The Mankato free press. [volume] (Mankato, Blue Earth County, Minn.) 1879-1924, 1892-10-14
MEANS BUSINESS.
c. A. Pillsbury Offers Editor
Baker Of the Globe,
$4,000
IF the Statements Made in the
WolcOtt Letter Are
True.
He Asks Mr.. Baker to Be Fair
and Investigate for
Himself.
Baker Shows His Fairness by
Burning the Letter in a
Gas Jet.

u. a.
Minneapolis Mr.. Pillsbury's messenger
found Mr.. Baker at his home and presented
the letter, the envelope being unsealed.
Mr.. Baker took the package and looked at
the name of the firm printed on the en-
velope, and then said to the messenger:
Il cannot receive letters which come in
this way. l am not in the habit of receiv
ing unsealed letters"
Mr. Baker then questioned the messenger
as TO the contents of the letter, and when
he received the reply that the messenger
was totally unacquainted Herewith, Mr..
Baker stepped toward gas jet, remark
Ing as he did so: This is the way in which
L treat letters coming to me in this way"
Mr.. Baker then held the letter in the
flame of the gas jet until it was consumed,
and, having witnessed this vindication of
the Globe editors manhood, the messenger
was delighted to escape with his life.
MIR. PILLSBURY TO MIR. BAKER.
To the Editor of the st. Paul Daily Globe:
The issue of your paper of the 18th inst
contains an article entitled "Robbed by a
Ring" and embaZoned with a number of
other lurid and glaring headlines, in a way
known to sensational journalism. In this
article are statements that the elevator and
milling companies of Minneapolis are joined
in one vast conspiracy to rob the farmers of
this state, the Dakotas, Washington and
Oregon, and to pay them several cents less
per bushel for their wheat than it's fair val
ue to them.
You make upon me personal attack, out
rageous and teeming with falsehoods and
Misrepresentation. You publish alleged let
tiers of mine, misrepresent their contents
and suppress the facts and circumstances
connected with their subject matter. You
garble my testimony before the state legis-
lative committee, and then by unfair COM
PARSONS you seek to make such letters and
evidence contradictory. You have not been
honorable and manly enough to publish my
entire testimony, which, If published, would
explain any apparent Inconsistencies. You
seek to give force to your attack by the atti-
davit of a Self-cOnfeSSed criminal, who eX-
plated his offense by serving a term in our
state penitentiary. Your entire article of de-
famation, according to your own statement,
is not based on your personal knowledge,
but purely on the hearSay statements OF an
other, Which you claim to have taken from
q book just published.
Without waiting to investigate the facts,
or to verify these statements, you give them
widest currency through the columns of
your paper, and, in this
BASE AND COWARDLY WAY,
seek to besmirch the regulations and I'M ure
the characters of your neighbOrs and the
citizens of your own state. on will fail In
this. Your infamous attack will be directed
back upon your own head.
Not in the courts of law, nor by public
opinion are men convicted of grave offenSes
by hearsay evidence. Especially is this true
i'll cases like the present, where the author
of such evidence is a man of bad reputa
ton and with pretended personal griev
ance against the objects of his attack.
have not seen the book you refer to, but
understand its author is one G. G. Wolcott
| a man of bad reputation in this state an(
! in North Dakota, and who has pretended
| personal grievance against me and the ele
vator companies l represent, and 1 know
| not how many other men and companies
| here in the grain and -four business.
| A suit, referred to in your article, is now
| pending in the United States circuit court
| brought by him against the Minneapolis
Northern Elevator company, in which an
| largely Interested A large sum of money
! is demanded in this suit, which is wholly
without merit, and which was brought by
Wolcott to extort money from us and tC
| make political capital with the farmers OF
| this state for a few demagogue politicians
| whose base tool he has become.
4 1t has been intimated from time to time
| that many of the statements which now
see published i'm your article would DC
brought out ON TINS trial Had we Gonsent
| to blackmail by paying Il sum OF money tC
! Wolcott, his book so far as it concerns me
would probably never have been heard OF
| suit should be tried before the beginning OF
! the present political campaign. railing IN
! this. WocOtt has evidently emDodled ms
! Matchmaking material in book, and sold II
! ont to the Democratic committee for cam
Paign purposes.
You cali it a powerful canpaign docn
| naeut.,' and it must be evident to every
! reader in the Northwest that such is thu
! object of it's present publication.
!, There is also another apparent OBJECT
"lA' TO - CEKTAIN GRAIN GAMBLERS
ON the Chicago board of trade and else
where material to oppose the present anti
option legislation pending before congress
! The material of our article, published b.
I YOU for such objects, and coming from sucl
| a man as Wolcott, who is inspired with ,
| personal grudge against me and the eie
| yator companies, will deceive no voter.
! The scandalouS character of your article
so far as it affects me, l shall hereafter
answer ut proper time and place. Inc
| great length of the article prevents me
! from answering its facts in detail at the
| present writing. But, coming to the core
of the whole matter, what the farmers OF
| this state and the Northwest should know
| before election is whether they have been
| robbed in the past, or are being robbed by
u ring or combination of elevator. or grain
men. which is preventing them from get
| ting fair prices for their grain.
nv YOUR article you aim either to instruct
! the f,I mers of the Northwest or to hum
| bug them If it is the former, l VIII make
! zion very quickly so far as our own ele-
i vators and mills are concerned have
made the statement. under oath, that the
| average net profits of our elevator company
! for series of years had not been more
| than "a per cent ON the amount of bust
ness done This would not be net profit
|
wheat handled during that time.
! / have also made the statement, under
OATH that in my opinion the flour mills OF
Minneapolis and Minnesota have not fol
! several wears made any profits, taking them
] all together; and that the net profits OF
! the mills under my management have not
| been over 5 per cent on the value of theil
output of flour and offal, during the past
| few years, Notwithstanding the fact that
| our brands of flour are best known of any.
| and sell at the highest market prices, and
| that our mills are equal to any in construc-
| ton and economical manufacture.
Now. if the above statements are true
! your article is very misleading and there /.
NOT MUCH MARGIN FOR ROBBERY
| by us If your intention is to be fair, tt
| give the facts. and not to deceive the PEG
| Die, you should investigate and know
| Whether these statements are true, ant
| then tell the people the whole truth and
| nothing but the truth. To assist you in
| this investigation, / will allow any and all
| of my managers and boOkkeepers, includ
| ing myself at any time to be examined by
| of our elevator and milling business for the
| mast three years. or since the organization
! of the Pillsbury- Washburn FIGURING Mills
| company limited have substantially ex
| ceeded the statements l have here made.
| / will undertake to prove to you that the
| letter referred to in your article to III. +
| Arnold of Larimore stated the exact truth
! and that our elevator company did lose
| large amount of money on the wheat crol
of that season; also that my testimon!
| the profits of our past business, was sub
| stantially correct.
To prove my good faith in the matter,
| hereby undertake to pay all reasonable eX
| penseS connected with your investigation
I and the taking of testimony on the simpl
| found out by you, either by giving the ties
| timony in full or fair resume of Ii. Thi