The Kimball graphic. (Kimball, Brule County, Dakota [S.D.]) 1883-1905, 1885-01-23

A1Af1S kSlo, pI w lltic, III you can sell YOUR
wheat where you please and sell it to whom You
S Thy this alficulty very promptly.
ing down on them pretty hard, but 1 want justice
done to the farmers MS well as them. It is to tho
interest OF the road to have a fair deal on this
about.
These assurances were repeated at other
places
At a public meeting held in Milbank April
z, 1854, General Freight Agent A. C. Bird, OF
the Chicago, Milwaukee & st Paul road, said:
The road realized fully the necessity of en-.
couraging settlement and OF aiding the prosper
ity OF the people ~ well: that while the farmers
need the road there is no future tor us without
The farmers assistance. We will not refuse any
man the use Of cars when it can be provided.
There are emergencies when we cannot furnish
them. No general officer OF the road, l think,
knows OF a refusal to furnish cars. There are
times when the road is crowded with work, and
the freight drifts the cars all In one direction,
and at such times 1t would be impossible to fur
nish cars to any one 1t often happened from
the causes mentioned that they could not obtain
cars to move their own property" But he gave
"thnt the request of farmers and in
d1V1duai shippers for cars should be considered
and granted the same Us other shippers" Mr..
Bird gave like assurances at Alexandria, Red
field and other points visited by us, ut each Of
which public meetings were held.
In every Instance we lave found the
railroad companies willing n anxious
to promote the welfare of the PRODUCER OF the
great cereal which has given to Dakota a
reputation.
H QUESTION CT GRADES.
But neither the most liberal policy that
might be inaugurated by the railroad com
panies, nor the privilege of shipment by the
farmer, WILL give relief to the great
mass OF those who cannot thus ship. nor de-
term1ne the point upon which rests finally
al, or nearly all, the trouble. We refer to
the question of grades 1t is of no kind of
use for this board or any other tribunal to
declare what shall constitute No. / hard
wheat unless some tribunal exists, to whom
disputes arising as to whether a certain lot
of wheat offered for sale be a certain
grade or not. In other words, to determine
whose Judgment, that of buyer or seller lit
either is correct Grading wheat must
necessarily be largely a matterof individual
Judgment, and where the elevator agent re-
fuses to receive wheat at the grade the pro-
Queer believes it to be entitled, the neces-
stiles of the farmer will generally govern
him in selling ut 2 grade below what he hon
estly believes he should receive. We may
perhaps be pardoned for here sus gesting that
q remedy exists for this in the creation of
some tribunal to whom this matter might be
Pending the appeal. the wheat to
be received by the elevator. q ticket stating
be given to the seller. Sample to be carried
before the board of appeals whose Judgment
to be final, and wheat to be paid for at price
paid for grade determined, on day of ware
housing. We may suggest further in this
connection, that the interests of our neigh
boring State of Minnesota are almost iden-
tical with ours N this matter, and that any
action taken Dakota. looking to more
fully protecting and fostering the various in
terests involved herein, ought to be In line
with that of our %neighbor. 81
DoCKAGE.
One prolific source of complaint, and in
our Judgment a just one, is the prevailing
practice of docking wheat some number OF
pounds to the bushel for dirt We found the
practice to be general. At some elevators an
arbitrary rule was enforced, to dock two
pounds per bushel whether wheat was
cleaned or unclaimed We saw at one ele-
vator some 8 900 bushels Of No. i hard wheat
that had been cleaned by the farmer by three
times running it through a tanning mill. Yet
two pounds per bushel had been locked for
dirt We characterized this as n swindle. No
doubt most of the wheat offered for sale is
un~cieaned, but no arbitrary rule should fix
the amount of dockage. We saw wheat at
elevators in the territory that in our
judgment contained from eight to ten pounds
of dirt, oats, buckwheat and seeds of weeds,
per bushel. We tried to provide against I'M
dockage by adopting and publish
ing in our sRules for 1854" the following
provisions:
Note B.-No arbitrary rule OF dockaee shall
prevail, nor shall clean wheat be docked mt ali.
Wheat not cleaned, otherwise ft for any partic.
ular grade, may be docked the proper amount to
bring 1t to grade, but the proper grade must in
all cases be given when locked for that purpose.
1t would seem that this difficulty could in a
great measure be avoided If the farmers
would clean their grain before marketing.
EVILS OF MIXING.
We have heard q great complaint in rela-
ton to mixing grades. We have no remedy
to suggest for this evil. 1t would seem that
the purchaser had q perfect right to do MS he
with his wheat. mix it or not Yet
it is u fact that the value in the great marts
the world Of our better grades of wheat
has been seriously injured by reason of this
practice Wheat usually loses its identity
when elevated, and lot OF No. l hard wheat
that would SO grade in any market in the
world, may be mixedi in the bins of the eleva-
tor with an inferior grade, and shipped to
Minneapolis or Duluth as No. l hard. It
may pass inspection as such ii there happens
to be a strong denand and short supply at
the time. but the chances are that on its arri-
val at Chicago or Buffalo it will be graded
The Consequence directly is, that
are instructed to be more rigid in
grading. or to drop the price a cent or two
per bnshel. Indirectly an injury is done by
creating an impression that little, if any,
No. 1 wheat is raised in Dakota. The most Sc
rious injury, however, is done the farmer who
ships his own grain. He must necessarily, If
he has any large quantity to ship. do so
through tho nearest elevator, because of the
Convenience VI uUuulluH. Ii, us ILLS DceQ
charged, the elevator. agent mixes the
farmers No. l hard wheat with an inferior
grade. the cars will convey to the distant
market whea, that will not be up to grade,
and the farmer will be woefully disappointed
in the returns of his shipment. 1t has proved
very difficult to trace m otfense of the nature
specified, for the reason given above-i. e.,
wheat loses it's identity when elevated.
We are Of opinion that if it be true that
this crime has been committed (and we on
slider 1t a crime, indeed,) the perpetrators
be punished to the full extent of the
law; and we believe Messrs. Pillsbury& Hurl-
but, George w. Van Dusen & Co. the Northern
Elevator company, Messrs. Pratt and
Others who own the principal elevators on
the lines OF the railroads of Dakota, would
assist with all their power in the prosecution
CT any agents OF theirs who should 80 attempt
to cheat the farmers.
1t appears to us that q free, open market
Is u cure for the most of the ills to which the
farmer Is subject, in connection with the
marketing of wheat here in the Northwest
BY a free, open market, we mean the priv1-
lege Of shipping his grain directly to any
point he desires, without unnecessary delay.
ut the same rate per car load paid by owners
and proprietors OF elevators; cars to be fur
nished and facilities afforded for loading on
the side tracks OF the railroads, when prac-
or through the elevators, as the ship
may choose, at o reasonable charge for
elevating, with proper safeguards against
mixing the grain After this the gre6t law
of supply and demand will regulate the
whole subject better than ALT the statutes pos
sible to enact.
RECEIPTS AND
We nave the honor to submit, in connec-
tion herewith, tabulated statements of the
and shipments of wheat ut the diff
ferent railroad stations in Dakota, together
with the number and capacity of the eieva-
tors. Dur total elevator capacity is 6,OOO.-
900 bushels. Our total shipments through
public elevators and warehouses were H.
1877. 800 bushels, as follows:
d. Hurlbut, on st. p, NJ.
& NJ. $3.50, s5s
n. I. Elevator Co.. on St. p, NJ. & III. 5S1, 2
n = Elevator Co. on +. road. 2,001, 295
q St. P:.::-....."............ 2,3ss.7 12