Grand Forks herald. [volume] (Grand Forks, N.D.) 1916-1955, 1921-06-24
RIADD AGAIN,
In his historic maiden efforts in tn" senatetsa
weeks ago Senator Ladd produced this gem: SIS

weeks ago Senator Ladd produced this gem:
The elevator men Who purchased the grain m
49,. fixed the grade which determinedaits value, and @
naturally 1t was to. their advantage to make the
gradesas low rs possible. In many cases rxdes !.
weres arbitrarily hxed that the same load OF
srainshas been given different grades at different
elevators. and there ire cases on record where 4
shreWd farmers took the same3 load Of srainHto
a@f the same elevator on different days and had 1t
Graded acknowledgements the determining
factor but a. whim OF the buyer. - e II a
And now, dear children, what does this prove?
merely that elevator men, like the rest Of us, are
human. Being human, and being quite numerous, they
are D. all sorts. Some Of them are fine fellows. Some
OF them are rascals. Some OF them are inacompetent.
There have been elevator men who could have operated
farms or managed banks successfully but Who were
totally UNITED for the business OF buying wheat. There
have been men in elevators who should have sbeensin
jail-and occasionally one has landed there. s#
Similarly, there are farmers who are the salt Of the
earth. And there are others who are neither connpe-
tent nor honest. Some OF. these latter have been known
to doctor their loads of wheat with snow. or sand in
order to add to it's weight. Is that any reason why the
business of farming, or farmers In general, should be
condemned? Rubbish!t g. 80
The grading of wheat is. a device employed as a
convenient method of getting at what the wheat is worth.
AS a matter of fact a very large portion Of the wheat
OF North Dakota has never been graded at all. Shipped
to the terminal, samples of it have been exhibited on
the grain exchange. and it has been sold to the highest
bidder. not as OF any particular grade, but as worth so
much a bushel, as it runs. But If grain is to be sold; i'm
med1ately at the local elevator, and the farmer wishes
to close the deal then and there, there is necessarily
a good deal of snap judgment in arriving at grades.
The standard for a given grade has certain requirements
as to weight, color, hardness, moisture, and SO forth,
and many of these things can be determined only by
careful chemical analysis, which takes time and requires
equipment which the elevator man does not possess. With
the best intentions in the~world. his judgment will vary.
In spite of Senator Ladds desire to create the oppo-
site impression, there has usually been very real competi-
ton among elevator men in the same town. Regardless
OF any understandings which may have existed between
the separate companies, the local buyer likes to justify
his existence by handling, a satisfactory account of bust.
ness, and where opportunity is given to all the local
buyers to sample a load of grain the farmer usually
not always-gets about the actual market price for It.
If he receives no offer which satisfies him.. he is at
liberty to ship or sell in the general market, a plan which
is followed by many.
Senator Ladd has made a very lame attempt TO
show that the farmer is the victim Of a deep and dark
A