St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1896-02-10

could get them to do so. It was L. d.
Marshall, superintendent of the eleva-
tor company, who told me that I was
short and who said he would credit the
twenty days salary or the account I
heard nothing more about their claim
for shortage until; late in the summer
when a man named McWilliams. who
represents the Fidelity and Casualty
company, came UP from MINNEAPOLIS
and said the elevator company had
complained that / was short and they
had demanded from the Fidelity and
Casualty company payment under nv
bend for something like 500 bushels Of
wheat. That is the amount as near as
I can remember. IStold him had ship
ped out every pound of wheat taken
into the house, except what
MIGHT HAVE LEAKED
because the building was out Of re-
pair, and that had never had a cent
from the company that 1 had not earn
ed. He advised and urged me to make
a settlement and save trouble and costs.
but I told him / would fight as long
as I could get an attorney to fight for
me. told him about the patent
screen, and that was the first he had
heard of it. He wanted to know how
much the screenings had weighed, and
/ told him to get that information from
Andrew Berg, who had worked for me
during. the season and knew how much
had been taken out, for he had loaded
the wheat into the cars. McWilliams
insisted upon my making an affidavit,
and l finally gave him one on best of
knowledge and belief" Then he went
over to town and got one from Berg,
although Berg and I had never talked
about the matter. AS the two affi-
davits claimed almost the same
a JIr0f 70 llyaY1 II
Williams told me that it appeared to
make me all right and that the COM
pany had no claim If there was that
amount of screenings taken out
When he went AWAY after telling me
this I thought the matter was settled
and did not expect any further trouble
The next thing knew the Fidelity &,
Casualty company brought a suit
against me nearly a year later, claiming
ing twice Las muEh shortage as they
! originally had and figuring it on what
they considered the wheat worth to
them. and not basing the estimate up
on the market price. / employed Hon.
Halvor Steenerson, of Crookston, to de-
fend me, and he has fought the case
for three years and a half and met
every move and trick of the company
that has been prosecuting me.
For two years did not buy wheat,
although I wrote to Mr.. Marshall and
asked him to give me the house again.
That was after tire Red River Valley
company had failed and the house hid
passed into the hands Of the ST.. An
thony & Dakota Elevator company, of
which Mr.. Marshall is now and was at
the time I applied for the house the
superintendent. Mr., Marshall refused
to give me the house and said he could
not do so unless the Fidelity & Cas-
ualty would bond me, and that they
do So 1J1 oI,
was settled up. This practically black
listed me, as I knew that the same
company bonded all the buyers for all
of the elevator companies in this part
Of the country.
For two seasons / did not buy wheat
and the following two bought on track
here for the Lake Superior Grain COM
peny. They furnished me the money
to do business with and did not ask
for any bonds. I came out ahead by
track buying, and the farmers were
also gamers, fer the elevators were
not grading any of the wheat higher
than No. northern. and had not been
during the two seasons after I was
dropped AS soon as [ bean to buy
they had to give No. hard for a good
share, of the wheat or go without any.
Last fall / was busy on my brother-in-
laws farm, and did not buy wheat, al
though the farmers all urged me to
buy on track and promised to give
me their wheat to handle.
II don't know what 1 shall do now,
for my brother-in-raw has gone away
to get married and will want the house
for himself and his wife. I will try to
get fiat house put up for me some
where in this section and buy indie
pendently next year. This trouble has
caused me to lose what little money L
had saved UP, but have my health
Wi fc
and two children as long as that holds
out"
HISTORY OF THE CASES.
The prosecuting company took ad
vantage of every possible opportunity
to harass the defendant Eickhoff In
the first place, the suit was instituted
against him at Minneapolis, over 800
miles from his home, and the place
where he had bought the wheat for
the elevator company. Then they re
fused to stfpulate for the-Femoval Of
the case to the county in which de-
fendant resides, a right which is guar
anteed to him by the laws of the state.
1t then became necessary for his at
torney, Hon. Halvor Steenerson, to
make a trip of 300 miles, from Crooks
ton to Minneapolis, to argue the mo-
ton for a change of venue before one
Of the judges of the Hennepin county
court. Then the plaintiff notified the
defendants attorney to appear in both
ST. Paul and Minneapolis at the same
hour Of the same day to take deposit
tions of witnesses. MIR. Steenerson was
compelled to make another 300-mile
trip to examine these witnesses, al
though he could not examine Charles
Runnels ait the office Of the state
weighmaster at the state capitol at
10 a. m. Oh Oct. IL, 1893, and at the
Identical hour be present at the ex-
animation. in Room 603, Guaranty
Loan building, Minneapolis, of r. n.
Hayden and E. E. Mitchell. On the
same day, at the unusual hour Of 7:30
p. M, he was notified to appear at the
same room in the Guaranty Loan
building to examine seven more wit
nesses. Then on May Is, 1894, Mr..
Steenerson had to make another trip
to Minneapolis to take the testimony
of Craig McQuaid.' The attorneys for
the Fidelity and Casualty company
would never accept service Of answers
and other notices that were mailed,
and Mr.. Steenerson was compelled to
secure an affidavit of mailing when
ever he used the Iuails to serve a no
tice.
When the decision Of the supreme
court was handed down Mr.. Steenerson
was in ST. Paul before the supreme
court in another case. He then asked
the attorney for the Fidelity and
Casualty company to stipulate for ad-
ditional time in which to file his an
swer to the amended complaint, as he
would be unable to do so in the two
days that remained after the remit
titur of the court had been filed. This
request was refused. and the Fidelity