Jamestown weekly alert. [volume] (Jamestown, Stutsman County, D.T. [N.D.]) 1882-1925, 1915-07-08
TERMINAL elevator DEBATE
IN NELSON COUNTY
Grain Marketing Question Discussed
by TwitcheN and LOTUS.

Of higher grades would do so, but all
grades are subject to the Minnesota
warehouse commission regulations
and would be regulated by them. A
state-Owned elevator would have no
more influence in this respect than
any commission firm or the Minneap-
oils Chamber Of Commerce, neither
could it affect the weighing. The ar
gument that the farmer would bene-
1T by less storage charge does not
seem good.
IF the carrying charge is, as they
claim, one of the factors that makes
the price of say May wheat, then any
reduction between the price Of De-
cember and May wheat would be a
reduction of the premium in favor of
May as against December, which re-
duction would apply to the value of
every bushel Of wheat owned and car
ried by the farmers elevators in
North Dakota or in the farm granar-
les. 1t is unreasonable to suppose
that the North Dakota farmers would
carry in terminal elevator any ap-
preciable portion of grain in farmer
owned elevators and on the farms.
1--WE foolishly ship many hundreds
Of pounds of screenings which we not
only give away but on which we pay
the freight to terminal elevator
points. There is certainly no occa-
sion to establish terminal elevator
outside the state to clean our grain.
1t can be done as cheaply at the local
elevators
The profits of state-owned eleva-
tor should not go to the shippers but
to the people of the state in proper
tion to their taxation for the sup
port and construction of the elevator.
The speaker contended there was the
same open market for wheat as for
: potatoes, wool, or wood. The owner
can consign a car of wheat to him
self and sell it without paying any
commission. but it is cheaper to- en-
trust the sale to someone in the bust
ness. The commission of one-half
cent per bushel is not an issue.
THE farmer is satisfied that the
grade of wheat generally is below it's
real value measured in the labor, ef
, fort, investment and risk. Nothing
that will no more than bring about
, an increase of fraction of a cent
per bushel will satisfy the farmer.
, He rightly demands that his assets,
measured in bushels and bushels in
dollars, shall be such as to make
wheat raising remunerative occupa-
tion. l do not believe that a terminal
elevator will, in any way, cure or re-.
move the cause for just compensa-
tion, and not believing it a cure,
/ am against terminal elevator as an
experiment"
Remedy Proposed.
] Mr.. Twitchell maintained that the
terminal elevator is not the cure for
! the differentiation of farmers grain
/ and concluded his address at follows:
SO long as it is not made unlawful
I for men to sell that which they do
not raise. never owned or expected to
own of the products of the farmers.
so long as there is sold in the markets
of the United States an average of
, 300 bushels of grain for every one
that is actually raised by the farmers,
SO long as men are selfish, so long as
, they hunt in packs, so long as the
farmers are without organization or
cohesion, without means or desire or
knowledge of how to protect them
selves against the concerted action by
! IHC oHOI I oClICIs duu oO lOu6 DIS IuS'
speculation and not supply and de-
mand, regulate the prices of wheat,
1t does not matter to the North Da-
kota farmer whether we have one or
forty state-Owned elevators.
! III these men who seem so ready
to lead the farmers would use their
energy toward congressional legisla-
! ton to make 1t unlawful for any per-
son or firm or organization to SELF
grain they do not actually own, and
make it impossible to settle in money
difference instead of actual fulfill
ment of the contract, the laws of sup
ply and demand would then regulate
grain prices and would not become
secondary to the commercial prac-
tices of the present day, which are
. the controlling factors in the prices
the farmers receive for their prod
ucts."
Lotus Opening Statement.
George F. Lotus opening state
ment was in part as follows:
'The need of a state-owned ter
minal elevator to clean, clip, dry,
mix and to some extent to store the
grain Of North Dakota producers, is
the most pressing necessity confront
ing the producers Of grain today.
The Canadian government has al
ready recognized this necessity and
provided publicly owned terminal
elevators at Port William and Port
Arthur, Of immense storage capacity.
The people Of the state of North Da-
kota have twice declared themselves
in favor of the erection of terminal
elevator in Minnesota, the first time
by popular vote of approximately IS
per cent. and the last time by q pop
ular vote Of approximately 81 per
cent Of all votes cast at the election.
The legislature has seen At to set ct !.
naught the mandate Of the people.