St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1896-02-08
F..TON FARMERS CLAIM THAT
THEY SUBMITTED TO Elk
TORTION.
SAME STORY OF THE COMBINE
AND GRADING OF NO. 4 HARD DOWN
TO NO. 2 NORTHERN OR
LOWER.
ALWAYS ROOM IN Low GRADES
High Grade Bins Were FuIl-Mer.
chants Propose to Build an
Elevator.
Special to the Globe.

FOSSTON, MINI, Feb. THE ele-
vator combine had absolute control Of
the wheat market at this place during
the rush Of wheat in the fall and early
winter, and the result was that thou
sands o. bushels Of grain were hauled
to other markets, where better prices
could be obtained, while the farmers
living north and east Of the town were
compelled to submit to the extortion
of the ring Wheat that last year, crop
Of '94, would have graded No. hard
was squeezed down to No northern,
and the farmers lost from two to five
cents a bushel. It was the same story
Of a short supply Of cars, and the
elevator bins for the higher grades Of
wheat being full, while there was al
ways room for the lower grades. AS
nearly all Of the farmers in the coun-
try tributary to Fosston raise but a few
hundred bushels of wheat each, they
were completely at the mercy Of the
combine. Those who raised from ] 1000 to
5000 bushels each were little better off,
as they were unable to secure cars for
track shipment, and nearly all Of them
| needed some money to pay for harvest
ing and threshing their grain.
There have been about 400, 900 BUSH
els Of wheat marketed here from the
crop Of 80, and the farmers have paid
tribute, above the legitimate margin
for handling, 10 the extent Of $4,000 at
least. Not only have the farmers suf-
fered because Of this extortion, but the
business men Of Fosston have partici-
pated in the loss. On account Of the
low prices the farmers have had less
money to apply to the payment of their
accounts and, instead Of having sur
plus with which to purchase goods for
cash. they have, in many instances,
been able only to pay part of their
! debts, and were compelled to ask for
! further extensions on the balance. 1t
is not alone the immediate loss that the
merchants complain of, but the indi-
rect effect fol the future. They main
! tain that the farmers will remember
| the treatment they have received when
| they brought their wheat to Fosston
this year. and the loss they were COM
PEELED to pocket when selling there
while, on the other hand. they were
well treated at Fertile. It will take
some lime to get the farmers to be-
lieve that the Fosston market Is fair
even when the merchants have
THEIR OWN ELEVATOR
and pay all there Is In 1t for the wheat.
That is what some Of the leading
| merhants propose to GO next yc1'. ID
| they are unable to secure q site for an
! elevator In case they are unable to
secure a site, they will build a house
outside of the right-of-way, and run
conveyors across to the companys side
track. That they will have a ware
house next fall that I'LL be independ-
ent of the combine, and that will force
the market to be fair, there is no ques-
| ton.
| The business men complain bitterly
| of the foolishness Of the Farmers
Elevator company in leasing their
| house to a man who has joined In with
| the combine and kept down both prices
| and grades. The farmers house has
| heretofore held the market even, but
this year the lossee has been no better
| than the line houses, and this was be-
| tho1Ict71t rnorn nf The re1taI Of ~ cents
a bushel, which he paid on all grain
handled through the house, than Of the
| benefit Of having a free and open mar
| ket. Only a few Of the farmers are
| stockholders in the company, and when
'@ev receive their dividends they are
simply participating In the oppression
| Of their neighbors. If the same fair
ness in grading that is the rule at the
farmers house at Mcintosh was true
at Fosston, there is even now a diff
ference Of a cent a busi1el in favor of
the open market at Mcintosh. On top
OF this there is usually difference of
grade for the same wheat against
FoSston, which makes an additional
margin Of cents bushel. There Is
no reason why this should be the case,
for
CARS ARE AVAILABLE
now and none of the elevators at either
point are full. Had the farmers been
able to hold their wheat until they
could get cars for track shipment,
there would be a large number who
would have sold their wheat direct;
but they were all forced to sell some
Of their grain and few, If any. have
carload still in their granaires.
An excellent plan for assisting the
farmers to ship their wheat is proposed
by o. L. Larson, one of the leading
merchants of Fosston.' His suggestion
is for the businessmen to join
together and erect shed
their wheat in /. sacks until they
Then, as many OF the farmers have not
enough sacks to hold a carload Of
grain, for the merchants to provide
and lease to such farmers enough ad-
ditfonal sacks to make up a carload.
The cost would only be sufficient to
cover the wear and tear on the sacks.
and they could be used many times
during the season. AS the grain would
be near TO the track, arrangements
could also be made for loading and
shipping the car for the farmer If he
did not happen to be in town when 1t
arrived. In this way the expense to
me H1erchant5 would not be great. and
the cost to the farmer for the use Of
Inc storage room and the use Of the
sacks. nominal one that would not
exceed one-Sorth Of cent a bushel.
This would be far better than placing
the wheat in private bin in an
elevator, as there would be no danger
OF mixing the wheat. and the cost
would be only oi1e-eighth that charged
ing and loading the grain.
There were only thirty-fiye carloads
Of wheat shipped direct from track
from Fos5to1 during the season, and
the reason for the small number Of
track shipments was the inability Of
the farmers to secure cars. Many Of
the farmers piled their wheat up in
sacks and, after waiting in vain for
weeks for cars, were finally forced to
CELL their grain to the
AGENTS OF THE OCTOPUS.
John Asplund, whowlives six miles
sast of Fosston, wasfone Of the farmers
WHO shipped part Of his wheat d.
rect and made money by the operation.
On Dee. "a he loaded 47o bushels Of
wheat into a car and consigned 1t to
a Duluth commissions firm. He could
not get III offer better than No. 2
northern ksre and when the returns
anne on Jan. 8. he found the grade at