East Oregonian : E.O. (Pendleton, OR) 1888-current, 1907-08-28
Farmers Union Alleges Unfair
Treatment in Relation to
Warehouses.
SENDING THEIR WHEAT
OVER NORTHERN PACIFIC
Union Tried to Lease o. II. & n. Ware
houses, But Could Not, But Sue
cceded In Doing Business With
Northern Pacific, Which Is Now
Getting All the Grain Raised by
1870 Farmcrs-The Union Promises
TO Organize I'm Many Places
Handles Twine and Sacks.

The rather extraordinary tale below
(taken from the Oregon Daily Jour-
naD is reproduced, not with any ex-
pectation or hope that It win be taken
at its face value, but because, IL 1t is
true, 1t Is extremely informing and
should not go unheeded.
Boycott OF o. II. & N. by Farmers.
Garfield, Wash, Aug. 27.-There
is much indignation at Pennington at
the treatment accorded the farmers
by the o. II. & N. company, and now
the farmers have begun to retaliate
and get even with the big corpora
ton.
There was a time, Is years ago."
said James Walters, a pioneer farm
er, who Is at the head of the move
ment to build system of warehouses
throughout the inland empire. when
the farmers owned the warehouses in
many OF the Palouse towns and by
charging l u cents per bushel or ap-
proximately so cents a ton for handl-
ing charges there was money to be
made in the business and we invari-
ably declared a dividend each year.
"One hundred and thirty farmers
have organized at Pennington what
is known as the Farmers union and
we are handling our own grain from
that district over the Northern Paci-
fic, and not a pound of wheat will be
shipped from there over the o. r. &
N. this year. These 1870 farmers are
all wealthy, and we are going to show
the o. r. & \. or any other railroad
that 1t is bad business to ignore the
wishes OF the farmers of the Palouse
country.
Turned Down by o. II. & ".
after we organized we went to the
o. r. & n. office at Pennington and
wired the general freight agent to
meet us at a certain date at Farming
ton, as we had important business to
put before him. on the day appoint
ed the agent came, accompanied by
his deputy. We told them at once
that we had organized to handle our
grain and that we wanted to lease
the company's big warehouses on the
o. r. & n. road. He refused point
blank to let us have them. We told
him that II we did not get the ware
houses his company would not get a
sack of wheat from Pennington this
season: that we had decided to run
our business from this on regardless
of middlemen. The railroad agent
then left us, but said he would wire
us within two days from Portland.
"He failed to keep his promise and
We began negotiating with the North
ern Pacific people who informed US
we could have anything we asked for.
We then leased a big warehouse on
the Northern Pacific right OF way,
and for $3.50 purchased another one.
and now the grain is coming in so
rapidly that we shall be obliged to
build a big platform and cover the
grain with canvas or boards. We or
dered our sacks and twine In carload
lots and saved the retailers profit.
Repentance Comes Too Late.
about this time the o. r. & n.
officials came to us and got down on
their knees They begged us to give
them a part of our crop to handle
They were getting no grain and we
were welcome to use their warehouses
free of charge. We said:
"'No, gentlemen, we came to you
first and you simply ignored us. We
then took the matter up with the
Northern Pacific and they told us we
could have anything we asked so we
are doing business now over the other
road You were too slow, and we can
do nothing for you
1.-THE o. r. & n. company is des-
perate over the situation at Farming
ton, but 1t has only itself to blame.
1--WE shall shin about 400 000 hush