The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1904-04-25
Criticises State Grain inspection and Be-
lives National System Worse.

To the Editor Of The Globe:
There is at this time quite fuss in the
national grain inspection bill in congress.
and l notice in the St. Paul G 0 b for
April IL that the grain elevator owners Of
Duluth, Minneapolis and Superior are ap-
pealing to Senator Nelson for an answer
to the charges in McCumber's bill. At
first McCumber'S charges looked to be
greatly exaggerated, but upon closer eX-
animation and some little figuring he is
not so many million dollars out Of the
way after ALL We will say that Mime
sofa marketed on an average 10000. 900
bushels and North Dakota 40, 600, 900 BUSH
els OF wheat per year for the last ten
years. The total would be 900 600 900
bushels sold at Duluth, Superior and Min
neapoI1s. Let us say the loss on grade
half of 800. zoe 900 Is Il. 66o, 900 at
? cents per bushel, is 50 600, 600 Add
TO this loss on docllage of one-haIf
a pound per busheI or 450, 600. 600 pounds at
an average of cent per pound or S4. 500. =
GOO. Add to this the shortage on the
cars, averaging all the way from three to
i've bushel per car load on 1000 bushels
to the car, or 900. 600 car loads. five bush
els per car, $500, 900 bushels, at an aver
age OF 90 cents per buShel. will be an
other item, 81, zoe, zoe. Then take all the
dockage or screening received from clean
ing the wheat at terminal points, which
We will say amounts to about one and
half pounds per buShel on 5000 900 BUSH
els $4,000 tons at IS per ton, or $5,375,
In adding these four items together we
will get a grand total of S19, S75, 600 loss
to the farmers just on wheat from the
two states alone, not to speak Of the loss
on all other small grain in proportion.
and also on wheat received from South
Dakota, Nebraska and Iowa. So McCum-
Der is not so far out of the way after all.
In the fall of 1898 we farmers built
farmers elevator at Fertile, Mimi, and
have for the last ten years bought and
shipped through our elevator over 1900.
ar fhn FlTTlCr
dockage and shortage on car loads has
during this ten years varied from a loss
on dockage in the crop year of 1885
of over 1900 bushels to about an even
dockage and no shortage on cars from
the spring of 1899 to 1901. Up to 1897 We
did not lose very heavily on grade. but
from that time to 1899, or especially the
fall of 1898, it was impossible to get any
No. 1 northern grade for wheat at all, no
matter how good the quality was. But
after the farmers held mass meeting at
Moorhead and protested against the
wholesale robbery on grades the inspectors
eased up a little and grade was better.
Chief Inspector Clausen explained that it
was customary to be very close on
grades from the beginning of the crop
year and then ease off a little on grades
after Nov. 20 or Dec /. and eX-Gov.
Crookston in the fall of 1900 that by this
practice of grading Minnesota farmers
lost in a single fail over $500, 900. and
Gov. Lind frankly stated to the farmers
at Crookston that if they wanted a change
in the administration and voted him out
they would get the old gang back again.
and so they did. Therefore, the majority
of Minnesota farmers have no kick COM
ing. We had a splendid inspection system
under Gov. Lind, but the people did not
want it; but will "a national inspection
system be better? My opinion is it would
be worse and would it be possible for
terminal elevator owners to rob the farm
erS this way if the state inspectors and
weighmasters did their duty? 1 for one
do not believe it, but as a rule most of
the inspectors and weigherS are appoint
ed to pay off political debts.
k. Nelson.