

r r

.

.

r r

E

r

r

r

S r c

c t r

t r

r

rm b ank rup tcies 2 38 ar m Bur au f o rmat io n arm d is tres s c aus e of a rm in d eb t ed n ess 2 38 a

,

e

,

s

,

,

,

o f,

200 239

o

e

.

.

,

o e

,

e

q t

,

a

o

,

e

e

f rm

2 26 ; uo e d on a o n d i io ns , 2 3 4 , 2 3 6 l aine d , 5 e ud al s y s e m, e o dham, M o n t e gue , o n t h e re ’ s ul t s o f t h e e asa n s R ev o l , 25 ; uo e d , 27 , 2 8 , 29

c

,

t

F F r

t

xp

P

t

,

o

t

q t F t r 0 D o n c o p erat iv e mark et in g 2 17 Fr n c c o p rat iv e mov ement os e

.

.

,

,

a

e,

o

in, 2 05 en h

Fr c

p e ct s

e

R ev o l ut io n o f,

r rian

ag a

,

33 Frueauff , C h a l e s A , d e ense o f ’ M e i o s ag a ian l aws , 87 as

r r r

f

.

G

r r q t t r rt

G a n ie uo e d , 2 0 , 2 2 , 2 5 G as o n H e b e E , uo e , 19 1, 259 ena o G o o di ng uo ed o n fa m o ndi io ns , 2 3 3 2 3 4, 2 35 ; o n b ank f ail u e s 2 39 G ange , f o und ing o f, 160 ; s p e ad o f 16 1 G an ge l aw s , 162 G re e n, t he his o ian, uo e d , 2 1, ,

r c

r

r

r

S

,

t

q td

.

,

t r q t ,

r

,

,

,

r

t r

zg

F F F F

,

e as e

en

ess , a

es

c

ee

an e ,

e

a

eo

e

a

o s u e s , na u e o f ,

r

ti t

t r

e

s id 1e s ,

xc

E nc l

,

ov

e

a

D l G rn r c nfli ct with ttl r 100 D l l N w dit ri l c mm n t n f r m r l i f l gi l t i n 2 25 D y A t T h 49

1

q t

G reenb ac k ers , 178 G re e n R is in g, meaning o f t he , 3 Gren v il l e c o l o n ial p o l icy o f, ,

lll

I N D EX

2 67

J

H e s R n sa a e h c P t t o n h Ha b a l t 24 i an a f a o i rt r e r r n h g H aw d i c n t nt 156 e h t n o i n a t r i h s h t H y F r nch R e l ut ion 3 4 qu t d n n n p art isan H yn p art y m m nt 190 H n d r n E rn s t F quo t ed ’

s

,

vo

,

e

o

s

o

e

e

o

es ,

a

e

ov e

e so

e

,

.

K

,

,

H D .

on

.

I tt t t r t r P tr c tr t c tt r rc t r r m

r

r

J

rt

m

E

ct t r r rc t r

r r

t r rt

r

t r

r

q t

r

fl

c

I a

n e

a

e,

o

s

a

e , es a

o

a

e

a

o

o

P 76

e o

s

e

a

o

Ir

f

e l an d , i n,

farm machinery

,

of

c o o p erati

D

mo v e ment

I rv me H el e n o ugl as , uo 3 0 , 3 3 3 9 , 5 4 , 66 s a ah t h e p o p he , s o ia f o ms o i , 15 ,

I i

,

r

,

a

o

ve

205

a

,

n t io n

ig

,

ric ul t ural p r gram o f

0 1] , ag

In

o

,

a

r

farm re l ie f

K e t R ob ert ,

2 Kil e , O

M

,

St r a

q t ed

t

c l

te

,

,

t

uo e d

q

on

l e gisl at l o n , 22 5 l e ad e o f eb el l o n ,

i

r

r

c

mic

o n e ono

pro

far me rs 198 Knapp D r S e aman A farm d emo ns trat io n w o rk o f 2 00

t st e

.

.

,

of

,

,

.

.

