St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1892-09-18
INSTRUCTED TO ROB.
The Startling Testimony Given b.
Young Holcomb.

The Startling Testimony Given by
Young Holcomb.
The book carries the proof of this svs-
tematlc course of robbery directly to
the doors of the officers of the elevator
companies in an affidavit by Young
man named Holcomb. This affidavit
asserts that HOlcomb mixed wheat for
many firms while employed by one of
the Pilisbury elevator companies, and
that such mixing was done by and with
the instructions OF the officers of the
company. The latter gave such instruc-
tionS. he SwearS, with the knowledge of
and by the consent of the directors of
the company. He also says in his affi-
davit that he was instructed by Charles
A. PillSbury to ''Skin" all wheat and
raise" all grades on all wheat which
was loaded out for shipment to other
mills than those of Charles A. Pillsbury
d Co., but to be very careful and not
mix any wheat intended for the mills of
the firm of Charles A. PillSbury & Co.
1t is alleged that Charles A. Pillsbury
was member of the elevator company
which employed Holcomb.
There are forty or fifty letters from j.
II. hlland, general manager of the Min
neapOliS Miliers' association. the So
called trust, United States Senator
Washburn, Charles A. Pillsbury. G. NJ.
AmSdem, general manager of the Min
pany, owned by the Pillsburys; S. A.
Harris. president of the Northwestern
National bank, of Minneapolis; E. Car
din, general manager of the Northern
Pacific Elevator company: D. M. Rob-
bins, president of the Northwestern
Elevator company, and Others These
letters all agree on the point that the
elevator companies of the Northwest
have made enormous sums of money
during the last few years, and each
letter is cOrrObOrative evidence that the
profits ranged from % to 80. 40 and so
per cent Oh capital stocks ranging from
$500, 900 to 81, 100000. Mr.. Pillsbury and
others who wrote the letters probably
never imagined that those written to
Paris bank in 1889 would get back to
America and be used in the presidential
campaign of 1892, nor did it occur to
Mr.. PillSbury himself that the letter
written to Arnold, the LarimOre farmer,
and the letter to the Paris bank, the
first to point far distant in the North
west and the second to point
thousands of miles away in Europe,
would ever come together and be used
as proof that Mr.. Pillsbury and those
associated with him had deceived the
FARMERS aIu the rest OF the world on
this side the Atlantic as to the profits
which they were making out of the
wheat business.
From letter written by Mr.. Pillsbury
to the Paris bank. it appears that the
Minneapolis and Northern, one of his
elevators, averaged during six years
little more than 80 per cent dividends:
that the Empire Elevator company, in
which MIR. Pillsbury owned half the
stock, averaged for several years 40 per
cent dividends; that the Northern
Pacific Elevator company. the leading
line on the Northern Pacific system of
railroads, averaged $50 or 40 per cent
dividends" to quote MIR. Pillsbury's
exact language. and that the North
western Elevator company averaged %
per cent dividends for Sye years on
500, 600 capital. Mr.. Pillsbury said that
Van Dusen 81 Co. owned the largest
line On;the Northwestern railroad sys-
TEN in Minnesota and Dakota, and
without knowing much about it, he
would not be surprised if they made