The representative. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1893-1901, 1896-01-29
A SHAMEFUL CONDITION
THE ROBBERY BY THE ELE-
VATOR RING.
THE WRETCHED WHEAT-RAIS-
ERS THE VICTIMS OF
SCOUNDRELS
The Republican State Government
Stands Idly by and Raises Not
Finger in Their Defense.

{We have not any faith in the ST. Paul
Globe. Every two years just before
election. it raises a rumpus about the
wheat rings. and then slumps down again
into harmless silence 1t
Compounds for sins it is inclined to
By damning those it has no mind to-
But the devil we are told can quote
scripture and even the Globe can tell the
truth now and then. 1t recently sent out
a correspondent to the Red River Valley
and some of the facts he collected, are
given below.
The farmers around Warren, Mimi,
were so shamefully robbed by the ele-
vator ring that they could not pay their
debts, and were hauling their wheat for
great distances to other stations. The
merchants of Warren began to realize
that the Ring were injuring themselves
in plundering the farmers. They en-
ployed gentleman named Glavin to help
the farmers make the fight. The elevator
men retorted by threatening to open a
great store in Warren and undersell and
crush the merchants the merchants sug
gested that they would bring the grand
jury into operation, and indict the scoun-
drels and send them to Saltwater; and
thereupon they hauled in their horns
The object, (of the merchants), was
to aid the farmers and at the same time
hold their trade. They started out to
right the wrongs which were being prac-
ticed upon their people and did not think
it necessary to make use of even 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 sup
posed they had done the "best they could
to relieve the situation. He could not un-
derstand why Mr.. Burdick, the super
vising inspector of country elevators,
should come before the board of trade
and attempt to defend the elevator men
as he did on Nov. r. His course in the
matter appeared to him to be wholly in
defensible and, if he was employed to do
what he had done at Warren, he thought
there must be a misinterpretaton of the
law, for he did not believe it was the
province Of the grain inspection depart
ment Of the state to uphold the elevator
owners in their oppression Of the produc-
ers. If he was acting under orders from
the commissioners or the chief inspector
the department had better be abolished;
if he was proceeding on his own account
then it would be proper to abolish Bur-
dick.
This is the same Burdick who rushed
into our columns to reply to Mr.. Seth
Bottomley and show that the grain rails
ers were not robbed on the basis of the
Liverpool markets, but Mr.. Bottomly suf-
ficiently answered him.-ED. REP.
Hon. Andrew Grindeand, one Of the
leading attorneys of the Red river val
ley, was one of the citizens of War
rem who took active part in the
troubles arising from that wheat block
ade. He was one of the chief council
ors in the board Of trade, and at the sit
ting of the railroad commissioners at
Warren, called the attention of the com
missoners to some of the provisions of
the law of 1S5, of which they were at
that times ignorant. 1t appeared that
none of the commissioners were aware
that it was criminal OffenSe for the
agent of an elevator company to refuse
to receive grain for storage shipment;
to issue a receipt for wheat which did
not specify the correct grade: the gross
and net weight thereof and the amount
of dOckage. This was a surprise to those
who were present at the meeting, for the
law had been studied by them in their
effort to secure relief, and they thought
the commissioners should have knowl-
edge of the laws under which they were
working, and which they were sworn to
administer.
Mr.. Grindeland said he knew of in
stances where farmers had hauled their
wheat from within four miles of Warren
to East Grand Forks "a distance of TWEEN
ty-five miles, and had received from So
to SIG more on a single trip for the wheat
than they would have realized had they
marketed it at Warren. He said that
after Mr. Glavin began his work, and the
blockade was raised, there was an imme-
diate advance in the price of wheat. often
reaching to cents a bushe1 Not only
did the farmers from the country tribu-
tary to Warren receive the benefit of the
advance. but many farmers hauled
wheat through Argyle, nine miles north
Of Warren. and sold it here for 43 cents
a bushel when they could only get Sc or
81 cents for it at Argyle.
When the Burdick incident was reached.
Mr.. Grindeland spoke his mind thus: II
consider that mans statements an insult
to every person in this town. He came
here and told us that he had been over
the line in September as Il detective, and
knew all about the business that had
been done by the elevator companies. He
said that the elevator companies lad
been the losers. IS the grades they had
given at Warren did not hold out under
inspection at terminals. He tried to
make US believe that we had an inferior
grade of wheat, when it was conceded
on all sides that better crop had never
been harvested in the Ped river valley.
Then he went step too far, and claimed
that there had only been marketed at
Warren from the crop of95 between 90.
900 and 900 bushels. This. when all
the elevators in the town We're said to be
full of wheat, and their combined capac-
ity is at least go 600 bushels to say
nothing Of that which had been shipped
out during the two months and q half
since the commencement of the harvest
in August. That broke the ice. and
after roasting Mr.. Burdick, we left the
room in disgust and went to another one
to decide upon plan Of action. ''The re-