Devils Lake inter-ocean. (Devils Lake, Ramsey Co., Dakota [N.D.]) 1884-1905, 1901-10-18
THE PELICAN POINT BRIDGE.

SAANA AA\A~~AeI
Is The Real Cause Of The Advanced
Prices Of Wheat and Flax in
This City.
In recent issue of the Free
Press, the statement was made that
the cause of the elevators in this
city paying more for wheat and
flax than at any other point in this
section of the state, was because
ofSthe opening of the Winter &,
Ames house here. This article at
tracted the attention of the other
elevator companies. who have
agencies in Devils Lake, and as
result the following letter was
written by high official of one of
the companies to Hon. A. O.
Whipple, president of the First
National Bank of this city.
II herewith hand you clipping
from the Devils Lake paper. I
wish you would see the editor and
have talk with him, and get him
to correct this misstatement that
he made. Now, the facts are, that
the Minneapolis & Northern Ele-
vator Co., the St. Anthony & Da-
kota Elevator Co., and the Nation
al Elevator Co., subscribed and
paid several hundred dollars to-
ward the erection of that new
bridge. This they did to benefit
the Devils Lake people and their
elevator companies) trade as we'll.
Realizing the fact that something
must be done with new people to
divert them from old channels in
to the new, we advanced prices of
wheat and flax to point where
there is no profit in either with the
sole view of getting these people
turned towards Devils Lake, and
this was done before we knew the
Winter, Ames Co., was operating a
. house at Devils Lake. In dong
this, I did not imagine for {
! minute we would get black eye
. through your paper, or your citi-
! zens, where we should receive
nothing but praise. You can say
as much or as little as you think
, best to the newspaper people, bu
I we certainly feel that justice should
! be done US if nothing more"
. It will be more readily under
. stood that the assertions in the
: above letter are facts when it i,
known that the three elevators
. Minneapolis & Northern, St
Anthony & Dakota, and tn.
2 National Elevator Co., contributed
2 81, 700, real large sum of money
3 towards the construction of tn,
= bridge which resulted in the open
Z ing up of large fax territory tt
. this city. The bridge being com
2 pleted, the elevator companies, il
2 order to procure the grain raised
. across the lake, at once Offered
prices for fax and wheat tina
. ranged from three to eight cent
: above the market price of the res
pective grains. It might be sup
posed that competition, caused b,
the new elevator, was the cause O
the raise, but there was no reason
why this should occur, because th,
new concern by raising prices il
accordance, could command
share of the trade. The real rea
son of the rise in prices, above tn,
market value of the grains, is a
asserted in the above letter, due t.
the fact that the elevator compan
les who contributed money for th
J construction Of the bridge, desires
to get the trade which really be
z longs to them, from the farmer
Z on the south side of the lake
Z And thus we understand that th
+ bridge will be the result of bring
z ing thousands of dollars into thi
& city each day, for when the farm
= ers across the lake realize tha
they can obtain a much highe
2 price for their grain here thai
{ elsewhere, they will sell their pro
Z duce here. and make their pur