The Ward County independent. [volume] (Minot, Ward County, N.D.) 1902-1965, 1919-09-25
ARREST FOXHOLM AND ga N
( KENMARE ELEVATOR AGENTS
E. Loader and John Gruber, Occident
? Elevator, Agents, Arrested Charged
With Unfair Competition in Mat
,%ECiJSter Of Prices. ~ On ~ $

q
Asst. Atty. General Albert E. Sheets
Jr., in company with o. B. Herig-
stad, States Attorney of Ward eeu1l-
ty, last Tuesday caused the arrest Of
E. Loader and John Gruber, }Occident|
Elevator agents at Kenmare and Fox
holm. It is alleged that the <Occidert
elevator at these. 2twoG places, thru
their agents, paid higher prices for
grain ord the 18th Of September sthanl
was paid by the, Occident} Elevator Co.
at Funston, N. Oak The complaint
1charges that there was IA difference OIL
+ fourteen, cents on Mol Dark, North
ern between Kerimare and Funston,
with only onei Gent sdiff efenee iii
freight.
TIE actions commenced last Tues
day were brought under the unfair
discrimination statute, which makes
it unlawful for an elevator company
to. pay more at one station, excluding
the difference in freight than it pays
for the same grade of wheat at an
|Spther station, the purpose Of the law
being to prevent corporation, owning
several elevators, from raising the
price of grain at. one stationFto force
q local grain buyer out of business,
land lowering it at another make
up for the, loss sustained at the point
where the competitor is being dealt
with. q
The actions commenced in Ward
county are part Of a series begun over
the entire state by the Attorney Gen
leral, against the Occident company,
the first arrests being made in En-
mons county ten days ago. States
faAttorney OBJ: Herigstad said today
that "from the steady rise shown from
/ the market quotations, it appeared to
have had wholesome effect. Since
the commencement of these, proceed
lings, he further stated, correspond
isence of the company under search
warrant shows this to be correct. One
i.of the instruc tions 70 agents under
date Sept 5thSref erin q to the
action taken by the Attorney General,
bears this out, for it reads: --,',--
For your confidential information,
It looks very much as if the wheat
market was being manipulated down
here to force the price up to point
which would prevent US from milling
at. all lin North Dakota We do not
say that that is the purpose of put
ting up the market, but we do know
the, wheat is not worth the money!
,, From the same facts under which
the agents at .Foxholm and Kenmare|
has been Instituted against the Occi.
dent Elevator Co., charging that the
corporation for the PURPOSE. of de-
stroying the business sof farmer eleva-
tor companies and locai grain buyers,
| and it's competitors. in Ward county.
bought grain at the city of Kenmare
at higher price and rate, after max
ing due allowance forssthe Inference in
grade and quality, and the actual cost
of transportation, than it paid for
! wheat at the station of Funston in
McHenry county"
States Attorney Herigstad explain-
ed the nature of the criminal oceed-
ings instituted by sayings, asThe old
line elevator companies in North Da-
kota,. have taken advantage of the
premium which is being paid, at term
inal markets, for cash wheat, to crush
competitors, and at the same time
monopolize the grain trade The i'm
mediate demand for wheat for milling
purposes is so great that q premium
from twenty to fifty cents'is being
paid in the terminal markets. over
and above what the grain bulletin card
| price list shows the market price ac-
1 tually to be. This price is only tenn
porary and the margin which repre-,
sents the spread between the terminal
and the local price, is being used to
cover the unfair discrimination, which
the companies are using to obtain
state"
Both Mr.. Loader OF Kenmare and
Mr.. Gruber of Foxholm, waived the
preliminary examination before JUS
tice A. B. Dill, and gave bond Of
| $1,000 for their appearance to answer
the charge in district court. The date
has not yet been fixed for the hearing
4 Of the corporation.
| The unfair discrimination act pro-
vides a penalty Of not less than $500
nor more than $4,000 fine and not
more than one year in Jail for it's VIC
lation. But it was pointed out by At
torney General LANCER over the tele-
phone today, "The main purpose Of
the action against the corporation in
4 Ward county, is not so much to impose