Wood County reporter. [volume] (Grand Rapids [i.e. Wisconsin Rapids], Wis.) 1857-1923, 1912-05-30
LOCAL GRAIN
FIRM WILL
CHANGE HANDS
Miller and Barlow Will Retire
From Streator Office MAY 81.

The firm of Miller & Barlow which
has been conducting a general grain
brokerage business at Streator. Gales
burg, Monmouth and Kirkwood will
be dissolved on May 81, after which
time the three latter offices will
change hands and the one at Streator
will pass into the possession of Dean
L. Moberly, formerly travelling rep
resentative of the Savers Grain Co.,
and well known in this vicinity. Har
ry E. Miller has moved to Chicago
where beginning June first he will be
connected with the home office of
Lamson Bros. & Co., No. 6 Board of
Trade Building.
The Streator office of Miller &
Barlow, which has enjoyed a very
successful career, represents the bet
ter type of country grain office which
has sprung up during the Last few
years whose aim is to restrict the
buying and selling of futures to men
actually in the grain trade either as
producers or shippers, thus doing
away with speculation by laymen. The
public at large understands very lit
tie of this phase of the grain busi-
ness being largely prejudiced by the
preconceiyed idea that all dealing in
futures is mere speculation, whereas
a large part of the trades at times are
hedging sales. By means Of these
hedging sales the country elevator
man is enabled to insure himself when
he buys from the farmer, against any
loss which may occur from deprecia-
tion in prices before the farmer can
deliver to the elevator the grain which
he has sold
The most important part OF the bust
ness. of Miller & Barlow however, has
been track buying of corn and oats in
car load lots from the elevator men
within a radius of fifty miles around
Streator. AS members, of the Chica-
go Board of Trade they have been
able to ship this grain to points east
west and sout,h h wherever the price
was most advantageous at the time.
One may judge of the volume of grain
handled when it is known that as
much as 175 cars have been bought
by them in this vicinity in single
day
Mr.. Miller has the following to say
of the grain business in general: 81
wish the public understood more
about what a great institution the
Chicago Board of Trade is. Very few
realize that it is nothing but a big
congregation of buyers and sellers
which handles nearly all of the grain |
grown in this territory and finds a |
market in the east or south or ships |
it to Europe. Very few appreciate |
that the country elevator man handle |
grain on a smaller margin of profit |
than are any other farm products. |
Not one in twenty stops to think what |
would happen were it not for the spe |
with money and nerve enough |
to carry millions of bushels through |
a period of small demand to meet con-
ditions later on when stocks are low. |
We're it not for these legitimate spec |
ulators grain would be on the bargain |
counter at harvest time and at fam |
inc prices at the end of the season. |
If the public realized the truth they |
would appreciate the Chicago Board |
of Trade more, thank the elevator
man and honor the legitimate spe-
culator. "-Streator Daily Free Press,
May p.
Harry E. Miller spoken of in the |
above article is an old Grand Rap |
ids boy, who was born and raised |
in this city. We join with his old |
time friends here in congratulations |
in his successful career