FIRST SHOT IS FIRED 55 



forthcoming they promptly filled out a standard form 

 of information and complaint lind notifiecTthe railway 

 that they were going to takeTegal action at Sintaluta 

 against the Company's station agent ; if no results were 

 forthcoming there, they assured the Company, they 

 would take action against every railway agent in the 

 Territories who~waslguilty of distributing cars con- 

 trary to the provisions of the Grain Act. The complaints 

 went before Mr. C. U. Castle, the official Warehouse 

 V Commissioner ; the information was laid before Magis- 

 trate H. O. Partridge at Sintaluta. 

 Ajnrree4he country the newspapers began to devote 



about in bar-rooms and barber-shops. Some anti-rail- 

 roaders declared at once that the farmers hadn't a 

 minute's chance to win against the C. P. R. The news 

 percolated eastward, its significance getting lighter till 

 it became merely : " a bunch of fool hayseeds out West 

 in some kind of trouble with the C. P. R. cows run 

 over, or something." At Ottawa, however, were those 

 who saw ^ff^jyriting n " t h fr wa 11 and they awaited the 

 outcome^ with considerable interest. Several public 

 men, especially from Regina, made ready to be in actual 

 attendance at the preliminary trial. 



The farmers were out in force, for they realized the 

 importance of this test case. It was not the agent at 

 Sintaluta they were fighting, but the railway itself ; it 

 was not this specific instance of unjust car distribution 

 that would be settled, but all other like infringements 

 along the line. The very efficacy of the Grain Act itself 

 was challenged. 



Two hours before the Magistrate's Court sat to con- 

 sider the case, J. A. M. Aikins (now Sir James Aikins, 

 Lieutenant-Governor of Manitoba), who was there as 



