The anti-monopolist. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1874-1878, 1874-10-08
TO THE FARMERS OF MINNIE.
sofa.

SOFA
The Republican party claims to be
your friend. It's leaders are now on
the stump telling you how tenderly
they love the dear farmers; how anx-
ious they are to improve your coadi-
ton; what gorgeous plans they will
carry out for your benefit if you will
onlv give them another lease of power;
and a chance to steal the little that
is left to you.
How much do they love you! Let
US see =
Last winter they had a chance to
show. Last winter, in the State Senate,
the editor of this paper introduced a
bill to compel every railroad company
to establish at each depot, from which
10000 bushels were annually shipped,
afterwards changed to 10000 bushels }
a platform scale, sufficient to weigh one
loaded car; and that any shipper might
have his car weighed, and should be en-
titled to receive the same number Of
bushels of wheat so delivered at the
other end of the company's line. A
fee was to be charged for weighing,
sufficient to pay the interest on the cost
of the scales, and the fees of certain
weigh-masters, to- be appointed by the
railroad commissioners of the State:
thus the company would lose nothing.
1t was estimated that these scales
would cost S 900 each, and each COM
pany would, on the average, probably
need about ten on its line of road this
would cost $4,000.
Now what objection could be reason
ably urged against this bill ?
One of the crying evils of the farm
ing population has been the cheating in
weights to which they have been sub
jected. Every farmer who sells load
of wheat believes that in nine cases out
of ten he does not get fair weights.
Some of the wheat buyers will admit
this system of cheating by weights,
but they claim that they are driven to
it in self-deience. because the railroad
companies, OF the elevator companies,
cheat them on the weight of every car
load they ship. This is known techni-
cally as shortage" or '.stealage," and
ranges from two bushels to fifty BUSH
els on every car load. In some cases
grain buyers complain that their whole
profits are consumed in this ''stealage. ="
One elevator company in Milwaukee
was offered $4,000 for the surplus
grain in one warehouse in one year J.
shortage" stolen from the farmers.
TIE ''Old Sweet Warehouse" as it is
called, in Milwaukee, was bought of l..
G. Higgins for $4,000; and one-third
vas sold to an officer of the Milwaukee
& St. Paul r. r. Co. for $25 900. In
one year the one-third paid for itself
and $4,000 over. The whole elevator
cleared 100000 in the year. At least
three-fourths of this immense profit
was unjustly taken from the wheat
raisers Of Minnesota and Wisconsin.
There is no reason for this. The box
cars are grain tight-they are locked
up grain cannot lose much weight in
three, four or five days travel TO Mil
waukee. If grain is taken in transitu'
it must be by the railroads employees,
and the railroad should pay for it. If
the elevator scales at Milwaukee are
fraudulent, the railroad company should
have them made right. II A delivers
$50 bushels, by weight, of wheat in a
railroad car at Hastings or Red Wing,
he should not be compelled to take 325
or even 335 bushels at Milwaukee.
What was the result ! Did this par.
ty that now so loves the farmers rush
forward to their rescue? Here was a
Republican legislature, with q large ma.
jority in both branches, brought face
to face with q gigantic robbery of the
farmers, and means presented to them
of stopping that robbery. What did
they doe
A terrible outcry was raised against
the bill. 1t would bankrupt "the poor
railroads" to spend $4,000 each. 1t
would "make corner on scales!" The
scales couldn't be got in the United
States-sixty or eighty platform scales
in all The bill was then amended so
as to give the companies till August to
procure the scales; but even this con-
cession would not satisfy the friends OF
the poor railroads, the recommendation
of the Republican Railroad COMMITTEE
uas, that the bill b. Indefinitely post.
poned. The bill failed for want of a
constitutional majority.
The vote on the passage of the bill
was:
Yeas 16-six Anti -Monopolists-ter
Republicans.
Naysil2-of which ten were Republi
cans.
ELEvEN REPUBLICANS FAILED TO VOTE
Every farmer who is cheated IL
weights. every grain buyer who suffer.
shortage between this time and ths
\ date of thu assemhlinv Of the neYt Leo