St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1885-11-03
THE MILLS WILL RUN
Until, at Least, Perfect Concert of Actio,
Can be Secured.
A Decided Protest Against the Ad.
vanced Rate to Chicago.
A Free Line and Plenty of TRANSIT
Keeps the Wheels Grinding.

A Free Line and Plenty of Transi,
Keeps the Wheels Grinding.
There was great deal of comment, al
most commotion, at the chamber of COM
merce and among the mills yesterday over
the advance OF "a cents on the milling and
grain rates to Chicago. The fall schedule
to Chicago fixed by the association roads,
the Milwaukee, the Omaha and the ST.
Louis, went into effect Sunday morning at
III cents The advance was a matter of
chagrin, not OF surprise, to the milIers, who
knew it was coming, but had hoped the
steady unfolding of business would induce
companies to keep the hfteen-ce rate on.
On Friday an effort was made to secure con-
cert OF action among the mills in the matter
OF stopping shipments by shutting down,
| but it failed and now becomes go-as-you-
please affair among them. Mr.. Holmes
said on Saturday the Northwestern would
smut down yesterday morning, but it
ground away notwithstanding. Mr.. G. A.
Pillsbury said he was about to stop his
! wheels, but the Pillsbury A and b and
the Anchor turned out their regular
amount OF flour yesterday. In fact only
four OF the whole number of mills were
| oiioV uo"H' VIZ, tuO ~ OCdUQdru,
nix and Excelsior, and the stoppage of
none of them was caused by the advance IN
rates. With the present condition of the
flour market there is little doubt that had
concert of action been secured the entire
flour product would have stopped but there
are several causes operating against that.
THE NEW ROAD.
The Minnesota q Northwestern road is a
non-association road, but its schedule, with
the others, was III cents, but it is verv
generally known it is cutting from 2 to IN
cents on the rates. The reason is given
with double force. In the first place it is a
new road with business to gain OH which to
secure rating next spring. In the next
place there is such large quantity of tran
sit on hand for all of the association roads
at l5 cents, that the Minnesota d
Northwestern must cut or give rebate to
get any business. There is no less than
100. 600, 900 pounds of transit-prepaid
freight-on hand, of which the Milwaukee
has one-half and the balance is divided be-
tween the Omaha and the st. Louis. Of
this sum, G. A. Pillsbury Il Co. hold nearly
half and the rest is scattered. So long as
this transit holds out some of the millers
will continue to ship, and if the
Minnesota 81 Northwestern meets the
rate, the Others are very well fixed,
Those mills which are short on transit will
very soon make up their minds as to the
course to be pursued. There is little fear,
however. that the mills will be shut down,
and especially before navigation closes.
about the 18th of November.
AN INSIDE VIEW.
1t was a somewhat difficult matter YES
terday to induce any of the millers to ex-
press themselves on their future course.
under the circumstances. All of them are
prepared to run for this week,
at any event. and when transit becomes
short another effort will be made to secure
concerted action. A GLOBE reporter was
yesterday told by one who should know
that the mills will be kept grinding steadily
away. 1t has by this time by what he said,
been pretty thoroughly nOised through the
East that unless rates are opened the mills
will close, and it will have its effect in the
shape OF orders. Just at this time there is
no money in flour, and stocks are pretty
well up. Every miller would like
/ the others to shut down and
allow stocks to be reduced. but each one is
individually anxious to see his own mill
kept at work. There is no place here to
store flour and none will be willingly
shipped for storage. The sales now being
made are mostly to commission men, who
store the flour, paying certain proportion.
When the information is disseminated that
a general stop will come, orders to keep up
stock will come in and the mills will keep
on their grinding.
WHAT THE MILLERS SAY.
Mr.. G. A. PiIlsbury declined to say what
his mills would do On Saturday he an
nounced they would close but on Sunday
changed his mind as did Mr. Holmes with
! the Northwestern. The Wasfburn mills
will run their transit out, at least. and will
be governed by circumstances afterward.
The Minneapolis mill, the Cataract, Morse
& Sammis' and, in fact, most of the Others
| say they will be guided entirely by circum-
stances after they have used up their transit
on hand. 1t seems understood that an
/ effort will be made to secure harmony of
| feeling and concert of action on the cues
ton as early as Thursday OF Friday of this
week.
The Market Records idea of the situation
is as follows:
| The new 1719c Chicago freight rate on grain
| and mill products went into effect Sunday on
! all the roads leading to that point. At least
! that is the nominal rate 1t is well known
| that Minneapolis millers have protested
! against the advance from 15c, even going so
| far as to intimate that combination of them
would close their mills if the protest was
| not favoraby considered. The traffic as
ISOLATION roads-the Milwaukee, St. Louis and
Omaha-will make an effort to maintain the
| advance, and would be able to do so if it were
| not for the efforts of the new candidate for
| public favors, the Minnesota & Northwestern.
| The latter has published the new TIC rate,
| which it publicly quotes, and, of course, de-
MES that anything under that will be accepted.
| But it is very noticeable that the association
roads are nervous about its real intention. Like
other new enterprises, it is highly probable
| its operators will try this winter to make for
| it q little notoriety, in the amount of BUSH
ness it is capable of doing. when the new
deal takes place next spring it will be rated,
to some extent, on the business it will do
! from now until then. 1t is told, on what the
record believes good authority, that the
agents of that road are already in the field
with rebate Of ~ cents. and that certain
mllers can be named who it is believed
have the option of doing business on that
plan. There is large amount of transit out,
issued by the association roads-approximately
| 100,000,000 pounds-that will have to be
shipped, for obvious reasons, during the
winter. In addition there will be current re-
ceipts of transit to be used. This transit
alone will give those roads good business
1t is plain then that If the Minnesota & North
western does much Chicago business it must
| make rebate. The millers all have more or
less transit which they will not lock up and
pay full rate of ITO fat.
An Internal Revolution