WHEAT IN WESTERN CANADA 107 



relation between the world's demand for and supply of 

 the leading cereal, and it is also affected by variations 

 in the facilities for transportation and in the conditions 

 of the money market. All the fluctuations in price which 

 result, operate to make fair values for every one con- 

 cerned. The Exchange perfonns its part in influencing 

 these fluctuations by giving to its buyers and sellers as 

 much up-to-date information concerning world conditions 

 affecting the grain trade as possible, and by posting up as 

 the fair value at the moment the prices at which sales 

 have just been made.^'* 



The charge for selling wheat on the Winnipeg Grain 

 Exchange is fixed by what is known as the Commission 

 Rule. According to this rule, the rate for selling con- 

 signed wheat is one cent a bushel. The rate is uniform 

 for every customer, and members of the Exchange are not 

 permitted either to lower it or raise it. The commission 

 rule has various advantages : it allows a seller to estimate 

 beforehand what his selling charge will be, it prevents dis- 

 crimination between customers, it compels keen competi- 

 tion in service, and it provides a fair reward for services 

 rendered, thus reducing the temptation to dishonesty.'*^ 



Applications for membership on the Exchange are care- 

 fully scrutinized in order to prevent the entry of un- 

 scrupulous traders, for it is most important that the repu- 

 tation of the Exchange for integrity in the dealings of its 

 members should be kept as high as possible. If a mem- 

 ber violates any of the rules or regulations, his conduct is 

 inquired into and he may be disciplined even to the extent 

 of expulsion. 



4* Cf. C. F. Piper, Principles of the Grain Trade in Western Can- 

 ada, Winnipeg, 1917, pp. 177-178. 

 45 Ibid., p. 180. 



