The Indiana State sentinel. [volume] (Indianapolis) 1868-1895, 1878-06-05
MILLERS' ASSOCIATION.
First Days Proceedings of the Fifth Annual
Convention of the MiIlers' National
Association.
Address by the President-words Of We'll
come by the Mayor-Election OF
officers and Delegates, Etc.
[From wednesday,s paIIy sentInel.l

tional millers' association met yesterday
morning at 1880 IN the board of trade hall.
| Three hundred delegates we're in attendance
at the morning session. and as delegates from
/ distant states were arriving all day yester
day the attendance at the afternoon session
reached fully five hundred. Quite a num-
/ Der of the prominent citizens of indianapolis
were present to welcome the association,
among the number being Governor Will
liams, ex-governor Hendricks, Mayor Caven,
/ General r. s. Foster and Others
The convention was called to order by ID.
/ A. Richardson, of this city, who introduced
1 Mayor Caven to welcome the delegates to
the city.
The mayor spoke briefly of the immense
interests represented by THESE meetings and
said that these gatherings must necessarily
result in much good. not only to the millers
! themselves but TO the general public ike
wise. The mayor then welcomed the dele
gates to the city, and expressed a wish that
| the sessions of the association would be
| profitable, and that the delegates would so
enjoy their visit as TO make them wish to
/ repeat their visit.
THE PRESIDENTS ADDRESS.
! Hon. George Balm, of ST. Louis, president
/ of the national association, responded TO the
mayors welcome, and said that from the
! complete arrangements that had been eff
! fected he Judged that the choice of Indian
! apolis would prove happy one. Mr.. Balm
\ then gave his address, which was as follows:
! tIENrIEMEN-Inls Is the Min tune mat the
millers of the United state have met IN annual
convention, and must congratulate you on
/ the growing interest that has been manifested
| from year 10 year in our national association.
Since the organization in June, 1873, through
its first and second meetings in St Louis in
| 1915 its subsequent meetings in Mil aaukee
/ In 1876, and in Buffalo last year, we have gone
on gaining strength till to-day we num-
/ Der more members than any other man.
ufacturing association in the United States.
/ IL must be exceedingly gratifying to Messrs.
Barnes Trow, Merrill and the other gentle
men / See before me who laid the Foundations
in Toledo In June, 1913, 10 SIC what giant 1t
has grown TO be in five short years. and to
know that to their eXertions then, and since,
supplemented as they have been by the con-
slant labor of Alex H. Smith, Seamans, Hayes,
Lawton, Sparks, Seybt, Roberts, Serrin, HALL
day, Little, and fifty other gentlemen might
name. that the mlllerS of the United states are
indebted for all the good this association has
accomplished amount of good scarcely
calculable and yet unappreciated by over one
tenth of the miilerS OF the country. the at
tendance here to-day NEARLY double what we
convinces me that the labors OF the
founders of this association are being
appreciated, and that soon IL will Of it does
not already realize in numbers and influence
their most ardent expectations.
do not intend to infiict on you as long
speech as did at Buffalo, but some Cf the
matters touched upon then, L must again
bring TO your attention, and some new Sug-
ges ions in tend to make for the good of the
craft, Will make In as concise form as posi-
BILE.
During the past year great deal has been
done by this association, the particulars oil
which will appear in the reports of the COM
mittees Executive, patent, etc., and will not
treSpass upon your time nor attempt TO anti
cipate the reports OF these committees by
enumerating them.
STATE ORGANIZATIONS.
c;,oa nrr ..,st napprtnp Crara aSSOcIafinuS
have been formed in Indiana, Maryland,
Pennsylvania, Virginia and Nebraska. and the
membership of the older state associations has
been largely increased, the Wisconsin associa-
ton having almost reached perfection, lnclud-
ing as 1t does nearly every first class mill In
that state, its success being largely due TO the
indomitable aud untiring energy of their sec
rotary, 5. II. Seamans, Esq, of Milwaukee. In
some states, however, the associatlohs are nor
ought to do, many of the OLD con-
conservative millers imagining that the
associations are formed principally Tor the
defense Of their members from purifier suits,
and as they have never used purifiers they DO
not see the necessity OF contributing for the
defense of those who do; but gradually Gs they
are brought in contact from time to time with
their more progressive brethren and learn the
full aims of the millers' organizations, they
are falling into line, and keeping step TO the
music of the age. Some, however, who are using
purifiers, and who through the millers' jour
mails and otherwise, reap nearly all the Dement'S
that accrue to membership, arguing that we
are bound to defend them in any event, be-
cause Judgment against them would, II taken
as a precedent, operate detrimentally TO every
one of our members; therefore they see no
necessity for contributing their honest share,
because the few dollars thus saved puts them
that far ahead of millers who have Joined and
contributed. 1t has been my good fortune
during the past year las hope 1t has been oil
gentlemen I?-God save the mark in less
polite than forcible language my appreciation
OF their conduct; and / can assure you II
g 10 be me able - express :s, to them my
views of "honesty" and 'decency," two quail
ties they seem to lack in an eminent degree.
l sincerely hope that in the near future some
occasion will arise for an honest claim being
made against miIlers which our ASSOCIATION
can settle cheaply for Its members, and then
/ should like to see poetic justice meted out 10
these gentlemen who have stood aloof so long
breadth of their purses, and force them to ac-
knowledge the truth OF the old saying Hon
esty is the best policy"
In the matter of
TRANSPORTATION
we of St. Louis ana the country directly west
of us, and indeed so far as can learn from the
entire northwest, have had little to mplain
OF the past year In regard 70 rates OF freight
They have, in my opinion, been lower, If any
| thing, than the railroads, with their expensive
corps of cline" agents in every city, could al
! ford TO make them aud do justice To their
stockholders, and IL is great mistake to
imagine, as a great many people do, that com
rates The fact is that the deepening
of the mouth of the Mississippi
river diverted an immense amount
of grain in that direction, and would have di-
verted much more had not the railroads "cut"
rates to a point that competed with the river
rates. To show in n small degree what the
Mississippi improvement has accomplished in
transportation, / shall infiict upon you few
statistics. In the months OF October, Novem-
Der and December last, there was shipped from
st. Louis for export via. New Orleans 2,234, 100
bushels of grain, and during the year 1877,
4l0l S53 bushels, consisting of S5l ,i5S bushels of
wheat, .3,57S,U57 bushels of corn, and l7l,Si3
bushels of rye. II we compare this
with former years some idea can be
had of how fast the business is grow
log. In 1870 the grain association of st. Louis
to prove that the "humidity of the Gulf
stream" theory in regard TO its effects on grain
was nonsensical, exported 5000 bushels of
wheat via New Orleans; that was all that went
from that city that year abroad. In 1871, 5000
bushels of oats and $4,000 bushels of corn were
exported; the next three years exports average
about a million and a half bushels per year,
but i'm 1875 shipments fell or to aoS O0O bushels.
In 1876 with the "jetties" talked, written
about and commenced, exports mainly corn
ran up to over million and three-quarters.
Compare these figures with those of this
year-take into calculation the fact that our