Morris tribune. [volume] (Morris, Minn.) 1880-2000, 1884-03-26
A SENSIBLE LETTER.
Written by Stevens County Farmer;
Appeared in the Minnesota Tribune
on March 10th.
What the farmers of the Northwest
Want and what they should insist
upon having.

After all the good talk that Mr.. Hill
gave the committee of ten from Grand
Forks, the fact remains that the farm
ers are wronged by the elevator COM
panies. Not that all elevator men are
thieves, but all elevator men figure q
nice PERCENTAGE in their favor on vast
age and shrinkage by cleaning risks
as to grade, charges for handling, ETC.,
and the percentages are governed in
most eases not by the actual charges
that might be made, which vary all
the way from four to twenty cents q
bushel, according to the elevator mans
desire for gain. l make this assertion
because, by taking the same wheat to
different elevators the same day, am
told that 20 cents bushel has been
the difference made, and at the present
time [ am told by reliable man who
lives twelve miles from Morris and
twenty-five from Appleton that he
can't haul his wheat to Morris, for he
loses grade and has to give from
three to five pounds more for shrink
age besides. And there is but one
way to correct this thing, and that is,
every farmer, if he desires, should be
allowed to load and ship a car of wheat
as we'll rs an elevator company with
a $4,000 bushel elevator. This would
tend to correct the system of abuses
that has arisen at the receiving points.
For what, if anything, are the railroad
companies but common carriers?
They get their right to take our lands
for right of way by being such; and,
being common carriers, they can be
compelled to carry produce by the
car for any man, whether he has a 3d.
900 elevator or no elevator. And the
state ought, by proper Legislative en-
actments, regulate this matter. Every
man should have chance to load a
car of wheat or other produce under
the same restrictions; as to loading,
he should put certain amount in the
car, load the same in reasonable time
or pay demurrage for delay, and when
he has done that the railroad company
should carry for him as cheaply as any
The same amount of wheat is to be
carried, whether A. or B. ships it.
When once it is understood that the
farmers can ship, then they can get
justice, and not till then; and rest as
sured, there will be very little ship
ping done by farmers when they have
their rights. When once the Stae as
serts her rights and protects her citi-
Zens so they can send their wheat by
the carload, without having to pay
tribute to these elevator companies,
these several causes of complaint will
be removed, and that of itself will
make the receiving elevators do JUS
tice.
Another cause of complaint is, no
uniform system of grading; or, in
other words, the system of Minnesota
and Dakota. Elevator Company Cor
Millers' Association properly, by
which they are determined to drive
out all opposition. They intend no
outside party shall buy wheat in their
territory and ship through their
ship they will get No. 2, for No. 1, and
so on.
For instance outsiders wheat will
lose grade in transit between elevators,
and what they cannot do by open
competition on the market to drive
them away, they can do by the Miller's
Association system of grading out OF
one elevator into another. Now,
we need uniform system of grading,
so that if man buys car Or wheat
in Morris or any other point, he can
get the same grade at the receiving
ELEVATOR, or else the elevator that ships
the wheat should be compelled to
make the grade good.
Another cause of complaint is that
car of wheat will not hold out in
weight. An outsider has got to have
law suit, or else lose from one to
fifty bushels on a car. Now mind
you do not say that the elevators are
always to blame for this last, as poor
cars are often the cause of shortage
Now, again, the state should step in,
by way of her Legislature, and should
formulate uniform system of grading
and weighing, and compel its obser-
vance in some practical way.
And there should be some way de.
vised to fix the responsibility as re.
CARDS weights. The railroad COM
panies should see that they get GER
tain amount when it is loaded, and
then deliver the same amount at the
receiving elevator, and if their cars
leak let them make it good. A certain
reasonable amount for tare being al,
lowable, the responsibility should be
placed upon someone to make the
weights good. AS practiced, man
has no security as to grades and
weights unless he is a Millers Asso-
citation man. AS to freight rates, al.
though exorbitantly high on many
things, I do not think it works as much
direct injury to the farmer as the style
of handling wheat. 1t would seem
from the report of the Grand Forks
Committee that the Manitoba Rail.
road was carrying freight cheaper than
other railroads, yet to compare the
distance from Minneapolis to Chicago
nearly three times as great, yet we pay
on an average about twice as much
freight from Minneapolis to Morris as
from Chicago to Minneapolis on staple
articles by the car load.
Evidently the Grand Forks Com.
mittee did not find out all the facts
If their rate is so reasonable, how is il
that they can now, since the Northern
Pacific got into Morris affords to carry
| wheat to Duluth at the same rate as