The great West. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1889-18??, 1889-11-22
Revelations!
EXPOSURE
Of the Ring
The Cause Of the Pope COun-
ty Conflict Comes to the
Surface.

a statement in the Chicago Tribune
OF the financial standing of a COM
pany in London called the Chicago
& Northwest Granaries Company"
the basis of operations Of which was
at Minneapolis. Here, we said, is at
last discovered definite proof of the
vast elevator combine! For two
years, in Central Minnesota, we had
been stating the fact of such COM
bine, and carrying on the most bitter
fight ever known in the newspaper
history of the state. 1t was con-
flict in which to crush us, the local
gang, set on by the local secret agent
of the foreign combination. and his
political co-conspirators, used every
means to crush us which money and
hatred could suggest. They even
summoned the Attorney General of
the state to their aid. Clapp came to
their rescue, and pronounced against
one of the cleanest and plainest laws
on the statute books, after he had
declared the position ridiculous, to
accommodate a dirty band of petty
politicians and drunken swashbuck-
lers-a set of men whose chief amhi-
ton was to be illustrated in the Po-
lice Gazette in iron wristlets-in fact,
to stand by the notorious Joe Pea
cock!
We found in that county a differ
ence in the price Of wheat OF from %
to 27c.-12O miles from Minneapolis
and nothing under heaven or over
earth could move the commission to
investigate it. We found thefarmers
totally denied a grade of No. 1 hard
in northern hard wheat county.
We found a county paying enough
interest on a railway bonus, every
Saturday night, to run the branch
railway! We found a county with
only ten thousand inhabitants and
not even a moderately rich man
among them, whose pro-rata railway
"bondage" amounted to just about
$3,OOO,OOO.
-' The paid tool Of the foreign cor
poration was deep and silent fellow,
but he stirred up every evil element
in the county to down the work.
Alliance work was slow. Some low
lived, worthless robbers were found
among the farmers. But we would
not give up the battle. Though put
on the track of the existence of the
combine by the mayor of a wealthy
eastern city-who owned an elevator
system and mills-and though told
that the combine employed agents in
every county seat in the northwest,
and though the local agent was
known to us, yet there were no proofs
which could be taken into court on
an action for libel. The farmers in
Pope County know that we claim to
be able to spot the man who had
sold us out over and over again,
and that the time when the facts
would permit us to make revelations
with safety would surely come. On
noting the article in the Chicago
Tribune, copy of the London Fl
nancial Times in which the monetary
statement appeared, was sent for
and certain other papers. But none
OF these papers were received until
within the last few days, and the
London paper has not yet turned up.
Much to our surprise, two or three
daily papers have published the
statement as in the Tribune. The
Minneapolis elevator system will see
to it that no more dirt is thrown
in the air on that subject-if it
has not forgotten it's cunning.
The facts are these:
There has been vast organization
stretching over Minnesota and Da-
kota, and covering Manitoba, to
buy wheat. 1t had built elevators
and owned mills. The Chicago &
Northwest Granaries Co.," of Lon
don, was one branch of organization,
working with at least two others,
and all working with the Mime
apolis Millers' Association and Eleva-
tor system, and with the recognition
OF the political gangs. These power
ful combinations not only possessed
the power to set the price of wheat,
but to control the railroads, and
prevent Others from entering the