St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1885-05-20
GRADING OF WHEAT.
Conference of the Railroad Commission
With Grain Men From All Over
the State.
Schedules Of Proposed Grades Submitted
by st. Paul, Minneapolis and
Duluth.
The Latter City Insists on the Two
Glasses of It's ssN orthern''
Wheat.
The Question of Smutty Wheat and
Cleaners in Elevators Discussed
mo Action Taken.


Cleaners in Elevators Discussed
mo Action Taken.
The state railway commissioners held a
conference with committees of the boards
of trade of st. Paul, Minneapolis and Du-
luth, and prominent farmers of the state,
yesterday, at the senate chamber in the
state house, in reference to establishing
grades Of wheat, under state inspectorship,
at the terminal elevators, at st. Paul, Min
neapolis and Duluth.
The St. Paul board of trade was repre-
sented by Messrs. McIlrath, Gilbert and
Steritt; Minneapolis by MeSsrS. Pratt,
Yerxa, Bowen, Marshall and Petit; Du-
luth by Messrs. Spencer, Hooker and
Miller. Other representations, on the part
of country elevators and farmers,
were by f. r. Delano of ST.
Paul, MI. Jacobs Of Red River
valley, John Shields of Meeker county,
Andrew and Peter Nelson of Litchfield,
Frank and Arthur Thornton of Benson,
MI. Jewett of Meeker county, J. B. Flan-
ders of Kandiyohi county, and G. r. @.
Burdick, chief state grain inspector.
MI. DelanO of st. Paul, ON being called
upOn embodied his views on the question
in the following statement, which he read
and explained at length, and in which he
left the commission to supply the number
of pounds to the bushel.
MIR. DELANo's PROPOSITION.
The grades should be No. and hard,
and the soft wheat grades No. 1, 2 and g..
All wheat to be rejected which will not
grade in the above. All wheat of every
grade to be dry and sound enough for ware
housing and storage. All wheat to be in
pected and weighed for just what it is,
without dockage or any deduction what
ever by state inspectors and weighers. All
rates to be as specific as possible, leaving
as small margin as may be for the judg-
ment of man.
The idea of Mr.. Delano was to make the
grading of wheat simple enough for the
producer as well as the expert to under
stand. When there were but three grades
in the old steamboat days there was no
trouble with the farmers on this question,
but now when no two experts could agree on
the grade of a bushel of wheat, the eleva-
tors had so tangled up wheat grading that
the farmer didn't know anything and after
they had got his wheat in this way ne went
over to the saloon and got drunk to drown
his chagrin. In 1872 and 1878 every farmer
knew what the wheat he produced would
grade and went to the elevator and got his
ticket for his crop, which was as negotiable
as bank bill at home and abroad. He be-
lieved that if wheat was graded on its
quality the farmers would learn that clean
wheat was No. 1 and would strive for No.
1 prices which it would bring, and that by
doing away with many grades few Min
nesota state grades would gain a world
wide reputation and
REGULATE THE PRICE OF THE CEREAL.
He. in other words, believed in state in
spection in the country elevators as well as
pthe terminal, and the abolition of every
article of red tape in the business.
Mr. Jacobs of the Red River valley agreed
with Mr.. Delano, and said he believed in
fewer grades of wheat and well-defned
lines. AS it was No. hard 60 pounds and
would mix together and sell for No. 1 hard
throughout the world. This law was
passed because the people were displeased
with the present mode of inspection, and
the running of the wheat business, the
backbone business of the state, by boards
of trade. So many grades in wheat depre-
ciates it's value, and this had gone so far
that farmers considered the raising of hard
wheat did not pay and were raising soft
wheat instead, which yielded five more
bushels to the acre, and at the rate hard
wheat was being handled by inspectors
gave them more profit.
Mr.. Gilbert for the st. Paul board of
trade said that the weight of the wheat
crop from year to year varied, and the
qualities of soft wheat, which was finer in
the northern belt and poorer in the south
ern, made more grades necessary. Though
the number Of these grades puzzled the far
mer it did not the expert and if their
number should be reduced he believed it
would be worse for the latter. This was
more especially the case as the hard wheat
belt was moving further and further north
each year, the better quality of wheat being
grown North and the poorer South. He
then presented the proposition of the board
of trade of st. Paul.
ST. PAUL's PROPOSITION.
No. hard wheat shall be composed of
Fife wheat, clear, bright and sound, testing
not less than fifty three poudds to the
bushel, and shall not contain more than 10
per cent. of soft wheat.
No. 2 hard wheat shall be composed of
hard Fife wheat, sound, reasonably clean,
not less than fifty-six pounds to the bushel,
not more than 90 per cent. of soft wheat.
No. 2, or milling wheat, shall be sound,
reasonably clean, free from smut or spouted
grain, not less than Sc pounds to the bushel
and not more than so per cent. soft wheat.
No. 2 wheat shall be sound, reasonably
clean, and test not less than fifty-six
pounds to the bushel.
No. shall comprise wheat fit for ware
housing, fifty-four pounds to the bushel;
wheat slightly bleached OF grown out, hav-
ing little smut included
No. 4, wheat fit for WarehOuSing, too
dirty and seedy for No. and containing
more smuttY, grown or bleached wheat than
No. 8.
No grade wheat to be too dirty and seedy
to pass into other grades.
Condemned wheat to include all unfit for
warehousing, by reason Of dampness, being
musty, bin-burnt or mixed with other grain.
MINNEAPOLIS PROPOSITION.
Mr.. Yerxa of Minneapolis thought that
the milling value of wheat should deter
mine it's grade, and that the interests of the
producer and dealer demanded that there
should be six grades, after which MI. Pratt
presented the following proposition from
the Minneapolis board of trade:
These grades should be NoS.1 and hard,
1, and soft and rejected.
No. hard shall be composed of sound,
plump, well-cleaned wheat and consist
mostly of the Scotch Fife variety,
No. hard shall be sound, reasonably
clean and consist mostly of the Scotch Fife
variety of wheat and weigh not less than
fifty-six pounds to the measured bushel.
No. shall consist of dark OF amber-cOl-
ored wheat, be sound and plump, well
cleaned, of good milling quality. consisting
OF hard and soft varieties. This grade shall
include White Fife variety.
No. 2 to consist of the soft, starchy varie-
ties of wheat, to be reasonably clean and
weigh not less than ifty-six pounds to the
measured bushel.
No wheat shall include all sound