St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1893-02-06
A SECOND KIND GARTE =
E;ESSON

The Tribune, having learned its first
lesson so we'll that it now valves the
constitutional question whether rail
road can be compelled to provide a nee
esSary appliances for the transaction OF
large portion of its business with the
public, comes into school with the QueS-
ton:
Where would be the benefit to the
producer Gin transferring the elevator
business from the hands of the elevator
companies into the hands OF the rail
/ road company?
There is no proposition pending to
make any such transfer. There is no
proposition made or intended to prevent
the elevator companies from continuing
their business Of buying and shipping
grain. On the contrary, it is expected
that the elevators will not only keep on
buying, but that they will do by far the
largest amount of that business. In
tact, they may do it all, and the railway
elevator may not turn a bucket during
the entire season. The advantage to
the producer would be in the single,
simple fact that the railway elevator
would stand there constant threat to
combinations Or mOnOpolieS, ready at
the first sign Of either to thWart their
projects.
This will be readily appreciated by
considering the present conditions
under which the producer markets his
grain. There may be one or more line
elevators at a station. There may be
one or more of those so-calied indie
pendent elevators, though why so called,
unless to deceive themselves or some
one else. is a mystery. They have to
take the IRONS price list, and are
promptly called down by the roads if
they assume to be independent Of the
list. The prices to be paid are fixed by
IRONS and wired to the station. No OPP
orator dare pay more than the list. 1t
might provoke competition. He dare
rot go onto the street to buy; that
might cause competition. He sits in his
elevator door like q spider in its web
waiting for the fly. The whole end and
aim of the system is to prevent compe
tition. AS the GLOBE has before said,
it believes that the roads have no far
Their interest In the combine than to
avoid competition which might lessen
their freightS, but this interest is strong
enough TO lead them to support the ele-
vat0r syndicates.
Now suppose that at each station
where grain is bought there were one
elevator omen to any one who wished to
ship grain obliged to receive, receipt
for. elevate, bin and ship the grain. The
Immediate effect would be TO create
competition. A combination of eleva-
tors would be impossible. II dissatis
fed with prices, the farmer could ship.
Ii the business men Of town felt that
their customers were not getting what
the market justified, they could JOIN and
put buyers Oh the street. Men could
engage in the business of grain buying
on their own account. The elevator
men would leave the doors of the ele-
vators and go down on the streets to
buy. They would buy on their judg-
ment and OH the merits Of the grain :;
the word grade" would lapse into des-
uetude. The producers would nave a
free and open market. This is going
back from an artificial system to a nat
ural one; Coy. NELSON'S plan is only a
| prolongation of the present unnatural
| growth, and it would and could bear
| only the fruit Of the tree of which it
was but longer growth.