England, so the Government had them extradited. The
captain, who was ill with a fatal disease, made a full confession, and
both men were sent to prison.

That was how we "went dry" in our section of Labrador.

CHAPTER XII

THE COOPERATIVE MOVEMENT

Being a professional and not a business man, and having no
acquaintance with the ways of trade, the importance of a new economic
system as one of the most permanent messages of helpfulness to the
coast was not at first obvious to me. But the ubiquitous barter
system, which always left the poor men the worst end of the bargain,
is as subtle a danger as can face a community--subtle because it
impoverishes and enslaves the victims, and then makes them love their
chains.

As a magistrate I once heard a case where a poor man paid one hundred
dollars in cash to his trader in the fall to get him a new net. The
trader could not procure the twine, and when spring arrived the man
came to get on credit his usual advance of "tings." From the bill for
these the trader deducted the hundred dollars cash, upon which the man
actually came to me as a justice of the peace to have him punished!

Lord Strathcona told me that in his day on this coast, when a man had
made so good a hunt that he had purchased all he could think of, he
would go round to the store again asking how much money was still due
him. He would then take up purchases to exceed it by a moderate
margin, saying that he liked to keep his name on the Company's books.
In those days the people felt that they had the best part of the
bargain if they were always a little in debt. The tendency to thrift
was thus annihilated. The fishermen simply turned in all their catch
to the merchant, and took what was coming to them as a matter of
course. Many even were afraid to ask for certain supplies. This fact
often became evident when we were trying to order special diets--the
patient would reply, "Our trader won't give out that." Naturally the
whole system horrified us, as being the nearest possible approach to
English slavery, for the poor man was in constant fear that the
merchant "will turn me off." On the other hand, the traders took
precautions that their "dealers" should not be able to leave them,
such as not selling them traps outright for furring, or nets for
fishing, but only loaning them, and having them periodically returned.
This method insured their securing all the fur caught, because legally
a share of the catc