282 DEEP FURROWS 



Almost the only occasions on which the Grain Growers 

 revealed themselves to the public were when they waited 

 upon politicians for this, that or the other. So often 

 did this happen and so insistent were they that there 

 seemed some grounds for the belief that to satisfy a 

 Grain Grower was humanly impossible. From Legis- 

 lative casements it even looked at times as if they were 

 a new species of Indian, collecting political scalps ! All 

 manner of people accused them of all manner of things. 

 In the East they were called " blacksmith-shop poli- 

 ticians, nail-keg economists, grousers "and soreheads"; 

 in the West they were dubbed " corner-grocer statesmen 

 and political football players." 



When the caravans of the Eastern political chief- 

 tains, Liberal and Conservative, came West they knew 

 they were going to be held up by the outlaws. Long 

 before these respective expeditions started across the 

 plains infested with wild and dangerous Grain 

 Growers, their scouts the Western M.P.'s were 

 ranging far and wide in preparation. 



And when those Grain Growers in turn rode East 

 to take possession of Ottawa there was a popular 

 expectation that they were about to whoop in and 

 shoot up the town in the real old wild and woolly way. 

 They were referred to cleverly as " Sod-Busters." It 

 was rather startling to find them merely a new type 

 of Business Farmer, trained to think on his feet, a 

 student of economics. 



To gather and verify the facts here recorded has 

 required two years. During that time the writer has 

 listened to earnest farmers in prairie shacks, pioneers 

 and newcomers, leaders and followers, and has watched 

 these farmers at work in their "Farmers' Parliaments" 

 where they assemble annually by the thousands. It is 



