A CALL TO ARMS 47 



improve their lot by the formation of "Farmers' 

 Unions." The movement had had a brief and not very 

 brilliant career and as the offspring of this attempt at 

 organization some progressives with headquarters at 

 Brandon, Manitoba, had tried to enter the grain trade 

 as an open company. When one of the chief officers of 

 this concern defected in an attempt to get rich the ^ 

 failure dragged down the earnest promoters to deep 

 financial losses. 



Again in the early nineties the farmers had rebelled 

 at their pioneer hardships by organizing th^^Patrons \ 

 _of IndustiT,"\__movement which had gained strength 

 and for a wmle looked healthy. It had got strong 

 enough to elect- Jriends to the Legislature and was 

 sowing good, seed when again temptation appeared, \ 

 centred in tliejure of commercial success and politics.""? 

 Some of the chief officers began to misuse the organiza-" 

 tion for selfish ends and away went the whole thing. 



There was no use in repeating these defeats. Couldn't 

 some way be devised of sidestepping such pitfalls ? The 

 great weakness of the farmers was their individual 

 independence ; if they could be taught to stand together 

 for their common interests there was hope that some- 

 thing might be accomplished. 



The sitting-room clock ticked away the hours unheeded 

 as these two far-sighted and conscientious farmers lost 

 themselves in earnest discussion. The lamps were 

 lighted, but still they planned. 



Finally W. E. Motherwell reached across the table 

 for a pad of note-paper and drafted the call to arnis 

 a letter which summoned the men of Wolseley, ty&mta- 

 lyTEa^and Indian Head, of Qu'Appelle, Wideawake and 

 other places to gather for action. There and then 

 copies were written out for every leading farmer within 



