davidaulloa/AmericanStories huggingface dataset:
St. Paul daily globe., 1892-09-18

when he must have known from these
letters, as well as through his actions as
president of the "Soo' railroad, that the
fault did not lie with the boards of
trade, but was directly traceable to the
millers and elevator men of the North
west,aided and abetted by the railroads.
A direct charge is made against Senator
Washburn that as president OF the
''Soo'' railroad he cO-operated with the
elevator men in preventing competition
with the combination. 1t is asserted
that he ordered the general MANAGER,
one Underwood. not to fur
ers. @ and that by this means
competltlon was stifed. The evidence
of one man is given who says that had
this competition been permitted he
could have paid the farmers larger
price for wheat than the combine eleva-
tors were paying and made as much
money in sixty days at selling wheat as
he had made in farming for eight years,
so much less than its real price is being
paid for grain by the members Of this
gigantic association. A fac simile OF
the letter written by Senator WaShburn
is printed and the feelings of the junior
senator from Minnesota are not spared
in this arraignmento of the mOneyed men
of the Northwestern states. A cartoon
shows Senator Washburn's poverty
stricken" million dollar home as com
pared with the ''palatial" mansion of
the farmer. The Pillsburys are car
tooned as robbng with one hand the
farmer and endowing institutions in
their old home in New hampshire and
the University of Chicago and educa-
tional colleges in Minnesota with the
other
St. Paul daily globe., 1892-09-18

and side by side also with his state
ments that his company and all other
companies in the Northwest never, i'll
their most prosperous years, averaged
over Ia per cent profit. The testimony
before the house committee on agri-
culture and the state judiciary commit
tee seems to have been ransacked by
the compilerS of the book, with the re-
suit that they have tangled up G. A.
Pillsbury and shown where he made a
statement in one breath and contra
dicted it in another.4>EI,his testimony in
these tive er:,.''a5'teH meess,essa was
taken, it will be fesseiA oerss., VI die
fight for the passage of the anti
option bill. The examination of Mr..
Pillsbury OIL those occasions brought
out statements which were in substance
that the elevator business and the mill
ing business Of the Northwest were not
profitable, and that the wind-selling on
the boards of trade throughout the
country and option trading were the
direct and only causes which he knew
for the failure of the farmers to get
reasonable price for their wheat.
"a Gigantic Conspiracy" claims in
very elaborate argument that the wind
selling or option trading of the boards
of trade has nothing whatever to do
Will QCCICdSlIg ItlG dIuOunt WHICH the
farmer receives for his wheat, but that
the cause of the poor price for this ce-
real is found in the combination among
the Northwestern elevator men and
millers. 1t is sought to be shown that
not only do the Pillsbury- Washburn
milling interests in the Northwest de-
prive the farmer of fair compensation
for his crops, but that they also rob the
millers OF Indiana. New York, Mary
land, Michigan and other states wher-
ever milling is conducted by using
the best grade of wheat for their own
mills and permitting only the ''skin" or
mixed grades of wheat to go out to other
mills. 1t is claimed that they carry this
fraud to the extent of shipping ''skin''
wheat to Europe, and it is alleged that
the character of the wheat on the Eu-
ropean markets fixes standard price
and that that standard price governs the
price of wheat in the West and North
west, so that the effect is that the farmer
gets for his finest grade of wheat the
price of the cheapest grade. 1t is said
that the European millers cannot COM
St. Paul daily globe., 1892-09-18

