St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1892-04-13

| this inyariable agreement on the
part Of the dealers and elevator
/ men that the price at Duluth shall be
the price az Chicago. less freight from
! Duluth TO Chicago. arbtrarily and OF ne
| cesslty fixing price to be paid for wheat
| just 50 much beneath It's actual value
| as the freight rate from Duluth to Chi
! cagO shall be-ths is the combine.
This agreement 10 base the market at
Minneapolis upon the market at Chi
cagO offers an inducement for all the
transportation lines running from Min
neapOlis to Chicago Ia most heartily
| cooperate with the combine or
dealers and elevator men to maintain
that price, or. If it be possible. that the
railroad and transportation lines fix the
! price, then all the dealers and elevator
men at Duluth acquiesce in the price
fixed by the roads. IL IS TO be regretted
that this Investigation has not been ex-
! tended TO such an extent as TO determine
whether the railroads and trahsporta-
! ton companies compel this price 10 be
! fixed upon the price Of wheat at Chca-
/ 20. or whether the railroads simply ac-
| quiesce in such price as fixed by
the dealers and elevator men; but that
both the road and the elevator men are
actively engaged in the main tenance OF
this list price, which is simply the
price of wheat in Chicago less freight
from Minneapolis TO Chicago, is fully
sustained bv the testimony taken before
the committee.
If this combine did not exist, or IL this
combine did not fix the price npon the
! Chicago market. or, IN other words, III
the dealers in wheat in Minnesota and
the Northwest carried on their bus
mess under natural laws and
]
supply and demand, then it would fol-
low as sure as fate that Duluth would
give price equal 10 Chicago, which
would be a realization TO the producer
OF Minnesota aud the Northwest of ii
! price equal to that paid at Chicago.
The entire elevator and shipper inter
est OF Minnesota and the Northwest ia
operated now upon the arbitrary fiction
Of the Chicago market. That this is
done In the presence or 03,OOO,OUO
bushels of wheat and IN favor
Of 2l.000.O00 is the strongest proof
of the existence OF combine.
That it is not opposed by the railroad
lines running TO Duluth Is entire proof
of their cooperation. That there is no
power in the business circles, which,
| emlnating through the boards OF trade,
the transportation lines. or from what
| ever source engaged in the wheat traffic
i'm Minnesota and the Northwest which
confrOnts the desDotism of this forced
condition Of the market, is the highest
proof to my mind of the existence
Of the most tremendous combine that
was ever known in the history or
the world, and that this can exist only
by virtue OF an unnatural law Is an
other proof of conspiracy; for, III the
absence Of a conspiracy, Gods natural
| l.. tal
who reads the testimony can fail to see
that this condition is brought about by
n conspiracy, surely reflected in the care
with which the elevator companies and
all the dealers, and even the lines OF
Transportation, have exercised 10
maintain the price list promulgated
| by Frank IL. Irons. That the en-
tire business of the n orthwest j.
transacted under this price list, as pro-
mulgated by Frank ii. Irons, the agent
OF all the elevator companies, is Vlvldly
described III the testimony OF Mr.. Tiles
ten, portion of which l here quote.
Mr.. TileSten was miller residing at St.
Cloud, and engaged in the purchase OF
wheat at that point. His credibility can
not be successfully impeached and his
testimony is of the highest authority
before the committee.
The Scott story.
The discovery of Frank IL. Irons. as
agent of the combine. was made in the
testimony of ). 5. Scott, who was en-
poyed by the Grain Growers assocla-
ton as a detective to ascertain what
part MIR. Irons playel in fixing the
price of wheat in Minnesota. l quote
from his testimony as follows:
Question. by Mr.. Erwin Do you know
| ANYTHING Mr. Scott. about combination for
i the purpose of depressing the price OF wheat
in this state? Answer. understand there is
such thing q. Have you been SO IN
formed! Ans. Yes, sir. q. By whom!
! Ans BY a Young man by the name OF Rob
ert |. Irons. q. Who is he, and where does
he resideY Ans. He is son of Frank ii.
| Irons Room II, Chamber of Commerce, Min
neapolis. q. What did you learn from
Mr. Irons on this subject? Ans. |
| learned that his father made the prices for
the elevator companies and private buyers
throughout the entire Northwest, notifying
them what they should pay Tor wheat. q.
What is his fathers name! Ans Frank Il.
Irons. @. Well. did Mr.. Irons say anything
further to you about it? Ans. | told him
did not see how it was that his father could
have full sway l thought there should be
committee Iasked him if there was not a
committee TO instruct his father TO make
these prices. Well he said there was 4 com
mittee but the old man would do what he had
mind TO, regardless of the committee. q.
Go on. Ans. | asked who this committee
was He gave me number of names that
cannot call TO mind. | can remember the
name OF one. Q. Give his name Ans.
Chambers, agent of the Northwestern Ele-
vator company, Minneapolis, Mimi. @.
What more did he say TO you II anything!
Ans. | asked him how he notified these peo-
pie of the change of prices He said
he notified the elevator companies
each compuny-of the reduction or the
advance in price and instructed them
how they should notify their people. by
all lnn ,afrlNf
be, and that they themselves notified the
private buyers by postal card. said, YOU
notify the private buyers also. lie SAID they
were notified. | said l thought almost all
these private buyers were controlled by the
farming element throughout the country as
to what price they should put the grain to.
He said that he did not know, that it
might have started that way, or some
thing TO that effect; but these
elevator companies if they did not
come to their terms and pay the price that
they told them 10 pay, they would advance
the price of grain to such all extent that
they could not buy on reasonable margin
and make any money at IT, And turther-
more, he stated that in consideration OF
certain sum of money paid to these private
buyers by the elevator companies that they
would agree not to take only certain num-
Der of bushels each month, or that they
would buy a number of bushels of grain
and let the elevator companies have
the rest. In other words he says
these buyers think the elevator companies
are giving them money, but he says it is them
giving money TO the elevator companies in
stead Of the elevator company giving money
te the private buyers. q. You understood
that there was pool between the private
buyers and the elevator companies! Ans.
Yes, sir. Q. And they ali agree to stand to
the prices agreed between them and this
agent representing the elevator companies!'
Mr.. Scott in his testimony gave a
partial list of the names of the parties
that belonged to the elevator combine
known to exist throughout the entire
Northwest. He also produced the pos