know anything about it. Haven't paid any attention to it.” The reporter explained that the movement—formally called the Patrons of Husbandry, which sprouted thousands of lodges, or “granges,” in the Mississippi Valley in 1873—had arisen against the railroads. “They complain generally of high and exacting tariffs, too much special railroad legislation, and of various privileges enjoyed by railroads and used for purposes of extorting unfair prices from the farmers.” “They do, eh?” the Commodore said, as he tapped the ashes loose from his cigar. “Well, as to special legislation, I
