pect and his
franchise; to make him self-thinking and self-reliant and to defend him
from unjust slurs.

The editorial responsibility of carrying out such a programme in the
face of existing conditions required a well chosen staff. In Roderick
McKenzie, then Secretary of the Manitoba Grain Growers' Association,
the farmers had an editor upon whose viewpoint they could depend; for
he was one of themselves. But lacking practical experience in
newspaper work, it was necessary to secure an Associate Editor who
would figure largely in the practical management of the publication.
McKenzie was finding that his duties as Secretary of the Association
were becoming too heavy for him to attempt editorial services as well;
so that not long after the appointment of an Associate Editor he
decided to devote his whole time to his official duties.

In its selection of a young man to take hold the _Guide_ was fortunate.
George Fisher Chipman was not only a very practical newspaper man to
meet the immediate needs of the young journal, but he was capable of
expanding rapidly with his opportunities. Well versed in the economic
problems of the day, he was known already in many magazine offices as a
reliable contributor upon current topics. He was well poised and, as
legislative reporter for the _Manitoba Free Press_, Chipman had made
something of a reputation for himself on both sides of the political
fence as a man who endeavored to be fair and who upheld at all times
the traditional honor of the press.

By training and inclination Chipman was in complete sympathy with the
Farmers' Movement in Western Canada. Away east, in the Valley of
Evangeline, near Grand Pre, Nova Scotia, he was brought up on a farm,
learning the farmers' viewpoint as afterwards he came to know that of
the big men in the cities. He believed in co-operation, his father
having been a leader in every farmers' organization in Nova Scotia for
more than twenty years.

It was not long before the young editor's influence made itself
manifest in the official paper of the Western farmers. He saw many
ways of improving it and organizing it for the widest possible service
in its field. Editorially he believed in calling a spade a spade and,
being free from political restrictions, Chipman did not hesitate to
"get after" politicians of all stripes whenever their actions seemed to
provide fit subject for criticism.

By the time the Commission Rule difficulty arose the _