St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1892-09-28
I KNOW OF none


Continued From First Page.
formation respecting the grain elevator
business in your state, take the lib
erty OF addressing you on the matter
should esteem it great favorif you
would kindly give me in confidence the
names of few of the leading elevator
companies, and your ideas as to whether
they are actually in prosperous condi.
ton. Can money be safety loaned tC
them, and what rate of interest could be
obtained? AT what season of the year
are their requirements the largest!
What dividends have they been paying
during the last five years?
Thanking you warmly in advance fol-
your Kind reply and at your disposal on
tnlS size. ours very respectfully,
HENRY c. E. STUART,
American Department.
This was Mr.. Stuart's letter to Mr..
Pillsbury.
This Is MIR. PilIsbury,s Answer.
CHARLES A. PILLsBURY co.
Cable address, Pillsbury, Minneapolis.
MINNEAPOLIS, Mimi, April %, 1889.
Mr.; ii. c: e. Stuart, Credit Lyonnais,
Paris, France:
Dear Sir: Referring to your favor
of the Sd inst, would say that we have
been delayed In answering several days,
endeavorlng to obtain more information
for you, but find it very hard work to
get full information from all the COM
panies, as it is not customary to publish
statements of this kind in this country.
But we will give you what we have that
is reliable.
The largest elevator in the Northwest
is the Minneapolis 81 Northern. with a
capital stock of $685. which would
probably sell for so per cent premium
1t has averaged during the past six
years little over so per cent dividends.
We are very large stockholders in this
company.
The leading company on the Mil
waukee d st. Paul railroad system is
the Empire Elevator company, formerly
Pratt d Porter. We own half the stock
OF this company, and it has averaged
for several years past 40 per cent divi-
dends.
The Northern Pacific Elevator COM
pany is very large company, and is
the leading line on the Northern Pacific
| system of railroads. We think it has
averaged 80 or 40 per cent dividends.
The Northwestern Elevator co mpany
Is next TO the Minneapolis and North
| ern, the largest company on the Mani
y
| stock Of $70G, COG, and has averaged %
per cent dividends for the past five
| years.
U. w. Van Dusen & Co. own the
largest line of elevators on the North
western railway system in Minnesota
aud Dakota. We cannot get any re-
| liable information as to what they have
| paid. but would not be surprised if thew
had made larger profits than any other
elevator company in the Northwest.
The Red River Valley Elevator Com
pany. the Minnesota d Dakota, the
North Dakota Elevator Company
Brooks Bros, are all hrst-cass com.
panes, and have all paid very well, and
we have no hesitation in buying theil
receipts or in advancing money on
them. but have no inside reliable in.
side reliable formation as to theil
| profits. Ii there is any more lnforma-
ton we can give you we shall be glad tC
dc. so. Yours truly,
CHARLES A. PILLsBURY & Co.
c. A. P.
1t is evident from those two letters
either that Pillsbury told the farmer the
truth and miSStated it to Stuart, or thai
he told Stuart the truth and misstated il
to Farmer Arnold. There is unques-
tionably misstatepent TO give it nc
harsher nance resting between the two
| letters.
Now, did they all misrepresent the
| facts to Stuart as Pillsbury did, anC
was the only truth that was told. the
letter that Pillsbury wrote Farmer AT
mold If it is fact, on the other hand
that the statement 10 Farmer ArnolC
was monstrous perversion of the truth
| how can Mr.. Pilisbury be believed il
| 1892 any more than in 1889?
MIR. Pillsbury said at the st. Paul in
vestigation: up 10 three years ago the
elevators were protitable.' The veal
1889 was over three years ago. How
was it. then, that he wrote Farmer Ar
mold: "ln answer to your favor of The
nth, would say that our grain elevator.
have not paid well lately. The los:
during the last year has been fearful
1t will be noted that PIllSbury replied
to Farmer Arnold's letter the next day
after the latter wrote it, but that he wa:
delayed in answering" Stuart's lettel
because he was ''endeavoring to Obtain
more information for you" The lettel
to Mr.. Arnold also bears the character
lstlc ear-markS of the Stereotyped Tall
to Give the Farmers" The farmer wht
so trem5lingly wrote, Il hope you viii
excuse the liberty was not worth tn,
delay necessary to ascertain the facts
ihe ParlS banker was man TO whom
much more consideration was due. The
farmer is indeed TO be doubly ptied.
But we will give you what we have
that is reliable" Mr.. Pillsbury saws
And the initials &. A. p. in the left
hand corner show that the letter wa:
dictated by Charles A. Pillsbury.
AS man of honor, whose Integrity il
undOubted, who would not lie, we mus
necessarily believe MIR. Pillsbnry, anc
necessarily conclude that what he wrot,
Farmer Arnold was simply a mistak,
caused by his not having DELAYED to as
certain ''reliable' Information. Tn,
letter TO Farmer Arnold was also die
tated by G. A. Pillsbury. His initials
are in the left-hand corner of it.
Auoth er Mistake Of HFr. PiIIsbury,s
MIR. Pillsbury." said Attorney Gen
eral ChildS, ''are you aware of any com
bination existing between elevator com
panieS to regulate the prices paid fo
grain in the Northwest"
Il know of none" replied the bonanz:
miller; Il may say there is no such com
| Dinati0n."
Are any of the elevator companie.
with which you are connected parties {,
any sort Of deal for controlling or in an,
way regulating prices?"
mo, sir; none of thein.''
/ Well, that is laughable It is mucI
| funnier when We turn back ana stud,
the list price agreements between tn
elevator companies and the contrac
made with Z. &. Wolcott Ivy the Mime
, apolis Il Northern Elevator company, il