The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1898-06-09
More lncompetency.

In 1892 the Democrats made the
abuses that had grown up in the ele-
vator business of the state an issue of
their campaign. They gathered evil
derce of the tricks, the games, the
frauds by which the grain growers
were cheated, printed it In a pamphlet
and scattered it over the state. For
years complaints had been increasing
of robbery by the elevators. and eleva-
tor agents stated that such were the
methods prescribed by their employers
that they had to cheat in order to keep
even or hold their jobs. The pamphlet
created an immense sensation among
the grain growers, every one of whom,
out of his own experience, corroborat-
ed it's statements.
How did the Republicans meet the
onslaught. for it was under their con-
troll of the state that these abuses had
been fostered? They sent emissarias
out among the farmers, who said to
them: 1t is true you have been robbed
by the elevators; we all know that.
But the question for you to consider
is whether it is not better for you to
stand this stealing a little longer un-
til we can get Republican governor
and legislature to enact laws to pre-
vent stealing, than it Is to elect Ro-
man Catholic governor and let him
appoint Catholic priest superfntend-
ent of schools and divide the state
school money with the parochial
schools And the poor gullible dolts
concluded to trust RepubIicanism once
more
And they got left, as usual They got
their Republican governor and Iegisla-
ture, and in 1893 there was enacted
chapter % of the General Laws, which
provided that ''all elevators in which
grain is stored and handled" situate
on the right of way of a railroad, "are
declared to be public elevators, and
shall be under the supervision and sub
ject to the rules and regulations of
the railroad commission They had
to take out a license, and the accept
ance of 1T was made an agreement to
accept and comply with the provisions
Of the act Then followed a rigmarole
OF detailed regulations relative to re-
ceiving. storing, shipping and so on.
Complaints still coming in, the legis-
lature of 1895 enacted chapter 14S,
which follows the former act, with al
terations to make it more stringent
1t makes all elevators in which grain
is received, stored, shipped or ham
died. public elevators thus widening
the scope of the law. The conjunctive
land" of the first act was changed
| to the distinctive "or' in the second.
When this attempt to regulate the
elevators was pending, the Glob e
pronounced it an Intentional deIusion
of the farmers; a pretense of helping
them, While in reality tying them
tighter. 1t pointed out that it did not
include elevators that were used solelv
to store and ship grain bought by
ond act was passed.. and it was at
tempted to extend the control of the
state over strictly private business,
ore as individual as merchandising.
This We regarded as an invasion of
personal liberty that the courts would
not sustain. Recently, case has been
decided so holding. The Cargills. op-
Grating line of elevators, were sued
by the railroad commission for VIOLA
ton of the acts. They answered that
they used their elevators to store, han
die and ship only grain bought by
themselves, on their own account, and
that the law could not affect or con-
trol them. Judge Bum sustained their
contention and held the act, so far as
it put private elevators, so used, under
subsection to the railway commission,
to be unconstitutional and void. This
leaves the law to operate only on eleva-
tors sustaining the relation of baiIeas
to depositors of grain. It takes out of
the law all the great line elevators and
all others used only to store grain
bought by the. owner. The acts stand
as one more monument to Republican
lncompetency in remedial legislation.