Evening star., 1924-05-20
BY MAGNUS JOHNSON,
United States Senator From Mime.
sofa.


sOta.
After thirty years of farming,
twenty years of experience in Coop
erative effort and fifteen years of po-
litfcal work, 1 am convinced that the
three outstanding issues now before
the American people are the follow
ing:
utilities generally.
Government control of banking.
Naturally L consider farm relief
legislation most important of all at
this time. By farm relief legislation
I do not mean, of course, the spurious
sort that actually has no merit what
ever and is really intended to benefit
others rather than the farmers.
The farmers are the victims OF un-
become the exploited of the banks,
the railroads and the grain specula-
tors. This triumvirate of enemies has
been with them for good many
years.
Out in Minnesota where I have
farmed for thirty years We first made
war on the grain speculators- We
tried all sorts of methods to free our
selves from the manipulations of the
speculators' monopoly, otherwise
known as the chamber of commerce.
Now, we understand full well that the
railroads and the big banks operating
through the federal reserve system
are as great, il not greater, enemies
Of the tiller of the soil.
The Chamber of Commerce of Min
neapolis is not as its name would in
dicate large association of business
men like commercial club; 1T is not
that at all.
Tho chamber of commerce was or
ganized In 1881 under the laws of the
State of Minnesota. 1t Is a non-stock
corporation engaged in the business of
conducting a grain exchange for the
exclusive use and profit of it's members
1t handles annually about 200. O0O. 900
bushels of grain grown in the states of
the northwest. When the law was
passed by the Minnesota Legislature,
it was provided that the chamber of
commerce should be a law unto itself
in establishing rules and regulations
for it's members. The courts were
ousted of Jurisdiction in matters per-
tanning to the chamber and it's MEM
bers.
Under its rules sales of futures are
permitted and these reach billions of
bushels each year. BY flooding the
market with these phantom bushels of
wheat the market prices can be de-
pressed to the extent of running the
market for actual grain.
Now without going into any further
history of the chamber I want to say
that the farmers Of Minnesota and
other states of the northwest organ
lied a grain commission company of
their own entitled the Equity Cooper
ative Exchange, located at ST. Paul
We have done business there now for
about ten years. Our great handicap
has been the unfair practices Of the
chamber of commerce. We considered
these practices so unfair and so ruin
Gus to our organization that we asked
the aid of the Federal Trade Commits
sion to compel the chamber of COM
merce to cease it's unfair methods.
Last December the commission rem
dered its decision. 1t sustained us
all the way through in our complaint
against the chamber. What effect it
will have, I do not know. AS it ap-
pears now, our old enemy is going to
take the case into the courts. That
means further delay, for the courts
have always shown a good deal of
favor to such institutions in prolong-
ing the time for the litigation until
the weaker contestant is worn out.
But since starting out to fight the
grain spectators through our own
grain commission companies, the