The Redwood gazette. [volume] (Redwood Falls, Minn.) 1873-1940, 1900-03-07
MATTERS or INTEREST,"

The farmers Of Minnesota and
North and South E a o "a are beginn-
ing to experience some Of the fruits Of
reformin the Populist grain inspec-
ton bureau. For the first few month S
OF its ext stance the bureau was abe
to persuade the grain growers that
they were being benz fitted by a.
more liberal system Of inspection
but it was inevitable that the change
in the system should work to the
ultimate disadvantage of the farmer.
Grain buyers were distrustful of the
bureau from the time it went into
Populist hands, but they showed
their intentions to give it fair trial
by making purchases in the usual
way on certificates of inspection.
It was found that when these GER
tiicates, followed by the grain itself,
were presented to the buyers that
there was wide discrepancy be-
tween the face of the certificate and
the character of the grain. This of
course, destroyed confidence in the
inspection system and resulted in
the immediate establishment of the
system of buying by sample, the
inspector S certificate of grade being
totally ignored.
Long before the eastern buyer
had become aware of the fiuctuating
character or the Minnesota grain
| grades and the inaccurate and bung
ling work of the Minnesota inspec-
tors, the buyers at Minneapolis and
| Duluth had discovered that the re-
form inspectors knew nothing what
ever about the quality of the grain,
and paid not the slightest attention
to the gra lie fixed by the inspector
in making the price of the grain.
It is found, and will be shown by
reference to the daily market reports
of Minneapolis sales of cash wheat,
that it is matter of common occur
renee for wheat upon which the in.
spector has placed the grade mo l
Northern, to sell as low as whole
cargoes that have been graded
rejected or mo grade. In other
cases it is equally noticeable that
cargoes of wheat selling at the ruiz
ing price for No. l or No. Northern
are found after the wheat has been
bought, to have been graded by the
inspector as rejected -smutty. :
The grain trade is probably the
best organized of any business in
the country and has it's agencies at
every shipping point and ultimate
market of the world. Of course, it
was Immediately notified of the un-
satisfactory condition of affairs in
the Minnesota inspection bureau as
soon as it had became apparent to
the local buyers. The discovery OF
such irregularities in the system,
as was to be expected, led to an i'm
mediate system of buying by
sample and the complete demorali
zation of the system of inspection as
governing the price.
When the French, English and
German buyers of grain began to
discriminate against Minnesota and
Dakota wheat on account of the un-
certainty and variation of the grades,
Inspector Reishus rushed into print
with an explanation that the elevator
men at Boffalo were conspiring to
degrade the Minnesota wheat by
mixing it with the inferior red
winter wheat of the states to the
south of us. In other words, Chief
Inspector RelShuS took the amazing
position that the Buffalo elevator
men. who, be it understood, are
simply handlers of the grain, and
have absolutely no interest in it
except to collect their fees as hand
lers, took wheat that was worth y
cents and mixed it with wheat that
was worth only IS cents in order to
beat down the price of 6e-cent
wheat Was ever more absurd or
preposterous proposition set up by
any sane man? In the first place,
it was absurd to suppose that the
elevator man would go to the expense
and trouble of mixing wheat that he
had no interest in, and in the second
place it is foolish to the point Of
imbecility to say that 68-cent wheat