eved that they had adduced evidence to support their case and did
not relish losing it on a technicality. Appeal was made, therefore;
but the appeal court upheld the judgment of the assize court.

Apparently, deduced the farmers, this meant that men could conspire to
create monopolies by driving all competitors out of business so long as
they did not do it out of pure malice--so long as they justified it on
the grounds of "personal interest"--so long as the things they did were
not "malicious restraints, unconnected with any business relations of
the accused!" In other words, if men merely conspired to advance their
own business interests they committed no offence under the then
existing law; to be liable to punishment they must be actuated by
malice.

So that all the turmoil and talk, court proceedings and conferences,
deputations and denunciations, evidence and evasions--all the
excitement of the past few months practically left conditions just
where they were. For the amendments to the Grain Exchange charter
would not materialize till the Legislature met again next year.

But there was one spot where the clouds had rifted and the light shone
through. The Grain Growers' Grain Company had won back its place on
the Exchange. More and more the farmers began to pin their faith to
their little fighting trading company "at the front." It appeared to
be the concentration point for the fire of enemy guns. In all
probability hostilities would break out anew, but the men in charge
were good men--loyal and determined; they could be relied upon to take
a full-sized whack at every difficulty which raised its head.

The first of these to threaten was on the way.

[1] Now Chief Justice Haultain.

CHAPTER X

PRINTERS' INK

The fewer the voices on the side of truth, the more distinct and strong
must be your own.--_Channing_.

As the farmers saw it, there was no reason in the world why the bank
should do what it did. The Company had closed its first year with net
profits sufficient to declare a seven per cent. cash dividend and the
profits would have been augmented greatly had it not been for the heavy
interest payments which accrued on the unusual overdrafts imposed by
special conditions. In spite of their extremely limited resources and
the handicaps forced upon them, the volume of business transacted had
exceeded $1,700,000 during the first ten months that the farmers had
been in business; their paid-