The Emporia weekly news. [volume] (Emporia, Kan.) 1881-1889, 1882-02-23
THE GRAIN TRADE AT KANSAS
CITY

The exposure of the swindles of the
grain dealers of Kansas City by the
Commonwealth and other papers is uu-
doubtedly having good effect. DIR.
Nofsieger, of Kansas City, has recently
been interviewed by Journal reporter,
and says the Board of Trade should re-
quiIe each elevator To make sworn
statement at stated periods showing its
financial condition. 1t should require
the registration at the office of the secre-
tary of the Board of Trade of all oleva-
tor receipts. Ii should appoint public
weighcr for each elevator, whose duty
it should lie to see that every car load of
grain coming in or going out is proper
ly weighed 1t should institute such
measures as would absolutely prevent the
mixing of grain while in storage In
public bins in any regular elevator.
In answer 10 the question: Is grain
mixed in Kansas City, he says:
'Of all tricks of trade, know of
none more vicious or less justifiable
than the mixing of different grades of
grain in public elevators. 1t is a crime
against the consumer as we'll as tie pro-
| Queer. 1t is crime against the great
state (Kansas) to which We arc indebted
for nine-tenths of our receipts
1t is well known that all grain shipped
| out Of this market is skinned as ship
pers call 1t, that is, degraded to the very
lowest point at which it can pass in
| spectfon, by mixing IN a lower grade
with grade higher. What becomes OF
all the rejected wheat inspected in our
elevators? Who ever heard of a car
load of rejected wheat or corn being
| shipped out of Kansas City? 1t all
eventually finds its way INTO higher
| grades, and 'skinning' these grades
down to the very minimum, passes into
the hands of the consumer"
''And what is the result?'
| rs not some one sWindled in this
manipulation Is it just to degrade the
product OF great state, so that it can
be said. as 1 heard grain man say,
that Kansas raises the meanest wheat
of any state in the Union? Is it no
injustice TO the producer that the
prices he obtains for high or average
grade of grain should be fixed by the
market price of such grade after it has
been injected with lower grade stuff?
| What fixes the price for No wheat in
our market? UnquestiOnably the price
at which it is shipped out of our mark ct
Upon this basis l suppose The wheat and
corn shipped to our market is largely
accounted fOr-the low grade bringing
within few cents of the next higher
from the fact that ii EN- be mixed with
the higher grade, leaving the higher
grade the same grade which it originally
inspected"
won't you illustrate your point,
DoctOr?"
"a ships 10 Kansas City five cars OF
average or high grade No. wheat
and passes il into an elevator. 3 ships
in one car which is inspected and goes
into the elevator as rejected. The six
cars are mixed together and are shipped
out OF Kansas City, passing grade as
No. wheat. OF course the buyer knows
what he is buying and fixes the price
accordingly. A receives the price oil
No. 3 wheat, less commission, etc, and
is robbed to the extent his wheat is low
cred IN standard, while 3, who has ship
ped in the inferior grain receives more
than it is relatively worth.
"Can we reasonably expect our grain
trade to prosper where a system sc
manifestly unjust is practiced?''
1t is claimed that it is the custom tc
mix grain in most of the elevators
throughout the west, and that to attemp
to enforce rule here prohibiting til,
practice would prove a failure. Thi.
seems very weak argument. If mix
/ ing is wrong it should be stopped, if i
, takes ten years to do it. If the boar,
of trade rules can't put an end to it, W,
should invoke the aid of the Legislature
as has been done in Illinois, then tn
grain trade would prosper"
I "What would you advise? 81
"Let Kansas City take the initiative
, in these reforms, and the shippers an,
e western elevators tributary will sool
fall in with the new order of things ant
instead of the meagre grain receipts O
: the past two or three years, our receipt
, will double up, and our grain trad
j which has been at a standstiIl sine
n these abuses have crept in, will agai
I step TO the front and keep pace wit
the other great industries of our metro