224 DEEP FURROWS 



the elevators by the dates specified. Even so, the new 

 company had handled 3,261,000 bushels of grain, more 

 than half of it being special binned. 



In planning to build eighty-eight new elevators in 

 1912 and to purchase six, thereby bringing the total to 

 140 co-operative elevators, the directors thought it wise 

 to form a construction department of their own instead 

 of relying upon outside contractors. Also it was 

 decided to open a commission department of their own 

 at Winnipeg, the volume of business in sight being very 

 encouraging. This move was not made, however, 

 because of any dissatisfaction with the Grain Growers' 

 Grain Company's services as selling agent; on the 

 other hand, although crop conditions had been perhaps 

 the most unfavorable in the history of Saskatchewan 

 and the grain with its diversity of grades therefore 

 very difficult to market satisfactorily, the Board of 

 Directors acknowledged in their annual report that the 

 wisdom of the arrangement with the Grain Growers' 

 Grain Company had been proved by the satisfactory 

 working of it. 



The volume of business handled by the 137 elevators 

 in operation the second year jumped to 12,900,000 

 bushels with a net profit of approximately $168,000, 

 and it was apparent that the general acceptance of the 

 co-operative scheme throughout the province would 

 mean organization upon a large scale. This was 

 emphasized during the 1913 grain season when 192 

 elevators were in operation and about 19,500,000 

 bushels of grain were hauled in to the co-operative 

 elevators by farmers. 



This rapid expansion of the Saskatchewan C< 

 Operative Elevator Company was entailing such ai 

 increase in staff organization that it became necessary 



