144 



DEEP FURROWS 



\ 



1907, this unfortunate failure making doubly shy those 

 farmers who had been bitten. 



Meanwhile, in 1905, the members of the local branch 

 of the American Society of Equity which had been 

 established at Clover Bar had reached the conclusion 

 that the work of the Society did not meet the require- 

 ments of conditions in Alberta and that it was not 

 desirable to have the farmers of the province organized 

 into two camps the Society of Equity on one hand and 

 the Alberta branches of the Territorial Grain Growers' 

 Association on the other. Especially now that the 

 Territories were to be established into the Provinces of 

 Saskatchewan and Alberta, it was desirable that 

 reorganization and a change of name take place. 

 Accordingly the Clover Bar branch of the American 

 Society of Equity and the Strathcona branch of the 

 Territorial Grain Growers' Association got their heads 

 together on a proposal to amalgamate into one farmers' 

 organization under the name, Alberta Farmers' 

 Association. 



Under the impression that this was a veiled scheme 

 of the Grain Growers to swallow their organization 

 - whole, the Society of Equity turned down the idea of 

 amalgamation. The Clover Bar farmers withdrew from 

 the Society and joined the Strathcona Grain Growers 

 in forming the nucleus of a provincial farmers' 

 association as planned. 



Owing to the mixed nature of Alberta's agricultural 

 /population and to the general distrust of farmers' 

 I/ organizations the new Alberta Farmers' Association 

 faced a difficult situation. But the principles laid 

 down by their leaders were so fair, so sane and broad- 

 minded, that in two years the Association became an 

 influence in almost every line of trade in the province. 



