The evening telegraph. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1864-1918, 1867-01-24
piscredltnble Transnctions.

Discreditable TransactIOns.
Wall street has long since come to be regarded
by outsiders as sink of business iniquity,
where shrewdness and not honesty insures
worldly prosperity and success. 1t is undoubt.
edly true that the former high standard OF
morality does not exist there; that transactions
which in former years would be considered as
dishonest are now simply looked upon as sharp,
wide-awake, and enterprising. But this degra-
dation has not been confined by any means to
the business circles OF Wall street, where there
is an easily recognized and long.established tone
OF honor, which has never yielded to the tempta-
tions of gain secured by discreditabe means.
On the contrary, it is seen and felt all through
the country. For example, If we are to believe
the Chicago Tribune, the entire grain trade of
4he Northwest is characterized by dishonesty
and double dealing. Under the head of Tricks
OF the Trade" 1t says;-
These are but few branches of business that
afford so MANY opportunities for the commits
sion of legal frauds as the grain trade. Some
seasons give more favorable opportunities than
others, and it is now well-established fact that
whenever the wheat crop OF the country is
irregular in quality and partly or almost en-
tirely deteriOrated the ''scalpers" come in, and
pursue systematic.course of plunder with inn
punity. The 'honest farmer whom we admire
so much at a distance, carefully bags his wheat,
placing poorer quality of grain in the middle
OF the sack than is to be found at elIher the
top or bottom. The interior grain dealer, who
knows perfectly well that it is the intention of
the farmer to cheat him, makes an offset by
cheating in the weight. Sometimes the
farmer gets the start, but in the long run the
advantage is with the buyer, because he under
stands the tricks of the trade better.
The interior dealer, in order to swell his profits
doctors his grain so that when it reaches Chi
cago he may clrcumvent the inspector and the
warehouseman. Carloads OF wheat are
plugged" to use q technical term, with
scrapngs of oats, rye, barley, and other stuff
for which the shipper, if he succeeds in evadlng
the inspector, will obtain wheat prices. The
railroads, which are directly or indirectly assO.
Clated with the elevators, understand the game
and refuse to give specific receipt for grain
shipped in bulk-the bill oC lading lyspeclfy-
ing so many bushels, more or less. The country
shipper invariably says "ess," after the grain
has been received in store and the account of
sales returned. The WarehOusemen know no.
thing of the leak the railroads know nothing Of
the leak, and the shortage is attributed to
cracks In the bottom OF the cars. The shipper
seeks in vain for remedy. The railroad
agent will not give him a specific receipt
for the grain shipped in bulk, and the ware
hOuseman will make no restitution claiming
the grain recelpted for by him was all that
came out OF the car. Sometimes the shipper
in his eagerness to beat the Inspector overdoes
the plugging" and the wheat which he eX-
pected would pass as No. 2, only goes "rejected.n
This, of course, raises a howl The shipper
insists that the grain he shipped was excellent
IN quality, and ought readily to pass as "No. q"
instead of rejected" He inveighs loudly
against the inspector, who, at a safe distance
preserves his equanimity, and knows nothing OF
the trouble he has raised
There is yet another link in the chain. The
warehousemen, who claim that the profits of "ee.
waiting" are not commensurate with the capital
employed speculate on their own account. 1t
has been charged that large purchases of re-
jeoted wheat have been made by brokers' in
halra oil Of tln Tvorn n1,s,VVa
same time liberal sellers of No. 2, Some are
uncharitable enough TO say that tins taking in
poor and putting out good grain Is the resalt of
continued and vigorous application of smut
machines and tanning mills, which, If pursued
for sufficient time, would be profitable both
TO the warehousemen and the railroads or rail-
road officers, who refuse to take grain to any
other elevator. little more than year ago
this "dectoringn and "scalpingn of grain. re,
sultng from the inferior crop of 1865, created
no little excitement in grain circles. The Board
OF Trade demanded that inspectors should be
placed In the warehouses, for the express pur-
pose OF arresting any "scalping, but for some
time the warehousemen refused to accede to
the proposition. subsequently they yielded to
the public demand, and the Board was allowed
to place inspectors in the houses. This, for a
time, hushed all complaints in regard to ''scalp-
ingp in store. Latterly, however, theEnspectors
seem to have become derelict in their duties, as
both milers and shippers complain that the
grain delivered to them Is not the grain called
for in the receipts issued by the warehousemen
A notable instance of this kind occurred a few
days since, rejecting no credit on the honesty
OF the wafehousemen.
EAThe Eastern shippers complain that cargoes
OF grain never hold out on arrival at Buffalo,
but fall short from twenty-five to one hundred
bushels. Whether the shortage is the result of
swndle here or al Buffalo, it is difficult to say.
The instances OF running over" are of cou rse
never heard OF.
The Spectators who work Corners and
bull and bear the market to suit their interests
also have complaints to make but as they are
not deemed to represent any legitimate trade
they get little attention paid TO their complaints
Their operations are none too honest and II
they get beaten, il is altogether IN their line
They aver that at times the warehousemen issue
bogus receipts, by means of which the market
is broken down after they have almost cornered
il. Whether this be so or not, we have no means
of knowing; but on the whole, we think it quite
likely.
These facts, charges, surmises, and suspicious
show that, as at present conducted, the graiI
trade of the Northwest is demoraized i
abounds in abuses which veX and defraud every
honest dealer and infict great harm upon oui
city.
Count de Bismark has addressed a lette
10 the President OF the Lutheran Consistory O
Il