The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1898-11-01
EUS'TIS and HUBERT
THEY HAVE ~BEEN INTIMATELY
CONNECTED WITH THE
WHEAT RING
STORY OF HULBERT's DOINGs
As Furnished by Capt. George @.
WhitcOmb, Formerly a PrOm-
fnent Farmer of Douglas County
1t Reflects Anything but Cred
1T on Him and the Ring Which
Backs Him and Eustts.

Backs Him and Eustis.
One Of the recent corners to the ranks
of the antiEustis forces is Capt.
George e. Whitcomb, of 401 Forest ave-
nue., Minneapolis, a lifelong RepubH-
can, and for over forty years a re-
spected citizen of the state.
Capt. Whitcomb knows the purpose
ana the methods of the wheat ring
which is backing William Henry Eus-
It's for governor, and which is respon-
sible for Foraker's appearance in Min
neapolis tonight. Capt. Whitcomb ex-
posed it last Saturday night by pub
licly presenting the original certified
letters at an anti-Eustis meeting Of
republicans in Alexander hall, on
Sixth street, between Hennepin and
Nlcollet avenues, Minneapolis. Capt.
Wh1tcomb is past seventy years OF age
and not in physical condition to do
much talking now, but has been a for
clole and eloquent public speaker. For
the meeting referred to the captain
had come out on, account of his inter-
est in the defeat of Mr. EuStis from
the old soldiers standpoint, he hav-
ing served through the Civil war He
was called on in connection with the
revelations Of Eustis' close connection
with the grain and elevator people and
as to his holdings and interest around
the Minneapolis Chamber of Com
merce. Capt. Whttcomb declared that
this was the most important point yet
made in the campaign.
Other speakers had brought this out
and had spoken Of the manner in
which the grain and elevator men car
ried the Hennepin county caucuses and
put EuStis' nomination safely through
the state convention. Then Capt Whit
comb took the floor. He spoke SO ear
neStly and SoSmuch from his personal
knowledge of the iniquities of the
wheat and elevator ring that it was by
far the most interesting of the many
interesting meeting that have been
held in the same place during the past
few weeks. The local application was
In the fact that G. S. Hubert the CEN
trail figure jim Capt. Whitcomb's ex-
posture, is the Republican candidate for
city treasurer Of. Minneapolis. Capt.
WhitcOmb related the whole story, and
described how he made the capture Of
the tell-tale, letters. He declared that
the present system conducted for the
grain and elevator men was on a par
with the system preceding it, when the
robberies of false weights and dockage
were committed by the Minneapolis
M1ilers' association. Then, he declared
there was a regular system of doing
the wicked business.
HOW FARMERS ARE ROBBED.
One way the captain described was
akin to the political discrimination of
Candidate Eustis against certain ma
tionalitieS. Hubert, as his letters
showed, informed his country agents
that there was a "king''-American
Swede, Norwegian. German or Irish
man, as the case might be-in each To-
cal1ty; that he should favor the seking''
and give him good weights and low
dockage, but he should make it up on
the ignorant. fellows, who would not
find it out. Hubert, the captain said,
had regular system, also, of keep
ing the agent up to his work Thus
the agent was kept posted and inform
ed that he was long or short, as the
case might be, in each branch Of the
crooked operations, and should correct
so and so, SO as to make it up; If short
on weights that, he had stolen. he must
cut deeper in other ways, etc, etc. 1t
was a most narrowing statement. Ey-
cry man. who heard Capt. Whftcomb
went out from the meeting vowing in
creased activity to defeat the man >on
whom the same rely that they may
continue the present robberies in grain
and inspection, for which Clausen,
through Judge Mills, is at present do
ing the apologizing.
Capt. Whitcomb, in 1885, wrote let
ter to the Minneapolis Tribune, in
which he asked certain pointed ques-
lions of Charles A. Pillsbury, which
were afterWard reprinted in The ST.
Paul G b of Sept. 81, 1892 After
deploring the apathetic condition Of
the Minnesota farmers, he asked:
C. A. PILLSBURY INTERROGATED.
Did you use the same tactics with the men,
i.
your way of thinking that you used with your
local agents to get them to do business on
your plan or in the way you marked out?
Did you tell one OF your local agents I'D
north on the line Of the st. Paul. Minneap-
car of No. l hard wheat to a certain party to
put in some No. l hard and have the car
show up as well as possible? And did you
tell him you expected him to make I'D some
grades but not to override the thing and
thereby kill the golden calf "a queer phrase)
which lays the golden egg?
Did you not tell this same agent of yours
to give one of his Customers an extra cent
per 5ushel on 554 bushels to satisfy him, but
take it out of him on grade and dockage?
And did you tell him in the same letter to
make something out Of some of the trade?
Did you tell this same agent to sugar
some of the ring-leaders from a certain local
ity? And did you refer him to your travel
Ing man, who would post him how to handle
them fine?
Did you send one of your elevator men
yOuI CuSth IOI 94OO. JeLlDR MIN he ahead
on grades, and you hoped he would be ahead
on weights?
Did you tell this same man Of yours to in
sst on parties shipping their wheat on their
own account If not satisfied with this grad
ing, fntinhating that nothing would cure fault
finding so quickly and effectually as that?
And finally. did you tell this agent to ''su-
gar certain fellows up and give them all
there was in it., and make it up by giving big
weights the other side?
Now, | hope you can answer all of these
SATISFACTORILY 70 orc
who are grooming under burdens too great for
them to bear. George c. Whitcomb.
The Chicago Herald exposed the
wheat ring in 1882, and it was during
this exposure that The G l o b printed
the above questions. About the same
time, the Herald sent a representative
to interview Mr.. Whitcomb, who was
then, as now living in MINNEAPOLIS.
The interview was printed as follows:
Mr.. WHITCOMB'S INTERVIEW.
In the spring 1855 1 was working my
farm at Alexandria, where 1 had the repu
tation of raising pretty good crops. 1 had
between 5000 and 5000 bushels of wheat that
season, all of which hauled to the Pills
buryHulbert elevator at Alexandria.
rather prfded myself on ray systematic meth
Cd of farming. and was especially careful in
saching my wheat after hauling it to the
elevator. had one%man fill every bag of
wheat that went into the wagons and so
evenly was each sack filled that with the
three teams had hauling to the station, the
loads did not vary Eve pounds from each
'' One day. aft@ lad sent in some 5oa
bushels, my foleman came back, and without
saying a word flatd down check which he
had received fTHm tAe agent in payment for
that days deli Very IL wheat. l was busy at
the time, and did not stop to figure the loads,
but later on | made a careful computation,
and discovered that the agent had made my
loads forty pounds lighter than my weights
! at once called in khy foreman and asked
him what it meant Ffe replied: "Oh. they've