Daily globe. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1878-1884, 1878-10-09

have saved the people of Minnesota millions
of dollars. For we have in the State 30, 600, 900
of bushels of wheat, and we are defrauded out
OF ~ cents bushel on an average in the weight,
making loss of $3, 600, 900. And that SO, 00O,-
OOU represents, this year, a large proportion of
the farmers profits. So it is seen this system
is keeping the people poor.
Now, If my system had been adopted, the
farmer would drive up to the elevator, call in
the deputy inspector, who is furnished by the
head inspector at st. Paul with half bushel
measure about which there can be no question:
and he has, If you please pair of scales fur
nlshsd by the county, which weigh half
bushel-about that there would be no
doubt. He fills the ha1f-bushel measure, not
as these men do with this tester-holding it at
an angle, putting in the wheat little at a
time, handling the grain as though it were
rotten egg which was very liable to break-but
he puts it on his scale and weighs the half
bushel, and then gives the farmer a certificate
that it weighs so much and is of such grade,
and is worth SO much. That is the farmer s
protection; he has got something that he can
go and come on. If he thinks the local inspec-
tor has entered into collision with the buyers,
my bill gave him the right of appeal to the
chief Inspector. he could send specimens of
the wheat to the chief inspector and have him
decide on it, and this at least would give the
people protection, and my honest judgment is
that it would save the farmers of thi Sta.e, as
said before, millions of dollars each year.
THE MINNEAPOLIS MnLERs' ASSOCIATION.
Now, you have heard great deal lately in
the newspapers about the millers' ring-Minne-
apolis millers' ring; and there has been SO
much said that it has confused the public
mind. Now, what are the facts of the case?
few years ago the millers Of Minneapolis
were acting separately; each great mill had
It's own buyer out at the proper towns. When
the farmer came in with a load of wheat these
various buyers would compete with each other,
climb on to his wagon ard examine the wheat,
and one would bid a cent higher and another a
cent higher, until the farmer got all his wheat
was worth. But this was under system of
competition, which constitutes in all lands the
life of business and the protection of indus
try.
Now, after this thing had run along some
time, the millers suggested the idea, some of
them, that it would be much wiser for them to
combine than to compete, and so they entered
into an association; they agreed that one man
could handle all the wheat, buy for all those
mills the 100000 bushels. They withdrew
those competing buyers that had been putting
up the prices on each other, and they had but
one agency in each locality, and when the
wheat came down to Minneapolis it was divided
on pre-arranged scale, each mill taking SO
much out of a given pool, according to the
number of run of stone that it had. Well, the
result of this was that there was no longer
competition, and the price went down. Well,
You may say if the price went down, why don't
other parties go in and buy?
A PRACTICAL ILLUSTRATION.
Well, now, will give you my own expert
ence. I raised considerable wheat this year up
in Stevens county; we have an elevator at our
little station and I wanted to sell some wheat
l asked the elevator man if he was buying. No.
he wasn't buying but a merchant there was
buying for the Millers' association, and he was
paying SO much that day. Well, said to him,
is there no one else buying here? No. What
is the reason? Well, he said, nobody will come
up and buy. Said I, why SO? Well, said he, q
man might buy here for three or four days, il
he did it very slyly, but the moment it became
known a telegram would come up the line tc
their agent to put up the price of wheat tc
such figures that the outsider could not posi-.
bly, give it, and the result would be that after q
day or two of effort he would have to pick ur
his valise and leave, and then down goes the
price of wheat to old figures. Now this is the
literal truth; you folks all know it. 1t is ar
unjust and cruel and, in my judgment, an I'M
righteous system. It is one that the law ought
to provide some remedy for. 1t is conspiracy
against the rights of the common people, and
Of the producing class of this country. If
men to swindle one of these millers out of SIC
or 10 cents, the law would reach me, I would b.
indicted for conspiracy to defraud; but if all
of these millers combine to rob me of the profit
of my years industry, they cannot indict them
for conspiracy. 1t is an illustration of the old
saying that the laws formed kind of spiders
web where the big flies broke through and the
little lies were caught.
INSTRUCTIONS OF THE MILLERS.
Well, now, my friends, some have said that
the Millers' association has nothing to do with
this; but the Minneapolis Tribune in discussing
this question uses these words: ssThe Millers'
association in this city have an inspector tc
whose grade the wheat must come to be eligible
to the market here"
Now, three years ago we had a great deal OF
wet wheat in consequence of the shocks being
rained on, and l had conversation with very
worthy and honest gentleman who was buyine
wheat and had charge Of an elevator in Dakota
county. will not give his name, because it
would only result in his persecution by these
men, but IN private conversation he sail to me
Il am under positive instruction from the
Millers' association at Minneapolis to grade
every bushel of wheat that buy here down one
grade; and, +" said he, "when farmers came in
to me that knew were poor and in debt and
struggling to gain livelihood, and had good
quality of No. wheat, my heart would not
permit me to say that that wheat was only No.
q; and, +" said he, II bought two car loads OF
that No. wheat and they returned it on me
and made me lose it. Now" said he, "what
was to do? I knew that if l resigned they
as they desired. and so have to stay here and
do as they tell me to- And that man has still
charge Of an elevator in the same locality.
PRICES ON THE MAIN LINE AND NORTHERN PA
CIFIC.
Well, it is said that here upon the st. Paul &
Pacific road the price is just as high as it ought
to be; that while these millers have no compe
tition to make them pay high price; that nev
ertheless, out of the generosity of their big
hearts, they are giving all that the wheat is
worth.
Well, if they are, they are certainly the most
remarkable set of human beings that this worlo
has ever produced, because it is the rule of al
men to buy as cheap they can, and where
man has the unlimited monopoly of a thing, as
rule he don't put prices up to the highest
mark. What is the proof? Why the Pionee,
Press contained yesterday, think, or the day
before, this table of the price of wheat at The
stations along the railroads on Oct. 2. Now
here is whole list of points given, Willmar
Morris, Fargo, Winona, st. Peter, ETC., etc
Now, let US see how these prices compare
Willmar. you know, is up on the line of this
rood, about half way between st. Paul and the
Red river valley. Fargo is not only on the
Red river valley, but is sixty miles farther
than Breckenridge; SO that it is about loo
miles farther from Minneapolis than Will
mar is. Now, you would naturally expe ct thai
Willmar, being 160 miles nearer to Minneapo
lis, would have the best price for wheat. Now
according to the table, how does it compare;
No. wheat at Willmar, ~ cents; No. wheat
at Fargo, Sc cents; No. 2 wheat at Willmar, u
cents: at FarpO 40 centS. No g wheat at Will.
mar, So cents, and at Fargo. 70 cents. Now
this, think, illustrates pretty fairly how this
thing goes.
There is up here on the line of this road q
station called Campbell, and about. fifteen OF
twenty miles farther is town called Fergus
Falls, and about the same distance to the north
of that is the station of Perham, on the North.
Paci6c NcaJ1 q stat has Lno,a l<