CHAPTER XXII 



THE WIDTH OF THE FIELD 



Our times are in His hand 

 Who saith, " A whole I planned, 

 Youth shows but half; trust 

 God; see all, nor be afraid." 



Robert Browning. 



THE Grain Growers' Movement in Western Canada 

 now had attained potential proportions. In 

 Saskatchewan, Manitoba and Alberta the Pro- 

 vincial Associations with their many Locals were in a 

 flourishing condition. Each province was headquarters 

 for a powerful farmers' trading organization to market 

 grain and provide co-operative supplies. Unlike the 

 Saskatchewan Co-Operative Elevator Company and the 

 Alberta Farmers' Co-Operative Elevator Company, 

 however, the pioneer business organization of the Grain 

 Growers the Grain Growers' Grain Company was 

 not provincial in scope but had a large number of 

 shareholders in each of the three Prairie Provinces, in 

 British Columbia and Ontario. Altogether, in 1916 

 the farmers owned and operated over 500 country 

 elevators as well as terminal elevators to a capacity of 

 three million bushels. The farmer shareholders in the 

 three business concerns numbered more than 45,000. 

 During 1916 the farmers handled over ninety million 

 bushels of their own grain. 



With this remarkable growth the danger of rivalries 

 and jealousies developing between their business organ- 



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