Los Angeles herald., 1906-12-09
WOMAN BEATS
A GRAIN TRUST
ALL ITS THREATS AND BRlBES
FAIL TO CoERCE HER
Mrs. Kehoe Of Nebraska Congratulated
by Members Of Interstate Com
merce Commission for Her
Winning Fight


lasting. ten years, Mrs. Kate A. Kehoe
of Platte Center Neb., has beaten and
put to fight the Nebraska grain trust,
the most nefarious combination In the
west. Today Mrs. Kehoe is prosperous
and successful. while the great grain
men who control the Nebraska grain
trust are lodging around in their efforts
to escape the summons server and the
federal grand juries.
The story of Mrs. Kehoe was brought
out in the recent investigation into the
grain trade in the west before the inter-
state commerce commission at Its
Omaha session, and at its close the
commissioners congratulated Mrs Ke-
hoe upon the remarkable fight which
she has made against the big combna-
ton.
And while the fight has been going
on, Mrs. Kehoe has risen from shovel
house" to be the owner of two big
grain elevators and from handling a
few wagonloads of corn she Is now one
of the largest grain buyers along the
line of the Union Pacific railroad.
A Railroad Fighter, Too
In addition to her fight with the grain
[,
fight the railroads for her supply of cars
in which to ship her grain, as well as to
whip the members of the Omaha and
other grain exchanges into line, thus
forcing for herself a market for her
grain, once she had purchased it.
Ten years ago, when Mr.. Kehoe died,
about the only asset he left to his
widow was a small grain business
transacted through a "shovel house."
.,l1 tel, al tcs q
dealer who buys from the farmers and
shovels the grain into a warehouse,
afterward shoveling it into a railroad
car instead of handling the business
through an elevator. Every elevator
man considers 1t his business to down"
Shovel house" wherever he can do 1t.
Mrs. Kehoe continued the Shovel
house" business and in addition she
opened an implement house, selling all
sorts of farming implements.
How the Trouble Began
Then the grain trust got after her.
They wanted her to quit buying grain
from the farmers. She refused to give
up her business and the trust began
work" against her. Her customers
in the cities were coerced into refusing
to buy from her. She met this attack
by securing new customers in Memphis,
st. Louis and other cities.
Then the railroads began shutting off
her supply Of freight cars. She was
compelled to sit idly by and watch her
competitors load car after car, while
none was given to her. She took the
matter up direct with the general man.
ager of the railroads and got her share
of the empties.
| Then the trust raised prices on her
| Prices at Platte Center were severa
cents above the selling prices at Omaha
and Chicago. What the trust lost al
Platte Center 1t made up at other
points. Mrs. Kehoe had no other point
and here she was forced to close her
shovel house temporarily. But just as
soon as prices returned to the normal
she opened for business again and her
old customers came back to her. Every
little bit prices went up and she would
drop out of the game until prices went
back to a business standpoint.
Bait of Trust Refused
Failing to run her out of business, the
trust invited her to come in and share
with them the results of the fleece"
She ordered the emissary from her Of
flee in indignant refusal.
But Mrs. Kahoe turned this last effort
of the trust to good account, and by
showing the farmers in that vicinity
that the trust raised prices only to
eliminate competition, after which the
price of grain would fall below the
regular market. she secured their CO.
operation, and thereafter when the trust
raised prices above the regular markets
the farmers continued selling their
grain to Mrs. Kehoe at the regular quo
tations.
Her "ShoveI House" Burned
Then, one night, the "shovel house,
burned. 1t was set on fire, but no one
was ever punished for it.
Forty-eight hours after the fire con-
tractors started building a fine new
grain elevator along the railroad track
and in a short time Mrs. Kehoe had one
of the most modern grain elevators in
that portion of the state. After a year
or two she built another elevator in
Tarnow Neb., and went into the grain
business on large scale.
The trust kept up it's fight against
her. butther methods with the farmers
and buyers were so square" and her
business was operated with so much
sagacity that she has continued to run
her elevators in spite of the combination
that has ruined so many small Dealers
Today Mrs Kehoe owns two elevators,
first-class grain business, a big imple-
ment and seed house, the finest res
idence in her county. and is the biggest
business man" in Platte Center.
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