Daily globe. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1878-1884, 1878-10-21
Ho,o 1Vashburn s,vindles the Far n.er,.

HOa0 Wushburn S,oindles the Farmers.
The swindling operations practiced upon
the farmers at the Washburn Anoka Touring
mill have actually driven them from the
place. They have in consequence conceived
such hatred for the town that they will
neither market their wheat there or trade
with the merchants. They shun it as they
would leper. The farmers market their
wheat in other places, where they can have
justice done them, and of course where they
sell their products there they purchase their
supplies: the result is, it has had
tendency to paralyze the bust
ness of the place, and the people
feel it sorely. The saw mills are shut down,
and the Touring mill, under its present man
agement, is curse to the town, winter is
coming on, and many of the poor people
feel pretty blue. This should be frst-class
wheat market, and would be,
if this theiving Washburn mo-
nopoly was out of the way. Legitimate
buyers would come in and deal honestly by
the farmers if there was not conspiracy by
the ring to keep them out-the MiIlers' as
sociation-and w. D. Washburn is the
front and head Of that offending, his fimsy
denial to the contrary Notwithstanding. We
have the proof all about us
and the testimony is accumu-
lating like the throes of an earthquake.
poor Swede hauled load of wheat to
the Anoka mill, but rather than be swindled
as they proposed to do he hauled it back and
finally sold it at Elk river for five cents per
bushel more than the ring would offer after
cheating him in the weight.
widow woman took load of wheat to
this same gulf of guile and they graded it
No. q; few days after her brother took
load there out of the same bin, precisely the
same in quality and every other way, but he
was little better posted so his wheat went
in No. all o. K. Thus it will be seen
how merciful these unscrupulous wretches
are to the widows and the fatherless.
Al. Smith, Esq, of Ramsey, this county,
took load of wheat to the Washburn mill
at Anoka, and the superintendent, Leander
Gorton, marked it rejected, but offered him
AZ cents per bushei for it. Mr.. Smith i'm
mediatelv hauled it to Champlin and sold it
to F. E. Hesler for 80 cents a bushel, and
MIR. Oswald, who has a mill on Single
creek, offered IS cents per bushel for all OF
that kind of whsat he would deliver him.
These are by no means isolated cases,
but simply few of the many that are hourly
coming to the surface and stamping with
lnfamy the shylocks who have systematically
conspired to swindle the farmers by the
wholesale out of their hard earnings, inter
rupting our trade and disgracing our State.
There are names without number, ready
and anxious to furnish afidavits that will
fully disclose the baseness of this brass ket-
tie business, and lay Bill Washburn, his
satellites and the wheat ring bare, with all
their naked and horrible deformites standing
out as the MONDAY sun.
It is almost universal expression
among the farmers up this way that the
''brass kettles" or the sslittle jokers," are
susceptible of being tempered with, and the
Minneapolis association take advantage of
that fact and grade the farmers wheat just
as they please. They can and do in many
instances they want to favor a
frieud-grade poor article that properly
belongs in the No. 8 class, No. /; ana on the
other hand, they will grade No. in the No.
class, thus beating that man out of many
dollar on his load of wheat and giving some
favolite more than he deserves. AL those
things are only so many tricks of the trade,
and the half has not been told
It will not do for Mr.. Washburn to deny
his having anything to do with these transac-
tons, for he is the dog-warrior of the whole
tribe.
Wheat ia purchased right here under our
very nose by Mr.. Gorton, in the name of the
Millers' association, and shipped car load
| after car load marked W. ID. Washburn
| s. Co., Minneapolis.
And it is well known too that Leande1
Gorton is Washburn & Co.'s agent at this
place, and superintendent of the mill here.
Again, they will say 10 the farmers that it
costs five cents per bushel to ship his wheat
to Minneapolis, all of which is well known
lie, for the regular rates are but two cents
When the Stein Bros owned and operated
the mill. they paid the farmers a fair price
for their wheat, dealt honestly by them, and
consequently there was no dissatisfaction on
either hand; we had good times, trade was
brisk in town and we were prosperous and
happy. But as soon as the property fell into
the hands of this greedy cormorant the tide
was turned, nd has been setting against us
stronger and more of it, from that day to
this, until patience has ceased to be virtue,
| and we are compelled to beard the lion in
his den and dispose of the whole mongrel
crew, whelps and all.
WAsHBuRN's swINDLING FAILURE.
/! When our would-be Congressman made