Warren sheaf. [volume] (Warren, Marshall County, Minn.) 1880-current, 1913-03-13
Minnesota legislature
PROCEEDINGS Vt the Minnesota State Capitol for the
Past Week.
Past Week

st. Paul, March 11.--Constant
clashes between the representatives
of the Equity exchange and the chair
man of the senate grain investigating
committee, which threatened for a
time to disrupt the proceedings, char
acterized yesterdays session of the
Investigation.
Once the sergeant-at-arms was call
ed before Benjamin Drake, Jr., attor-
new for the Equity, exchange, would
subside. Another time Edward Hot
stede, one of the attorneys for the
Equity, stated that the chairman Of
the committee had said one thing
Saturday, and was saying the opposite
yesterday. ..@.
'I'll go out doors with that man in.
a minute said Senator Works, thor
oughly angered by insinuations that he
had not told the truth. I'll not sit
here and be insulted by any man.
I Any man who calls me liar will have
to settle for it."
Mr.. Hofstede had said that Senator
. Works had promised to go on with
the testimony of Mr.. Benson when the
testimony of Mr.. Hageback was fin
ished. He was objectiong because the
committee was about to call another
witness. 49,
Mr.. Hofstede finally admitted that
Senator Works had said that the Ben
son testimony would be taken next
unless the committee decided other
wise.
Mr.. Drake Lectures.
Benjamin Drake, Jr., took time to
deliver lecture to the committee as
to what it should do. He said that it
had wasted enough time on the triv-
ial affairs of the Equity Exchange. He
mentioned many charges against the
Chamber of Commerce, asking that
they be investigated.
Il want to object to this" said
Judge Simpson during the course Of
Mr.. brakes speech ''This is not a
meeting of the Saturday Lunch club
This happens to be Monday"
Undaunted by the remarks of Judge
Simpson, Mr.. Drake went on with
his speech. He made wholesale
charges agains. the Chamber of Com
MERGE and made many offers to prove.
He characterized the testimony of the
last few days as trivial"
When the attorney for the Equity
had completed his speech, Senator
Works said
ri am sure that this committee APP
preciates the lecture that Mr.. Drake
has delivered"
Russell In the Case.
The relation of the attorneys for the
house investigation with the represen.
tatives of the Equity Cooperative ex-
change were further revealed yester-
day when G. A. Russell, who took Mr.
Manahan's place as attorney for the
house committee, was in consultation
with the Equity people. Mr.. Russell
even suggested question that Ben
| jamin Drake Jr., should ask the wit
| ness on the stand.
J. o. Hageback of Madison, Mimi,
| told the committee again that the
| prices the Equity exchange had quoted
| him were lower than he had received
| from two firms on the Chamber of
| Commerce. He said he did not come
| to appear before the committee be-
cause he had any resentment towards
| the Equity exchange, but merely be-
cause he was not satisfied with the
| way the Equity exchange had handled
| his barley.
| Senator Works, chairman of the COM
!, mittee, threatened once to have Ben
i iamin Drake elected. Mr. Drake, when
the session opened, insisted on making
a speech regarding the type of testi-
1 mony that had been introduced. He
called it trivial and asked how long
it was going to continue.
"I'll ask you to sit down." said Sen.
| ator Works. "This committee will de.
eide about the testimony It will give
| it the necessary weight without sug.
gestion from YOU"
"But I insist" Mr.. Drake started
again. s$ IS. I,
'Ill call the sergeant-at-arrhs and
have him see that you sit down said
Mr.. Works, at the same time beckon.
ing to James H. Eye.
The attorney sat down.
Mr. Hagenback. the witness, was
asked by Mr.. Drake if he knew that
some of his grain had been sold by
members of the Chamber of Commerce
to some of their subsidiary companies
He replied that he did not know Of any
such practice.
I When Mr.. Drake characterized the
! witness as "evasive and slippery as
an eel' Senator Works again called 8
halt
1--WE shall protect the witnesses that
came he~e from any such insulting re
Marks said Senator Works. 81 de
not intend to have an attorney say
such things
1 N. Olson told the committee thai
he had no knowledge of having re
jected the car OF barley referred to BY
\ Mr.. Hageback. The Equity peopl,
( commended that N, Olson, acting fo,