A CALL TO ARMS 43 



Meanwhile the railway companies had hastened to 

 announce that they would furnish cars to farmers who 

 wished to ship direct and do their own loading. This 

 concession, made in 1898-9, resulted in somewhat better 

 prices and better treatment from the elevator opera- 

 tors. But farmers who lived more than four or five 

 miles from the shipping points could not draw in their 

 grain fast enough to load a car within the time allowed 

 by the railway; so that the situation, so far as 

 these farmers were concerned, remained practically 

 unchanged. 



In March, 1900, the Royal Commission made a com- 

 plete report. They had done their work thoroughly. 

 They found that so long as any farmer was hampered 

 in shipping to terminal markets himself he would be 

 more or less at the mercy of elevator operators and 

 that the only proper relief from the possibility of undue 

 dockage and price depression was to be found in the 

 utmost freedom of shipping and selling. To this end 

 they considered that the railroads should be compelled 

 by law to furnish farmers with cars for shipping their 

 own grain and that flat warehouses should be allowed 

 so that the farmer could have a Tbin 



late a carload of grain, if he so wished. This, the com- 

 missioners tnought, should be the farmer's legal right 

 rather than his privilege. Loading platforms for the 

 free use of shippers were also recommended. 



It was the further opinion of the Commission that 

 the law should compel elevator and warehouse owners 

 to guarantee the grades and weights of a farmer's grain 

 and to do this the adoption of a uniform grain ticket 

 system was suggested. At the same time, the commis- 

 sioners pointed out, these guarantees might lead to such 

 careful grading and docking by the elevator operator 