party upon the states in which they had
the savage etfrOntery to carry on their
schemes. Next to the startling associa-
tion of President LOucks, of the Farm
erS' Alliance, with the combine which,
it is charged, practically wrecked the
Farmers Alliance Elevator company,
corporation organized by the farmers of
Dakota, to which they sold their wheat
and from which they got price far in
excess of that paid by the trust, the
most sensational charge in the book
deals with Charles A. Pillsbnry, the
millionaire flour king. Early in 1889 III.
F. Arnold. of Larimore. Dak., represent
ing the farmers of his neighbornood and
GrOaning in the Grasp
of the combine, went to PilIsbury for
advice as TO the probable bene-
fit they would reap in building an ele-
vator of their own and selling the wheat
| to him. They were IN sore stress for
| money. For years they had been ground
down by some my sterIous influence of
which they had no knowledge, and it
was their prayer that the ''flour king"
should give them advice on project
which they were confident would help
! them out of their dilemma. The scheme
had to be Squelched in the interest of the
| trust. If it were carried out at Lari-
I more it would be given trial at other
| points, and the result would have proved
| disastrous to the ringsters. Pillsbury
replied that there was no money in the
| elevator business, and that the elevator
| companies had for years been losing
money. Eight weeks previous to writ
1 It,nr ic lott l..
\ OF entirely different character to the
! manager of the American department
of the Credit LyOnnais bank, of Paris.
| France, in which he assured that gentle
man that the elevators had always paid
we'll and that the average of Que of his
| companies for five years had been 80
per cent and the profits of other COM
| panieS had been in some cases 40 and in
other cases so per cent.
| The Proof Positive.
! The book does not assume that the
| trust exists and then seek to show
! how it can be wiped out. but it begins
with the proof of the actual existence
of the combination, and such proof is by
letters written by members of the al
legged combine themselves. This is its
force. and it will necessarily have tre-
! mendous effect on the campaign. 1t
has even been said that it will stir up
the farmers of the Northwest to such an
extent that there may lse scenes enacted
Ill Minnesota and its neighhoring sister
states paralleled by the doings OF the
farmers several years ago, when ..ney
burned elevators Oh the mere suspicion
that the elevator companies were rob-
bing them of a living price for their
grain. The book claims that the proof
presented is the first authentic evidence
OF the combines existence. 1t is
not entirely clear how this proof was
obtained, but that the letters, fac.
SMILES of which are given, were writ
ten by Charles A. Pillsbury, Senator
Washburn, and half a dozen other presi-
St. Paul daily globe., 1892-09-18
LETTER TO THE BANKER.

dents of railroads., elevator companies,
banks, ETC., there is very little doubt.
The letters were mostly written to the
Credit LyOnnais bank. in response to an
inquiry from that bank as to whether or
not the elevator companies of the North
west were paying dividends, if SO how
much. and whether it would be safe to
lend them money for meeting their cur
rent requirements. No little part of the
sensation attending the publication of
the document will be the position of
the bank which wrote for confidential
inside information, obtained the conf
dence of the elevator magnates and mil
lers, and then betrayed it.
At Tremendous Profit.
The book af6rms that the combine has
been paying for several years such low
price for wheat that it can sell it in
Minneapolis and Duluth at a net profit
Of from 1019 to 25 cents per bushel. The
evidence begins with a description of
the Minneapolis Millers' association,
which is alleged to have been the COM
bine UP to 1856. when Its charter eX-
pred This organization, it is shown,
fixed what was known as the list
price" for wheat, and that the twenty
five or thirty elevator companies. each
running from 100 to $50 elevators at
country points, entered into articles Of
agreement by which they agreed not to
pay over the list price. This agree
ment is set forth in the book, and par
ticular attention is directed to two
clauses. The first of these provides that
no offer over the regular lists to be made
for wheat in any case. and no offer is to
be made for wheat before it is delivered
up to the elevators. The second clause
nrOVIdpS that in shall tho n
mum dockage on uSclean wheat be less
than one pound pei bushel The book
says that there are four methods by
which the farmer Is robbed of his wheat.
These four rObberIes are alleged to be
committed at the country elevators, and
are IN addition to other systematic
methods of robbery practiced at the
terminal elevators, and are boldly said
to be by the orders and under the di-
rection of the officers of the elevator
companies.
St. Paul daily globe., 1892-09-18
sTIFLING A COMPETITOR.
The Method Employed to Get Rid
OF Man in the Way.

