The San Juan islander. [volume] (Friday Harbor, Wash.) 1898-1914, 1905-10-07
COMBINE '. COMBINE
GRAIN COMMISSIONER SAYS FARM.
Frs MUST UNITE.
r1illers and Exporters Have Agree
meni which would Rob Them
IT UnreSiSted-AdvtSeS Offering
Grain In cargo Lots to Outside
Consumers.

member of the state grain commission.
believes the Washington Millers' Asso-
citation and the exporters Of the North
west have combined against the wheat
growers. Mr.. Reed is the man who
introduced bluestem wheat into the
Northwest and has, for years, taken q
lively interest in the development Of
the cereal industry. In an interview
upon the millers-exporters' combine,
and also upon the probability Of the
farmers combining for protection, he
said:
"When the commission gave out to
the public the agreement of the mil
combine. which bound
each member not to compete in buying
grain, to keep the buying price down,
they practically told the farmers that
there was conspiracy on hand which
the farmers had to fight-s conspiracy
to pay them less than their grain was
worth and to charge them more for
shutting than they were fairly entitled
to receive.
Farmers Must Fight.
"The farmers can and will fight that
conspiracy. and they are going to de-
feat it. Howl. Meet the buyers com-
bine with q sellers combine. The
farmers will make numerous COM
bines; bunch up all over Eastern
Washington and Oregon and Northern
Idaho and make their offers in cargo
lots. They will offer these cargo lots
to the combine and to buyers not in
the combine, and while they are out
cunning they should kill two birds
each shot by saying when Offering
their cargo lots: The smutty part not
to be discounted over cents bushel;
no part to be sold unless the smutty
grain goes at that discount That'l
do the job.
'The commission proved the injus-
tice of the combines IS to 2O-cent' dis
count on smutty wheat by citing the
discount prevailing at Minneapolis Of
but Q cents. q bushel
with such proof of the right of the
farmers attitude in refusing to allow
the combine more than four cents dis
oount-twice what Minneapolis would
make-they can push their cargo COM
bines to winning, sure. Do you know
what that would mean to the farmers
in dollars and cents?
Save Growers $4,000 This Year.
s'The crop this year in Eastern Wash
ington alone 10 estimated at 80, 900, 900
bushels. The state inspection depart
ment figures that $4,000 600 bushels Of
this is more or less affected with smut.
The combines discount is, as said,
from to 30 cents. Call it an average
Of cents. At 4 cents there would be
saving Of GENTS bushel, and $780,.
900 on this one crop.
"The saving these decisions make
directly to the farmer, without neces-
stating any subsequent effort by him,
when the commission refused to GLASS
ify So, $50 and 58H test wheat az
No. 3, figure at $3.50, 900 for this
year alone. Figuring that one-quarter
Of the whole crop would test from So
to $50, and the pride difference is 2
cents a bushel between No. and No.
2 grades.
"Then there is profit poasible-in-
deed pr0bable-to come on the heavier
testing wheat, the 60, 81, 50 and IS
pound wheat, which 10 now oonfscated
at No. price. The commissions
decisions showed that so pound test
wheat was worth more than q 50 or
50 pound test. It showed this by that
admission Of the Portland Chamber of
Commerce committee, and by the ex-
tract on prices from the millers' asso-
citation secret compact.
"San Francisco is paying more for
60 pound test wheat than for q So
pound test. San Francisco needs from
Washington, Oregon and Idaho this
year 10, 000, 900 bushels Of heavy test
ing wheat.
Offer 1t to San francisco.
sLet the farmers' com bine offer their
heavy test wheat to San Francisco
buyers. They won't have to make
many such offers. The millers. export
ers' combine will promptly come to
time and pay the additional price that
heavy testing wheat 10 worth. The
farmer IL entitled to it-let him have
his own. he can win just az sure az
did when introduced bluestem wheat
In this state. The original seed Game
from Australia. Dement, Brothers
brought It to Walla Wslla. sowed
$50 acres in IL and advertised the crop
for seed. Sold Il all for seed but one
car load, which refused to sell, be-
cause all the millers said 1t was worth
no more than club.
II sent my reserve car to SpeTry
Bros. Milling Company at San Fran
DISCO, and they wrote me: Our price
now and hereafter, for such wheat il
5 GENTS hundred pounds over the
price Of No. California shippin9,
That was cents . bushel over tho
club price. l Published that lester,
and from that date, eightsen year.
ago, TO this, bluestem wheat has
brought that premium over club every
whore from everybody. That one piece
Of work Of mine made tho farmers az
"