he delegates. They listened carefully to what he had to say; but when
he began to urge the necessity of the farmers themselves going into
trading in grain his fire and enthusiasm caused more excitement where
he was standing on the platform than in the audience. The best he
could do by his earnestness was to create sufficient interest for a
committee[1] to be appointed with instructions to investigate the
possibilities of the scheme and report at the next annual convention of
the Manitoba Grain Growers' Association.

On arrival at Sintaluta, however, he succeeded in stirring up his
neighbors to the proper pitch of enthusiasm. They knew him at
Sintaluta, listened to him seriously, and the leaders of the little
community shook hands on the idea of organizing, in the form of a joint
stock company, "a scheme for the co-operative marketing of grain by
farmers."

When he made his report of the Winnipeg investigations at the annual
convention of the Territorial Grain Growers' Association at Moose Jaw
he found that while the principle which he advocated was favorably
received--just as it had been in Manitoba--many farmers drew back
distrustfully from the idea of "going into business." Their experience
with business in the past had not been of a nature to instill
confidence in such a venture and if the enterprise failed, they feared
it would discredit the Association. There was a strong prejudice
against any Association director or officer being closely identified
with such a propaganda.

Back to Sintaluta went E. A. Partridge. A public meeting was called to
discuss the situation. It was to be held in the Town Hall on January
27th (1906) and in preparation for it a preliminary meeting was held in
the sitting-room of the hotel and a committee[2] appointed to prepare a
synopsis of what was to be done.

This synopsis was presented to the thirty farmers who gathered in the
Town Hall and a lengthy resolution was passed unanimously, setting
forth the aims and objects of the prospective trading company.
Everybody present undertook to subscribe for shares.

Justification for what they were attempting was found in "the
widespread discontent existing among the grain growers of the West with
conditions governing the marketing of their grain." It was pointed out
also that the isolation of farmers from each other, their distance from
the secondary and ultimate markets and their ignorance of the details
of the grain business--tha