St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1892-03-23
The CURTAIN DOWN.
All Evidence Taken by the
Wheat Investigating Com s
mittee. s o.i'
SSH %
The Grain Growers Have Made
a Hard and Gallant ~
Fight rs
5gES
In Attempting to Unearth
Monopolies. and Gross 2
Frauds. ee9s4
The Committee at Once Pro-
ceed to Discuss the Testi-g ;.
mony. -

The morning session of the wheat in
vestigatIon yesterday was almost wholly
occupied by the members Of the com
mittee. 1t was decided to get the sworn
statement of George Ripley. of Duluth.
on certain points. The committee also
decided to go ahead and consider the
testimony. and the briefs Of the attor-
neys could be taken up afterward.
Senator j. Day Smith made very sim
gular speech. He seems to have al
ready come to decision OH the points
involved in the controversy, relieving
himself as follows:
| desire to call the attention Of the COM
mittee to the fact that while the scope of our
examination has been very much enlarged
from the language OF the law which gave us
authority TO sit, at the same time the testi-
mony has very much simplfied the work Of
the committee. At first it was thought nee
essary to call down from Duluth Ario and a
large number of discharged employees to
show that nm immense quantity OF wheat had
been taken from the elevators and shipped
without inspection. When the elevator com
panies came i'll here and admitted such to be
the fact the only question remaining for us
to determine is from the evidence. how
much wheat was shipped in this manner, and
whether the emergency justified such action
on the part of the companies. The quest on
of sweepiugs. which entered SO largely into
the early discussions before the committee.
has so entirely disappeared that had almost
forgotten the sound of the word. That charge
was SO absurd and the evidence to sustain it
so transparent, that even the prosecution has
abandoned that line of
Inquiry in Disgust.
There remains question of combinations
of railroads and discrimination i'll the mat
ter of rates which the committee must look
into and report upon. Now coming to the
question of Minneapolis, the gram growers
association, in its large discretion. thought
the best way to get at the monster combine
in that city was to employ detective by the
name of Scott and send him up there to get
what information he could obtain, and steal
everything he could lay his hands on. He
came here with list of elevators, millers
and independent buyers in the country. to
whom Frank Irons sent prices or. more cor
rectly speaking, the closing quotations of
the Minneapolis and Duluth markets for the
preceding day. 1t was loudly proclaimed
that the committee had in its grasp the arch
fend of the Ubiquitous combine. When,r
however. reason asserted its sway
and we invited TO come before
Z. A. Pillsbury, Amsdel and Robbins 1t was
found that Irons was nothing but clerk. as
harmless as other clerks, employed as gen.,
eral utility man by the elevator companfe5ii
looking up Information OH disputed points,
but with no power to settle complaints s;Gr
adjust differences. 1t is now some months
since we have heard the expression. damn;
it, shake her up couple of cents. and it is
only used now as joke AS it appears the
testimony is all in. / am in favor of at once
proceeding to digest it so far as we may abei
able, making our report to the governor
without any unnecessary delay. relieve the
suspense Of a patient and long suffering .
public, bring this long protraeted investiga-i
ton to close and snake the dust of the City
from our feet and return toour homes. III
Senator Smith is Republican, and.it9
is hardly necessary to state, halls from
Minneapolis.