St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1896-01-22
HOW FARMERS
ARE SQUEEZED.
Continued From First Page.

cars and shipping their own grain, and he is
still acting in that capacity Mr.. Glavin's
report, which we publish this week. proves
ccnclusIvely the great benefit derived from
this agency. Other towns along the line
Warren idea, and appointed agents. Why the
elevators companies gave up their idea OF
putting in a general store here is due, per-
maps, to several causes 1t may have been
big game cf bluff on their part or they
nay have concluded that it would have been
poor business move, as il certainly would
nave been, or the hostility to the scheme OF
the farmers themselves may have scared
them I'VE have too much monopoly now;
would buy nothing In that store; no. not in
hundred years was the way one farmer
expressed himself. No; there has been nc
back-cown by the Warren board of trade.
MADE A FREE MARKET.
John E. Ostrom, general manager OF
the Peoples Trading company, was
one Of those who took a prominent
part in the movement which resulted in
making the wheat market at Warren
| free. He bought and shipped from the
! track 3O,C0) bushels of wheat during
the season, and complained in no I'M
/ certain language Of the inspection at
terminal points. Mr.. Ostrom said he
had shipped wheat from the same lot,
and that did not vary a particle in
quality, on three different days, and
/ each had been given a different grade
at the terminal. Wheat which he had
shipped to Duluth and there graded
No. 3, he had repeatedly sold by sam
pie, and received within a cent or a
cent and half of the market price for
No. l northern.
He told the same story of the way
! the farmers We're treated by the line
/ elevator men when all the Independent
houses We're full to the roof. Farmers
/ who had sold a part of their wheat
early in the season and received the
local market price for No l northern,
brought in more of the same wheat,
when the line elevators were the only
/ possible buyers, and were told by the
/ agents of the elevator companies that
/ all the bins for No. l and No. were
fuli, but they could take it in as No.
! .. When the farmers did sell at this
/ grade, because they needed the money
/ or, on account of the distance, did not
/ wish to haul it back home, they were
compelled to submit to a liberal dock
| age besides loss in weight claimed by
the Farmers to be from one to five
! bushels on every load. Mr.. Ostrom
thought the farmers were losing
enough when they were compelled to
! accept the difference in grades, amount
I ing frequently to seven cents a buSheI
without having to submit to the fur
/ ther loss for dockage and short
weights. While he was buying wheat
during the fall he frequently had hun
dreds of bushels of it piled up in sacks
around his store, and he said that grain
was stored all over the town during the
blockade. All the wheat he bought
/ he shipped to Duluth, and, by selling
from sample, was able to come out
ahead CT his transa ctions. He had very
! nttle faith in the state inspection, and
| thought it useless and unwarranted
! tax upon the farmers. He knew that
I
people hoped to injure by starting their
/ proposed store, for he had been active
IN the movement to secure something
near the actual value of the wheat
for the farmers. He did not believe
however, that the farmers would pat
ronize the store had it been started
Tor they had already had enough ex-
perience with the elevator people to
nave learned a lesson. He was salts
fled that the reason the project had
! been abandoned was because the ele-
! Vator people saw the handwriting on
the wall, and knew il would be a fiat
failure
WATTAM CONSERVATIVE
DR.. G. s. Wattam, president of tho
board of trade, was very conservative
IN MS statements and thought nothing
would be gained by a further discus
sion OF the matter. When the CORE
spondent explained to him that, while
Warren might have free market now.
there were other points in the state
Wnere the farmers and the business
men were suffering and it was for their
penent that the G | 0 had taken the
matter up he confirmed the report of
the aHa1r as has already been publish
ed. we were satisfied of one thing
/ from our investigation of the situation
aac that was that no further laws are
needed on the grain question. If the
laws on the statute books were nron-
eriy enforced there could not be anv
such trouble as was experienced at
Warren last fall" Dr. Wattan then
told OF the efforts Of the board of trade
to secure site for an elevator and their
inability to do so. He said he believed
the shipments of wheat from Warren
would have been increased by at last
100000 bushels had there been no OBJ
stacles in the way of keeping the mar
ket Tree and open. In regard to the
statement circulated by the line eIeva-
tor people to the effect that the board of
tTade mad receded from it's position. DR..
Wattam was emphatic in his denial
He said they had only agreed to re-
sclnd the Objectionable clause in the cir
GUAR but had fatty refused to with
draw the circular; to discharge Mr..
GlaVln; to issue a statement to the eff
feet that there was no grievance against
the elevator companies, or to reimburse
them for the money they claimed to
! have expended in fitting up the store
which they proposed to start in order.
to bring the business men to time. The
reason for withdrawing the no wheat
Tor the elevators" clause was that it
might be construed to be illegal. and
the board of trade did not wish TO do
anything which might give anyone the
excuse for accusing its members of un-
lawful acts. Their object was to aid
the farmers and at the same time hold
their trade for the merchants at War
rem. They started out to right the
wrongs which were being practiced
upon their people and did not think it
| necessary to make use of even a sem
blance Of wrong in accomplishing this
end. He was very much disappointed
that the railroad commissioners had
not been able to afford them relief
but supposed they had done the best
| they could" to relieve the situation
He could not understand why Mr.. Bur
dick, the supervising inspector of colln-
try elevators, should come before the
board Of trade and attempt to defend
the elevator mon as he did on Nov. -
HIS course in the matter appeared TO
him to be wholly indefensible and. if
| he was employed to do what he had
done at Warren, he thought there must
be mlSlnterpretatlon of the law, for
! he did not believe it was the province
of the grain inspection department Of
the state to uphold the elevators own
ers in their oppression of the produc-
erS. If he was acting under orders from
the commissioners or the chief inspec-
tor the department had better be aboI-
| ished; if he was proceeding on his own
account then it would be proper to aboI-
ish Burdick.
HON. ANDREW GRINDELAND.
one of the leading attorneys of the