150 



DEEP FURROWS 



and to pay them on a commission basis of one-quarter 

 cent per bushel. The elevator companies were able to 

 buy at elevator points through their salaried repre- 

 sentatives but the commission men were prohibited 

 from having country agents except on a salary basis, 

 and this they could - not afford, handling grain on 

 commission. 



For some years past there had been considerable 

 dissatisfaction among Exchange members in regard to 

 the operation of the Commission rule, doubt being 

 entertained that all the members were keeping good 

 faith in the collection of the full commission charge of 

 one cent to non-members of the Exchange and one-half 

 cent per bushel to members on country consigned and 

 purchased grain. Although the Council of the Exchange 

 had held many special meetings in an endeavor to find 

 a remedy and to investigate the charges, the results 

 had not been very marked owing to the difficulty of 

 securing the evidence to support such charges. 



This was given as a reason for the doing away with 

 the one cent commission restriction altogether for a 

 trial period of one year. Thereby the trade was put on 

 a " free for all " basis, as the President of the Exchange 

 then in office pointed out. It meant that Exchange 

 members were " enabled to pay owners of grain in the 

 country any price they desired without regard to actual 

 market values as regularly established on the floor of 

 the Exchange." It wag. the personal opinion of the 

 President that to preserve^rtstbte mapketgr-wTEIT 

 uniformltynEnrdtiiaciplinc amongol EjLthuiig(i members 

 a commission rule was absolutely ntic^yyary and he 

 predicted that perhaps in a gnort While, after the 

 suspension of the Commission RuleTad been given a 