Probably the strongest evidence in
the book is that furnished by e. C. VOL
colt. 1t seems that in pursuance of it's
plan to stifle competition the trust
bought up Wolcott in Larlmore. OAK,
where he was buying wheat for himself.
A contract was made with him by the
Minnesota and Northern Elevator COM
pany by which it agreed to pay him
$1,000 per year for five years for 10
other reason apparent than that he was
to stay away from Larimore. Oak, and
not buy wheat there. He had been pay
ing several cents more bnShel than
the trust paid. and of course the farmers
had been shipping their wheat to him
because they could get more money for
it. The history leading up to this con-
tract is very interesting one and is set
forth in full in the book. 1t seems that
the Minnesota and Northern Elevator
company paid him for two and a half
years and then stopped, and Wolcott
Ill st. Paul to recover the balance
due shin. 1t is asserted that the
combine resorted to all sorts of tricks
to keep him from buying wheat before
they finally made this contract with
him. During the two and half years
that the contract was lived up to by the
Minneapolis & Northern Elevator COM
pany. owned by the Pilisburys, Wolcott
received great many letters from L.. nj.
Amsden. general manager of the COM
pany, and these letters are the strongest
evidence presented by the book. One
OF them, for instance, tells Wolcott that
Charles A. Pillsbury requested him to
''steer his man Loucks" out of Pills
bury,s territory. Loueks is president of
'isf mars Alliance of the United
ota;eS anu is the man who is alleged to
have been brought under the influence
of PillSbury, who was anxious to do
away with the competition of the Farm
ers' Alliance Elevator company, run by
the Farmers Alliance. through Loucks,
then president OF the Dakota Farmers
Alliance. Another letter by Amsden
directs Wolcott to do what he can to-
ward preventing the establishment of
farmers elevator, which was calculated
to break the power of the combination
at the point where it was proposed to
establish it.
In one letter Mr.. Pillsbury's manager
suggests to Wolcott to take an interest
in mill which certain Eastern men
were about to build at Park River. Oak,
so that Wolcott could be OH the inside
and could induce the milling company
to become member of the combine, or,
If they refused, he could wreck it. All
of these letters by Amsden amount to
this, that Wolcott was to act in the in
terest of the combine in breaking up
farmers elevators, in running inde-
pendent buyers out of certain towns, in
manipulating Loucks so that he could be
prevented from dong the combination
any harm, and generally to strengthen
the combines power and influence, but
by means which were not only disrep-
utable, but would seem to be in direct
contravention of the anti trust statutes
of the state of Minnesota.
St. Paul daily globe., 1892-09-18
larger dividends than sauy other ele-
vator company in the Northwest.
wAsHBURN CAUTIOUS.
The Senator Suspected an African
in the Woodpi


Senator Washburn's letter seems to
have been very cautious one, as he
was not certain why the French bank
wrote 10 him to ask for information rel
ative to the profits of the elevator COM
panies. In making his statement of the
condition of the companies he said he
was not entirely clear as to the charac-
ter of the information the bank desired,
and that, if it would write him little
more definitely the object for which the
information was required, he might be
able to give additional facts of value.
This letter contained the statement that
the Northern Pacific Elevator company
made a dividend of 40 per cent i'm one
year, and that other companies had paid
% per cent and 30 per cent dividends.
e. Cardin, general manager of the
Northern Pacific Elevator company,
gave away some of the inside history of
the alleged trusts methods in his letter
managers of the Empire Elevator
company and Atlantic Elevator COM
pany said in their letter in re-
sponse to inquiries by the bank
that their elevators had earned from 20
to so per cent on the capital invested by
them. ID. M. Robbins, president of the
Northwestern Elevator company, admits
in letter written by him that his COM
pany had averaged during four years
dividends of % per cent on its capital
stock. S. A. Harris, then president of
the Northwestern National bank, in his
letter to the French bank, showed that
the average dividends for six years of
the Northern Pacific Elevator company
had been 80 per cent; of the Minneap-
oils & Northern, 81 per cent, and of
tho Norf ua tarp EIQvatOr a1,unanU
per cent. G. Nj. Amsden. general man
ager of the Minneapolis & Northern
Elevator company. wrote to the French
bank. stating that this company, which
is owned by the Pillsburys, operated l4o
elevators throughout the Northwest,
handling from eight to ten million
bushels Of wheat per year. and that this
St. Paul daily globe., 1892-09-18
Yours truly 1s 8
GzSv q sSS1sA1A>sHS 0

