The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1898-11-22

1'u4uti dflu 81. lUcIuQtlR the eS-
adjustment Of Minnesota grades and
the appointment of inspectors and
Weighers. In 1895 the Jurisdiction of
the commission was so extended as TO
include country elevators and ware
houses located on railroad right of way.
The purpose Of the commission has
not been successfully impeached. While
its action in the fixing of a schedule OF
rates might be considered in a way leg
islative, yet the prOviso that these rates
must be fair and reasonable made it's
operation quasi-judicial, and the ap-
poIntment of servants to see that these
schedules We're enforced gave it an ele-
ment Of the executive.
With three men in charge of such
ample powers, the people of the state
looked for relief from the abuses under
which they had suffered
For years the prices Of grain had been
fixed by an elevator combine, the head
quarters of which were located in Min
neapolis. AT one time this organiza-
tien had been open and above board.
The office rate was public and it's dec
larations openly avowed, but as the
breadth Of its opera tions encroached on
the just rights Of the farmer the asso-
cation hid itself behind a mask Of Sc
crecy.
WORK OF THE COMBINE.
Originally this elevator combine, per-
haps, was content to establish a settled
basis Of fixing grain prices arrived at
in this way:
From the Minneapolis market price
OF the previous afternoon was to be
deducted a fixed charge for freight.
insurance, dockage and inspection
charges adjusted in regard to the
mileage of the station at which the
elevator was located from Minneapolis.
This arrangement was never eminent
ly satisfactory, as when wheat would
take bulge" of few cents in a day.
farmer who sold his wheat at the
market price of the night before, and
subsequently learned of the rise, was
chagrined
But the elevator companies were not
content with this advantage. and when
high grade wheat was slow in sale
1t was customary to send out an order
to rural elevator managers to take none
but lower grade wheat. Then some
thing like this enSued: A farmer drove
up to the elevator with a wagon load
Of No. l hard. If he was insistent
enough to watch the grading Of his
own wheat he was advised that it was
l hard all right, but that the elevator
had no room for it, as the No. / hard
bins were all full. He then had the
choice Of dumping it either into No.
l northern or No. hard bins, and talk
ing the lower price. 1t worked so well
that finally it was almost impossible
for the farmer to secure a grade of
No. l hard. Some eminent authorities
said that the wheat could not be raised
in Minnesota.
From this the elevator men increased
their margin Of profit by swelling the
dockage. and where a carload of wheat
might be liable to an honest dockage
of half pound on a bushel, they ran
the limit to one. one and a half or
two pounds. Only few cents on each
bushel. this amounted to not a littIe
on car, and to a small fortune when
the rule was
APPLIED TO EVERY ACRE
Of wheat in a thickly settled and In
dustriously farmed locality.
The farmers kicked on this. The
railroad and warehouse commission
and adherents of the Republican
machine generally rallied to the de-
Tense Why ii was urged, the Mime
sofa grain grade, established by this
commission, is recognized the world
over. And it was. That was before
the peculiar work Of the department
began. Then it came about that a
farmer, taking two carloads of wheat
from the same field and the same
stack. might send one to Duluth and
one to Minneapolis and have one grad
ed No. l northern and the other No.
. northern. the chances being that the
Minneapolis grade was the lower.
Why was this? The Minneapolis
miller, buying his wheat at the lower
grade, was able to turn ii into first
grade -four and ship it East. The
wheat at Duluth was just as it went
i
ed into -four at Duluth or sent down
the lakes and milled somewhere in
transit, it had the Duluth grade, for
the minute that the Duluth port in
spectors began to toy with the grades,
the shipper had Superior with an equal
freight rate and equal harbor facilities,
to protect him. There was a deal of
talk about the confusion resulting from
these mixed grades. The honest in
speCtors did not agree with the other
honest ones, so finally through the in
tervention OF some powerful factors in
the grain trade the wheat and -four
business of Duluth and Superior was
all but practically under the Mime
sofa law Even then the difference be-
tween Duluth grades and Minneapolis
grades continued so apparent that ev-
cry farmer came to see that the grades
were being shaded" as the saying is.
letter informing him that his dockhge
vas running too low, or that his
grades were running too low. Then
he would scale the farmers wheat a
little bit tighter
MULCTING THE GRAIN RAISER.
All these expressions. mulcting the
grain raiser of the legitimate profits
of his labor. were either contributed to
swell the profits Of warehouse COM
panies or massed for purpose by the
glnin gamblers Of the Minneapolis
chamber Of commerce.
The Democratic platform of the last
campaign pledged the party TO thor
ough and complete reform of unjust
determinations and exorbitant charges
in the fields under the supervision Of
this commission. Mr.. Lind's speeches
during the campaign pledged him per
sOnally to an honest reformation. and
he has given every indication of an in
tention to enforce his purpose.
When he names a successor to
Judge Mills, who, it is said, viii prob
ably be Peter Nj. Ringdal, of Crooks
ton, recently defeated for congress by
Frank NJ. Eddy, the backbone OF the
Republican ring viii be broken. There
will then be one Republican, Nathan
l.. Becker. and the new appointee
who. if Mr.. Ringdal is named, will be
a representative of the Peoples party.
If the Democrat on the board Joins
with Mr.. Lind's appointee, some re-