Reporter and farmer. [volume] (Webster, Day County, Dakota [S.D.]) 188?-1946, 1885-01-15

ing down on them pretty hard, nutl want Jus.ico
.sdono Ia the farmers 90 weil as them. IL ~ TO tha
interest Of the road 20 have q fsirdeal ON TINS
! business, and We will do all we car TO bring IL
about. l
These assurances were repeated at ether
places
I 1854. General Freight Agent A. O. Bird Oh
the Chicago, Milwaukee 4 IT Pau road, SAID:
"The road realized fully the necessity OF en-
oouraging settlement and Of aiding the prosper
nv on the people ~ well. that while the tarmers
need she road there Is no future Tor US without
the farmers assistance. we VIII not reIusS an3
man the use OF cars when it can be provluel
There ass snerasneiTs NV whe ~ NE : roaS' i think,
knows OF a refusal TO furnish cars. There are
times when the road is crowded with work snd
the freight drifts the cars al ~ one Sir &c : fop
nlsh cas- to any one IL often happened from
the causes mentioned that they ceuld not obtain
cars TO move their OWE property nut ne rave
assurances that ne request Of farmers ana IN
diyidnal shippers { cars shonld be considered
and aranted the sa.ne PC 0ther. shippers MT
Bird gave like assurances, az slessnars- %o
field and other points visited by as, ~ eacn OK
which public meetings were held.
In every instance we have found the
railroad companies willing and anxious
TO promote the welfare of the producer OF the
great cereal which has given 20 Dakota u
| worldwide reputation
THE QUESTION or GRADES.
But neither the most liberal policy thai
might be iEaugurRted by the railroad COM
panies, nor the privilege OF Shipment by the
individuaitarmor, Will give relief tothegreas
mass of those who cannot thus shin, nor dc.
termine the point upon which rests finally
/ all, or nearly all, the trouble. We refer 10
the question of grades Ii Is of no KIND OF
use for this board or any other tribunal 10
declare what shall constitute No. i marc
wheat unless some tribunal exists, to whom
disputes arising as TO whether a certain lot
or wheat offered for ssale be a certain
grade or not In other words, to determine
whose Judgment, that OF buyer or seller on
either is correct Grading wheat must
necessarily be largely a matterof individual
Judgment, and where the elevator agent re-
fuses 10 receive wheat at the grade the pro-
Queer believes il to be entitled, the neces-
y sites of the farmer will generally govern
him in sellingSat = grade below what he hon
estly believes he should receive. We may
perhaps be pardoned for here suggesting that
a remedy exists for this in the creation OF
Z some tribunal to whom this matter might be
referred Pending the appeal. the wheat TO
be received by the elevator, q ticket stating
date OF receipt, number Of bushels, etc, to
be given to the seller. Sample to be carried
before the board of appeals whose judgment
TO be final, aud 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-
q LGttl WiIU ours IN LulS mdtteI, huu Iuht any
action taken BY Dakota, looking to more
fully protecting and fostering the various in
terests involved herein, ought TO be In line
with that of our neighbor.
DoCKAGE.
e One prolific source of complaint, and in
X our Judgment a just one, is the prevailing
practice of docking wheat some number OF
pounds to the bushel for dirt We fouhdt the
practice to be general. At some elevators an
arbitrary rule was enforced, to dock two
e D-Aa
cleaned or uncleaned We saw at one ele-
vator some 8 600 bushels of No. ] hard wheat
that had been Steamed by the farmer by three
times running IL through a tanning mill Yet
two pounds per bushel had beer locked for
dirt We characterized this as q swtndles No
doubt most of the wheat offered for sale is
nncleaned, bat no arbitrary rule should AZ
the amount of dockage. We saw wheat at
various 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 70 provide against I'M
reasonable dockage by adopting and publish
ing in our Rules for 1884" the following
provisions:
3 Note BIO arbitrary rule OF dockage shall
4 prevail, nor shall clean wheat be docked at all.
Wheat not cleaned. otherwise nc for any psrtic-
ulgr grade, NAV be locked the proper amount to
brng 1t TO grade, but the proper grade must In
all cases be given when locked for that purpose.
