Grand Forks herald. [volume] (Grand Forks, N.D.) 1916-1955, 1917-05-12
An Open Letter
ToU. S. Senator !
AISLE ]. Gronnd
'ator \, :. oronna, washington, ?.

Dear SRI received from you un-
a.r ~nvernment frank your speech IN
the senate March 3, 1917, on stand
ardization Of Grain" -.
f .hov tha s.nste that in ths year
Ie1s Ge16D the people Of my state
lost O than 366.000.000.00 De
cause Of the present system, !. .. sys-
TEN Of grading wheat.
You state on page sever ,tnat a
concurrent resolution passed q leg
thsre was an (estimated) loss Of $S6.-
q 900. 90. due to the fact that n
system Of Standardization 10 FAULTY
and is working an injustice 70 the
farmer"
ling to take this $6b, 900. 1000 from the
farmers Of my state. why DO You not
help me to make 1t possible to pass
that on to the consumer" 49,.
North Dakota loses S s 5000. 100000 in
one year. and that a year when we
have a small crop, I ask what 10 h
loss to the American farrner!"
The only evidence that you present
for this enormous loss IN q reference
tai DR., Ladd's bulletins on Feed D
wheat. Mr.. A. Swanson. Mr.. Olaf 1s-
akson and On others got 30 to 10
bushels Of wheat ground Into nour
and the -four value was eau tnan
the wheat value. Granting that your
p%articular instances r true, how do
Won sum them up into that 5 6,0oo.-
600. 90?
hat YOU intend to convey the I'M
preston that SIS. ooo. o0o.o 90 was stol-
on from the North Dakota farmer out
Of his 1915 crop Of wheat and that
Prof. Iadd IL your authority for that
statement.
From talking with farmers I am
they draw from your speech.
The absurdity of such conclusions
can be proved from Dr.. Ladd's bulle-
tins themselves on the part Of any
body who can add, subtract and null
tiply.
Governor Frazier of North Dakota,
stated in his Cooper Union speech
that the total 1915 North Dakota
wheat crop was th%irty-nine million
bushels. Let us suppose that ALL OF
this 1916 crop was d Feed grade.
According to DR.. Ladd's famous
bulletin for every 1000 bushels Of
Feed D wheat that was marketed ST.
454.02 Of the retail price of flour.
bran, shorts and screenings was TAX
en- by local elevator agents, railroads.
iour mills, wholesalers and retailers.
Do you mea to assume thai NO
SERVICE AT ALL was rendered in
taking this wheat from the farmer to
the market, then milling 1t and bring
Ing it back to Fargo and placing the
finished product in the hands of the
consumer? g.,
1t is only by making such an alb
surd assumption that o can con-
clude that big Biz stole $~56.000.-
5000 20 frob the 1916 wheat crop. of
the North Dakota farmer.
DR.. Ladd says that 1t cost s1,454.02
to bring 1000 bushels Of Feed D
wheat from the producer. and finally
the Now multiply $1.454.-
OF by t%hirty.nine thouand. and you
get the total amount taken out for
these services, provided hat all Of the
1916 wheat crop in North Dakota was
Feed D grade, this total is *5s'7oe'-
10000.
1 presume that $751; 900. 100000 is
only a convenient way of referring to
s5s.70s, $4,000. What is a difference
Of a million or so between friends.
Let's not quibhle over such ihsignif-
can't details. Besides in arrivi.s at
that sum of about s5s. 600, 0o0. 90 I as
6uiuV l!ld MIA VI u sAV I "~o
Feed u grade. I understand that yer
half Of it. (13-21sts) was higher than
feed and the rest of it was graded
from Feed A down to Feed D.. DR..
Ladd proves that there were much
smaller profits on the higher grades
and these smaller profits would knock
at least $4,000. 000.0U clean out of my
reckoning and leave us with only $780,
900, 10000 to hand over to big Biz"
f@, -Ao,t~@- ~ 1@4~ y,,n arp
freight from local points to Mime
apolis and back to Fargo, etc. etc.
We will call it 5000, 900. 90 Just for
good fellowship and to down big
Biz"
Senator Gronna's mind was not
present in the senate when that
speech was delivered: your mind was
with your constituents and you were
thinking Of what impression it would ]
make on them. 1t was for homo o n
sumption.
was very much Interested in trac-
ing out the logical sequence of
thought in your speech. ] analysed it
and here is the result:
1918 crop-ffty--iive million dol
lars-Big Biz--thieves and robbers.
1916 crop-Feed D wheat-Pres.
Ladd-Fifty-fve million dollars-Bigi
Riz-thieves and robbers.
Resolutions Of North Dakota legis-
latrlre - Ffty-fve million dollars
Big Biz-thieves and robbers.
Mrs. A. Holm-Thirty cents-nfty-
five million dollars-Big Biz-thieves
and robbers.
FIFTY-F1vE MILLION DOLLARS
800 BIG BIZ s"ss THIEVES
AND ROBBERS.
Now ] grant you that2 in such a
speech 1t is difacult to criticise the
logical continuity of thought that is
supposed to be behind all speeches. 1t
Is diHieult for one who has not been
privileged to wander among the MAJ
es and intricaoies of your mental pro-
cesses to say Just what you did mean
by such q speech.
Your speech reminds me Of Lewis
CAROLS poem, THE JabberWocky,"
as found in Thru the Looking
Glass;
Here are the characters:
Jaboerwocky Gan imaginary ami
The Son-Senator Gronna.
The Father-Senator 0ronna,a con-
s%tituents as he fain would have them.
JABBERwocKY.
Twas brillis and the slithy toves
Dld gyre q Nmblo in the Wabo;
All mimsy wore the boroEoves
ANA the nome raths outgrahs.
the Jabherwooky. my son!
Inc Jaws tina bite. the claws that
Beware the Jubjub bird, aud shun
the frumtous Bandarsnatch-"
Hs took hts vorpal sword in hand:
Long time the manxomo foe he