The Sauk Centre herald. (Sauk Centre, Stearns County, Minn.) 1886-current, 1892-10-27
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
Gas Jet.


was sent to Lewis Baker, editor-in-chief Of
the st. Paul Globe, by @. A. Pillsbury of
Minneapolis. Mr.. Pillsburys messenger
found Mr.. Baker at his home and presented
the letter, the envelope being unsealed.
MIR. 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. am not in the habit Of receiv-
ing unsealed letters"
MIR. 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
treat letters coming to ME in this way"
MIR. Baker then held the letter in the
fame 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 q
Ring" and emblazoned with O number Of
other lurid and glaring headlines, in q 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 its 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
Plrhle festimonv bafnra tho Sfafa la0iS-
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 afi-
dayit of a self-confessed criminal, who eX-
plated his offense by serving q 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
book just published.
Without waiting to investigate the facts,
or to verify these statements, you give them
widest currency through the columns Of
BASE AND COWARDLY WAY,
seek to besmirch the regulations and injure
the characters of your neighbors and the
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
in cases like the present, where the author
of such evidence is a man OF bad reputa-
ton and with q pretended personal grtey-
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 and
in North Dakota, and who has a pretended
personal grievance against me and the ele-
vator companies | represent, and l know
not how many n other nd an men b aaG
pending ing in the United States circuit court,
brought BY him against the Minneapolis 2HSicR AN
largely interested. A large sum OF money
is demanded in this suit, which Is wholly
without merit, and which was was Drou and ~ ~
make political capital with the farmers OF
this state for a few demagogue politicians
whose base tool he has become.
It has been intimated from time to time
that many of the statements which now
see published In your article would be
Out ON a tbs suit and
to blackmail by paying sum OF money to
Wolcott, his book so far as it concerns me
would probably never nave 3een near eaFd 6 St
suit should be tried before the beginning OF
the present political campaign. Failing In
this, Wolcott has eyidentiy emoOdie sa,d ms y
out to the Democratic committee Tor cam
naipn purposes
You call it powerful campaign docu-
ment." and it must be evident to every
reader in the Northwest that such Is the
object of it's present publication.
There is also. another apparent object,
"nif 10 = CERTAIN SE RI, I'm GRAIN GAMBLERS
on the Chicago board of trade and else
where, material to oppose the p present na anti
The material of our article, published by
YOU for such objects, and coming from such
a man as Wolcott, who Is inspired with a
RRator companies, will deceive no voter.
The scandalous character OF your article,
so far as it affects me, l shall hereafter
great length Of the article prevents me
from answering its facts in detail at the
present writing. But, coming to the core
this FL tn state nan and the Northwest should know
before election is whether they have been
robbed in the past, or are. being robbed by
men ing which is preventing them from get
ting fair prices for their grain.
lSy YOUR article you aim either to instruct
the farmers of the Northwest or to hum
bug them If it is the former, will make
vol a proposition which will test the ques-
ton very quickly so far as our own ele-
vators and mills are concerned nfs +io. nave ave
average net profits OF our elevator company
for series of years had not been more
than "a per cent on the amount I'M 10 OF 0usi
much exceeding 1 cent a bushel on the
wheat handled during that time.
/ have also made the statement, under
oath, that in my opinion the flour mills OF
several years made any profits, taking them
all together; and that the net profits OF
the mills under my management have not
been over per cent on the value Of their
OUTPUT of flour and offal, during the past
orr 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-
tion and economical manufacture.
Now, If the above statements are true.
SG%%oG Nor pr MUCH MUG 81 MARGIN FOR ROBBERY 40
by us. If your intention is to be fair, to
Give the facts, and not to deceive the peo-
ple. you should investigate and know
whether these statements are true, and
nothing but the truth. To assist you in
this investigation, will allow any and all
IF INV managers and bookkeepers, includ-
ing myself at any time to be examined by
you under oath, as to whether the profits
mast three years, or since the organization
IF fhe Pillsbury- Washburn FIGURING Mills
COMPANY. limited, have substantially ex-
eeeded the statements have here made.
win undertake to to prove 60 you u thd5 the
Arnold of Larimore stated the exact truth.
and that our elevator company did lose q
large amount of money on the wheat crop
IF that season; also that my testimony
given before the legislative committee, upon
ffhe 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 Investigator
and the taking of testimony on the simple
condition that you publish the true facts
4 fonnd ont nv Won either by giving the te0-