,

,

L

F

La

o lle

p

shi

tt e third p art y ,

o f,

25 9

t c

der

l ea

t

Lan d N a io n al iz a io n , 5 5 Lan d p o l i ie s , 113 re illiam, l an Lan gl an d , f o me , 17 il l iam C , o n c o n Lank f o d , o wa d a i ud e gres s io n al fa me , 2 56 La ifun dia, 17 , 50 Lib e al Lan d C o mmi ee , re p o o f, 24 4 Lipp in o , s aa , uo e d o n d if fi cul t ie s o f o l o nial d e v e l o p men , 9 1 Liv e-s o k , in od u io n o f, 11 Lo k e , e s ul s of al e , o n ag a ianis m, 2 5 1 ; o n f a m e mind e dnes s , 255 on fu u e o f fa me s 262 Lo uis V , a i ude an d o w a d p e as an s , 3 2 Lo v e , R o b e M o ss , o n rad i al f a m o p ini o ns , 19 3 Lo w d en , ank D , o n oope a iv e m a k e ing, 2 14 , 2 15

r

t

Indi n gric ul t ur 7 I t rn t i n l In t itut f Agri cul tur t b li h m n t f 6 8 ; p r gr m f 6 9 Int rn ti n l L b r O rg niz a

K ansas C ity

r dc

.

.

,

,

f o l a w s , , an d , 2 14 s upp l y an d d e m V , a i ud e o w a d He n y p e as an s , 3 2 H e n y , a i k , p a io i u e an oe s o f, 8 H o l l an d , ag i ul u al p o b l e in , 63 H o me s e ad A ct , 117 R , o n a i al ism, Ho w a d , 20 2 Hue a , d i a o ship o f , 80 a i ff Hul l , C o de l l , o n t h e p os p e i y , ag i ul u al 8 uo e d , Hume , t he h is o ian , 23 ’ Hun d e d Y e a s War, in uen e o f, o n u al l if e , 3 1 , 3 2

t

,

,

,

e

H en d e rs o n

o

-

o

o

,

,

o

,

s,

o

,

vo

e

e

,

,

es ,

a

5, ’

s

o

,

J ardine S e cr t ary o n farmers p r b l em 2 18 ; n f arm rel i ef l e gisl at io n 2 23 J urnal ism agri cul tural 12 J uarez rev o l ut io n o f 79

,

o

p e as ant r eb el l ion

Jac quere,

e

r

r rt

W

d

r r W

tt t

r

t

r

tt

c tt I

c

c q t

t t c tr c W t r r r r

.

ct

r

t r

t r

r X III XI tt t t r t tt rt r c r Fr c r t r t ,

.

r

I N D EX

2 68

D

Lub in,

I n titut

t e rn at io n al

c ul tur e

f ound e r

av id ,

s

In

of

e of

Agu

a

eo

,

e es o

69

,

P rty The P pl 17 1 ; n mi n f 172 P tr n f Hu b ndry 164 P n F r d ri c L q u t d n p ub l i c l nd p licy 1 16 P nt R l t in Engl nd 19 P k G rg n g rnm nt l ub idi 254 Phi l d l phi S ci ty 12 P l t l nd t nur l w f 16 a

o

Made r o

,

0

M arx K arl

fl

n e n u e i t h , y , 44

,

p eas antr

r efo rms

c e o n th e

b il l , 2 19 ; o p 22 1 ; p r ov is io n s

M c N ary -Haugen

p os mo n

to,

o f,

223 o h e , s o ial Mi ah , t he o ms o f , 15 ’ o s , 146 M id dl e men s

c

pr p t

f r

M o o re

Si r

,

c

Pr fi t

T h o mas

r 27 M o rril l t ariff u es ,

,

a

s

e

,

o n en

,

e as a

ee

.

eo

s

s

a

o f,

a

,

a

e

a

a o,

o

e

e

,

e

a

o

s

,

r nc o n agricul t ural c o op e rati n 2 28 P o p ul ist P arty c o nv nt i n o f

Po e , C l a

e

17 1 ; no

e, ,

e

mine es

o f,

o

,

172

P r mp t i n A t 117 P r c tt n up ri rity f M i c n gric ul t ur 75 76 P r gr i F rm r qu t d ee

o

c

o

es o

140

a

e

ov e

,

cl o s

,

es ,

o

,

a

a ct

o

,

e, o

o

re

o e

,

o

ev o

,

,

e

a

M e xic an

t he

o

e s,

,

s o

axs o

M

’

