St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1896-02-24
THE PRICE WAS FAIR
WHEAT MARKET AT DETROIT WAS
GOOD BECAUSE 1T WAS
FREE.
PATENT MEDICINE ALMANACS
AND HOW THEY OPERATED TO
BRING ABOUT STRONG COM
PETITION.
PATENT MEDICINE ALMANACS
NO PROTEST AT LAKE PARK
Plenty of northumberland
BuyinS Keeps Up Prices at
HawIey.
Special to the Globe.

bptCldi " lIle 1ioDe.
DETROIT, Mimi, Feb. 23.-For the
past three years the wheat market at
Detroit has been free, although the
line houses have done all that they
could to discourage competition. Ihls
year wheat has been bought at about
II cents below the terminal prices,
which leaves a margin of two cents
above freight and other fixed charges.
The houses here have been operated
this year by Andrews & Gage and j.
A. Todd & Co., and the latter COM
pany secured more than three-fourths
Of the wheat sold to the elevators.
Todd e Co. are a commission house,
and operate only q few houses, recelV-
Ing consignments from many of the
farmers warehouses and from the di-
rect shipments of the producers. Only
about 1900 bushels Of wheat were
shipped direct from this station by the
farmers, and this is the best evidence
that the market has been fair.
In 1893 the Great Western Elevator
company began to buy wheat and to
pay for it with drafts on Minneapolis.
These We're on yellow paper and were
promptly named patent medicine al
MANAGES. 1t was during the year that
money was hard to get, and it soon
became known that the company was
compelling the farmers at Detroit
to accept the drafts and the merchants
and bankers to furnish them the mon
ey to transact their business here. Sen
ator John H. Smith, of the firm OF
Blanding & Smith, general merchants,
objected to the yellow alTnanacs and
the Great Western company's methods
and the firm leased the Northern Pa
cific house, which was idle at that
time. AS soon as Banding & Smith
began to pay cash for wheat the farm
ers hauled their grain to them and the
line company tried to freeze them out
by paying more than the market price.
This did not have the desired effect,
but resulted in bulling the price and
making business lively. The buyers
for Banding & Smith and the Great
Western company would mount each
q load of wheat and bid for it, often
running the price up to from three to
five cents above the list. This con-
tinued throughout the season and the
price was sometimes as much as seven
or eight cents above the market. The
same firm bought again during the
season of '94, and the price was again
kept up even with the terminal price,
less the freight. Neither side made
money, and Blanding & Smith admit
losing $500 during the two seasons.
They would have lost more had they
not watched the markets and taken
advantage of the advances. Their gain
was largely indirect, as the competi-
ton brought the farmers to Detroit,
and the payments in cash, instead of
by draft, kept the money in circula-
ton, stimulated trade and made col
lectionS easier.
Last fall when Senator Smith was
negotiating for the purchase of one of
the elevators for Todd & Co., Andrews
& Gage intimated their intention of
retaliating by putting in a general
store at Detroit. This did not alarm
Mr.. Smith, for he promptly offered to
lease them a building for that purpose.
They did not open a store, and the
elevator was purchased by Todd G.
Co. 1t has handled, as nearly as can
be ascertained, from the crop Of '95,
$4,000 bushels; the Andrews & Gage
house $4,000, and the direct shipments
aggregated $4,000 bushels. This makes
the total receipts of wheat 107, 900 bush
els against $4,000 bushels for the same
period during the season of 1894.
There were between twenty and
twenty-five carloads of wheat shipped
direct by the farmers and they claim
to have made from SIS to $40 a car
load over the local market by ship
ping direct to the terminal markets
Chris Medberg shipped five carloads
and was satisfied with the profit ovel
the local prices. Other shippers were
N. A. Benson, M. j. King, Ole Med
berg, Mrs. c. Baardson and Ole M
Berg