IL would seem that this difficulty could in q
EANAtA tN~AA w WV ~ NNS A"A y
would clean their grain before marketing .
EVILS OF MIXING.
We have heard a great complaint In rela-
ton to mixing grades. We have no remedy
to suggest for this evil 1t would seem that
the purchaser had a perfect right to do as he
pleased with his wheat. mix it or not Yet
it is a fact that the value in the great marts
of the world Of our better grades of wheat
has been seriously injured By reason of this
practice Wheat usually lcses its identity
when elevated, and a lot of No. / hard wheat
that would so grade in any market In the
world, may be mixedin the bin Of the eleva-
tor with an inferior grade, and shipped to
Minneapolis or Duluth as No. 1 hard It
may pass inspection as such ii there happens
to be n strong demand and short supply at
the tiIae, but the chances are that onfts arrt-
val at Chicago or Buffalo it will be graded
down. The ~onseqnen directly Ia, that
buyers are instructed 10 be more rigid in
grading, or to drop the price a cent or two
per bnshel Indirectly an injury is lone by
creating an impression that little, II 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, IL
he has any large quantity to sl.p. do SO
through the nearest elevator, because of the
convenience of handling II, as has been
charged, tic elevator agent mixes the
farmers No. i hard wheat with a. inferior
grade, the cars will convey to the distant
market wheat that will not be, up TO grade,
and the farmer win be woefully disappointed
in the returns of his shipment. IL has proved
very dtiifcnlt TO trace an offense of the nature
specified, for the reason given above-L o.,
wheat loses its identity when elevated
We are OF opinion that II IL be true that
this crime has been committed land we con-
slider nc q crime, indeed,J the perpetrators
should be punished to the full extent OF the
law; and we believe Messrs Pillsbury a Hurl-
but, George W. Van Dusen a Co. the Northern
Pacific Elevator company, Massra 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
Of any agents OF theirs who should so attempt
to cheat the farmers. -
1t appearst TO us that a free, open market
IL a 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 priv
lsge u shipping his grain directly to sIy
ont he desires, without unnecessary delay,
at the same rete per car load paid by owners
and proprietors Of elevators: cars to b. fur
nished and facilities afforded for loading on
the side tracks of the railroads, when prac-
ticable, or through the elevators. as the ship
per may choose, at a reasonable charge for
eieyating, with proper safeguards against
mixing the grain After this the great law
OF supply and demand will regulate the
whole subject better than allthe statutes pos
sibie To enact
; RECEIPTS AND
We have the honor 20 submit. in conncc-
ton herewith. tebulated statements OF the
receipts and shipments of wheat nc the DIFF
terent railroad stations in Dakota. together
with the numbe and capacity OF the eleya-
tors Our total elevator capacity is $780,
900 bushels. Our total shipments through
public elevators and warehouses were H.
l87 $40 bushels. as follows:
Pilishury d Huribut. on 81. p, NJ.
n p Elevator Co. on 81. j. III. Ii M. SsI.s29
n. y Elevator Co. on N p. road 80, 2,OOl.2g5
Prait ~ Go. and others, on line @, M
~ 81 .s..... 2,3sS.712
GegTge w Nsn Dusen Il Co, on lines
ofC. A N. g24.OD0
Other purchasers on lines Of CO NV 1870. s22
On hnesc.. 81 p, M o.. ....... I6O,sO3
Total l1.397.9I9
Reeves and other buyers, Including
the Grandin Elevator Co, and indi- rREas
vdual shippers on Manitoba road. 1910 700
~ -
Total shipments by railroad ~ PCS. 62s
TO the above add the large amount
purchased by the Touring mills d.
rect from the farmer. amounting in
the aggregate 90, q s5a. 600
add also tne seed wheat retained in
the hands OF the farmers necessary
70 seed the ]. 500, 900 acres in wheat
this year, at one bushel ana a peck
per acre ...-.....a".......... 2,0O0. 900
-
Olives a grand total Of. ..~a.. rs, 126, 62s
The capacity OF Dakota Touring mills n
1850 barrelsa day, using 26.400 bushels OF