The producers news. [volume] (Plentywood, Mont.) 1918-1937, 1925-09-04

Community Club at Reserve, Mon
tana have handed certain records ov-
er to me apd asked that they be
made public as much as space will
allow.
In the spring of 1924, the Occident
Elevator Co. shipped a carload of
seed wheat to Reserve and sold to
the farmers around there. This
wheat was represented to be No.
Marquis seed wheat from the Angus
Mackay Farm Seed Co Ltd. of In
dian Head, Canada, and cleaned and
graded to comply with the Canadian
Seed Act. The farmers paid S1.9O
for this sO-called seed wheat while
the local price was about 95 cents.
After this wheat matured it was
found that it was a mixture of sew
eral kinds of wheat. A sample was
gathered from a field of breaking
that had never raised a crop before.
This sample was sent to the Agri-
cultural Department of WASHINGTON.
ID. O., for test and was tested by
an expert who is one. of the best au-
thorities on wheat in the United
States, and it was found that there
were several kinds of wheat in this
sample that had never been grown in
this locality before, such as Red
Bearded LadOga, Field Hybrid White
Club wheat, Red Beardless mixture
of field hybrids and White Bearded
Kota.
This wheat proved to be inferior
both in quality and yield per acre.
One farmer who bought enough for
seed so that he raised a carload.
shipped this car together with
carload raised from his own seed, and
had to take u cents less per bushel
at terminals, the sO-called pure Mar
quls tested 1914 protein and the 9th
er car tested 1876. At the time
these two cars were loaded, the Sun
erlntendent of the Occident Elevator
Go. was in town, and the farmer Of /
fered to sell this carload of whear
to him but he would not buv if. in
spite of the fact that he was at that
time trying to buy wheat from 9th
er parties that had it stored in the
Farmers elevator.
The Reserve Community Club tried
hard TO get some settlement with
the Occldent Elevator Co., as it was
damage to them, getting
ms mixture of wheat in place Of
what they thought they were buv-
ng. They wrote the Occident Ele-
'ator Go. several times, but all the
good 1t done was that they received
couple slurring letters from the
company at Minneapolis and the Sun
enntendent met with them once at
Reserve and told them that this
bearded stuff was pure MARQUIS. Int
rs this was the time that wheat was
beginning to move to market, he kind
u hlnted that he would bring about
some settlement from either the Oc-
:ldent or the Seed company in Cana
la. The Community Club also wrote
o the Seed Company and they told
mem that this wheat they shipped to
he Occident was net raised on their ,
arm and was not pure marquis. but !
vas a common commercial wheat ,
rood for milling purposes that they
lad bought in one of their elevators
nd mixed in bins as usual.
The farmers after trying sevc. 81
Methods in getting a settlement from
~ OSNAdCiI AAi4a1iy QIG1I61 an 2FGeo-
nent stating that they would be sat
SIZED If they got back S100 per bush
| on every bushel bought, and sent {
copy of this to Minneapolis, stat
ng that they would sign this agree
nent if they were paid. This pro-
osal the Occident did not see fit v
o answer at all, as they now had I
nost of the seasons crop bought. q
The sentiment of the Occident was
yell given in a conversation between I
he Secretary of Reserve Community =
Tub and the Superintendent of the I
)ccident Elevator &c. when they met I
4 ScObey. The Superintendent said |
fter being asked if they were going I
o settle, "You fellows can boiler all |
on want to. All it takes for us to !
et the farmers grain is for us to
ay a cent or two more, or take a
title less dockage."