Evening times-Republican. [volume] (Marshalltown, Iowa) 1890-1923, 1906-10-27
.1H[ GRAIN TRUST
SECRETS BAR[D
Attempt to Cover Up the Secret
Agreements Fails at the
Des Moines Hearing
WITNESSES MAKE ADMISSIONS
WITNESSES MAKE ADMISSIONS
Secretary Wells Under Fierce Cross.
Fire Of ouestionssFrom Commission
ers and Attorneys - Practically Ad-
mits That Association Makes Prices
for All Elevators.
Special to Times Republican.

Des Moines. Oct. 27.-The secrets of
the grain business in Iowa are at last
disclosed. Hard as the members of
the Iowa Grain Dealers Association
tried to cover up the agreements and
boycotts and fixing of prices it ii.
came out. Lengthy and elaborate ex-
plantations were given in attempting 20
show that the farmers elevator that
has a penalty clause" is horrible
thing and should be stamped out but
in the end it all got down to the one
common basis that the elevator that
will not agree to fix prices and not
"underbid" is to be boycottsd and run
out
After lengthy questioning Commits
sioner Lane of the interstate com
merce commission. in the hearing in
the federal court room in this city yes
terday asked George A. Wells, secre-
tary of the Iowa Grain Dealers Asso-
citation a question something like this:
1T all comes down to this. doesn't it,
that the grower Of grain who attempts
to handle his produce without 1t going
thru the hands of member of your
association is to be prevented from
finding a market for his grain If pos
sible., 1t then took Mr.. Wells about
ten minutes to explain that that was
not the purpose of the Iowa Grain
Dealers Association, but when he got
thru, from the expression on the faces
of the commissioners, 1t is judged that
they had not understood his explana-
ton fully.
Secret after secret of the grain bus
mess was laid bare in the hearing yes
terday. In the first place the Kansas
City situation took up the time of tha
commission and the attempt of j. T..
Hiland, third vice president of tho
Milwaukee railroad to show that e.
w. Shields as superintendent of the
Kansas City elevator of the Milwaukee
had no special advantage as a mem
ber of the firm of Simonds- Shields
Grain Company and the shipper of 10
to 80 per cent of the grain going thru
the elevator over any of the smaller
grain men shipping thru that elevator.
even tho as agent of the railroad AMI
superintendent of the elevator, he re-
ceived information of changes of rates
some times week before the general
public knew Of it.
Then came the grain conditions in
Iowa. Secretary Wells read a state.
ment of the 1audable object of the
Iowa Grain Dealers Association as a
study club to study grain conditions,
methods of loading cars, the car short
age problem and numerous other de-
tails of the business. including the diff
ference in grain. Then Attorney ]. Fl.
Marble. for the commission. produced
a number of letters written by Mr..
Wells and which Mr.. Wells iden-
tilted, and admitted having writ
ten. One Of these letters was
circular letter written and sent to all
the members of the Iowa Grain Deal
ers' Association in which he asked
them to consign some grain to Newell
Hoyt & Company, of Chicago, and then
later to threaten to quit sending them
grain unless they quit buying from
the farmers elevators. The letter ask
ed the members of the association to
be diplomatic. They were told the Chi.
cago concern was buying exclusively
from farmers concerns and the at
tempt was to be made to give them big
business from the regular" elevators
and then withdraw it and refuse to
give more unless they took from the
"regulars" exclusively.
Another letter which Mr.. Wells iden-
titled was written to Chicago grain
firm, in which they We're told that the
Iowa Grain Dealers Association was
informed that they were taking grain
from the Manly Elevator Company. Of
Manly, Iowa, and from the Farmers
Elevator Company of Dougherty Iowa.
that the Iowa association did not rec
ognize these two concerns and in po-
lite terms would the Chicago concern
quit buying their grain under penalty
of losing all the business of the mem-
bers of the Iowa association.
just before reading these letters At
torney Mable asked Mr.. Wells if his
association had ever attempted to pre-
vent the irregular" elevators from
finding an outlet for their grain Mr.
Wells said. Indirectly, yes.
Following the testimony of Mr.. Wells
came the testimony of Mr.. S. B. Will
iams of Madrid. Iowa who told or the
with the Nicola Elevator
Company whereby IL he bought more
grain than the Nicola he was to load it
into cars and switch ii over TO the Ne
ola elevator and get " cent bushel
above the Ward Case card rates. while
if he had shipped it to Chicago he
would have made 11a or 2 cents a
bushel. Peter Ide, Of Story City; N. o.
King. OF Dunbar Iowa; N j. Minnis,
of Dayton; Mr.. Nordshaw. of Badger,
and others, testified to the arrange-
ments between the line elevators III
their territories. All represented
farmers elevators and all told the same
stories of the competition with the line
elevators and the offers OF the Iowa
associa ton that they could have their
share of the business in the>territory