St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1891-05-22
HIS MEMORY A BLANK
The Wheat Investigation Com
mittee Entertained by a
Witness.
Swan Hanson Has Forgotten
Everything He Once
Knew.
At All Events He Will Not
Squeal to Please His EN-
ployeps' Enemies.
Inspector Shelley Talks About
the Non-Inspection Of
Wheat.

hO DuluIIl W Qcdl
committee opened their session yester-
day morning by placing John Shelley.
chief deputy at Minneapolis. upon the
stand. Mr.. Shelley, prior to Aug. 1,
1889, was chief deputy inspector at Du-
luth.
Now, Mr.. Shelley, in cases where
wheat was received at Duluth and des-
tined for other points, was that wheat
always inspected before it was shipped
over other lines of road?" queried Mr..
Childs.
Yes, sir" replied Shelley.
This statement was not in line with
Mr.. Cross testimony of yesterday, that
gentleman having sworn that ne knew
of cases where cars Mere not inspected
in transit.
Now do you know, Mr.. Shelley, of
many instances of grain being loaded
out at night without inSpection?''
1T was i'll the spring and summer of
1856. | do not know the number of the
cars or the precise time of night, but l
know that such state of things existed
from personal observation. 1t was
damaged grain, however"
''HOw do you know it was damaged
grain" questioned Mr.. Childs.
Because | saw some of it. Mr..
Ripley also told me it was damaged,
and said to me that the intention was to
get the wheat out of the country with
out the knowledge of the trade"
Ibid you understand that that was an
honorable and right way to do bust
neSs?"
Yes, SIR" was the emphatic reply.
Il don't know what authority the in
Spector had to order this wheat out with
out inspection. 1t made deficit in the
amount of grain in the elevator, but
Burdick said they did not want the pub
lie to know anything about it,
"Do you know whether the wheat
which was shipped out at. night was
wheat which had been received before
or after the law went into effect, Aug.
l, 1882"
after. have frequently been in the
elevators when wheat was unloaded
from cars, and think that the work was
done carefully and the cars well swept"
Have you ever heard of vessels be-
ing loaded at night without inspec-
tion?"
Yes, sir; in SO. The understanding
was that the grain was to be shipped
out at any time to get it out of the
country"
.'Oh, you had an understanding, then.
with some one. With whom. pray?'
remarked Nj. Childs, returning to the
charge.
with Mr.. Ripley. The law required
inspection, but at the time there was
something like 100000 bushels of dam
aged wheat in Elevators E. and +. Had
that fact been known in the country
it would have created panic. l think
there was some understanding between
the elevator people and the grain and
warehouse commission, but L am not
prepared to say"
Swan Hanson was before the commit
tee during the. afternoon. He has been
employed by the elevator company
since 1884, first as an assistant weIgher
and latterly as an assistant foreman.
The memory of the witness was terribly
defective, or at least he. would have the
committee believe so. He remembered
nothing respecting the non-inSpection
working overtime eaily i'll the spring
1t occurred IN this way: One evening
at o'clock the foreman requested him
to return at 10 o'clock. He did so; and
worked until or 2 O'Clock. He always
received extra pay for overtime. He
did not see the wheat; did not know
whether there was a state weigher or
state inspector; he knew nothing be-
yOnd that a number of cars of wheat
were loaded.
Mr.. Erwin-Would you have been sur
prised if any one had told you that
wheat was being sent out of the eleYa-
tor yard without inspection?
Witness don't know.
The evaSiye answers of the witness
created much amusement, and eventu-
ally the states attorney and Mr.. Erwin
turned him over to Mr.. Severance with
out having gained any satisfactory in-
formation out of him. The cross exam
nation was purely technical. One point
of Importance was that he Inspected the
shipping bins shortly after he went to
work at the elevators and found that
the inside was sheeted with sheet IRON
LouiO AriO once more figured before
the committee. He claimed that the
sheet iron was not putin the bins until
1889, at all events he examined one bin
in June, 1886, and there was no sheet
iron upon it. He spoke to Hanson when
the elevator people were shipping out
wheat at night without inspection, and
asked him if he thought it was an hon
est deal. Hanson replied at the time
that he was not prepared to say.
The committee adjourned at the close
of Ario's testimony until 10 o'clock this
morning. At the close of to-day's ses-
sion they will adjourn for a week to
give the assistant attorney general time
to go ovor the evidence and also the
subcommittee an opportunity to re-
port upon the investigation of the books
of the elevator companies.