The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1902-01-25
FLOUR men OPPOSE
JOIN GRAIN MEN IN OPPOSING
THE NEW TAX
LAW
FLAX PEOPLE ALSO PROTEST
Is n Blow at the Producer Primarily
elevators VIII BE Empty
After Its Pas
sage.
FLAX PEOPLE ALSO PROTEST

The agitation concerning the grain tax
clause in the new tax law which has
been developing for the past week is get
ting to the point where definite action is
being considered. Senator Baldwin's
strong arraignment of the law in this
particular has opened the eyes of the
grain and flour interests of the state
and within a few days the millers and
grain men will hold conference to de-
eide upon the proper steps to be taken
in opposing the proposed change before
the coming session of the legislature.
Charles NJ Harrington, the well known
Minneapolis grain man, says of the pro-
posed law:
The proposed law taxing grain in ter
minal elevators hits the grain and flour
business hard, and Indirectly every grain
raiser who ships to Minneapolis and Du-
luth will be affected. 1t will discriminate
against the two cities in favor of Chi
cago and West Superior to the extent
of at least a cent and a half per buShel.
It would wipe out the present carrying
charge between Minneapolis and Chicago,
and tend to drive the business of grain
storage to those points. The burden will
really fall on the farmer. Under the pres
ent system the carrying of huge stocks
of wheat in Minneapolis elevators during
the winter months keeps a large amount
of wheat off the market during the weeks
following the harvesting of the crop and
holds the market steady. This is evidenc-
ed by the fact that while the tranSporta-
ton rate between Minneapolis and Chi
cago is from to cents per buShel,
there is rarely a difference between the
two markets of more than cents. The
farmers are the gamers by the difference.
Now wipe out our carrying charge and
inevitably this condition cannot continue.
The market a. points of country delivery
will be based on the full all-rail charge
to Chicago The Minneapolis terminal ele-
VatOrS now pay from $50, 600 to $40, 200 a
in IA credits which is grain
in storage We bear this whole burden
ourselves, but increase it to the. extent
proposed by the new law-and the farm
ers Will have to take their turn.
Mccarthy Airs His Views.
John Mccarthy, well known warehouse
man of Duluth, declares that the carry
ing out of the principle aimed at in the
proposed bill in general practice in the
grain trade would simply result IN the
farmer getting to cents less per bushel
for his grain.
Applying the principle in Minnesota
alone" said Mr.. Mccarthy, would sim
of the business. They would have to pay
the tax on another mans wheat after
they had lost all recourse against the
owner of the grain. About six years ago
the elevators at the head of the lakes re-
duced their charges for handling grain
in transit from l cent to y cent per
month for carrying charges, and from
IA cents to p cent for shipping out the
grain, as well as elevating. From so to
70 per cent of the grain received here
only stays long enough to earn the ele
VatorS u cent under the tWenty-day stor-
age provision Yet, this tax commission
proposes to tax the elevators or 8 cents
per bushel on this grain, which does not
belong to them at all, just because they
have the privilege of earning IL cent a
buShel out of it."
E. N. Bradley, of the Peavey Elevator
company, declared that the proposition
TAr foil GOTTE
[ think it has been pretty well settled
that such law would be unconstitution-
al. I understand that only last week
the Illinois supreme court rendered a de-
cision that grain in terminal elevators
was grain in transit and could not be
taxed by the state. l also understand
that there are decisions of the same tenor
in other states.
John Washburn, president of the Min
neapolis Chamber of Commerce, says:
''The undoubted effect Of the proposed law
would be to kill the grain and flour
trade in Minneapolis and Duluth. If we
had foreseen this action, there would
have been no 5000 900 increase in the
storage capacity of Minneapolis elevators
this past year,
Flax Men Join In
The fax interests of Minneapolis are
| beginning to openly oppose the new bill,
claiming that its passage will kill off
the Flour City as a fax market The
flax men will join with the flour interests
and the Duluth grain men in protesting
against the passage of the bill in its
present shape. The flax men say that
the effect of the law will be to divert fax
that has been coming into Minneapolis to
| West Superior.
The flax men object o the passage of
the bin on the further ground that the
proposition to have it become operative
April 1 is an injustice. 1t is too sudden,
they say. and in this all the grain men
are unanimous. Present stocks of grain
| here comprise 16,697,0 bushels of wheat,
| 194,052 bushels of corn, 31,211 bushels of
cats, 1888 bushels of rye and 103, 100
bushels of barley, which, with the fax in
store here, makes a total of 1881, 1853
bushels. If the bill is to pass and become
effective April 1, 1t is reasonable to ex-
pect that the country holders will make
every effort to rush their grains to mar
ket and shift the burden upon the big
terminal elevator men. Receipts in Feb
ruary and March would probably exceed
all previous records by far. But the ter
minal men are not going to fall over
one another to buy wheat that will be
heavily assessed on April l. The eonse-
quence will be declines in values, the loss
Of which will fall upon the farmer.