,

e

s

a

o

o

e,

es s v e

e

a

ex

,

ffe ct o f t ariff o n p ro sp e rity 149

o e

,

e

on

ric ul tural

ag

P r gr i P rty 178 P r t cti n p li cy f 13 2 P ub l ic d m in xt nt f ,

l I d tr r q t

t

r c rc

n us i al C o nf e e n e N a io na B o a d , uo e d o n fa m p i es , 2 38 , 243 N ew b urger, o se p h , o n agricul o n d i io ns in R uss ia , 5 7 u al N e w R ep ub li , The, e di o ial o mm en o n f a m e l ie f , 2 5 2 N o n -p a is an Leag ue , 177 ; p l a fo m o f, 183 , ag a ian l egis l a io n o f , in N o h ak o a , 186 N o is- in l ai Bil l , 220 , 22 8 N o way , ag ari an p a y in , 55 N ul l ifi cat io n , d o ine o f, 139

t r

J t

c

c

rt

r t

t

c

r

r

t r

r

t

r r rt D

rr S c r r r

ctr

rt

O b r ego n l an d p o licy o f 82 O gil v ie W il l iam l and r e fo rme r 46 ; quo t e d , 4 7 Orfi el d , o n c o nfl ict o v e r l and p o li cie s , 12 1 ,

,

,

,

a

a

e,

o

T h o mas

,

o e

o

refo rme r

Papalare, 50

,

46

,

o

,

o

a

o

e

,

,

e

o

,

113

Q Q uic k

,

H erb e rt

,

p oli cy

t he

on

,

p r o t e ct io n 143 144 -r ent s o pp o s it io n t o u l t Q of

,

,

106

,

R R ail ro ads l and gr an ts t o 118 R ipp y J F re d o n Me xi can ,

,

l an d e fo m, 86 R o b e s o n , amen d men t o ag i ul ura e lie f b il , 22 7 uo e d , 2 33 R o ge s , t he e o n o mi his o ian , in uen e o f p es il e n e o n u al li f e , 19 R o me , l and e n l osu e in , 17 R o o sev el , Th e o d o e , pro gres s iv e l e ad e sh ip o f , 178 H , o n l and e f o m in R o ss , M exi o , 83 R o umania ag a ian ev o u io ns in, 40 , 5 9 ,

r c t

.

r

,

r

lr

r fl r r

c

c t

c

t

r

.

t

l

c

E

P P in P rtit

a

ess v e

t

O ,

o

,

t r c

r r

r

.

c

r r

r q t

r

r

l t

I N D EX T o wnl ey Art hur C

R ural C redit 6 7 R ussia l and l aw

,

,

182 T o w nsh en e h ul l ,

S

r

c

r t

A a o n, o n o o p e a iv e ma k e ing, 2 11 ; s anda d ma k e in g, l aw o f , 2 19 ; uo e d , o n f a m el ie f l e gis a o n ,

a

o,

r t r t

r

t

r

22 1 ien i o f, 11

r q t l ti

t fi c farming dev el o p m t

Sc

.

r

l e ad e shi p

,

o f,

56

i n,

,

S p ir

2 69

en

,

d Vis c o unt 11 J t ro 11 u rn er F r e de ri c k J o n p io n ee r farmin g 128 Ty l e r Wat r b e l lio n 24 ,

,

,

,

,

,

e

,

,

,

U

P cifi c l

Unio n 12 3 Un o ns ,

a

i

,

ran ts

and

ricul tural

t o,

g

48 , 5 3

c o n c e Harv ey J o n farm 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 Virgil quo t e d 23 1 mark et ing 2 11 S p nce Th o mas re fo rmer 46 W S t at ut e o f Lab o re rs 2 1 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 al ind u try o f 11 of 9 ani m T Washingt o n P o st e di t o rial on end en c ies arm r t f ad ic l of T ariff C o mmiss io n r ep o rt o f o n 195 p art i s 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 W es t W il l is M as n o n c o l o n ial 13 1 ; ac t f 18 16 13 3 ; act o f p l it ic al right s 9 5 182 8 13 7 ; act o f 1833 and il o n W oo d r o w p o l it ic al at W 1846 139 ; l ate r a ct s 141 t it ud e o f 179 T auss ig F W q uo t e d o n t he il l R o n b en efi t s o f W ood W tariff 132 t ariff t o agri c ul t ure 15 1 T enant s f arms o p erate d b y 237 T x as Al l ian c e 166 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 t o s e en ti fi c agri c ul t ur e b y 11 T inche r farmre l ie f b il l 220 2 2 2 S

ag

,

,

,

.

.

,

,

e

3

,

,

,

,

,

,

,

,

,

,

,

,

,

,

,

,

,

o

s

,

e,

,

s

,

,

,

a

,

,

e

,

e

o

,

, .

,

.

,

,

,

o

,

o

,

o

,

,

,

,

,

s

,

,

,

,

,

,

.

.

,

.

,

,

,

,

,

,

e

,

’

,

,

,

,

,

l

e

,