Oakes Republican. (Oakes, N.D.) 1898-1906, 1898-09-23
HIGHWAY ROBBERY!
How the Minnesota State inspection

How the Minnesota State inspection
Robs North Dakota Farmers.
The state papers are filled with
complaints of men who have shipped
wheat to Duluth this fall and had
the grades cut down on them. The
Duluth market has usually feen al
shade better in price, but the ptacticS
of reducing the grade in vogue in
that city has more than made up for
this. The following from Col. Mort
on of Fargo, published in the Forum,
is sample of the stories, and they
are to be found on every hand:
"You ask me about the Duluth
grades on wheat. There is not
enough profanity in the English
language to properly emphasize the
vi]lanious work that the state inspect
ors are doing at that terminal. lido
not state it as fact for have not
the testimony to sustain the charge
but I believe that either the inspect
ors at Duluth are as dishonest as
hell, or as Incompetent as the aver
age imbecile in an asylum for the
feeble minded. I have in my office
to-day samples of wheat sent me
from my correspondents in Duluth
that would have graded at any time
last year probably l hard-and that
would have graded atany time since
[ have been in business kere-and
that covers a period of eighteen
years. northern without question
of a doubt. These fellows at Duluth
these state offirials-either knaves
of fools--are grading our choice pro-
duct-much of it weighing over sixty
pounds-yellow and bright as an
American eagle-as No. 2 northern.
This grain will never leave the water
side of IA Duluth elevator except as
either [ hard or | northern wheat. [
do not know that the elevator people
have bought the state inspectors. 1
do not know that the elevator people
would make such deal-but I do
know that every North Dakota farmer
with good grade of No. l northern
wheat is robbed Of from $50 to SIS
for each and every car he ships.
This splendid cereal Of ours-as fine
milling wheat as [ have ever seen any
season-has not only been degraded,
but the scoundrels have widened the
difference between No. l and No. 2
Northern to 5 cents per bushel. Talk
about highway robbery-the fellow
that holds you up at the point of a
revolver is a gentleman compared
with the confidence man-the state
official at the termination the latter
gives you no sign of what he is going
to do to you until he gets your prop
erty into his hands-when you are
absolutely helpless, | do not know
that there is any relief in sight. The
average farmer cannot hold his wheat
on the farm-because he has nc
granary room. IT he ships it below
it must go into a special bin in an ell
evator-if he hopes for that protect
ion in securing proper grade-and
the question is whether the elevator
people would give him a special bin
1 claim that by reason of unjust i'll
spection the North Dakota farmer is
losing daily not less than from forty
to fifty thousand dollars. Now take
yesterdays receipts at Duluth. There
were % cars l hard, 237 l northern
ana 253 of No. 2 northern. From
samples delivered in this office by
farmers living within radius o
twenty-five miles of Fargo, not less
than 80 per cent Of the product from
these farms should have graded
northern, and would have graded
northern beyond q doubt had we re
ceived an honest inspection. Thinl
of it-with our excellent grade thi
year, very little wheat off color anc
generally weighing in the neighbor
hood Of sixty pounds per measured
bushel, with the receipts of yesterda.
at Duluth eggregating over 500 car