Daily globe. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1878-1884, 1882-05-06
MILLERS MONOPOLY.

UuIUUulGO ulVllUl VUls
ENDEAVORIHG TO ABROGATE THE
TARIFF AND ROB THE FARMER.
Gen. Baker Considers the Proposition to
Admit Manitoba Wheat Free of Duty
He Finds 1t Reduces the Prices Attain
able by American Farmers for Their
Products, while They Must Also Pay f.r
the Duty on Iron, Salt, Etc.-A Two
Edged Sword Cutting tho Farmers Both
WAYS
ST. PAUL, Min, April 1ss2.-Lysander
Cook. Esq, Garden City, Min. Dear Sir:
You invite me to present. in some more pub
lie manner, the views I expressed to some
members of the Farmers Alliance recently,
concerning the effect of the proposed practical
suspension of the present tariff upon foreign
wheat. am greatly Surprised that matter
of SO :.iucn Importance to our people should
have been wholly overlooked, and not fully
considered by some one.
A delegate representing the flour manu-
facturers of the Northwest, the Hon. c. A.
Pillsbury, Of Minneapolis, has appeared before
the ways and means committe of congress,
asking that the same drawback be granted on
-four made and exported for the foreign trade
out of foreign wheat, as is now made on crude
sugars; that is, that the duty of 30 cents per
bushel now collected on foreign wheat
brought into our state, and here converted
into flour for the purpose of expectation, shall
be refunded by the government, except per
cent. In other words, the present tariff upon
foreign whe8g shall be cancelled forthe benefit
of the large millers, who alone can proftably
engage in such manufacture. AT first blush
it might appear that this was a
very commendable thing to do,
to receive and grind all the Manitoba wheat
possible, in transit, and send it from Mime
sofa to the markets of Europe. 1t would nat
urally touch our local pride and excite our
admiration. But let us carefully examine and
see who are to be benefi ted and who are to
be injured by this traffic cancellation, which
is now quietly IN process of manipulation IN
congress. l am of opinion that this project is
not wholly of American origin, and that 1t is
of much larger import in its ultimate results
than those now managing it have ever imag
med. l am unable to see that this new de.
vice will benefit any one but the Manitoba far
mer and the large millers.
The proposition is to go out of the coun-
NY duu uEiuS III pIOauCb W WoIh up ucre h1
home, to the exclusion Of our own domestic
wheat. Now, just to the extent that you
bring in this foreign wheat, just to thatSeX-
tent you dsplace our home wheat in the mar
ket. You go further, you virtually offer a
premium to import o foreign competition.
One of the big mills represented by this very
agent before the congressional committee.
claims capacity of 10000, 0U0 of bushels per
year; and that very mill desires now to engage
fhn for Nf ftnic frho rha, =
in transit, and take it out OF the country, in
bond, in flour. Now that mill, SO engaged in
grinding foreign wheat only passing through
the country in bond, will no longer be COM
petitOr in the purchase of home wheat, for it
is industriously engaged in grinding foreign
wheat solely for foreign market. 1t has
displaced ten millions OF home wheat in the
operation. This is competition at our own
doors. But the present capacity of the great
mills is 30,000,000 bushels a year. Here, then,
is present possible power of displacing 80
0O0,000 bushels of our own wheat, without
taking into account the possibilities of the
future. Now when the "Millers' association
was complained of by the farmers in certain
particular, it was said by the millers in their
defense that they had aised the price of wheat
for the farmers in Minnesota from five to ten
cents above the regular commercial market,
by their competitive demand for grinding
now, by this new contriyance, they propose
to depress our home market by the full meas
IRE they may be able to import and manufac-
ture foreign wheat. They can get this
foreign wheat, too, when the tariff
Is off by one hundred car
loads, just as cheap, and cheaper, on
the long haul from Winnipeg, as they
can pick it up ON shorter hauls along the
Minnesota railway lines. Under the proposed
SpSpnnciop of tho uhoaf 70 riff fh m oro AZ
mills that are built, the greater will be the
depression of the domestic wheat market; on
the contrary, if the tariff remains without
rebate, the more mills that are built, the
sharper will be the competition for our
domestic wheat. The principle is too mani
fest to need further exemplifcation.
NOT ENOUGH AMERICAN WHEAT.
But Mr.. Pilsbury states before the con-
gressional committee. as a reason why the
proposed drawback should be made, that
"there is not wheat enough IN the American
Northwest to supply our mills" This is
manifastly an error. The past season was an
exceptional one assto quality; the quantity
will not fail to keeppac with the mill develop.
ment Three millions of bushels of Northern
Pacific wheat went out of the port of Duluth
last year to the millers of Oswego, Buffalo
and elsewhere. A small premium over ship
ping prices WOulO nave retained InaL wheat
here for these mills. Besides, there were large
exports from St. Paul, Minneapolis and from
all the railway lines in the state leading to
Milwaukee or Chicago. II the big mills had
paid the price for it other purchasers offered
it could have been retained for their manu-
facture.
Not wheat enough for the use of these
mills? There are 400 miles of territory on the
Northern Pacific railroad, beginning with Wa
dena in one state, and thence westward every
fifty miles OF which, with 20 per cent. of the
territory only uader cultivation, will annually
produce 100000 busbel of wheat! The
American territory actually tributary to these
mills in Minnesota and Dakota alone can SUBJ
merge them, large as they are, or extensive as
they may become, with wheaton deluge! Let
the big mills pay the price which other peo-
pie will pay and their bins will be bursting
with American wheat. The Red river valley,
on American soil, is equal alone to produc-
ton of 50,000,0t0 bushels of wheat. To in
clude other northwestern American wheat
areas you may safely multiply this by twenty
The amount seems fabulous. To one not IA
miliar with this territory, as is the writer, 1t
may appear so. It would, therefore, seem
more patriotic for our great millers, instead
of casting their eyes over into the wheat belts
of Manitoba, to incite and stimulate the
growth Of wheat in the American northwest,
which, like the Nile of old, is to be the gran
airy Of nations.
MANITOBA DANGEROUS COMPETITOR.
But it has been said that we need have no