The anti-monopolist. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1874-1878, 1878-10-03
ST. PAUL. Sept. "a. 1873.

81. L AL: OCpt. Il: 1000
To the Farmers Of Minnesota, especially those
who market their wheat ON the line Of the
St. Paul & Pacific Eailroad
/ have laid your complaints as to
unfair grading and outrageous widen
ing out of grades of wheat before the
st. Paul chamber of commerce.
am appointed by said chamber to
the Craftsmanship of committee,
whose duty it is to carefully investi-
gate and report the facts. AS chair
man of said committee l call upon
each one Of you who have been un-
justly treated by this arbitrary grad
ing, and widening out Of grades. to
report to me at your earliest conve.
nience, giving nothing but facts and
evidence that cannot be set aside.
An adequate remedy for the abuses
so widely and bitterly complained of.
can and must be had.
No wheat ring, no matter how re-
spectacle or powerful, should be
allowed to take advantage of the
peculiar condition of this crop. 1t is
one Of those years when warehousemen
and wheat buyers find a rich harvest
in grading and doctoring wheat. Let
me suggest to you the necessity of
organized resistance to the abuses you
complain of. Let every neighborhOod
of farmers hold meetings, talk these
things over and work together. Test
the value of your wheat by taking full
loads of it TO mill and having it
ground to -four.
Sell the -four and see what your
wheat brings in that shape.
Report the number of pounds Of
straight flour, and also the bran and
shorts per buShel.
Let one man in each neighborhOod
test a load of rejected wheat in this
way; another load OF No. 4, another
load of No. 3, another of No. 2.
Compare results. BY this method you
arrive at the true value of your
wheat, and can easily determine
whether the wheat buyers are paying
anything like full value.
In my own experience l have thus
made wheat nett me from soc to 81 .O5
per bushel for some wheat, which the
''ring" would onlyipffer. soc per bushel.
have good reason TO believe, and
so haveyou, that when the grade is
arbitrarily widened out SO as to make
20 cents per bushel difference be-
tween No. 2 and No. wheat. that
the temptation to make wheat which
barely grades No. 2, grade No. 3, is a
temptation that is too much for some
kinds of poor human nature to resist.
and that they inadvertently, uncon-
sciously, or some other way, steal a
grade from the farmer.
That form of stealing must be pun
ished. That sort Of thief MIST be
reduced to the footing of a horse
thief, and punished as severely.
1t has for many years been evident
to majority of the farmers of Min
nesota that some sort of legislation,
having for its object the prevention
and cure of the evils you complain Of
in the arbitrary grading of wheat,
must be had. and the sooner the bet
ter. l shall be away from home the
next four weeks. but don't stop for
that. Send your communications to
me at st. Paul as fast as you cen, and
on nv return the committee will pro-
coed to collate and arrange facts,
upon which such a report can be
made as will be the basis of such nee
essary legislation as the condition of
things demand.
In taking the initiative in this
movement can truly say am actu-
ated by no selfish. vindictive or
pecuniary motive. never can forget
the way myself and neighbors were
plundered years ago in southern Min
nesota. in much the same way you
now complain of. We took the rob-
bers of the public by the throat and
taught them lesson they remember
yet. 1t seems about time to do it
again. trust every newspaper in
Minnesota that has the welfare of the
public at heart will publish this cir
cular. LEONARD B. HODGES.