Morris tribune., 1891-07-01
THE WHEAT INVESTIGATION.
An Adjournment to be Taken Until
January.

An Adjournment to BE Taken Until
January.
ST. PAUL. June 24.-In the wheat in
vestigation, the experts appointed to
investigate the books of the elevator
companies at Duluth were ready with
| their report. 1t stated that $780, ,095
bushels Of wheat We're shipped of which
there is no record so far as the experts
were able to ascertain. The experts will
testify in explanation of the report, and
Mr.. Severance said last night that they
would show that of the shortage of
279, ,095 bushels 200, Geo was the burnt
wheat shipped out without inspection
| by permission of the state board. The
remaining T. ,G95 bushels shortage would
be nearly, if not quite, explained away
! by showing clerical errors and other
mistakes in the records.
Explaining the Shortage.
ST. PAUL. June 25-The first question
| decided by the wheat Investigating COM
mittee was as to how much pay should
! be allowed Attorney Irwin. 1t was
| finally decided to allow him $400 This
question settled, Eric Olson and Mueller,
and their paper, The State, came in for
a roast. A resolution condemning an
article written by Olson, which recently
appeared in the newspaper The State, |
was adopted, chaIacterizing the article
as dirty and scurrilous.
| In the afternoon the committee turned
| to the statement submitted by the ex-
perts who have been at work at Duluth
examining the books of the elevators.
The figures show that 9,095 bushels
have been shipped out without inspec-
| ton, but the claim of the defense is
! that 2G0, eco bushels of that amount |
consists of the bin burnt wheat shippe
out with tie permission of the grain |
| commissioner, and the remaining 49, ,095 |
bushels can be accounted fer in salts |
factory manner. hir. Erwin urged that |
the elevator men be asked to produce |
their private books for examination. |
Mr.. Severance asked that the defense |
be allowed to proceed with its case at
| once. Assistant Attorney General !
Childs said if it was necessary to call |
for the books he would do so The COM
mittee decided to hear the case of the
defense first.
Mr.. Severance wished to cross-exam-
Inc expert Willis. so the latter took the |
stand. The witness said that in check
ing the books he had not searched for an
explanation for any apparent discrep- |
ancy, bat merely copied the books and |
presented what was shown on them. |
Item after item in these statements was |
examined, and in many cases where no !
| inspection was reported an explanation |
was found. In one case some $4,000 |
bushels were reported having been ship |
ped on the wrong vessel. These ex- |
plantations cover nearly all the 10000 |
bushels Of grain shipped without inspec-
ton, aside from that which was bin |
burnt.
Comparing Schedules.
ST. PAUL, June 36.-Session spent in |
comparing the schedules, with Expert |
Willet on the stand.
ST. PAUL, June 27.-For once the |
wheat committee started on its labors
without row between the attorneys. |
The items made by the experts were
gone over and the discrepancies taken
up one by one. It was very routine |
work and Mr.. Irwin soon wearied Of it |
and asked if the committee was to spend |
the entire day in going over these sched-
ules, searching for few errors supposed |
to be inexcusable to experts, but were
all right under the circumstances under
which the old clerks Ia pJI Cd. -----. !
Mr.. Severance objected to shutting off |
the examination, and said he proposed |
7 TO show that whele pages of falsifed |
records were su ubnaltted in the old sched- |
ule and also that the old clerks had ac-
| cess to the inspection books, notwith-
standing their statement that they had |
been unable to see the out-inspection |
books.
The war was on again. Mr.. Sevatson
! said he considered Mr.. Irwin's request |
| the most reasonable one yet made, but |
in order to Justify Mr.. Olson in
| his charges that the clerks Of
mt al
| to Duluth to fix up the books in the in
terest of the elevator companies, he
| should insist on going over all the sched- |
ules, although it was nonsense and a
! farce from beginning to end.
Mr.. Smith was warmed ND by this
time and said: II am tired of this use
| less wrangie Of attorneys. We wasted
80 per cent. of our time Thursday in
listening to these disputes, and think
| it is time we went on with the investi- |
cation.
The arguments were choked off and
| the investigation went on, showing how
cars of coal were put down by the old
| clerks as wheat shipped without inspec-
ton, and how bags of screenings shipped
| from the Imperial mills were chalked
down as wheat surreptitiously shipped
from the elevators.
| To Adjourn Until January.
| ST. PAUL, June 29.-The tedious pro-
ceedings Of the wheat investigation
committee are drawing to close, at
least for the present. When the COM
mittee met Witness Edward McManus
was recalled, and the examination con-
tinued on the same lines as Saturday, in
an effort TO break down the statements
contained in the old house schedules.
| Nothing sensational was developed, al
though discrepancies of greater or lesser
| Importance were discovered. After the
noon adjournment a short executive
session was held, at which the commit
tee decided to adjourn until the first
Tuesday i'll January, 1892, as soon as all
the evidence regarding the Duluth ele-
vators has been taken.
The sessions will be resumed on that
date, and any and all complaints
/ against other terminal wheat-shipping
/ points. notably ST. Paul and Minneapo-
! lis, will be heard. A subpoena was is
sued for Depot Agent Thomas, of the
| Northern Pacific at Duluth, requiring
him to bring the shipping books for
| September and October of the present
year, also all switching slips and differ
ent railroads interchanging switching
| slips The subpoena was issued at the
request of Attorney Erwin.
Russia's Population 11q, 600, GOO.
ST. PETERSBURG, June 3G.-The Cen
tral Statistical society, of ST. Peters
burg announces that in December last
the inhabitants of the empire numbered
10000, 900, an annual increase of /, $780,
900. In the cities and large towns of
Russia an annual average of five times
as many illegitimate children are born
as is the case in the rural districts of
the country.
| Triple Alliance Renewed.
4 HAMBURG, June S0.-The kaiser, con-
versing with Herr Nissif. chairman of
the Hamburg American Steamship com.
pany, stated that the triple aiiia-1-
kaaa PROLONGED s---'-' snad
----ss 80 4or SIX years.
NONE LEFT ALIVE.
Grew OF a New Jersey Switch Engine