, to terminal points himself and
is obliged, therefore, to sell it to the
country elevators. Numbers of inde-
pendent buyers have gone to country
towns where combine elevators are pay
ing this low or list price for wheat, and
have paid the farmers higher price:
but they have not been permitted to
! continue paying a good price for wheat.
The trust is alleged to have gotten rid
! OF them by one means or another. In
some cases it is said they were bought
| off; in others they were intimidated,
| and in others they were ruined by tricks
| which, If the book did not contain so
| much that was powerful evidence,
| would read more like romance than fact.
| The country elevators, by this cOmbina-
| ton, each received pro rata share of
| the wheat brought in by the farmer. it
| is claimed, and averaged up their profits
| in such way that no one elevator had
any advantage over another elevator.
The heaviest part of the corntry elevat-
orS' profits, 1t is alleged, is by the four
systems of robbery heretofore mem
toned. A description of these four sys-
TENS is this:
First-The country agents alleged to
use a brass kettle. graduated. into
which, by a simple trick and sleight-of-
hapd, he lets the wheat fall. Because
WIG WHCQJ lIOb oOllulf CCluplcSScu LA
the kettle it is possible by manipulation
for four different grades to be made of
the same wheat. The wheat may be
the first quality of wheat, No. hard,
but by this device it is made to appear
to be only No. northern, which Is
| grade lower, and between which two
grades there is difference Of four cents
per bushel. Running it down to the
lowest grade, which the agent is able to
| do by sklllful practice. there Is a steal
of as much as IL cents OH the bushel.
Second-This is the use of a seive so
coarse that it permits kernels of wheat
to go through it and fall on the floor.
| The seive is used in determining the
| amount of dockage-tbat is, the amount
| of dirt or refuse in the wheat which
| must he subtracted from its proper
| weight. By the use of a seive with
coarse meshes the country agent is
alleged to steal FIVE, six or seven
pounds. as the case may be, out of a
| bushel of wheat which weighs sixty
pounds.
Third-The charge is made, and is
accompanied by all illustration, that tie
country agent has board under the
| floor of the elevator, one end of which
is communicated with by nail under
! his foot, over which nail he puts his
St. Paul daily globe., 1892-09-18

pete. consequently. with the high
grades of -four made by the Pillsburvs,
and this same rule applies to our do
mestic millers who are not in the North
western combine.
United States Senator Washburn re-
ceiyes scoring at the hands of the
compiers for his failure to mention at
any time in congress the facts which he
stated ia his letter to the Paris bank to
the effect that the elevator companies
had made good profits, and he is also
accused Of bad faith in endeavorIng to
put the blame for the condition of the
wheat market on the boards of trade
St. Paul daily globe., 1892-09-18
The Nefarious Robbery Aided
and Allotted by the Repub-
ican Cabal.
A Withering Expose Of the Crime
Made by the Chicago
Herald.

Farmers in the wheat-growing states
Of the Northwest will be astounded by
the revelations made in book which
will be issued from the press today, and
which will lay bare for the first time
the vicious workings of a combination
Df elevator men, millers and railroad
men to deceive and swindle the farmer,
the merchant and the world at large.
For years it has been known that COM
bine existed in the Northwest to control
the output of wheat, but so widespread
and so powerful was its influence that
1t successfully batfled the efforts of con-
scientious men to expose its iniquity.
The home of the ring is in Minneapolis.
From this favored point it has been en-
abled to fasten its fangs upon such
great wheat-growlng states as the two
Dakotas, Washington and Oregon. But
while it was reaching out to delnde and
Bwindle the farmers of those states it
did not overlook the wheat-growers of
Its own commonwealth.
The Startling publication
links the names of United States
Senator Washburn, Charles Pills
bury, the flour king" and
other elevator and milling men and rep
resentatives of the great railroad inter-
ests to the infamous ring, aud the array
of evidence which it produces in eighty
pages of closely printed matter cannot
have any other effect than to bring the
thousands of farmers in the great wheat
belt to realizing sense of their peril
and an understanding of their impov-
erished condition. Throughout this
reign of stealthy robbery and incredible
duplicity the combine has enjoyed the
all-powerful immunity which the Re-
publican par ty of Minnesota could eX-
tend to it. The exposure. now SO COM
plete and so unanswerable. involves
not only the potent influence of the
men already named, but II. l.. Loucks,
president Of the Farmers Alliance OF
the United States, who is now OIL the
stump for the so-called Peoples party
In Texas, aud who it is charged in the
book was brought under the influence
of Pillsbury in most remarkable way
no Escape for the Farmer.
The story of the Infamous career of
the ring explains to a great extent the
miserable condition of the farmer in the
wheat belt of the Northwest. At NJ
time during its reign could he escape its
clutches. From dawn to dusk of each
day conspiracy existed ard still exists
TO rob him of the full value of the result
of his toll. Out of this systematic plar
of robbery the ringsters have beer
enabled to grow richer and richer an(
TO strengthen the grip of the Republican
St. Paul daily globe., 1892-09-18
THE LETTER FROr1 FRANCE.

