St. Paul daily globe., 1889-01-13
MIXING GRADES OF WHEAT
An Important Case Before the Ware
house Commission.
UNREGISTERED ELEVATORS
Refusal of an Inspector to Allow an
Examination of a Car Load OF
Cereals.

Complaints have been made to the
railroad and warehouse commission
concerning the mixing of grades of
wheat in the elevators at Minneapolis
and st. Paul. None of the companies
running these elevators have registered
themselves this. year under the grain
laws, preferring to run the elevators as
private concerns. The commissioners
are thereby unable to get at
the whole truth of these complaints,
though Gen. Becker has expressed
the determination that something
must be done to solve the problem.
Either" he says, 1.-The spirit of the
provisions of the grain laws must be en-
forced or these laws must be repealed"
Meanwhile case of importance to
grain dealers. raising the question of
mixing wheat grades comes up from
Duluth in an appeal of MeSsrS. Spencer
& Co. This firm. in letter to the COM
mission. dated Dec. %. 1888, appealed
against the decision of Chief Deputy
Shelly, of Duluth, refusing to inspect
A CAR OF WHEAT.
They wrote:
We have on the track car Of wheat,
namely, Northern Pacific car No. 94,5O3,
which your chief deputy refuses to inspect
On the ground that two grades of wheat have
been mixed together. We hereby demand Of
your honorable body that you give the
necessary instructions to have the car in
Spected on its merits, without regard to the
past history of the wheat. We claim that
we are entitled to inspection of this wheat
without any reference to point of shipment,
and would call your attention to the fact that
wheat shipped out of the elevators at Mime
apolis, which are not public elevators, has
been and is inspected under the state law,
and we see Io reason why wheat shipped out
of public elevators, operated under the state
sideration as private elevators.
The commissioners in their decision
say that the claim made by this appeal
is that under the state law public ele-
vator cannot refuse to receive wheat
that is warehousabie, and that wheat
going into the public elevator must be
inspected. The appeal requests that
this grain be inspected on its merits
without regard to
ITS PAST HISTORY.
Notwithstanding this claim and this
request, the commission has considered
it to be its duty to ascertain the grounds
upon which the chief deputy at Duluth
based his refusal to inspect this car of
grain. The facts are not disputed.
Elevator "E'' at Duluth. belonging to
the Lake Superior Elevator company. is
public warehouse, licensed as such
under the laws of this state. The ap-
pellants. having wheat in store in this
public warehouse, where the grain is
stored in bulk and in which the grain of
different owners is mixed together, but
where all grades are kept separate from
nanh nfhnr 6iraofnd <hn nlnu0fnr
pany to deliver them in the car named,
45O bushels of No. l hard wheat, and
$50 bushels of No. 1 northern wheat,
both grades of grain being run at the
same time. by means of Spouts arranged
for this purpose, so that when the car
car was loaded the two grades of wheat
were thoroughly mixed. The chief
deputy inspector at Duluth was asked
to inspect the mixture, for the purpose
Of having it returned to the same ele-
vator and place according to its grade
with the wheat of other owners.
THE OFFICER DECLINED.
Section of the warehouse and grain
law provides that in public elevators
grain warehoused must be stored with
grain of similar grade, and in no case
shall there be mixing of grades. Sec
ton IA further provides thatsit shall not
be lawful for any public Wrrehouseman
to mix any grain of different grades,
either for the purpose OF storing or
delivering the same.
Therefore the commissioners declare
that the decision of Chief Deputy In
spector Shelly was correct. and is af-
firmed. To authorize and consent to
the return of this wheat to the eleva-
tors would be an injury to every other
owner of grain in the warehouses;
it would break down all safe
guards which the law has
thrown around this subject, and
subject the elevator company to an ac-
ton for damages on the part of the other
owners of grain. This is an attempt to
avoid the provisions of the law prevent
ing mixing while in store: it has been
run into the car only for the purpose of
mixing the same, and the state inspec-
ton force cannot be used for the pur-
pose of such evasion. or subterfuge.
The grain had the benefit of one in
spectiOn, was removed from store for
an unlawful purpose and is not entitled
to any consideration from those whose
duty it is to administer the law"