202 DEEP FURROWS 



eagerness to be "in at the death" revealed special 

 vindictiveness. But in view of the long struggle with 

 this element it was only what the Grain Growers 

 should have expected when they ran their heads 

 deliberately into the noose. 



The situation was this: Shortly after New Year's 

 the export demand for Canadian Western Oats became 

 heavy and it looked as if in Great Britain and all over 

 Europe, where the oat crop had been small, there 

 would continue to be a shortage of oats. In spite of 

 this situation, however, no sooner was the proposed 

 reciprocity agreement reached between the Canadian 

 and United States governments of the day, on 

 January 26th, than market prices began to go down. 



The then Manager of the Grain Growers' Grain Com- 

 pany came to the conclusion that this price lowering 

 was a local condition and that the export market for 

 oats was too strong to justify it or sustain it. 



" I'll just step into the market and buy some oats," 

 said he. " Later on I'll sell for export at a satisfactory 

 figure." Accordingly, one fine morning he went into 

 the Pit and began to buy. 



The Manager's motive in attempting to sustain the 

 I/ market may have been of the best ; but it was the first 

 time that such methods had been attempted by the 

 Grain Growers methods which were not at all in 

 keeping with the avowed principles of the Company. 

 The Board of Control had every confidence in their 

 Manager and, although he was merely a salaried 

 employee and not an executive officer, he had been 

 given a pretty free hand in the conduct of the Com- 

 pany's operations. Apparently it did not occur to him 

 that he should consult the Board before entering the 

 market on a speculative basis. Had the Board known 



