St. Paul daily globe., 1892-03-31
WHAT DID II PROVE :?
Ganaral Childs Exhaustively
Sums Up the Recent In
vestigation.
He Holds the Scope Was
Wider Than the Statute
Warranted.
The Elevator Overages We're
Proved Beyond Any
Challenge,
But There Was Nothing to
Prove There Was a Com
bination.

1t was 4:3O o'clock yesterday after
noon when Assistant Attorney General
Childs submitted his summary of the
evidence and reports of the wheat in
vestigation to the special Legislative
committee. The summary was read by
Senator John Day Smith, who, at the
conclusion, moved that.a vote OF thanks
be rendered Mr. ChildS for his very able
report. Every member of the committee
seconded the motion, and it was adopted
by unanimous vote. Chairman Gelssel
thought that the summary should be
adopted as part of the committee re-
port by unanimous vote, but action
was deferred until this morning at 10
o'clock. The summary follows:
At the outset Gen. Childs declared
that the duty imposed on him was one
which he might with prOprietY decline,
but he trusted that the communication,
which expressed his individual views as
to what had been fairly proven OF eS-
tab!ished by the record, would De ac-
cepted by the committee In the same
spirit in which it was requested. Only
two arguments had been furnished him
by the parties interested III the case,
those being by A. G. Clausen and Z. A.
Severance. lie regretted that Mr. En-
win had not complied with the request
of the committee and furnished an ar
gument, but he thought the cOun-
sci could not claim that he had
not been permitted ample time,
az it was the understanding
when the committee adjourned i'll Jan
uary that very little testimony would
be submitted at the March meeting,
aud that the arguments of counsel were
to be prepared in the interim. lie
called attention to this so that the COM
mittee might not be censured by the
public.
Gen. Childs then said that a strict con-
struction OF the act creating the COM
mittee would have confined their in
quirles to the taking of $4,000 bushels OF
wheat from the Duluth elevat Ors with
out inspection, and whether the same
condition prevailed in other eleya-
tors, and an inquiry into all mat
ters concerning The inspection end
Weighing of grain. The Grain
Growers Association, however, rep
resented to the committee that combi-
nation for the purpose of depressing the
price of grain existed i'll the state, and
the matter was deemed OF SO much grav-
ity that the committee yielded to the re-
quest for an investigation, although 1t
was plainly at variance with the letter
of the law, and they made the inyestlga-
ton in this direction with as much thor
oughneSS as the occasion and the OppOr-
tunities enjoyed by the committee would
permit.
Gen. Chlds said next that no work
had ever been undertaken and COLI
Quoted from beginning to end with more
sincerity of purpose and tnorOughnesS
OF prosecution than that which had en-
gagged the attention of this committee.
Liberal rules for the admission OF evil
dence had been adopted, ana
Every Opportunity Was Afforded
for any one who felt disposed to appear
and testify. while no expense was
spared in securing the attendance OF
witnesses desired by any OF the inter
eSts involved in the investigation. The
grain growers had been especially en-
couraged in this direction, and If there
is any disappointment as to the results
it cannot be charged to hostility OF the
committee. This sentiment Gen. Childs
was in accord with the views of the
counsel for the grain growers, who was
quoted as having declared that;
You have absolutely given the widest pos
sible latitude to all parties, and nave gone
into the Investigation of these matters with
out regard to the strict construction OF the
act which authorized the appointment of the
committee. No man can say that the action
of this committee has not been most fair 10
all parties
Attention was called to the fact that
the record was largely made up of a
mass of hearsay testimony, necessarily
consequent upon the liberal policy
adopted by the committee, and the gem
eral believed that this must tend to EN-
barass the deliberatiOn or the commit
tee, and rather to conceal than disclose
the truth. Page after page OF testimony
III some cases the evidence of entire
witnesses can subserYe no useful pur-
pose whatever to the committee i'll
formulating its findings of fact. IL was
suggested that the committee should be
extremely cautious in considering the
evidence of witnesses based wholly
upon hearSay information.
Cen Childs then proceeded to take up the
complaints seriatim, and first devoted him
self to the subject of sweeplngs. II was ad-
mitted that in the earlier years OF the opera
ton of the present law and during the busy
season, as careful attention was not paid to
been, but when the attention of the elevator
companies was called to it, they took prompt
measures to correct the evil. 1t was easy for
the committee TO perceive how such state
of affairs could have existed without inVOlv-
ing either the integrity or the sound business
management of these companies. But it
was conteuded that there was nothing 10
show that the elevator companies proiited by
the amount of grain left i'll the cars, while
complaints of that nature are not now heard.
The matter of wheat aecumulatiOns OH the
floors OF warehouses was about parallel
Passing to the alleged illicit shipment Of
wheat from the Duluth elevators Ill the years
1886 and subsequent years, aggregatlng 300,
00J bushels, Gen. Childs said that this was
the most serious charge made and if the re-
suits of this investigation OF the ch arge were
at variance with the report OF the former
house committee, it was because ampleI time
aud greater facilities for ascertaIning the
truth have contributed to the committees
aid He referred TO the thorough means en-
ployed to ascertain the facts, and said that
while some of the witnesses had testified
with greater positiveness than either the
truth or their knowledge OF the facts
would warrant he thought they should
be wholly exOnerated from any attempt 10
testify otherwise than in accordance with the
facts as they understood them. The fact that
employees were not admitted into the secret
of the cause of the shipments was reason
why they should not be blamed from draw
Ing lnIefenCcS WHICH hl4 ISdSOldDIe men
would have drawn under the same clrcum-
stances. II is admitted that the
Elevator Companies Did Ship
in those years at night 250O9O bushels of
wheat and the only thing for the committee
is to determine the suffciency of the Justif-
cation urged by the elevator companies. As
for himself, he thought the action of
the elevator companies in disposing of
this damaged grain placed them beyond
all criticism. They conferred with the rail-
road and warehouse Commissioners and Sc