The Ward County independent. [volume] (Minot, Ward County, N.D.) 1902-1965, 1907-03-28
VIM. Dunnell, Manager OF The
Minot Flour Mill Co., Gives
His Side OF the Case-..Says
Home Merchants Did Not Push
His Flour.
Editor of The Independent.

matter OF tact SmallWOOQ IS not
the whole thing in Minot, there
are others as GUILTY as he. If
anyone has a doubt as to Mr.:
Small woods guilt let them read
his article in the independent.
Now as Mr.. Smallwood ap-
pears to be the spokesman for
the grocers whether self ap-
pointed or not the writer has
been unable to ascertain) l will
dive a little history Of the man.
ner in which the mill company
has been treated by the dealers
in Minot and leave it for any fair
minded person to Judge for them
selves whether we were justified
in acting as we did and whether
we have been unfair to the gro
GERS as Mr.. Smallwood would
make believe.
Up to within ter days ago we
absolutely refused to deliver flour
to any Of the homes in Minot in
order to protect the dealers.
What has been the result? While
we have been holding up the re-
tail price so the grocers could
make go to 70 cents per barrel
profit, they have, with the excep-
ton of two dealers, been running
in outside flour and selling it.
Now as to Mr.. Smallwood's
contention that we charged him
more for our flour than no could
buy elsewhere. Our prices are
Always just as low as other mills
that produce the same grade Of
goods and as an example Of our
prices we can point to the fact
during the blockade, when it was
impossible for the dealers to get
IN any outside flour try as they
might, we never advanced the
price Of flour and what is more
we can prove that we were sell
ing 20 cents per Dbl. cheaper than
reputable North Dakota mills
were offering the same class of
goods laid down in Minot, but we
do know that on several occa-
sions Mr., Smallwood has asked
the writer if something couldn't
be done to raise the retail price
Of flour so that the grocers could
make a larger profit.
Mr.. Smallwood says we did not
give him warning when the price
advanced. We never give any,
one warning whether it goes up
or down, we simply follow the
wheat market and if wheat goes
up flour goes up and if wheat
goes down flour goes down.
Mr.. Smallwood also says that
he had to protect his trade and
gives that as a reason why he
bought cheap flour. Now after
buying this cheap flour did he
start to give the dear people the
benefit of the cheap price? Not
much. He started to hand out
the cheap flour at the same price
he always charged for high grade
goods until the mill started to re-
tail when he was compelled to
meet the price.
Mr.. Smallwood asks is it right
that the mill should retail flour at
$1.80 per cwt., while the grocers
were pushing our product. 1t
certaininly would not be right if
they were pushing it, but they
were not selling it at all much
less pushing it.
During the first fifteen days OF
March, with the exception Of one
dealer who sold Is bbls., all the
other dealers combined sold less
than 40 bbls., while at the same
time there was consumed in Mi.
not probably 400 bbls. This gave
the home mill 10 per cent of the
trade. How is that for pushing
home made goods and booming
home industries. Wouldn't thu
merchants howl about catalogue
houses if their patrons would senC
out of town for 80 per cent o
the goods consumed in Minot
During the time mentioned
above there was seven car loads
of outside flour unloaded in Mi
not, and during the same tim,
we had q large number of peopl,
phone us and want to know
why they were unable to get oul
-four, stating that they had or
dered our flour but that the gro
Ger delivered them some othel
brand. All of this ID the face .
the fact that there was no com
plant from the grocers abou
qaaity or prices.