uary, 1909, before the Inter-Provincial Council
had an official reply. The Premiers pointed to grave and complicated
questions which stood in the way of granting what the farmers were
asking. Constitutional difficulties, financial difficulties,
legislative difficulties--all were set forth in a lengthy and well
written memorandum. The British North America Act would have to be
amended to grant the provinces authority to create an absolute monopoly
without which success would not be assured. In short, there was such a
tangle of overlapping jurisdictions, public interest in trade and
commerce, federal rights, railway rights and so on that the Premiers
could not see their way clear at all in spite of their great desire to
help the farmers at all times.

The Grain Growers passed the document to their legal adviser and R. A.
Bonnar, K.C., gave them his opinion in writing. That opinion was very
complete, very authoritative, and poked so many holes in the
"constitutional difficulties" that the farmers could see their way much
more clearly than the Premiers, to whom they made dignified rejoinder.
They handed on the holes while they were at it in the hope that the
heads of the three Provincial Governments could take a peek through the
"difficulties" for themselves and see just how clear the way really was
after all.

The Provincial Premiers, however, took the step which logically
followed their reply to the farmers. Resolutions were introduced in
the Alberta and Manitoba Legislatures that His Excellency the
Governor-in-Council be memorialized in regard to the elevator question
and asked to provide government ownership and operation or to have the
necessary powers to deal with the matter conferred upon the provinces.

Thus things rode until December 14th, 1909, when the Committee on
Agriculture in the Saskatchewan Legislative Assembly recommended the
appointment of a commission to make searching enquiry into the subject
of government control and operation of the internal elevators as asked
for by the Saskatchewan Grain Growers' Association.

Two days later, at the annual convention of the Manitoba Grain Growers,
Hon. George Coldwell announced for the Manitoba Government that they
had accepted the principle of establishing a line of internal elevators
as a public utility, owned by the public and operated for the public.
So unexpectedly did this good news come that the farmers were amazed at
their own success. They had fo