alleged that. as all the elevators are
banded together and refuse to poy more
than the fixed price. which is the list
price, for grain. the farmer is prevented
necessarily from going 10 any other ele-
vator and getting higher price for his
wheat. 1t is claimed that the railroad
companies cooperate with the elevator
companies and refuse him cars so
that he cannot ship the wheat
St. Paul daily globe., 1892-09-18
1t is further alleged that lead is mt

it1s further alleged that lead is put in
bottom of 200 and 500 pound weights
aud p inted over.
FourIh-This robbery is alleged to be
the great one of price. A very erabo-
rate discussion is contained iu the book
OF the price paid by the elevator COM
nanles to the farmers at country points
shipment and the price which those
elevator companies get for the same
wheat when they deliver it at Minneap-
oils and Duluth. The figures for a
number of months in a number of wears.
taken from the reports of the market
price, are given. Two or three in
stances may suffice to show what the
general tenor OF these figures is.
St. Paul daily globe., 1892-09-18

heel. TIE pressure drives that end
OF the board down and tits the
other end of the board up. The
latter end presses upward un-.
derneath the scale, and by the pressure
with his heel the agent can make the
wheat weigh light, and can rob in pro-
portion as he puts force into his leg
One to ten bushels on load of wheat is
alleged to be the fruit Of this robbery.
St. Paul daily globe., 1892-09-18
70 CABLE apcaees {
alLssvHS GlHsL4hoIia
cAsesr
q
CTR IR2gzz.ggsglEfM0lG
sllllagagg!nl
23,
q. E. ssuar
'slllaagaqallalHlaln.
Cred It .iyonnais. Paris, France.
April 23. 1880

Dee" sir-
Refer Ing TO o nst.
ne oen delayed
" informal ION IRON ell
" az
INC hrgest elevator
sth espttal stock Of $s2s.
Pro"ee4y SOIL Tor 50
past six yea little 80
Sarge hel lis company
The leadfns r.
Is the
the STICK OF
Past 90 rer cont dividends.
The No hern
end
roads We has dividends,
The Nc orhreste the
capital $500
Tor
c. w. Van ouson co.. the line atorsOn
the Northwestern Ry
get any reliable information what
not
elevat
Red Valley
mo&y
inside reliable r
If matt
St. Paul daily globe., 1892-09-18
..4!R eaAs:ARGE.sgI!RM3@ta.
wlaggagallsIl1llllll..
'una le, Is SO

Iii. Z. F. Arnold,
tartmore,
In ans'er TO favor the nth, sela ay .ss.
" graz" elevators have not paid hmply
% crop tho eIas or Gus mess has your section
no elevators have been built rro ,aby run "a
'ans you can buy elevators advantage than 20 ,,,a
"e"' 1t erxri asy loss e,nne N. lac.
year ms been Fearful ana Snea' Two grade,
isher In tbs seasry than would mss in uooe.n,,
Yours truly
= . M~o K. RZx><<~w
e
LETTER TO THE FARnER.
St. Paul daily globe., 1892-09-18
LETTER TO THE FARrER.

company had always paid dividends
ranging from 90 To 40 per cent aud that
the same had averaged over so per cent
since the business was started.