Grand Forks herald. [volume] (Grand Forks, N.D.) 1916-1955, 1917-09-15
Agitators, Ever Farmers
Enemy, Took Advant-
age Of Them.
S
PROVES
American Farmers Suffered
Under Regulation-How
Dockage is Changed.

~munication on the subject Of wheat
grading has been written for The
Herald by % man who has had q long
experience In raising and judging
wheat. In view of the fact that the
wheat problem is one. uppermost In
the minds Of the farmers Of North
Dakota and the northwest generally,
the communication is of peculiarly
timely interest and should prove
helpful to thousands of peop1e.)
Under Minnesota state inspection,
previous to the federal grading sys-
tenn, wheat weighing 81 pounds of
good color and sound, graded Nc. !
Northern, and was called contract
grade, meaning that it could be sold
given time in the future. If it weigh
ed So or 60 pounds it was called
Choice Northern Of No. 1 hard, and
usually sold at premium, on what
was known as a sample market, at
from one to four cents per bushel,
above regular, depending entirely on
it's actual milling value. In fact,
wheat which was defective on account
OF containing too much moisture or
having. mixtures of king-heads, wild
peas, barley or rye, grading down to
No. 3 or 4, often was sold close up to
No 1 Northern price, IL it had the
milling or mixing value, excepting
when the percentages Of off-grade
to the chotcer quality, In which case
there was not enough#of the higher
grades to mix with II, for example the
year Of 1915.
How Dockago Is Changed.
But even sin the season Just past,
had the milling industry not been able
to reach u into Oregon and Wash
'ington and the southwest for soft
winter wheat. paying a premium and
q high freight rate to mix with our 40
west farmers would have been Obliged
to sell last years crop at a much less
price than was obtained. Fixed
prices also affects the dockage prob
lem. When wheat was sold by sam
pie, If a a contained 10 or Is
pounds Of tame or wild oats to the
bushel, the miller, in purchasing such
value, less the expense of separation
and paid accordingly, Under the
present government purchasing sys-
tenn, the owner pays the additional
freight on the dockage, and must
give 1t away.
The Agftators Opportunity.
Many of the farmers never under
stood the meaning of mixing grain
and the sample market, and conse-
auently It offered g golden opportuni-
ty for the professional agitator, who
has ever been the farmers greatest
enemy, to misrepresent facts. They
told the farmer Dur system Of grades
was all wrong, h sample market
and mixing grain in the elevator be-
fore going to the mills or for foreign
export, was a combination Of robbery.
and the cure for all those evils. was
federal inspection, and market price
based on grades instead of samples,
and a law to prohibit mixing. We
now have all Of these restrictions.
and the farmer finds that his wheat
must weight SO pounds instead OF 81
pounds to grade No. i, that It must
not contain more than one-half Of
one per cent of inseparable seeds,
ina otherwise choice SO or so pound
wheat with Z per cent Of wild peas,
king-headS9 0 cookie discounts his
wheat tic per busheI, and II, 1t con-.
tains z per cent of barley or rye, the
discount is 18c per bushel.
Canada Has Enough Regulation.
The American farmers, who have
gone to western Canada, have suffer
ed for years under the federal CRED
ing system Of that country, and
against mixing wheat in the elevators
and marketsvalues fixed on grades in-
stead Of samples. They have been
making appeals for years to tha
dominion government to have this
changed and have been promised re-
lief after the a while our farmers.
largely as a result of the mixing
privilege and sample market, have
been getting better prices for their
wheat and at least some return for
their dockage. As. a war measure the
federal government has believed ii
necessary to adopt. several of the
methods which have been urged as
reforms. and the American farmer
suffers In grades, freights and dock
age. It is the duty Of every loyal
american + 9 abide by the decision &c
the government, but at the same fima
to protect their own interest by clean.
Ing their grain and thereby comply
with the requirements of the higher
grades.