The Mankato free press. [volume] (Mankato, Blue Earth County, Minn.) 1879-1924, 1892-10-14
A BLACkMAIIING SCHEME
Underlies the Production of the
Pamphlet Written by WOlcOtt.

Whatever the facts may be about the op
GRAFTON Of some Of the country elevators III
the Northwest; whether there may or may
not be ground for complaint OF unfairness
in grading and dOckage and plces, the ele-
vator companies need not trouble them
selves to any great extent about the
charges made against them In book is
sued be the Chicago option gamblers, and
| which was prepared by one G. G. Wolcott
under the sensational title Of "a Gigantic
Conspiracy; the Northwestern Wheat Ring
and it's Infamous Robberies.' For all the
| statements in that pamphlet of a dam
aging character rest upon the authority of
F.! the aforesaid c. G. Wolcott, whose infa-
nous character as matchmaking adven-
turer of the worst type is fully established
| by the testimony of leading business men
which we publish elsewhere Charges
| coming from such a disreputable source and
inspired by the basest motives do not
| need any other REPUTATION than this expo
sure OF the unprincipled character of their
| author. The facts of his career IN Da-
! kota and Minnesota show that he divided
| his pursuits between roDbing the farmers
! and matchmaking, or trying to Dlackmall
| elevator companies, and that as the ruling
spirit of the scandinavian Elevator COM
pany-so-called because there was not
Scandinavian connected with 1.-THE con-
| trived TO combine both pursuits, robbing the
farmers ON the one hand and trying TO
! blackmail the elevator companies on the
other. This scheme failed, and the farm
ers who had been hoodwinked into taking
stock i'll il lost their investments.
His pamphlet was conceived in sin and
born in iniQuity. 1t originated In i black
t'''' IFS FOUNDATION WAS FRAUD.
He used an employe OF the Lyonnaise
bank to write decoy letters to the leading
elevator men of Minneapolis and to others
inQuiring as if Tor the bank what the div
idends of the elevator companies were.
Having obtained these letters which sta
ted the diviIends of several OF the eleva-
tor companies TO be from 20 to 40 per cent,
he attempted, through his conrederateS
here, to blackmail the authors of the let,
tiers. In no other way can it be accounted
for that some time after they We're Writ.
ten they turned up i'll the possession OF
some OF his frienuS and confederateS in
Minnesota, and that these men attempteu
to eXtort large sums OF money as cohdl-
ton of surrenGering them to their writers
the owners of the elevators. raining III
this the letters are again Ill the possession
of Wolcott, who now makes them the chiei
text and foundation of the pamphlet Is
sued under the auspices and at the expense
of the Chicago wheat gamblers ana adopted
ami circulated by the Democratic state cen
document Wolcott's motive was one or
revenge upon Iillsbury and the other eie,
by him. The motive of the Chicago ganb-
lers is to defeat the option Dill Dy making
ii appear that Washburn, It's autnor' anu
Pillsbury, its earnest advocate, were par
ties to Il gigantic conspiracy for roDbing the
farmers - ,,,,,,,,Dr, tn
The aid of the Democratic state commit
tee in circulating the pamphlet was enlist
ed by the addition of two or three pages in
which was vaguely atfempted 70 cGnec, ine
with the alleged wheat combine by the
fact that in its platform 1t had Ignored It's
existence that it could only have existed by
the connivance Of the Republican party ana
that the warehouse commission nau nor
prosecuted an elevator company on a,e ena tEs
Holcombe had been convicted OF stealing
wheat from the company and was serving
out his sentence in the state penltentlary at
the time the elevator company. surrendered
its license and ceased to be under the JuflS-
dietion of the con:,nission The only other
alleged fact connecting the state adlulnis-
tratiCn with the wheat combine was that
Gov. Merriam had pardoned HolcomDe IN an
irregular manner when no application had
been made for his pardon The fact being
UPON iHe Application Of his friends one day
before the M 81 ms Which
is always followed as 10 persons whose be-
hayior has been good.
IT PROVES A BOOMERANG.
The attempt to connect the Republican
party and state administration with the al
legged wheat combine" has proved u BOOM
suited in the complete demonstration from
official records that all the effective legisla-
ton for the protection of farmers from
frauds on the part of the elevator com
panies had been accomplished by the Re-
publican party in providing for a complete
and unassailable system Of state inspection
at the terminal elevators and in requiring
the railroad companies to furnish cars to
individual farmers upon their application,
and to ship their wheat to any destination
and consignee designated by the farmer. At
the same time it demonstrated that the
warehouse commission had for years been
urging upon the legislature the Importance
of extending their jurisdiction over the
country elevators SO as to be able to pro-
teGt the farmer Sa.. from rom fraud but that all
strenuous opposition of the representatives
of the farmers themselves; that such legis-
last legislature. which was dominated by
the Alliance men and the Democrats, and
that bill recommended by the commission
designed to enable independent wheat buy
ers to build elevators on the right of way of
the railroad companies was defeated by
that Alliance-Democratc legislature.