New Ulm review. (New Ulm, Brown County, Minn.) 1892-1961, 1906-10-31
Grain Rebates.

There is considerable interest in the
investigation which is going on just
now in Chicago. concerning the big
trust rules of the Chicago Board of
Trade, for the purpose of restraining
trade and preventing competition IN
bidding for grain. If there is any
trust in America, we should judge that
it has it's superior in the Chicago
Board of Trade. A rule is posted on
the Chicago Board of Trade bulletin
every day, forbidding any member OF
the Board of Trade from going out
into the country and bidding for grain
at a higher price than that fixed by
the Board Competition is absolutely
nil. Of course, there is no objection
to any commission mans bidding
lower. Chicago is quite willing to get
the farmer up in corner and rob all
his pockets at once, if the farmer will
consent, meekly, but the farmer should
not make very much noise about it.
Chicago is opposed to noise, very
much more opposed to noise than it is
to boycott, for the penalty of violat-
! ing the Board of Trade rule in regard
to the maximum price Of grain, is the
boycotting of the culprit who does the
| overbidding. He is practically, there
after, excluded from the privileges OF
| the Board. Further than this the
Board protects it's members against
| so-called ''irregular deals.'
| The same trust methods are adopted
to kill competition that have made the
Standard Oil Company SO successful.
If an irregular dealer becomes trouble
some, all the batteries of the regular
members of the Board of Trade are
turned upon him until he is ruined by
unfair competition. Any price is paid
then, until this irregular dealer has
been driven out of the field, after
which, it is easy for the regular
dealers to recoup their losses, as they
will then absolutely control the local
| market.
It is contrary to law for the owner
of any public warehouse to store his
grain in the public warehouse. This
law is evaded very easily, by selling
the grain to broker, at the market
price, less one-eigth Of a cent bus
hel, as a commission to the broker.
The broker Immediately sells the
future for the same quantity of grain
to the owner of the public warehouse,
and the grain of this broker then goes
into the public warehouse, where it
earns, according to the law, a charge
of three-fourths of cent bushel for
the first ten days, and one-fortieth OF
cent bushel day, as long as it re-
mains after the first ten days. This
earning, of course, goes to the owner
of the warehouse. He has paid to the
broker the one-eighth of cent, in
order that he may charge against the
public warehouse, the higher rate per
day, on practically his own grain, and
at the same time, crowd out of the
warehouse the grain belonging to
others. 1t thereby ceases to be a pub
lie warehouse to that extent.
The whole situation is in such a tur.
MOL of investigation that it is very
difficult for an outsider fully to com.
prehend the inside of these reports
J In the meanwhile, the grain market is
rapidly shifting to Minneapolis. We
do not know that the Minneapolis
grain dealers are any more virtuous
than the Chicago grain dealers, bu
we hope that the ozone of the North
west will give their consciences live
lier tone and that they will have {
little more mercy on the poor farmer
At the same time, they will beal
watching.