The Minneapolis journal. [volume] (Minneapolis, Minn.) 1888-1939, 1905-02-22
The Miller and the Farmer.


cal. for department you wish to speak to.
The Miller and the Farmer.
In letter from Mr.. Volstead Of Min
nesota to Secretary Shaw, a copy Of
which appeared in T h Q Journal Of
Saturday last, there is an able legal ar
gument advanced against the recent rul-
ings covering the drawback on wheat. |
1t is in order to give Mr.. Volstead credit
for a clear, concise statement of his
view Of the case, without assuming that
he is right as against Mr.. Shaw, and
Mr.. Moody, the attorney general.
There is an argument advanced on
the practical side, in the closing para
graph of the Volstead letter that may
be questioned. Mr.. Volstead contends
that permitting the mixing of Canadian
and American wheat, as provided in the
attorney generals ruling, will be- bad
for the northwest farmer; that it will
enable the miller to mix the good hard
Canadian WHIT eat with poor wheat brought
up to Minneapolis from the southwest,
and to the extent that this is practiced
the demand for the medium and low
grade wheat of Minnesota and the Da-
kotas will be affected.
It may be Of some satisfaction to
the farmers to know that to this time.
no Canadian wheat has been ground
here under the mixing privilege. Mr..
Little Of the Pillsbury Washburn COM
pany, which company imported the
bulk of the Canadian product
that has recently come to Min
neapolis, is authority for the statement
that all this wheat has been ground
with identity maintained, and the mill
ers have not awaited themselves Of the
right to mix accorded them by the gov
eminent IS decision.
The working out Of this mixing privi-
lege is therefore as yet incapable of
proof by anything actually done. Mr..
Little's opinion, and the opinion Of a
majority in the grain trade, is that in
operation the mixing privilege would
benefit the northwest farmer in year
like the present, when so large proper
ton Of the wheat is Of low grade, for
more Of the low-grade stuff could be
milled and higher prices would be paid.
When first the report came that the APP
plication of the millers for permission
to mix their wheat was likely to be
acted upon favorably, low grades
strengthened on the expectation that
there would be greater demand for
them.
3 Mr. Volstead' s fear is that the millers
will pass this poor northwestern wheat
and buy low-grade southwestern wheat
to mix. This, Mr.. Little says, is not a
paying proposition now. If any mixing
of Canadian and American wheat were
done now it would be by combining
medium and northwestern grades with
the highgrade Canadian. Some
wheat will come here from the south
west every year, no matter what the
status Of affairs with reference to the
use of Canadian wheat. About ten mil
lion bushels came here one season be
fore the present agitation was heard of
Most of this was high-grade wheat
The millers who bought it then were no
on the hunt for low grade stuff, but OF
the contrary much Of it was the cream
O. the crop of Kansas. The mixins
of this: soft southwestern wheat will
hard spring wheat. would not be- likel.
to.sbe- affected in an important degree
by the admission or exclusion Of tn
Canadian wheat. In year when the crol
of the American northwest was Of nor
NAL size and contained normal proper
ton of high.grade wheat and little O
the, low grade, then, possibly, Mr.. Vol
stead q argument that the millers woul
mix The Canadian wheat and the poo
southwestern. wheat might seem req
sonable, but for the fact that in such,
year the millers would not want the Cs
madam wheat at all. They would. &c
= all the high-grade wheat needed ,fro1
our own fields. 49, ~sa@
No miller would bond his plant c
put the legal, red-tape, drawback hal
dicap upon it Of his own choice.
must not be forgotten, in sconnectio
with this question of using Canada
wheat, that emergency suggested
The mills lost their export trade; the
could not compete; the short crop
the American northwest and the 10
quality Of the wheat raised, was tt
primary cause for the whole agitatio
It is hardly to be supposed that eve
with permission to bring in Canadis
wheat in bond under drawback regul
tions, which the miller now possesse
he will avail himself Of it SO long
he can get wheat to mill on this si
8s3 and hold his export trade. Primari
the proposition came as an emergen,
measure. #
In connection with this, it is Of
terest to note that in the house of col
mons at Ottawa last. week, Mr.. W.,
Maclean. who advocates a Canadian E