The Washburn leader. [volume] (Washburn, McLean County, N.D.) 1890-1986, 1891-08-29
Volume 2.
The Pending Problem.

sociation, who by the way, is one of the
big elevator men of the state as we'll as a
miller, let the cat out of the bag today in
regard to the purposes of the elevator
companies. He said:
"There'll not be public elevator in
North Dakota this year. That fact is set.
tied as firmly as the rock Of Gibraltar. Now
there is a pointer for your Farmers Alli-
ance demagogue to work on. sI'm sick
and disgusted with the way this thing has
been managed. I'm ready to stake my
reputation rs a judge of human nature
that the North Dakota railway commits
sioners didn't want any public warehouses
in the first place and if they did they cared
good deal more about feathering their
own nests than they did benefit the farmer.
''Now, I live in this state. My property,
every cent of it, is here. My friends-po-
litical, social and business-are here and
want to stay here. Its good place for
a man with a little money and lots of push,
but the railroad commissioners might Us
we'll have confscated my property as to
adopt those brigand rules for the running
of mans private business-but then all
any more:
'If buy ore Or potatoes or buffalo bones
to be shipped East they call me entorpris-
ing citizen. If buy wheat, the only great
staple of the state, the legislature puts me
down as a robber, and the railroad COM
mission sets itself up as my guardian and
guardian of every man who has bushel
of wheat to sell to see that VIC don't cheat
ourselves or each other" BY this time
Mr.. Country Miller was ready to go into
the Details and he drew from his pocket d;
wallet full of notes and printed abstracts.
''What did the railroad commission want
that you elevator men get so hCffy about?"
your correspondent asked. "Well, in the
first place they submitted set of rules to
us as long as the moral law, as intricate as
the Davis will case and as impossible to
carry out as to make MOL hard out of
more than that, we were anxious to get
along without any split with the commits
sion. The last thing we wanted was q
row, and personally, would have been
glad to have given the commissioners the
best of it all along if they hadn't piled it
on too thick. ''Why, we agreed to let tho
commissioners fix the price of wheat
Think of it! It seems Incredible but we
saw how we might manage to get along,
and rather than have fuss we said we'd
agree to it. "Holding in his hand hand
bill-shipped document, he read from the
rules submitted:
Rule 19. Warehousemen shall keep post
ed up i'll conspicuous place in each ware
house or elevator each days prices of grain
at Minneapolis and Duluth, the freight
charges from the elevator to those points,
and to which shall be added cents per
bushel for all costs of handling the same,
which, when deducted from the Mime
apolis and Duluth prices will be the net
price the seller will be entitled for his grain
at the elevator for that day.
''That gives you an idea of what they
wanted and we were so anxious to avoid
anything to start cry against the eleva
tors-our business has been hurt enough
already by the demagogues-that after
modifying the rule little we were willing
to let that go. We agreed to give the fig
ures to the commissioners and take cents
for handlong the grain, guarantee its weight
guarantee the grade, and stand any dockage
that might arise. "Here is another rule
that beats the Dutch but we are ready to
acquiesce even to its exactions.
Every warehouseman doing business as
public warehouseman, shall cause to be
kept i'll each and every warehouse or eleva-
tor under his charge, blank book proper
ly ruled, which shall be designated "Wheat
Register" in which shall be entered in ink:
First-Date of receipt of any grain.
Second-From whom such grain is re-
ceived. Third-The grade.
FOurth-The gross weight.
fifth-The weight of dockage for dirt.
Sixth-The net weight of grain when
docked. Seventh-The price paid per
bushel. Eight-A, column for remarks;
''stored" if stored, "purchased" if purchas-
ed, appealed" if appealed from decisionof
warehousoman, Or an other remarks that
may be pertienent to the subject.
Think of any other line of business held
down to such exactions. How long would
hard working man or grocer submit to
being dictated to in this manner, and mind
you, the elevators have no privileges that
are not given to any other line of trade.
We have no franchise, get no big business,
and if it was not for our houses the farmer
would be as bad off as man in maple
sugar camp without boiling kettle.
But here is the last straw that broke the
camel's back:
The warehouseman of each warehouse or
elevator, shall, at the close of each business
day, make out detailed report upon
blanks furnished by the commissioners of
railroads), showing the gross number of
bushels of grain of the several grades re-
ceiyed during the day the number of bush
els of dockage on same, the price paid per
bushel on same, and if any cars have been
shipped out, the number and initial of each
car, the number of bushels in each car and
the grade of grain therein; to whom and
to what point consigned, which report shall
& ho certified to as being correct, and duly