The Wichita daily eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1890-1906, 1890-12-05
MUST HAVE ELEVATORS.
THE KANSAS CITY ROBBERS GET A
BLACK EYE
A Prominent Grain Dealer of Southern
Kansas Says that Wichita
is the Place.

The Kansas City Times of yesterday con-
tains the declaration that the executive
committee of the Southwestern Freight
association has issued an edict which de
clares that the practice of rebilling west
ern shipments of grain at Kansas City for
! points in Texas and throughout the south
must be abolished. The grain men of
Kansas City say that if the edict of the as
ISOLATION is enforced that Kansas City's
grain business with the south will be de-
stroyed, whereupon the Times bowls and
threatens by turns, forgetting that the so
! called grain dealers of that city have been
rObbing Kansas grain dealers by from six
to ten bushels of each car, and swindling
both dealers and farmers by charging com
missions and mixing of grades. The
Times further says that ''the rebilling priv
ile-es on shipments of Kansas grain to
Texas is a vital point and if the railroads
persist IN the course as mapped out by the
executive committee of the Southwestern
Freight association it will run afoul of one
of the biggest snags it ever struck That
kind of talk is very large, but the question
arises, what economy is it for a Kansas
grain dealer to be compelled to ship his
grain, intended for the Gulf, up TO Kansas
City before it can be started on its south
bound Journey.
In talking of this matter yesterday with
prominent grain dealer of south
ern Kansas, he said that there
were 1900 cars of Kansas grain
l'e-billed, last year. at Kansas City, for the
Texas trade alone. which at coo bushels to
the car would be u, 900, 900 twelve million)
bushels. Kansas City grain merchants
charged three cents per bushel on this lot.
or in the aggregate, 5000 This in adj
dition to the from six to ten bushels an
average per car stolen from the Kansas
shippers makes up nice sum.
The only reason for Kansas grain des-
tined for the gulf, going TO Kansas City.
at all, Is for grading or Classification pur-
poses. The elevator company who are de-
string to open a grain market for Kansas,
at Wichita, do not propose to charge three
cents per bushel as commission, nor any
other sum, nor will they rob each car of
six or ten bushels in the way of cleanings.
They are old grain men and they say that
II is against the elevator itself to make
such charges. Wichita with the right
men and necessary elevator facilities can,
in short meter, establish a grade or claSsi-
ficatiOn which will be as reliable in the
grain markets of the world as that of Kan
sas City, or of any other city
In speaking with the gentleman alluded
to, farther, on this subject, he said that
Wichita is the place for a grain mar
ket, for Kansas, and that he
l. I..,- L
gr eatly in favor Of doing the grain bust
ness here in the future. To use his own
language, ut is tie biggest chance Wich-
ita ever had, is this grain deal. and by her
moving promptly in the matter the rail-
roads will be warranted in standing by
their decision not 10 permit longer the
grain of Kansas TO be shipped from south
ern Kansas to the guilt by the way of Kan
sas City by rebilling; and my guess is that
every bushel of grain in the Arkansas
valley would be worth five cents more TO
the producer should the Santa Fe join in
with the withdrawal of Kansas City-Texas
The way it works now grain leaving
Sumner or Mcpherson. or any
point at which the Kansas City rate is 10
y
miles or more, and is rebilled right back
through Wichita to Texas at the same
A. cent rate as from Kansas City or from
Wichita or Wellington TO the gulf direct.
As the Times admits the new rule, with
proper elevator facilities at Wichita,
would bc "A dead shot TO the Kansas City
grain market" as now conducted and
would make Wichita the grain center.
In other ~ OrdS the railroads would have
to haul a less distance by from two to four
hundred miles for the same money and
Kansas would be doing business 4.
in Kansas and with Kansas men instead 4
Of with and through leaders that have
lowered about and settled down in Mis- /.
souri, ad iaCent to the Kaw's mouth.
The Times saws that another meeting of .
the freight association will be held at St. /
Louis next week. when there will be
lively row if the railroads do not give back .
to Kansas City her rebilling advantages. /
and threatens in the same connection, the T
of some OF the roads from the .
association if she is not reinstated in her .
undue privileges. The probability is that
Kansas City's grain grabbers are not die
atng the operation of the railroads to
he alarming extent OF former years.
All these matters but go to show the .
present opportunity Wichita has Of be
coming the great grain center of Kansas
The gentlemen whom we quoted above
seemed surprised that Wichita hadn't
ettled all the necessary details He said
that should Wichita be pre-
Jared to handle, inspect and grade
uthoritatively the great grain crop of
south Kansas for next year that he would
rot ship one car i'm hundred to any other
market, as he would be here just as close
O the markets Of the world a. at Kansas
'ity with the big difference in his favor of
and stealings" saved.
ANOTHER OF THE EAGLES LADY