THE BEGINNING OF THE U.F.O. 57 



Held in the grip of the national organization 

 for war, the farmers discovered their impotence 

 when it came to a matter of giving effective 

 expression to their opinion. They began to cast 

 about for some instrument through which they 

 might take action. The only instrument to 

 hand was the association of the United Farmers, 

 and to this they turned as the one organization 

 giving a lead to agriculture. Letters poured in 

 to Head Office from members and non-members 

 of the association, and the result was the journey 

 of a huge delegation of farmers to Ottawa to 

 wait upon the Government on May 14th. The 

 details of this visit will be found in a later chapter. 

 Just here it is sufficient to state that their 

 efforts availed nothing by way of securing a 

 modification of the order-in-council, that their 

 representations were practically ignored, and 

 that they returned home very much angered, 

 not so much because they had failed in their 

 mission, as because of the cool reception tendered 

 them by the Government and the abuse show- 

 ered upon them by the press. From that day 

 there was never any further doubt in the minds 

 of farmers as to the necessity of their having a 

 strong organization of their own. No matter 

 how much they might differ as to its method of 

 functioning, they agreed that it was necessary. 



On the strength of this general feeling and to 



