, 1873-11-28
SHORTAGE ON GRAIN.

SHORTAGE ON GRAIN.
Ono Of the best grounded complaints which
country dealers in grain havo against Chicago ia
tho "ehortago, by which iB moant tho diffor-
onco between thotr weighta and the weight al
loved by tho propriotora Of tho grain warehouses
III this city. That dircronco is generally against
tho shipper. and often amounts to from three to
ten bushels per carload, or III per cont.
Ono of tho greatost cauHos Of complaint, and
incitementa to Eastern dealers In grain to avoid
buying In Chicago, ia tho shortage, or loss Of
weight; by which We mean tho difference bo-
tween tho amounts Of grain alleged to DO
weighed out Of tho elevators here, and those
which ARC received by tho buyer on its arrival
down Eaas. This shortage ofton rcachos anoth-
cr ~ per cent on grain forwarded by rail /; and
used to amount to nearly aB much on shipments
by wator, till partial reform was forced. about
shreo years. ago, by the unltod action OF tho ves-
nol-ownors and the Buffalo Doard of Trado.
This double difficulty has existed for 80 many
yoara that 1t has como to hs regarded ~ noc-
csaary owl, and allowance is msdo for 1t in trad
ing. Tho country buyor tells the farmer that ho
cannot give him 80 much per buahel for his
grain a. tho Chicago quotation would eoom to
warrant, bccauao Of tho shortage; aud, in estmat-
ing tho cost Of transporting grain Eastward It is
customary to addin 80 much for shortage IS woll
Us so much for insurance.
OF courao all this comes out OF tho farmer
ultimately, though in tho roundabout way which
makes indirect taxation Soon lcaa onoroue.
1t is actually moro costly than tho diroct
form. II thoro wore no shortage, tho difference
botween Chicago and Now York, on tho ono
hand, and Chicago and tho country grai,,-dopot,
would be TINT much less III each case, all other
things being equal In other words, tho farmor
would receive that much more for his vhoat than
ho docs while tho shortage exists.
There is, undoubtedly, reason for shortage, to
some amount. Grain Is necessarily spilled in
thu procesaos OF loading aud unloading, in spito
Of the greatcst caro- aud, 1t damp, 1t will shrink
Oh the journey by slightly drying. There is
also the possibility of cara leaking owing 10 poor
construction, especially by tho jamming of cars
together (ondwise) Oh tho truck, which touds to
spring tho tolnta Of tho woodwork. But losa
from tue latter cause ca,lnot occur on ahipboard.
where tho shortage WAS almost IS great, till
recently, aa on the railroad. Tho fact that by
pezsiatont action, a considerable portion Of this
shortage has boon stopped In one direction,
shows that there Ia colorod individual in the
fenco, somewhere.
As to where that interesting individual il
located, como light may perhaps be gained by
studying tho following extracta from tho
testimony OF Mr. Stephen olary, (pagc Of of the
printed report to tho Con,mittco on the Hougl
lnyeaslga1ion):
"The Inference drew was, that In handling
100000 or 5000, 600 OF grain, . man that
could not gain little ought to 10 discharged.
Last year. Flint d Thompson wcro IA, 600 bushels
over. Armour, Dole i Co. did not vnnt 1t put that
~sy. exactly. hlr. buckingham (pago oO) said
ihat they wore over considerable quantity"
This Is understood to rotor to tho gain of one
year only. The samo systom Of gaining oyorplus
acesns to have been pursued every year slnoo
1901, when tho North 8ido housoa shipped out
AAAJ A4t4 tAoanAaA bAsAo1b-kAeAeQ On m M.
nual total of business not muvh more than half
that Of tic present time.
There is no doubt that the warahousomep
gain in this way; they admit it tho only poin.
at isuuo being how mncA they "eavo" in
tho processes Of Weighing into and out Of tho
dlegetor-oycr and above tho largo quantitlou
that arc annually destroyed by tho on,nipreseut
rat.
This great evil eau bo removed, or reduced to
minimum, by putting check on tlo weighing
Of the warehouse mon; nnlosR, indeed, tha task
DO talson out OF their hands altogether. It would
Involve no very groat amount Of extra labor to
run tho cars over scales, both whom full aud
when empty, outside tho elevators, and take tho
dlneronoo as tho actual weight OF tho grain. It
would then bopoBaible to mako aclalnl at once for
tho shortage, inatoad Of giving tho warehouse, mon
tile advantage OF distributing tho loAs al along
line OF railroad, or claiming that tho shortage
arisos from taa Weighing 1t soma point outside
tho Jurisdiction of our State Uonrts.
Anothor way to cnro tho OWL would bo to enact
D law that oil overplns .of grain IN warehouses;
shall inaro to tho benefit OF tho State Trnasury---
GU tho aau.o principle taat All loat mud destroyed
National Dauf notsa inure to the bouolt OF tho
National Treasury. 1hors would be very little