102 DEEP FURROWS 



an advance from the bank on their bills of lading and 

 a prompt remittance of the balance when the Inspee- 

 tion Certificate and Outturn were in the hands of the 

 Company. With the grain piling up on their company 

 day by day, it was not long before the overdraft at the 

 bank began to assume alarming proportions. 

 i Luckily the Assistant Manager succeeded in making 

 several sales in the East, which eased away from the 

 jcrisis which was shaping. It was quite patent that it 

 would have been suicide for the young trading organiza- 

 tion to notify the farmers to stop sending in business. 

 They dare not do that. 



In desperation the President and Vice-President 

 went to the Manitoba Government and laid their case 

 in full before the cabinet. Premier B. P. Boblin (now 

 Sir Rodmond Koblin) was very much surprised to learn 



\ x ^ v ^ 

 * 



o vernmen t certainly cannot countenance any 

 such action on the part of the grain dealers," he 

 declared emphatically. " We cannot allow them to boy- 

 V* cott a company composed of farmers who have as much 

 right to sell grain as any other body of men." 

 r Accordingly the Government set a time limit within 

 which the Exchange had the option of removing the 

 ban against the farmers' company or of losing their 

 Provincial charter.^ In the meantime, however, this 

 did not obtain restoration of trading privileges, with- 

 out which the farmers' company could not do business 

 with Exchange members except by paying them the full 

 commission of one cent per bushel. 



The situation, therefore, was approaching a crisis 

 rapidly. The company was fortunate in having the 

 friendship of their local bank manager; but even he 

 could not go on forever making advances on consigned 



