The representative. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1893-1901, 1899-02-08


Of the receipts. It may be that he finds
that at Minneapolis or at Duluth there are
three or four times as many cars received
per day as are received in Chicago, and
tomorrow he decides to wait another day
and still another day, until the price be-
gins to sag. The grain representing the
larger receipts comes into the market in
due course Of time and he buys at Ole
cent or two cents lower than he would
have been required to pay II the grain had
not been rushed into the market.
Notwithstanding the fact that the great
waterways over which a large proportion
OF Northwestern grain advances to the
larger markets are closed; and the addi-
t1onal fact that the grain has been carried,
meanwhile in the elevators, at high prices
for storage. the enormous receipts are re-
duced, and the prices begin to advance
Now the remedy for that, as far as can
Judge, would be for the farmers to be pre-
pared to hold their own wheat and market
1t at their leisure and in their own time,
and not all rush it to market within say 60
days. The receipts Of our road alone, at
country stations, frequently exceed O0O0
bushels a day. Now, II our road carried
one-third Of all the wheat shipped on a Civ
en- day, this would represent Northwestern
receipts on the basis Of 100000 bushels a
day. The men who are buying wheat know
this. They are daily Informed Of the fact,
and they know that with the enormous re-
ceipts they
CAN WIDEN THE PRICES
between those ruling at terminal points and
those which exist in the country. They
margin the elevator charge in the country
accordingly, and that charge Is three or four
times the elevator charge at tho terminals;
and | do not think that In these large ele-
vators, notwithstand ng the price Is lower
than 1t was four years ago, tho rate has
gone from one and a quarter cents to ono
and half cents a bushel These terminal
elevators are not getting poor. They do
not go out Of business.
If the farmers had small, inexpensive
grain houses Of their own and would clean
their grain at home, saving the screenings
that are now selling at So per ton or 40
cents per 100 pounds, bushel Of SCREEN
ings at 80 pounds to tho bushel would be
worth ~ cents, which Is the price of oats.
man would not think Of hauling his oats
mixed with his wheat and not know that
this reduces the value Of his grain He
would not give his oats away or give his
screenings away, and send them to market
at his own expense, then to be charged with
the dcckage for cleaning his grain that he
could clean at home. The screenings fed to
his own live stock. his own sheep, his own
cattle his own hogs. would enable him to
add at least two and one-half cents q bushel
to the price Of his grain.
This Is little DEPRESSION, but at the Same
time 1t Is in line with what you are con-
best Judgment can give you. raised some
wheat in Minnesota. have farm in the
western end Of the Red River valley. I
remember that in 1876 wheat was selling at
the terminals at 81 and 81 cents; at that
time the receipts were large. Everybody
was marketing his grain and the price was
down. 1 saw number Of my friends at
the state fair, and told them that II I
publicly advised them to hold their grain
they would probably try to hold me respon-
sible for it. However. 1 said did not buy
grain, but that 1 would hold nv own and
believed that by
MARKETING IT LEIsuRELY
I would, before the 1st OF September, ret
70 cents per bushel for 1t. I did not sell
any before Nov. 1, and commenced my sales
at 70, and sold the last at 49, 1t was selling
at about so and "a cents, and in the country
somewhere between 40 and A.
There are great many things you can
do. and I feel sure that If you select good
men who mean to stand by the interests
they are selected to represent you will do
a good deal Of good. But you can go on and
do great deal more. You have, in meas
ure, emancipated yourselves, and whether
you succeed after electing this man, or that
man, will depend upon how far they shall
carry the interests you represent farther
and higher and how far you shall hold
them to the front year after year.
Now, you may think that it Is strange,
coming from me, but do not stand behind
any man in the state in wishing the farmers
prosperity. l know this-that what can be
done. what is reasonable to be brought
about. whatever reasonable and intelligent
effort will undertake to accomplish will
always be ready to cooperate to the fullest
extent with the farmers and their repre-
sentatives.
Now we will go back. Take our own rail-
way, for instance. and in this perhaps, ]
m ny show to what an extent we have In the