Excerpt from History of the Grange Movement: Or, the Farmer's War Against Monopolies; Being a Full and Authentic Account of the Struggles of the American Farmers Against the Extortions of the Railroad Companies; With a History of the Rise and Progress of the Order of Patrons of Husbandry, Its Object Patrons of Husbandry are today a power which no political party can afford to ignore, and which will soon, perhaps in the next year, be able to decide the majority of the popular elections throughout the Union. It is but natural, then, that the people Of the United States should be very desirous of knowing more about this power ful Order. The Whole land is full of rumors regarding it, the majority of which are utterly without foundation. The present volume is offered to the public as a means of satisfying their legitimate curiosity upon this subject. It presents a care ful, and, it is believed, impartial account of the wrongs from which the agricultural classes have been suffering; the causes which led to the organization of the Order of Patrons of Hus bandry; together with an account of the establishment of the Order, its history, its present condition, its Objects, and its plans and prospects for the future. It has long been evident to earnest thinkers that the farmers of the United States are the most cruelly Oppressed class of our community. In these pages the writer has sought to set forth these wrongs, and to plead the cause of the farmer, in the hope of awakening the general public to a realization of the case. We cannot afford to allow the farmer to suffer at the hands of his enemies. Upon his weal or woe depends the prosperity of the entire nation. The farmers' cause is that of the people, and it is the aim of this work to show that in battling for the farmers' rights, the Grange is fighting the cause of the whole people. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.