St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1891-07-02
To-Day's Session Closes the
Wheat Investigation for
This Year.
The Tall Pine Makes It Inter-
esting for EX- Commission
er Murdoch.
Grain Growers Claim That
They Have Made Out a
Strong Case,
And That the Inspection De-
partment and Elevators
Are DiScredited.

1uG SDSCldl llelL iaS OSSAi
laboring over the methods employed by
the grain inspection department of the
state, will pause in their work to-day.
They will adjourn over tonight until
January, and no report will be made
until another meeting can be
had. The Democratic and the
Alliance members of the committee
are determined that there shall
be no whiteW ASKING. Stenographic
reports have been taken of all the tes-
timony, and these will be reduced to
lOnghand for the use of the committee
men in their deliberations over the final
report. 1t seems perfectly safe to pre-
dict that this report will prove spicy
reading. As a member related last
night at the Clarendon:
We have shown that the fragrant irregular
tiles complained OF really existed. neat
has been shipped ont without Inspection,
and No. 1 northern has been shipped as
screenings Through a shrewd system OF
manipulations wheat has been passed
through transitions stages of inspection and
graded up, and graded up, until somebody
has realized important profits at the expense
of the grower Many of these circumstances
are very suspicious, and the ugly features
can not be explained away. Then
there were those shortages. They seemed
to be regular occurrence. ana II VIII De
difficult to convince the farmers that there
were DureIy fortuitous. When such things
become the regular order one is lead to be.
lieVe that it is Intentional on the part OF
those who are profted by the occurrences.
Mr. Clausen has had deal TO say about
oats reducing the grade Of wheat. Inc
wheat is hard all right, but the oats reduce
the weight, and the wheat is taken into the
elevator al low grade. The oats are taken
ont and the wheat becomes stralghIWay NO
/ hard. Yet these same oats are worth just
as much as the wheat per pound Mhere Is
the justice of such systems"
) 5. Murdoch was on the stand all yester-
day He was subjected to a most rigid
cross examination by Mr.; Erwin Inc VIII
ness it will be remembered, had been mem
Der of the railroad and warehouse commits
sion in 1861 and it was relative to the
practices in vogue during his ONCE tnat ne
was questioned. Mr.. Erwin's questions were
often caustc, and now and then grew Ora
matte as they referred to certain prac-
tees that had been explained by
Mr.. ClauSen in raising the grace
of wheat. Wheat was received at
an elevator and graded on the judgment of
somewhere else and another inspector Judg-
ment was that it should be graded NO. =
Finally another inspector 1moued with
liberal ideas concerning such things passes
Judgment and this same wheat becomes no.
Northern Mr.. Erwin suggested that 1t Is
sometimes very profitable 10
Secure the Aid
OF a flexible system of inspection that Will
keep adding four per cent or so 10 the VaIue
of a bushel of wheat.
MI. Clausen interposed question at this
juncture.
'Whv do the different courts give different
decisions upon the same caseF' ne asked
with unction.
Instantly Mr.. Erwin returned that it was
because of the same system of influences that
raised the grades of wheat.
Mr. Erwin wanted to find out through Mr..
Murdock whether the commission had given
C. II. Graves permission to move 5000 or
more bushels of wheat from an elevator
without inspection in June OF lSSb. mr.. Ell
win had the records of the proceedings OF
the commission. They exhibited the fact
that Mr.. Graves had made application for
such permission, but they failed TO relate
whether or not il was granted.
Mr.. Murdoch replied that the commission
had big press of business during ina! montn
and he could not recall what disposition had
been made of the application. He confessed
that deal of business had actually been
transacted that was never spread upon the
records To Mr.. Erwin this condition APP
peared somewhat lax. An important state
board, administering the affairs of the peeo-
pie. should keep complete record OF It's do
ingS.
AIR. Erwin's attempts to elicit pertinent in
formation from the witness were generaily
thwarted by the defective memory OF the
witness.
Il cannot answer that question:, became
the stereotyped reply.
Mr. Murdoch said he believed that the
owners of the warehouse receipts were 1g-
norant OF that bin of burnt wheat Had they
been cogniZant of the condition, the object
would have been defeated. He insisted, how
ever that he believed the action taken was
wholly in the interest of the grain trade or
the Northwest. He and the chief grain IN
spectOr visited Chicago, Buffalo. Montreal
and New York in quest of information. They
met with many inquiries concerning the
grading of frosted wheat They found the
trade in the Eastern cities had prejudice
against such wheat
MIR. Clausen asked the witness relative to
the rights of reinspection. and the answer
was that witness believed that the owner of
wheat should be given Inspection privileges
as often as he asked.
After an exhaustive cross-eXamination by
Senator Smith about the practices OF rein
speeding wheat, Mr.. Erwin drew realistic
picture of a gigantic combine with the Liver
pool and London mlllerS and speculat-
ors. ocean steamship systems and the
Pillsburvs and the elevator men as
the principals, and asked Mr.. Murdocks
opinion upon such state of affairs The
witness qualified that il all this was true 1t is
wrong.
Schedules of the prices of wheat at Duluth
the mast seven wears, as shown in the report
of the board Of trade of that city, were in
troduced These showed that the prices
were al the lowest ebb when the shipments
were being conducted without inspection
for the good of the grain trade, and the
opinion of several of the grain growers asSO
citation thereto is that these shipments had
no healthy effect O the market Instead of
a rise in the market ii was lower