St. Paul daily globe., 1891-05-10
The Elevator People Propose
to Turn Tables on the
Wheat Producers.
At a Secret Meeting 1t Is De-
cided Not to Clean Any
More Wheat.
Duluth Elevator Men Also De-
eide Not to Take Out Lii
censeS This Year.
Partial Disclosure Of Defense
to Be Made in the Alleged
Wheat Steals.

1t is going to be war to the knife be-
tween the elevator men and the wheat
producers of the state.
The wheat producers have long and
persistently complained against the ele
yatOr men. whom, they allege, have
bled them at every turn. The stealage.
according to the granger's lament, is al
most beyond the Imagination of man.
Men have fattened and grown enor-
mously rich out of the hardworked,
mortgaged-ridden farmer. Laws have
been pasted to meet the demands of the
agricultural community, investigations
have been held, but still the old cry
goes up: The farmers are being
robbed; the farmers are being robbed" :"
The investigation partially made into
the alleged stealage OF 10000 bushels of
wheat at the Duluth public elevators, is
still fresh in the public mind, and citi-
Zens are anXiously awaiting the out
come of the re-inVestlgatiOnS ordered by
the legislature.
The elevator men are becoming tired
of these accusations against their buSi-
ness probity. which, they declare are
totally uncalled for. and are preparing
There was recently held secret con-
ference of elevator men, when it was
decided to refuse to clean the dirt out OF
wheat shipped them.
If this decision is adhered in. it means
most serious thing to the wheat Sbip-
pers.
There is nothing in the law to COM
pei owners of elevators to clean wheat.
The farmer will be compelled to do this
himself, and he will be considerably
the loser thereby. Few people will
claim that the farmer has been the loser
by having his wheat cleaned at the ele
vator. The machinery used is of the
latest approved style. On the other
hand. the farmers are merely possessed
of the now somewhat primitive tanning
mill. These mills do not clean the
wheat so we'll as the improved ap
paratus at the elevators, and they also
allow considerable wheat to go to waste
much more than the elevator ap-
paratns, where the loss is reduced to
the minimum. And then again, the
work which the farmer will have to put
in cleaning his wheat is no small con-
SideratiOn.
1t will easily be seen that in having
to clean his own wheat, the farmer is
not going to have the best of it. He
cleaned. In that case, if the elevator
people adhere to their decision, the
wheat will be shipped East still un-
cleaned, ana the effect upon the prices
will be sufficient to raise hadeS.
The proposed action on the part of
the elevator officers is likely to be more
severely felt this year than had it oc-
Cured in any of the preceding years,
1887, of course. excepted. If present
prospects are verified, there is going To
be a crop of wheat in this state unpar-
alleled in its history. This means that
there will be more dirt than ever among
the wheat, and the lot of the farmer
will-notwithstandin his good crop
be far from merry one.
Another thing decided upon at the re-
cent conference of the elevator men was
that-at least so far as the Duluth ele-
VatorS were concerned-none of them
will this year be operated as private
elevators. A similar course was taken
two years ago by the Minneapolis eleva-
tors, and the complications arising
therefrom were such that the following
year the elevator men were glad to take
out public license.
That Alleged Wheat Steal.
There is great deal of talk among
grain men respecting the reInveStiga-
ton of the alleged non-inspection of
10000 bushels of wheat at the Duluth
public elevators. A gentleman well up
in all teat is being said regarding this
matter yesterday remarked:
LAS | understand it the Duluth peo-
pie do not deny, or at least will not
heny that these 10000 bushels of wheat
were shipped without inspection. and
they claim their action to be perfectly
legitimate and proper"
'How?"
"Well, in this way: They say that
these 10000 bushels of wheat were over
ages which they had had on hand from
1885. You know that prior to 1885 the
inspection of wheat was done by the
Duluth board of trade at Duluth and
Minneapolis board of trade at Mime
apolis. 1t was purely municipal mat
ter as it were; the state had nothing to
do with it. But IN 1885 the state grain
Inspection board was created. The
law creating that board provided
that all wheat which had gone into the
Elevators under the inspection OF these
boards must be inspected out under the
same auspices. Accordingly, for six
months after the state inspectors were
created the inspectors of the Duluth
and Minneapolis boards of trade were
employed in inspecting grain sent out
OF the various elevators. The claim of
the Duluth people is this: That these
10000 bushels inspected into the ele-
vators by the Duluth board of trade
were not shipped out until 1889. The
state had nothing whatever to do with
the inspection of the grain, and, the in
spect0rs who passed upon it when it
went into the elevators being either
dead or scattered over the face
Of the earth, it was shipped with
out any inspection. The elevator
officials argue that they were perfectly
justified in doing this. l know they are
supported in this claim by some of the
highest legal minds of the state. There
are, however, other legal lights who
hold quite contrary opinion.
But what about labelling the cars
as screenings"
''Why that, suppose, was merely to
get cheaper rate out of the railroad
companies. OF course, it is said that in
addition to these 10000 bushels of wheat
there were 5000 bushels which have
been sent out of Duluth between 1886
and 1889 without being inspected. l dc
not know what answer will be made to
this beyond that the elevator authorities
are quite prepared to meet the charge -
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